If you ever have to read a book about the seven deadly sins, I urge you to read Lawrence S. Cunningham’s The Seven Deadly Sins: A Visitor’s Guide.  What these sins have in common is that they are all about the individual involved – “enough about you; what about me!” To use Luther’s language, they curve us inward on ourselves, making us the center of the universe rather than centering on the Holy One who centers all things.  One of my... Read more

Lectionary Reflections for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 23, 2012 Micah 5:2-5a; Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-55 On occasion, I will be asked the question, “When does life begin?” by a curious or confrontational inquisitor.  Such questioners are often surprised when I respond, “Oh, about 14 billion years ago.”  My response, while occasionally startling, is intended to point to the fact that such questions of individual birth and death are somewhat irrelevant and unanswerable, especially for politicians, in a mysterious, and... Read more

For many Christians, it goes without saying that God’s ultimate and final revelation is contained in the words of Scripture, the Old and New Testaments. Nothing needs to be added for our awareness of God, doctrine, or spiritual edification. They believe that all further revelation is qualitatively inferior and different in kind from holy scripture- an elaboration on God’s word spoken through the authors of scripture. The holy books of other religions and the insights of Christian and Jewish mystics... Read more

Lectionary Reflections: The Third Sunday of Advent December 16, 2012   Christmas is coming!  Joy is in the air!  Today’s scriptures center around joy, but joy is the result of spiritual practices not hedonism or accidental good fortune.  As improbable as it may seem, the irenic Philippians and the bombastic John the Baptist have much in common.  Both see joy as the result of a transformed lives and lifestyles.  As Paul says elsewhere, be not conformed to the world but... Read more

Lectionary Reflections on The Second Sunday of Advent: December 9, 2012 Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6 This week’s lectionary explores the many faces of divine providence.  Providence can be gentle and incremental, as described in Philippians, but it can also be challenging and abrupt, calling for an immediate decision, as Luke describes John the Baptist’s message.  Either way, as the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead asserts, divine providence, expressed in novel possibilities and challenges, always aims at the best for the particular... Read more

A few years back, at a Gay Pride Event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I ironically stated to a protester, “May God forgive you for what you’re doing.” Rather quick on his feet, he responded, “We worship different gods.” As I walked away, I wondered if, in his own way, he had stated a theological dilemma that touches not only the relationships of Christians with one another, but persons of other religious traditions as well. We may use the same language, but... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary for December 2, 2012 The First Sunday of Advent Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-10 I Thessalonians 3:9-13 Luke 21-25-36 As a high school senior in 1969, one of my favorite songs was Chicago Transit Authority’s (aka Chicago) “Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?”   I can still remember the words: Does anybody really know what time it its? Does anybody really care? If so I can’t imagine why We’ve all got time enough to cry/die. Advent asks... Read more

Lectionary Reflections for the last Sunday after Pentecost: The Reign of Christ November 25, 2012 Celebrating Christ the King Sunday seems anachronistic in a pluralistic age, in which many Christians no longer subscribe to imperialistic, supercessionist, or inclusivist theologies which either deny truth and salvation to persons of other faiths or see these faiths as diminished, but possibly salvific, reflections of Christian truth.  Is the celebration of Christ’s kingship, or even the less imperialistic realm of Christ, somehow an affront... Read more