The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – July 8, 2018 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 Psalm 48 2 Corinthians 2:2-10 Mark 6:1-13 In this Sunday’s readings, 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. Limitation is the womb of possibility and divine healing can occur even in challenging situations. The words of 2... Read more

“Nobody seemed to know where they came from,” these strangers to the 100 Aker Wood. Rabbit was worried, “We find a Strange Animal among us. An animal of whom we have never even heard before! An animal who carries her family about with her in her in her pocket!” If they stay, no doubt, Rabbit thinks, hordes will flow into the 100 Aker Wood. In his mind, they will overrun the Wood, they’ll change our lives, they may even harm... Read more

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – July 1, 2018 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 Psalm 130 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Mark 5:21-43 Today’s texts invite us to consider the universal need for healing. We need healing of our experiences of loss, of our sense of moral failure, greed, and brokenness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships. We need social transformation and planetary healing. Given the darkness of our national and planetary time, we need to pray for personal, congregational, community, national, and planetary... Read more

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – June 24, 2018 I Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49 Psalm 9:9-20 II Corinthians 6:1-13 Mark 4:35-41 In the storms of life, God is with us. Facing impossible odds, we receive divine guidance and energy. Trusting God, we can do greater things than we can imagine. The impossible becomes possible as we tap the deeper energies of the universe and human agency. Miracles don’t violate the nature’s law; nature’s power and the powers residing... Read more

The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost – June 17, 2018 I Samuel 15:34-16:13 Psalm 20 II Corinthians 5:6-10, 16-17 Mark 4:26-34 Faith is a matter of perception and trust. Faith is a matter of vision. The eyes of faith see more than meets than eye. When we faithful, we begin to see the world from God’s perspective and not just our own. We see the long haul, the moral arc of the universe, as well as the present moment’s challenge. We... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 10, 2018 I Samuel 8:4-20 Psalm 138 II Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-35 Today’s readings center around power and authority. Who or what is our ultimate concern – the One True God or the gods of our own creation? These days, the adulation of political leaders, even among Christians, is widespread. False has become true, and truth has become false, as partisans affirm their own alternative facts. Christian leaders disregard... Read more

I was raised in small town America, where Memorial Day meant parades, flag waving, flowers at the cemetery, and honoring of those who died in service to our nation. It was the Eisenhower era and we were patriotic, but not jingoistic. We loved our nation, but we recognized that others loved their nations as well. We waved the flag, and affirmed that America was at its best when we worked together for a common cause that transcended our race and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 3, 2018 I Samuel 3:1-1 Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 Mark 2:23-3:6 Today’s readings are about divine revelation in space and time. The world is God-filled, yet some times and places, and some persons, more fully reveal God than others. Some persons seem more permeable to divine inspiration, or perhaps are more attentive to it. The church can be a laboratory of revelation, where people anticipate God showing... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Trinity Sunday/The First Sunday after Pentecost– May 27, 2018 Isaiah 6:1-8 Psalm 29 Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17 Today’s readings invite us to experience the mystical presence of God, revealed in creation, our inner lives, and the call to mission. Progressive Christians typically don’t lift up the paranormal or mystical. We see such experiences as other-worldly, detracting from our need to respond to the messy social and political challenges of our time. Rooted in the earth, we... Read more

Pentecost Sunday – May 20, 2018 Acts 2:1-21 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 104:24-34, 35b Romans 8:22-27 John 15:25-26, 16:4b-15 Get ready for an adventure! Strap on your seat belt, put on your helmet, and get ready for a mighty wind or a persistent calling! Today, we celebrate the lively Spirit of God, blowing freely and wherever God wills, God’s gentle and occasionally wild presence, that transforms our lives and communities, breaks down barriers, and gives life to weary and uncertain persons... Read more