Lectionary Reflections for November 11, 2012  Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17; Psalm 42; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 This week’s lectionary readings deal with some of the most important energies of life – the energy of romance, conception, and sexuality; the energy of money and its proper use; the energetic quest for God in a difficult time; and the energetic field of force created by Christ, the high priest of wholeness. The Baal Shem Tov, the Master of a Good Name (Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer), the... Read more

Presidential elections are about the hopes of a people.  They also chart a direction toward   a people’s future.  They involve the creative interplay of images, intentions, and actions. Without a vision, a people will perish both spiritually and corporately. While scripture does not detail public policy initiatives, I see the biblical witness as characterized by the following interdependent and relational values: The importance of community in individual well-being. The value of life from conception to death. The institutional and individual... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – November 4, 2012 – Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost Ruth 1:1-18 Psalm 146 Hebrews 9:11-14 Mark 12:28-34 This Sunday’s lectionary readings are appropriate for the Sunday before Election Day in the USA.  They provide an alternative to the current xenophobia and divisiveness that characterizes much of todays’ fear-based political dialogue.  It has been said that the opposite of love is fear and we are hearing a lot of fear language in our public discourse – persons... Read more

Last night, I spent nearly three hours enthralled by the movie adaptation of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas.  As a process theologian, whose work has been influenced by the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, the film’s portrayal of quantum entanglement, what Einstein described as “spooky action at a distance” reflects my own vision of life.  Whether or not this film is a testimony to the past, present, and future incarnations of its protagonists, it is an invitation to... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 22 – October 28, 2012 Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Psalm 34:1-8 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52 Replacement puppies and goldfish!  That’s what parents often do when a child’s beloved pet dies.  Sometimes they can fool the child, but not often!  Eventually, even with fish and turtles, a perceptive child may recognize the difference and come to doubt their parents’ honesty.  In today’s scripture, Job falls down before God and confesses his impiety.  He confesses that he had... Read more

“Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  (Romans 12:2) This was the Apostle Paul’s counsel to the Christian community at Rome.  He challenged them to live by a different lifestyle and spiritual orientation than the culture around them.  Paul knew that we are children of our culture, but our culture need not determine our beliefs or actions.  There is a divine restlessness that lures us away from polarization, consumerism, nationalism, and idolatry... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary for October 21 The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost After showing Job the wonders of creation, God shouts out to him, “Look at all I have created! Could you have done this?   You are mortal and finite, earthling; you are nothing in the grand scheme of things.  Don’t tell me know to run the universe!”  There is good news and bad news in this passage that the wild and crazy preacher might explore.  The good news is we... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary for October 14, 2012 The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost  This week’s scriptures deal with suffering, sex, and money – quite a trifecta for an intrepid pastor to tackle.  What “wild and crazy” images do this week’s lectionary readings provoke?  Whether or not you follow a radical homiletic pathway, it is important to reflect on the roads not taken in your sermons.  Quite possibly other people in your congregation are asking the same questions, but feel guilty about... Read more

The Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost  — October 7, 2012 Job 1:1; 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16 Preaching at its best involves sharing provocative possibilities for congregational and personal transformation.  Good sermons always involve considering “impossible things,” and these provocative propositions – somewhat askew and counter with reality as we know it  – are what drives humankind forward on its holy adventure.  Facts won’t save us; but imagination holds the key to healing the earth and our personal woundedness.  Our healing comes... Read more