The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 31, 2019 Joshua 5:9-12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Today’s scriptures reflect on the unconditional love of God and the challenges of accepting the “unworthy.” Though we are called to great things, most of us have “sinned and fallen short” of our high destiny, either in small or large ways. This is true of family dynamics as well as individuals. Moreover, the distance between the moral... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday in Lent – March 24, 2019 Isaiah 55:1-9 Psalm 63:1-8 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Today’s readings join grace, challenge, and hope. God is graceful providing us with physical and spiritual nurture. What we need is already around and within us in this Holy Here and Now. Yet, we often – like the children of Israel – feel alone and bereft and forsake divine nourishment for gods of our own choosing, and resources... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday in Lent – February 21, 2016 Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Today’s readings join fear and faith. We are often unsettled by the “breaking news” chronicling gun violence, presidential misconduct, the breakdown of nuclear treaties, violence against the press, and the specter of leaders gaslighting the reality of global climate change. We can also be afraid of the possibilities toward which God calls us and the amazing grace that... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday in Lent – March 10, 2019 Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Romans 109:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13 Today’s readings speak of divine deliverance amid the challenges of life. God is on our side, and when the odds are against us, God comes through, making a way when there is no way. While life holds no guarantees, still God is faithful and responds to our cries for help. Life involves the interplay of call and response,... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany – February 24, 2019 Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; I Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38 Today’s readings join vision, promise, and practice. Our vision of reality – our vision of God’s presence in the world and our lives – shapes our hopes and inspires our practical behavior. How we view the world shapes our values and attitudes toward those with whom we are in conflict as well as in... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany – February 17, 2019 Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; I Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26 Today’s readings are about relationships, finite and infinite. There is a Gentle Providence, quietly arcing through our lives, reminding us that we are all in this together. We are the beneficiaries of gifts we did not earn and our lives are our gifts to the future. We are finite, connected to the Infinite, and in this connection, we... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 10, 2019 Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 138, I Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11 Get ready for a wild ride! Strap on your seat belts and put on your helmet! We’re entering the amazing realm of the Twilight Zone, Narnia, and Hogwarts, an enchanted world, wild and wonderful, where mysticism and miracle, signs and wonders, where God shows up and turns our world upside down. Where God asks, and then empowers... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany – January 31, 2016 Jeremiah 1:4-10 Psalm 71:1-6 I Corinthians 13:1-13 Luke 4:21-30 The adventurous preacher may be overwhelmed the abundance of riches in today’s readings. These readings are a goldmine for theological reflection and practical action, not to mention mysticism and spiritual practice. We have the great love chapter from Corinthians, with its undercurrent of creative agnosticism as essential to healthy relationships, personal, professional, and congregational. We are reminded,... Read more