Adventurous Lectionary – First Sunday in Lent – March 6, 2022

Last updated on: February 24, 2022 at 5:57 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday in Lent – March 6, 2022 Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13 Today’s readings speak of divine deliverance amid the personal and political challenges of life. As I write this morning, the news that Russia is bombing Ukraine in preparation for an invasion is headline news. I wonder how these passages, describing God’s deliverance of Israel would be read. Would they provoke disbelief or inspire solace and strength? The chapters... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany – February 20, 2022

Last updated on: February 11, 2022 at 10:51 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany – February 20, 2022 Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; I Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38 Good theology involves the interplay of vision, promise, and practice, and you can see this interplay in today’s readings. Our vision of reality, our theological perspective – our vision of God’s presence in the world and our lives – shapes our hopes and inspires our practical behavior. Living by that vision inspires us to... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 6, 2022

Last updated on: February 4, 2022 at 7:49 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 6, 2022 Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 138, I Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11 Get ready for a wild ride! Strap on your seat belts and put on your helmet! We’re entering the amazing realm of the Twilight Zone, Narnia, the Lord of the Rings, and Hogwarts, an enchanted world, wild and wonderful, where mysticism and miracle, signs and wonders, where God shows up and turns our world upside down. Where... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 13, 2022

Last updated on: February 4, 2022 at 7:41 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany – February 17, 2019 Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; I Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26 Today’s readings are about relationships, finite and infinite. The Infinite gives birth, guidance, and hope to the finite. The whole earth is full of God’s glory and all creatures are words of God. There is a Gentle Providence, quietly arcing through our lives, reminding us that we are all in this together. We are the beneficiaries of gifts... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany – January 30, 2022

Last updated on: January 21, 2022 at 3:45 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany – January 30, 2022 Jeremiah 1:4-10 Psalm 71:1-6 I Corinthians 13:1-13 Luke 4:21-30 Today’s readings present numerous and almost overwhelming possibilities for the adventurous preacher. These readings are a goldmine for theological reflection and practical application, not to mention the possibilities to reflect on mysticism and spiritual practice. We have the great love chapter from Corinthians, with its integration of sacrificial love with an undercurrent of creative agnosticism as essential... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Third Sunday after the Epiphany – January 23, 2022

Last updated on: January 15, 2022 at 12:18 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany – January 23, 2022 Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19 I Corinthians 12:12b-31 Mark 4:14-21 Epiphany is the season of divine inspiration – in scripture, in the heavens and the non-human world, in our personal gifts, and in the life of the church. Epiphany stretches revelation beyond the church building and Christianity to embrace the Whole Earth. Revelation is relational and not just private. Though we may experience God’s presence in the depths of... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday of Epiphany – January 16, 2022

Last updated on: January 7, 2022 at 10:59 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary -The Second Sunday of Epiphany – January 16, 2022 Isaiah 62:1-5 Psalm 36:5-10 I Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11 Epiphany is the season of illumination and vocation. Revelation leads to gift-giving and the discovery of our gifts as God’s companions in healing the earth. The season of Epiphany begins with celebrating the gifts of the magi, continues with God’s gift of grace, affirmed through Jesus’ baptism, and focuses this Second Sunday of Epiphany on God’s vocational gifts bestowed... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Baptism of Jesus – January 9, 2022

Last updated on: January 2, 2022 at 3:03 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Baptism of Jesus – January 9, 2022 Isaiah 43:1-7 Psalm 29 Acts 8:14-27 Luke 3:15-17, 21-26 This first Sunday of Epiphany, the Baptism of Jesus, reminds us to remember our baptisms. The scriptures delight in water images and see water as a manifestation of divine presence. Water gives life both physically and spiritually and while baptism is a visible sign of God’s grace, it also points beyond itself to the universality of divine love. God’s... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Feast of Epiphany/Epiphany Sunday – January 6 or 9, 2022

Last updated on: January 1, 2022 at 11:21 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Feast of Epiphany/Epiphany Sunday – January 6, 2022 or January 9, 2022 Matthew 2:1-15 Pilgrimages take many forms. They can take you to Via Santiago, Mecca, Iona, or you can take a pilgrimage without leaving town. We need to move spiritually and sometimes physically in order to align ourselves with God’s moral arc. As Augustine says, it will be solved in the walking, and when we walk in faith our world expands and we see... Read more