The Adventurous Lectionary: Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

Last updated on: June 5, 2013 at 2:09 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – June 16, 2013 I Kings 21:1-10, 15-21a; Psalm 5:1-8; Galatians 2:15-21; Luke 7:36-8:3 Lively Grace and Difficult Justice Grace abounds, but grace doesn’t nullify the consequences of our personal or corporate actions. What we do matters and although grace can change the meaning of the past and awaken us to alternative futures, it cannot erase the impact of our actions. Justice and mercy leave seeds of creative transformation that contribute health and wholeness, while injustice and hard-heartedness... Read more

Seeing the World with the Eyes of the Heart

Last updated on: June 3, 2013 at 1:01 pm By Bruce Epperly

Walking in beauty is the gift of sight and insight. It is grounded in taking a more leisurely pace, even on busy days. One of my spiritual teachers, Gerald May, counseled the following awakening practice: pause, notice, open, yield and stretch, and then respond Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary: Pentecost 3

Last updated on: June 5, 2013 at 12:19 pm By Bruce Epperly

Today’s lectionary passages assert that faith opens us to new dimensions of reality and within these new dimensions, miraculous releases of divine energy, congruent with the laws of nature, are released. Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary for June 2, 2013: Truth, Exclusion and Violence

Last updated on: May 28, 2013 at 1:40 pm By Bruce Epperly

Today’s lectionary readings are challenging for progressive, postmodern, and pluralistic Christians. They also give pause to those who fashion clear boundaries between in and out, righteous and unrighteous, and saved and unsaved. Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Trinity Sunday

Last updated on: May 20, 2013 at 2:56 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections on Trinity Sunday – May 26, 2013 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 Today’s readings speak of a lively, energizing, relational vision of the Trinity, a far cry from the disembodied, abstract, and irrelevant descriptions found in many theological tomes. The Trinity, along with the Incarnation and the divine presence in history, is one of the great antidotes to the tendency of some Christians to see God as apathetic, a-historical, and unchanging in contrast to the passionate, evolving,... Read more

A Vision but Not an Agenda: Responding to Elizabeth Scalia’s “Strange Gods”

Last updated on: May 16, 2013 at 2:58 pm By Patheos Daily Reflections

I have recently accepted the call to be Pastor of South Congregational United Church of Christ in Centerville, Massachusetts. On a hilltop less than a mile from Craigville Beach in mid-Cape Cod, the setting of this historic congregation is just the other side of paradise. In the course of the search and call process, I was asked how I would lead the congregation toward new vitality and outreach in the community. My response to the Search Committee initially might have... Read more

Christian Formation as an Adventure in Provocative Propositions

Last updated on: May 16, 2013 at 2:53 pm By Bruce Epperly

Being a Christian means a lot of things, but a key element in the journey of faith is the exploration of provocative propositions: visions and statements that take us beyond familiar comfort zones to explore wild horizons of spiritual adventure. Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost

Last updated on: May 15, 2013 at 9:16 am By Bruce Epperly

On Pentecost, mysticism – and this is a communal as well as individual mysticism – inspires the community to mission. Good news can’t be sequestered or kept to ourselves. Spirit bursts forth. Everyone gets the message. Read more

Pondering Thin Places: Reflections on Frank Viola’s God’s Favorite Place on Earth

Last updated on: May 7, 2013 at 1:10 pm By Bruce Epperly

Using literary license, author Frank Viola boldly asserts that Bethany, the hometown of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus was “God’s favorite place on Earth.” Bethany was the place where Jesus found rest and companionship. In a world of controversy, Jesus could enjoy a meal, laughter, and normal conversation. Perhaps, he could let down his guard for a moment and not be the Teacher or Healer, but the friend, who received as well as gave. No doubt, he taught the family plenty,... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Last updated on: May 6, 2013 at 12:48 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections for the Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 12 Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26 God is alive! God is at work in our lives! We can trust God’s loving-kindness in every life circumstance. With the apostle Paul, we can experience joy even in the most challenging situations. There are no guarantees of success and security, but there is the promise of companionship, care, and comfort, not to mention images of hope and possibility to bring light... Read more

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