The Adventurous Lectionary – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 9, 2023

Last updated on: July 2, 2023 at 3:31 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – July 9, 2023 – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:10-17; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 We are anxious people in need of God’s peace. We are an unsettled church and nation in need of a unified and cooperative spirit. We need words of grace that calm and inspire as we face the challenges of post-Covid church, national disunity, and planetary threat. “Come to me all who are weary and are carrying heavy... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 2, 2023

Last updated on: June 25, 2023 at 4:33 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 2, 2023 Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13; Jeremiah 28:5-9; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 This week’s stories are all challenging, spiritually, ethically, and relationally. We need to take exception to the story of Abraham and Isaac to be faithful to the God of grace, believing that “God’s request” is unworthy of any God worthy of worship. Following Christ is ultimately about a life-giving lifestyle, not violence or fear, whether that violence... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 2, 2023

Last updated on: June 17, 2023 at 5:25 pm By Bruce Epperly

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Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 2, 2023 Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13; Jeremiah 28:5-9; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 This week’s stories are all challenging, spiritually, ethically, and relationally. We need to take exception to the story of Abraham and Isaac to be faithful to the God of grace. Following Christ is ultimately about a life-giving lifestyle, not violence or fear. To be honest, I am unsure what to do with the passage related to Abraham and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday after Pentecost – June 18, 2023

Last updated on: June 10, 2023 at 6:06 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday after Pentecost – June 18, 2023 Genesis 18:1-15, Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35-10:8 Taken together, this Sunday’s readings paint a portrait of a holistic faith involving the interplay of hospitality, healing, and mission, whether we are in ordinary time, living with the challenge of post-pandemic congregational life, or in the middle of protesting injustice. Without having to invoke supernatural causation, they ask us and our congregations to expect surprises when we... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 11, 2023

Last updated on: June 4, 2023 at 7:07 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 11, 2023 Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Today’s scriptures chart a journey toward wholeness. Although it is seldom cited as a healing story, Abraham’s story – like that of Matthew’s – involves the healing of purpose. The wholeness that comes when you discover your life’s vocation for the season of life in which you find yourself. Abraham and Sarah are people of a “certain age.”... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Trinity Sunday – June 4, 2023

Last updated on: May 26, 2023 at 8:51 am By Bruce Epperly

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Adventurous Lectionary – Trinity Sunday – June 4, 2023 Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20 In a few days, school will be out and congregations will move toward summer schedule. Many pastors will exchange their robes for more casual attire – in my case, a Guayabera (Cuban untucked) shirt with a stole – and children’s and adult faith formation may take a hiatus or become more informal in nature. Still, summer is a time of learning and... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost Sunday – May 28, 2023

Last updated on: May 26, 2023 at 2:07 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost Sunday – May 28, 2023 Bruce G. Epperly Acts 2:1-22 Psalm 104:24-34, 35b I Corinthians 12:3b-13 John 7:37-39 and John 20:19-23 Pentecost Sunday invites us to consider the relationship between mysticism and mission, and spirituality and social concern. Pentecost invites us to imagine the unimaginable and to awaken to the transrational and transcendent. Though we may have “unimaginable fatigue” given the reality of post-pandemic congregational struggles, the great resignation of pastors, the rise in white... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Ascension Sunday – Easter 7 – May 21, 2023

Last updated on: May 15, 2023 at 8:30 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Ascension Sunday – May 21, 2023 Bruce G. Epperly Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; I Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11 These days, many of us would like to experience an Ascension. The world is too much with us. We are inundated with news of mass shootings, the potential catastrophe of national default, irrational and dangerous political policies, incivility, war in Ukraine, and rising tensions with China. We would like to escape. Yet, we are in the... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 14, 2023

Last updated on: May 8, 2023 at 9:23 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 14, 2023 Bruce G. Epperly Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66:18-20 I Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 My teacher John Cobb referred to Christ as the way that excludes no authentic spiritual way. In our pluralistic age, as Cobb describes it, we need more rather than less theology. First Testament scholar Terry Fretheim notes that it is more important to ask, “What kind of God do you believe in?” than “Do you believe... Read more

Living a Holy Adventure – Palm Sunday – April 2, 2023

Last updated on: March 29, 2023 at 8:18 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Palm Sunday – April 2, 2023 Isaiah 50:4-92 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 21:1-11 Matthew 26:14-27:66 THE SPIRITUAL ROLLER COASTER OF HOLY WEEK. Let the tragic beauty, and creative conflict of Holy Week begin! To those who take worship and study seriously, Holy Week is a spiritual rollercoaster. Putting ourselves in the place of the women and men who followed Jesus, we experience joyful celebration, uncertainty and anxiety, desperation, fear, and depression. We have no... Read more