Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 15 – September 1, 2024

Last updated on: August 27, 2024 at 8:48 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 1, 2024 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. They invite us to have loving and beautiful spirits, reflected in loving and beauty-promoting actions. They join appreciation with action and romance with reformation. Love has many dimensions, all interdependent... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 14- August 25, 2024

Last updated on: August 18, 2024 at 3:49 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 14 – August 25, 2024 I Kings 8:22—30, 40-41; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69 This week, I am focusing primarily on Ephesians 6:10-20. We live in a dark time, a time of political turmoil, in which the worst angels of our nature at work in our nation’s politics, our churches, and world affairs. Sadly, whether in the USA, Russia, Middle East, these dark angels are often provoked by persons acting in accordance with their... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 13 – August 18, 2024

Last updated on: August 11, 2024 at 11:21 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 18, 2024 I Kings 2:10-12; 3:13-14; Psalm 111; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58 Give me a heart of wisdom! Give our leaders a heart of wisdom! Give our political candidates a heart of wisdom! Wisdom seems hard to come by in our personal lives and the body politic that reflects our values. When we critique the state of the American political scene, we best look in the mirror: we ourselves need... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 12 – August 11, 2024

Last updated on: August 4, 2024 at 5:27 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 11, 2024 2 Samuel 8:5-9, 15, 31-33 Psalm 130 Ephesians 4:25-5:2 John 6:35, 41-51 Today’s passages join challenge, hope, and grief. They join deep emotion with deep faith. We often live in the depths, feeling God-forsaken. They also counsel behaviors that edify rather than tear down, which is especially important in this time of vitriol and incivility, in which politicians thrive on dishonesty and divisiveness. Even with the best... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 11 – August 4, 2024

Last updated on: July 28, 2024 at 7:30 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost – August 4, 2024 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a Psalm 51:1-12 Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35 This Sunday’s readings focus on the realities of sin and grace. Although God creates a universe of beauty – a very good world – sin is one of the most pressing realities of scripture and our daily lives, both at the personal and communal spheres. Despite the original goodness of life and our own creation in God’s image, wee... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Tenth Sunday of Pentecost – July 28

Last updated on: July 22, 2024 at 12:41 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – July 28, 2024 2 Samuel 11:1-15 Psalm 14 Ephesians 3:14-21 John 6:1-21 This week’s passages encompass the polarities and ambiguities of life. They contrast the duplicity of the powerful with the generosity of the marginalized. They join themes involving the individual and communal, scarcity and abundance, and fallibility and grace. They are spiritual and also intensely political as they call us to go beyond self-interest to world loyalty and scarcity... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Ninth Sunday of Pentecost – July 21

Last updated on: July 13, 2024 at 5:22 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – July 21, 2024 2 Samuel 7:1-14a Psalm 89:20-37 Ephesians 2:11-22 Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 God’s covenant embraces all of us, promising more than we can ask or imagine. How do we best align ourselves with God’s vision of abundant life for us and those we love? How do we open to the sacredness of the present moment and also for the long haul? How do we find peace and healing, calm... Read more

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – July 14, 2024

Last updated on: July 7, 2024 at 7:24 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – July 14, 2024 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 Psalm 24 Ephesians 1;3-14 Mark 6:14-29 Growing up in the early 60’s, I remember tapping my feet to “Do You Want to Dance?” and “Twist and Shout.” Yesterday, as I was on holiday at Chautauqua, a ballet recital ended with “Dancing in the Streets.” Today’s readings query, do you want to dance with God? Does your congregation’s worship inspire passion and ecstasy? Do you come to worship expecting... Read more

Celebrating July Fourth and the Better Angels of Our Nature

Last updated on: July 4, 2024 at 9:34 am By Bruce Epperly

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THE FOURTH OF JULY AND TURNING TO THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE “I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Last updated on: July 2, 2024 at 1:53 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – July 7, 2024 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 Psalm 48 2 Corinthians 2:2-10 Mark 6:1-13 This week, I am focusing on the New Testament passages and their emphasis on the role of faith to transform our lives and enable us to face creatively even those realities that cannot be changed and, as activist Angela Davis asserts, change the realities we cannot accept. Limitation is the womb of possibility and divine healing... Read more