Beyond Divine Violence What do you do with Good Friday and the Cross when you’ve abandoned the doctrines of substitutionary atonement and the divine necessity of Jesus’ death? When you affirm that Jesus died because of sinful humankind, not to satisfy the wrath of God toward humanity? Like many progressive Christians, I grew up hearing the mantras “Jesus died for our sins,” “Jesus died so that we might have eternal life and escape God’s wrath,” “Jesus paid the price for... Read more
In his book on survival amid the Holocaust, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl quotes Fyodor Dostoevsky “There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.” In the maelstrom of Maundy Thursday, with violence on the horizon perpetrated by leaders drunk with power and fearful of change, we are given a model for responding to conflict, uncertainty, and suffering with grace, compassion, and love. Maundy Thursday comes the Latin translation of “new commandment”: Jesus’... Read more
Ceasar or Jesus? Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 19:28-40 Good News and Bad News This morning on Palm Sunday, when we live between a celebrative parade and the violence of the cross…With Easter on the far horizon, I will follow the revival preachers of the small town Baptist church of my childhood, and begin with the bad news, and then the sweet good news of God’s love softly and tenderly calling, O sinner come home…O nation come home…O heart be healed and... Read more
Palm-Passion Sunday – April 13, 2025 Bruce G. Epperly The Triumphant Entry Luke 19:28-40 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 The Passion of Jesus Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 23:1-49 Celebration or Passion At the edge of Holy Week, the preacher must ponder whether to lean toward the violence and abandonment of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday or focus on the celebrative spirit of Palm Sunday or attempt a creative synthesis of both. Holy Week is an emotional and spiritual roller... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – April 6, 20025 Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 The Fifth Sunday in Lent is an invitation to gratitude and adventure. God is at work in the world and in the call and response of life is doing a new thing. God makes a way when we see no way and invites us forward beyond the past to be part of God’s new creation. The readings invite us... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 30, 2025 Joshua 5:9-12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 The Season of New Creation Lent is the season of new creation. Lent invites us to simplification, confession, and transformation. Our Lenten spirituality is personal but also communal and global; it involves simplifying and letting go in our personal lives and creating communities of confession, simplicity, and inclusion. The Lenten spirit reminds us that our ability to... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday in Lent – March 23, 2025 Isaiah 55:1-9 Psalm 63:1-8 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Today’s readings join grace, challenge, and hope. Three of the readings mention thirst or water. God is gracefully providing us with physical and spiritual nurture. Living waters and the bread of life are available from God without our efforts. That’s divine socialism and divine DEI. Everyone has a spiritual and economic safety net. What we need is already... Read more
Adventurous Spirituality The Celts were adventurers. They sailed off into unknown lands, sometimes sailing without a rudder, trusting that God would bring them to their place of resurrection, their place of wholeness and vocation. Each day was seen as adventure, filled with danger and possibility. Spirits, good and evil, lurked around every corner and in every grove of trees. So, Celtic travelers often drew a circle around themselves as they began each journey. The circle (or “caim”) reminded them that they... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday in Lent – March 9, 2025 Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Today’s readings join hope, fear, and faith. They mirror our time of struggle and anxiety as the nation seems to be ruled by whim and bullying rather than policy and partnership. Many congregants have seen the nation they loved disintegrate over the past two months, and now see our nation’s leadership as the “bad guys” on the world... Read more
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Empty Tomb and Open Future: Easter Lectionary Commentary
The Adventurous Lectionary – Easter Sunday – April 20, 2025 Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 I Corinthians 15:19-26 John 20:1-18 and Mark 16:1-8 Despite the celebrations that attend the resurrection of Jesus, Easter is a challenge for most preachers. Perhaps more so this year, as we live in a troubled time in which the nation’s leaders seek to undermine the values of Jesus and threaten the sanctuary status of churches. Can we speak of resurrection when the power brokers, even those... Read more