CXXVIII Am I My Sibling’s Keeper? (7/31) God said to Cain, “where is your brother, Abel?” And, Cain responded, “I do not know, am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) That is the question, isn’t it? Are we responsible for our siblings’ wellbeing? Do our actions bring beauty or sorrow, and life or death? Do they help or hurt? Of course, we don’t see ourselves as the children of Cain, who killed his brother. We are not responsible for the... Read more
CXXVII What Do You Say to a Burning Busy? (7/30) “Take off your shoes for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Genesis3:5) We are taking a second day with Moses’ encounter with God. Over forty years ago, when I was doing my pastoral internship with George Tolman at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tucson, Arizona, Pastor Tolman reported a curious typo in his sermon, instead of typing “burning bush,” he typed “burning busy.” It... Read more
CXXV Wrestling with God (7/28) Jacob was left alone and wrestled with a person until daybreak. (Genesis 32:24; read Genesis 32:22-32) Jacob wrestled with a divine being and did not let go of this Mysterious Nocturnal Being until he received a blessing. As day began, Jacob’s wrestling partner departed and Jacob goes forth, a new person, but with a limp. These days, many of us are wrestling with God. Our world has changed and we no longer have a sense... Read more
CXXIV. God is in this place! (7/27) Then Jacob woke from his sleep, and said, “Surely God is in this place and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16; read Genesis 28:10-17) Jacob falls asleep and has a vision. Angels everywhere. Angels climbing up from earth to heaven and back again. And then a promise that he will be the parent of a great nation. He will be the recipient of God’s blessing and that blessing will bless others. Upon... Read more
CXXIII I am Your Shield (7/26) God came to Abram [Abraham] in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.” (Genesis 15:1; read 15:16) Abram and Sarai [Abraham and Sarah] have received the promises of God. They will be the parents of a great nation. Yet, they remain childless. How can this promise come true given their current situation? Yet, in their uncertainty and concern that their name will die with... Read more
Go Forth from the Familiar (7/25) God said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land I will show you…I will bless you, make your name great, so you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:1-2) A typographical error can make a difference in meaning or provide new insights into a text. Instead of “go from your country,” I initially typed “grow from your country.” To go and to grow. To go from... Read more
CXXI Where are You? (7/24) And God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) We are beginning a series of reflection on divine-human encounters, revealings of God to mortals like ourselves. In this passage, God encounters the “first” human. The story isn’t about the emergence of homo sapiens, but more likely the emergence of humans complex enough to have conscience and be able to distinguish between better and worse and right and wrong. In the Adam-Eve story, the... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – August 2, 2020 – The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 15; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 13:14-21 In this time of pandemic, we all need a blessing. Many of us are depleted, worn out from zoom and livestream services. Eyes are tired from too many virtual meetings and stressed by constantly having to learn new things and, in this curious time of ministry, tempted to prove ourselves worthy of our salaries in a time when... Read more
CXVII Perpetual Praise (7/22) Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise God as long as I live; I will sing praises to God my whole life long. (Psalm 146:1-2) Most of us don’t come from “praise the Lord” churches. We are more restrained, and yet sometimes we break out in an “Amen” or “Hallelujah” at the goodness of life, at making it through a tough time, at experiencing grace on a dark night, or simply... Read more
CXVI I Call Upon God (7/21) I call upon you, O God, come quickly to me. (Psalm 141:1) Anne Lamott says that three movements of prayer are “wow,” “thanks,” and “help.” Very few of us want to be dependent. We consider independence one of the most important virtues, something to aspire to. Yet, none of us are self-made nor has any one of us made it thus far on our own. There is another virtue, just as important as independence,... Read more
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