The Ethics and Politics of Ascension Day

Last updated on: May 21, 2022 at 8:00 am By Bruce Epperly

The Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:6-11) is one of the most mysterious and enigmatic days of the Christian year. To be frank, it’s a day that most progressive and mainstream Christians would just as soon jettison along with literal embodied understandings of the resurrection. It also receives little interest among conservative and evangelical Christians, beyond the judgment that because it is in the Bible, it must have occurred as described. Most churches observe Ascension Day by omission, since it raises... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday after Easter – May 29, 2022

Last updated on: May 20, 2022 at 5:09 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday of Easter – May 29, 2022 Acts 16:16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 John 17:20-26 Christian spirituality is, in its essence, surprising and countercultural. It is also mystical nature, opening us to deeper experiences of the Holy, from which we receive our life mission. Christian spirituality challenges our self-imposed limitations and transcends any orthodoxy or behavioral expectation in its quest to be faithful to the “sacrament of the present moment.” (Pierre de... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 22, 2022

Last updated on: May 15, 2022 at 10:15 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 22, 2022 Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10,22-22:5; John 14:23-29 God is omni-active and omni-revelational. Like Elvis, God shows up everywhere and when God shows up, your world is transformed and you are invited to journey into new horizons of possibility. In this Easter season, we proclaim that, Christ the Lord is risen TODAY, and everyday. God’s amnipotent love, as Thomas Oord avers, gives birth to each moment and each... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after Easter – May 15, 2022

Last updated on: May 6, 2022 at 5:56 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday of Easter – May 15,2022 Acts 11:1-18 Psalm 148 Revelation 21:1-6 John 13:31-35 This morning as I prepared for this week’s lectionary, I encountered the cover of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s “Decision” magazine: “Progressive Christianity Can Lead You to Hell.” In contrast to such binary and exclusivist visions of inspiration and salvation, today’s readings describe the scope of grace and salvation in much more inclusive terms, and invite us to ask questions such... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday in Easter – May 8, 2022

Last updated on: May 1, 2022 at 2:41 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 8, 2022 Acts 9:36-43, Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30 On this Sunday, we focus on shepherds, lambs, and sheep as image of the divine-human relationship. Mortality, miracles, and the scope of salvation are also themes for today. The readings are filled with possibilities and questions, and require us to use our imaginations as well as to challenge literal understandings of the texts. Often there are more questions than... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Third Sunday of Easter – May 1, 2022

Last updated on: April 22, 2022 at 7:43 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday of Easter – May 1, 2022 Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 The Third Sunday of Easter is a mother lode of riches for the adventurous preacher, chock full of homiletical possibilities. The readings all have a mystical air, but they express the mystic vision in a variety of ways. We can encounter the Living God through revelation and transformation, angelic praise, and ethics and spirituality. We are all mystics, if... Read more

Faithful Agnosticism

Last updated on: April 22, 2022 at 5:15 am By Bruce Epperly

Faithful Agnosticism John 20:19-31 The gospels present four different pictures of the days following Jesus’ resurrection. While the original version of Mark ends with the empty tomb and frightened women, Matthew, Luke, and John provide a spiritual travelogue describing the fifty days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. It seems that the early church was content with different versions of the resurrection, based on different experiences and stories from Jesus’ first followers, and the needs and values of different communities and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday of Easter – April 24, 2022

Last updated on: April 17, 2022 at 3:59 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – Second Sunday of Easter – April 24, 2022 Acts 5:22-27; Psalm 150; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31 On one of the two Sundays, often described as “low Sundays,” (the other being the Sunday after Christmas) let the Easter celebrations continue! Let us embrace resurrection along with the challenges that an uncertain, morally ambiguous world presents us. Resurrection is a present and future as well as past reality just as Christmas is as contemporary as each new experience... Read more

Embracing Resurrection without Supernaturalism

Last updated on: April 16, 2022 at 10:41 am By Bruce Epperly

Embracing Resurrection without Supernaturalism There is no getting around Easter if you belong to the Jesus movement. Jesus’ first followers were transformed by their encounters with the Risen Christ. Once fearful, they became courageous; once uncertain, they became confident in that Jesus was unique, the savior of humankind, victorious over sickness, sin, and death. Something happened – something amazing – that changed everything, that raised their dead spirits and energized their lives. The power of the resurrection to transform lives... Read more

The Agnostic Spirit of Holy Saturday

Last updated on: April 15, 2022 at 7:09 pm By Bruce Epperly

During Holy Week, most of us focus on the palms, the passion, and the resurrection, leaping over the wilderness of Holy Saturday. The movement from celebration to desolation and surprising celebration again characterizes not only Holy Week but the realities of a meaningful life. We can’t escape suffering but our suffering is often transformed into joy by surprising events or unexpected insights and experiences. In the shadow of loss, the light of new birth often emerges. For many Protestants –... Read more