The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – July 23, 2017 Genesis 28:10-19a Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Today’s readings proclaim that he world is chock full of divinity. You can encounter the holy in the most unlikely places. Thin places, joining heaven and earth, abound for those for whom the doors of perception have opened. Life is messy, but it can be spiritually full in all its complexity when we open our senses to... Read more
CIII God’s Steadfast Love Endures Forever (7/9) Praise the Lord! Give thanks to God for God is good; for God’s steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 106; read Psalm 106:1-5) God’s steadfast love endures forever! Forever! Life is change, nations rise and fall, leaders come and go, even the Coronavirus is temporary. It will pass. But, within all things, the moral and spiritual arc of God’s presence moves, undefeated, though at times obstructed by human pretense and pride. People often say... Read more
CII Living with Integrity (7/8) I will walk with integrity in my heart. (Psalm 101:2) Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, in his embrace of the totality of his life and his hospitality toward others. He also grew in integrity and honesty. To be a person of integrity is to have an integrated life in which everything in our lives fits together. Or, as Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard asserted, “purity of heart is to will one thing.” What is the... Read more
CI Loyalty and Justice (7/7) I will sing of loyalty and justice; to you, God, will I sing. (Psalm 101:1) Loyalty to God and justice to our neighbor are profoundly connected. To be loyal to God is to love you neighbor. To be loyal to God is to love God’s world in its wondrous world. Biblical religion does not separate heaven and earth or this life and the next. Our calling is to follow God’s way, shaping our world “on... Read more
C. Make a joyful noise. (7/5) Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth. Worship God with gladness, and come into God’s presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God, and that God made us, and we are God’s. (Psalm 100:1-3. Read Psalm 100 in its entirety.) On the hundredth day of these daily reflections, it is appropriate to focus on Psalm 100. On this hundredth day of our pandemic reflections, we can affirm that life is more... Read more
I must confess that most years the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. From my childhood, I have loved parades, outdoor grills, and fireworks. I never miss the Fourth of July Concert on the Capitol Mall on PBS and these days fireworks on Craigville Beach. But, more than that, I love the marching bands and music of the day – “The Star Spangled Banner,” “God Bless America,” and anything by John Philip Souza. I’m a small town... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 6 – July 12, 2020 Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-12; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Can God work in and through less than optimal situations and ambiguous personalities? Does God’s light guide the uncertain as well as the certain and can even the smallest of beginnings – humblest of initiatives – give birth to great possibilities? Is God at work in our profoundly troubled and ambiguous time, when leaders refuse to lead and the majority of... Read more
XCVIII God, Our Dwelling Place (7/3) God, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. (Psalm 90:1; read the entire Psalm 90.) Psalm 90 contrasts the eternity of God and the fragility of human life. God is everlasting, constantly moving through the universe, spirited, free, and eternal without beginning and end. Alive, dynamic, and yet faithful through every change. In contrast, even the most powerful of us is still mortal. Like sands in an hourglass, so goes the soap... Read more
XCVII Keep Sublime Alive (7/2) The heavens are telling the glory of God, the sky proclaims God’s handiwork. (Psalm 19:1) Each summer, since I moved to Cape Cod seven years ago today, sometime in June, I spy a bumper sticker, declaring “keep sublime alive.” I’m not looking for it, but when I see it each summer, I sigh, “ahhhhh.” When I notice it for the first time in the Craigville Beach Association parking lot, I have a moment of simple... Read more
XCVI God’s Steadfast Love (7/1) I will sing of your steadfast love, O God, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness in all generations. (Psalm 89:1; read Psalm 89 in its entirety) Do you ever sing praises to God? Do you ever chant words of thanks? Or proclaim words of wonder? There are days when life is so wonderful that we can confess, “How can I keep from singing?” There are also dark days when we struggle and... Read more
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