Ash Wednesday: Meditations on Beauty and Mortality For Aging Children in a Time of Pandemic Bruce G. Epperly For two years, I have been interviewed retired pastors for my book on adventures in clergy retirement, “The Jubilee Years: Embracing Clergy Retirement.” Although I am now in the Medicare Generation, I often describe myself as being in midlife, provided I live to be 136! (now closer to 137!) Last fall, prior to the emergence of the pandemic, I planned to attend... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday in Lent – February 21, 2021 Bruce Epperly Genesis 9:8-17 Psalm 25:1-10 I Peter 3:18-23 Mark 1:9-15 Lent is a time of spiritual decluttering and creative transformation. We prune the branches so that the light can shine through. We smash the idols that stand in the way of authentic worship and service. We let go what keeps us from experiencing God’s presence in our lives and awaken to God’s new possibilities for us... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Transfiguration of Jesus – February 14, 2021 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 Our scriptures invite us to affirm the mystical aspects of faith. The great religions of the world emerged out of and were sustained by encounters with God. These moments of transcendence radically changed the lives of those who encountered the Holy. They were transfigured, and their experiences gave birth to the faith traditions we celebrate today. Transfiguration comes... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Transfiguration of Jesus – February 14, 2021 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 Our scriptures invite us to affirm the mystical aspects of faith. The great religions of the world emerged out of and were sustained by encounters with God. These moments of transcendence radically changed the lives of those who encountered the Holy. They were transfigured, and their experiences gave birth to the faith traditions we celebrate today. Transfiguration comes... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 7, 2021 Isaiah 40:21-21; Psalm 147:1-11, 20c; I Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39 Today’s readings invite us to look at our lives from a wider perspective and to go from self-interest to world loyalty. Theology and spirituality are intensely ethical in nature. As Archbishop Oscar Romero asserted, spirituality is not just about hearing God in our inner life, but in the suffering of those around us, especially the poor... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany – January 31, 2021 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalm 111 I Corinthians 8:1-13 Mark 1:21-28 In this time of protest, pandemic, and insurrection, today’s readings may seem irrelevant to many congregants. In mainstream and progressive churches, we typically don’t talk about unclean spirits, the authority of prophets, or food sacrificed to idols. We are loathe to establish theological or doctrinal litmus tests; in fact, many of us, even in creedal churches are open... Read more
Third Sunday after the Epiphany (January 24, 2021) Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:5-12; I Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20 Today’s readings need to be understood, as all preaching should be understood, in the interplay of God’s eternal wisdom and the challenges of history. While our lives reach beyond the present moment, including the inauguration and the first days of a new administration in the United States, we cannot preach God’s good news apart from historical consciousness. God is more than the... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Second Sunday after the Epiphany – January 17, 2021 Samuel 3:1-10; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; I Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51 In this season of Epiphany, we seek to be attentive divine revelation in its many manifestations. God is present in every quest for truth and healing. God is working for wholeness in every yearning for wholeness and a better life. There is a good deal of wisdom in congregational humor. There is a bittersweet joke circulated among... Read more
The Baptism of Jesus – January 10, 2021 Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29 Acts 19:1-7 Mark 1:4-11 Today, the focus is water. Water as physical but more importantly spiritual. All life is permeated by water. Water cleanses and refreshes. Water is at the heart of spiritual nourishment and transformation. Water reflects divine wisdom in body, mind, and spirit, and is a medium of salvation. We need hydration and our thirsty spirits need refreshment. We are creatures of water: from 60-70% of... Read more
The Second Sunday of Christmas – From the Cosmic to the Prophetic John 1:1-18 On the Second Sunday of Christmas, our focus will be the reading from Gospel of John. Jesus is not introduced by nation in this passage. Instead, we see the relationship of the Word and Wisdom of God in terms of the embodiment of God’s vision in the ministry John the Baptist and the expectation of the coming Christ, the Messiah, who becomes flesh dwelling within the... Read more
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