Ash Wednesday is on the horizon. The Season of Lent is upon us. In just a few days, we will gather to place ashes on congregants’ foreheads and embark on the Lenten journey. Lent, Holy Week, Advent, and Christmas are the most challenging seasons of the Christian year for spiritual leaders. During Lent, pastors usually have at least one more service or program each week and often spend extra time visiting shut-ins and giving home communions. We plan extra activities... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday in Lent – February 18, 2024 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. A time of deepening our spirits and challenging everything, personally and politically that stands in the way of experiencing and sharing God’s abundant life. During Lent, we prune the branches of busyness and consumerism so that the light can shine through. We smash the idols of... Read more
Embracing the Tragic Beauty of Ash Wednesday” Ash Wednesday is an opportunity to reflect on the tragic beauty of life. The philosopher Afred North Whitehead asserts that: “At the heart of the nature of things, there are always the dream of youth and the harvest of tragedy. The Adventure of the Universe starts with the dream and reaps tragic Beauty. This is the secret of the union of Zest with Peace: —That the suffering attains its end in a Harmony... Read more
“Embracing the Tragic Beauty of Ash Wednesday” Ash Wednesday is an opportunity to reflect on the tragic beauty of life. The philosopher Afred North Whitehead asserts that: “At the heart of the nature of things, there are always the dream of youth and the harvest of tragedy. The Adventure of the Universe starts with the dream and reaps tragic Beauty. This is the secret of the union of Zest with Peace: —That the suffering attains its end in a Harmony... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Transfiguration of Jesus – February 11, 2024 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 Be transfigured! Become fire, as a North African abbot said to his companion! 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... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 4, 2024 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 and ministry from a wider perspective and to go from self-interest and nationalism to world loyalty. They call us to join the local and the global, to see the finite emerging from the infinite and the temporal rising from eternity. Theology and spirituality are intensely ethical in... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany – January 28, 2024 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalm 111 I Corinthians 8:1-13 Mark 1:21-28 Today’s readings join prophesy, diet and spirituality, and, to top it off, demon possession. Quite a cocktail for preacher and congregation alike! Most of our progressive congregations pay little heed to all three issues. We speak of prophetic faith yet are uncomfortable with people who say they are speaking for God. We go on weight loss programs, but... Read more
Third Sunday after the Epiphany – January 21, 2024 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, they are also rooted in our particular historical situation – of MAGA Christians and white Christian nationalism, the Israeli-Gaza conflict, anti-democracy racist movements in the USA, and the continuing... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Second Sunday after the Epiphany – January 14, 2024 Samuel 3:1-10; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; I Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51 Epiphany is the season of revelation and expansion. The circle of inspiration goes beyond Israel to embrace the whole earth. The circle of divine encounter embraces all faiths and cultures, and includes friend and foe, kin and stranger. In this season of Epiphany, at a time in which xenophobia is on the rise and epidemic in certain... Read more
The Baptism of Jesus – January 7, 2024 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. Water is at the heart of life. We can’s without physical or spiritual hydration. 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... Read more
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