Adventurous Lectionary – The Healing You Need is Here – October 12, 2025 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c and Psalm 111, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19 I have chosen the secondary Hebraic/First Testament passage for this Sunday because I believe it more relevant and universal than the Jeremiah passage in its reflection on the nature of healing and the impediments we put in the way. Sometimes we would do we to follow the counsel, “Keep it simple, stupid,” than get in the weeds... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 5, 2025 Lamentations 1:1-6, Lamentations 3:19-26, Psalm 137, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10 In these troubled times in which the future seems uncertain and the norms we’ve lived by are being undermined by our nation’s leaders, we need to look beyond the present crisis to the deeper realities that undergird the historical process. Our help in ages past is our hope in years to come. At the heart of this... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 28, 2025 Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16, 1 Timothy 6:6-19 , Luke 16:19-31 Today’s readings could be described by the South African phrase, “ubuntu” or “I am because of you” or “we are because of one another.” These passages are relevant in the wake of the apotheosis and demonization of Charlie Kirk, and his influence on white males, who feel left out by our economy and the quest for... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 21, 2025 Jeremiah 8:18-9:1, Psalm 79:1-9, 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13 If you’re looking for a good time from the pulpit, you may want to stay home and go for a hike or watch football this Sunday or opt out of preaching. At first glance, there may be a lot of adventure but there is not a lot of joy in this Sunday’s lectionary readings. The scriptures seem appropriate... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary -The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 14, 2025 Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 Psalm 14 I Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-10 Today’s readings speak of sin and salvation and being lost and finding your way home. They join institutional injustice and idolatry with the healing of persons and nations. They indict our nation as well as yesterday’s Israel and every nation that goes astray. Nations as well as persons can be lost and ours is a time of directionless... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – September 7, 2025 – Pentecost 13 Jeremiah 18:1-11 Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 Philemon 1:1-21 Luke 14:25-33 Today’s readings challenge our economics, and socially-accepted values. These texts turn our accepted US consumerist and capitalist growth and profit values upside down and call us to repentance and sacrificial living. No preacher can feel entirely comfortable reading, writing, or preaching these texts. In some ways, the images of God are both engaging and affirming (Psalm 139) and challenging and problematic.... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 12 – August 31, 2025 Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1,10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16.; Luke14:1, 7-14 As summer ends, those of us who live in the Washington DC area wonder what the future will bring. Troops and ICE agents patrol the city streets, putting at risk law-abiding citizens as well as undocumented residents. Leaders talk glibly about slavery not being all that bad and erasing the bad news of America’s original sin. Universities, the press, and churches... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 11 – August 24, 2025 Jeremiah 1:4-10 Psalm 71:1-6 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17 God makes a way when we perceive no way forward. When we think small, God thinks big. We can expect great things from God and expect great things from ourselves. This week, we ponder God’s providential love that breaks through every barrier and challenges the limitations we – and others – place on our abilities and God’s gifts. God is willing to... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 17, 2025 Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56 Most preachers might hope to be on holiday this week. There is little comfort in the words. Division, persecution, destruction, and punishment are the watchwords. Jesus comes not to comfort but to challenge and agitate. God’s message divides as well as unites, and our interpretations of God’s word can further exacerbate the divisions that threaten to dissolve the... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – August 10, 2025 Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:22-30 Today’s passages challenge the church to become countercultural and to choose values different from our society. To be a place of adventure rather than backward looking. To put justice and healing at the heart of our relationship. Now is the time for change, the scriptures proclaim. Now is the time to get our spiritual and ethical... Read more
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