Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 21- October 17, 2021

The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 21 – October 17, 2021 Job 38:1-7, 34-41 Psalm 104: 1-9, 24, 35c Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 Today’s scriptures join the Infinite and the intimate. Divine glory and divine suffering, challenging us to embrace both awe and sacrifice, everlasting life and painful mortality. Job begins and ends in divine conversation. The ambiguous dialogue, “pissing match” between God and HaSatan, morphs into a divine revealing of the universe in its wondrous complexity and a meditation on... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 20 – October 10, 2021

October 1, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – October 10, 2021 Job 23:1-9, 16-17, Psalm 22:1-15, Hebrews 4:12-16, Mark 10:17-31 Today’s passages are challenging in their images of God and human ethics. They are bound to raise questions about God’s nature and intent for humankind, not to mention the consequences of our own practices such as divorce. Can God be fathomed? In the enormity of the universe, we know that our solar system is but a small speck.... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 3, 2021

September 25, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Twentieth Sunday of Pentecost – October 3, 2021 Job 1:1; 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-10; Mark 10:2-16 Today’s passages are problematic in many ways. They present a curious, if not, amoral or immoral image of God. Challenge our acceptance of divorce and portray the necessity of suffering and sacrifice, even by God, for the greater good. This week’s readings begin with a reflection on the prelude to the Book of Job, one of the... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 26, 2021

September 18, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 18 – September 26, 2021 Esther 7:1-6, 9-10: 9:20-22 Psalm 124 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 This week’s lectionary readings focus on the many facets of healing both divine and human. God heals in many ways and through diverse people. There is no one healing path or modality, nor does any particular religious or medical tradition have a monopoly on divine healing. God heals through prayer, but also Prozac, as my friend Dale Matthews says; through... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 19, 2021

September 12, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 19, 2021 Proverbs 31:1-10 Psalm 1 James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Mark 9:30-37 Today’s scriptures are relational in nature and invite us to ponder the dual threads of relatedness, that is, relationship with others and relationship with God. We must examine our relationships to discern whether they are just and life-supporting, whether they add to or detract from the full humanity and wellbeing of others, and whether we are free (as... Read more

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 12, 2021

September 4, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 12, 2021 Proverbs 1:20-33 Psalm 19 James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 Wisdom is at the heart of today’s readings. Transcendent, immanent, and universal Wisdom. Wisdom is the great teacher of humankind whose witness is present not only in the words of a teacher but in the orderly and creative patterns of the universe and our planet. Wisdom was in the beginning as God’s creative companion, moving through the macrocosm and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 5, 2021

August 27, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 15 – September 5, 2021 Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 Psalm 125 James 2:1-17 Mark 7:24-37 Today’s readings reflect the concern for hospitality and affirmation as essential to faithful living. Despite our struggles to be welcoming, God’s realm breaks down the barriers of friend and stranger and rich and poor and invites us to do likewise. All of God’s children deserve our reverence and respect, regardless of nation of origin, gender and sexual identity, age, race,... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 29, 2021

August 20, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 29, 2021. Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9 James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-18, 14-15, 21-23 Today’s readings celebrate the “beauty of holiness” and the “holiness of beauty” as they join concern for the inner life with care for external behaviors. The join appreciation with action and romance with reformation. Love has many dimensions, all interdependent despite different foci – romance, justice-seeking, care for the vulnerable, and personal integrity revealed in... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost – August 22, 2021

August 13, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 14 – August 22, 2021 I Kings 8:22—30, 40-41; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69 We live in a dark and yet wondrous time. A time of pandemic resurgence, the big election lie and the attempt to overturn the election, incivility, and the politicization and violence surrounding vaccinations and mask mandates. Frankly, a good portion of our nation appears to have gone mad, seduced by superficial understandings of freedom and misinformation regarding science, not to... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 13, 2021

August 6, 2021 By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 15,2021 I Kings 2:10-12; 3:13-14; Psalm 111; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58 This week’s readings focus on the dynamic interplay of divine and human wisdom. God is still speaking, providing insights for the short haul and the far horizons. Human wisdom is grounded in our attentiveness to divine creativity evidenced in the heavens above, the earth upon which we live, and the divine movements in our body, mind, and spirit. Alignment... Read more