The Adventurous Lectionary -The Third Sunday in Lent – March 4, 2018 Exodus 20:1-17 Psalm 19 I Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22 Today’s readings focus on relationships, with God, humankind, and the non-human world. The readings embody a holistic faith joins theology, ethics, spirituality, economics, and public policy. They suggest that religion and politics really do mix, but in ways that challenge liberals and conservatives alike. While the Hebraic wanderers lived under the rule of a proto-theocracy, their understanding of the... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday in Lent – February 25, 2018 Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22:23-31 Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-38 What is the nature of God’s relationship with the world? Is God aloof and unchanging? Is God domineering, acting unilaterally and robbing creation of agency? Or, is God’s relationship relational and loving, promoting maximal freedom and creativity in the created world? While God initiates the covenant with humankind, the covenant involves an ongoing call and response in which... Read more

This past year, I turned sixty-five and am now receiving Medicare. Social Security and pensions are on the horizon. Baby boomers are discovering their mortality. For a while, we lived in the garden, never expecting to grow old, hoping that the “better living through chemistry” that inspired spiritual adventures in the 60’s and 70’s will continue with medications be our fountain of youth now that we are in our 60’s and 70’s. Life is beautiful, but often too short. A... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday in Lent – February 18, 2018 Bruce Epperly Genesis 9:8-17 Psalm 25:1-10 I Peter 3:18-23 Mark 1:9-15 Lent is a time of creative transformation. We let go what keeps us from experiencing God’s presence in our lives and awaken to God’s new possibilities for us and our communities. During Lent, we need to repent, turn around, and move from deathful behaviors to life-supporting actions and attitudes. Today’s readings can take a preacher and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Transfiguration of Jesus – February 11, 2018 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 Today, with rock singer-songwriter Van Morrison, our scriptures invite us to sail into the mystic. All the great religions of the world emerged out of encounters with God, that radically changed the lives of those who encountered the Holy. They were transfigured, and their experiences gave birth to the faith traditions we celebrate today. Transfiguration comes in many... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 4, 2018 Isaiah 40:21-21 Psalm 147:1-1l, 20c I Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39 Today’s readings invite us to look at life from a wider perspective and to go from self-interest to world loyalty. Theology and spirituality are intensely ethical in nature. As Archbishop Oscar Romero asserted, spirituality is not just about hearing God in our inner life, but in the suffering of those around us, especially the poor and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – February 4, 2018 Isaiah 40:21-21 Psalm 147:1-1l, 20c I Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39 Today’s readings invite us to look at life from a wider perspective and to go from self-interest to world loyalty. Theology and spirituality are intensely ethical in nature. As Archbishop Oscar Romero asserted, spirituality is not just about hearing God in our inner life, but in the suffering of those around us, especially the poor and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany – January 28, 2018 Bruce Epperly Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalm 111 I Corinthians 8:1-13 Mark 1:21-28 Today’s readings may seem irrelevant to many congregants. In mainstream and progressive churches, we don’t spend a lot of time talking about unclean spirits, the authority of prophets, or food sacrificed to idols. We seldom establish theological or doctrinal litmus tests; in fact, many of us, even in creedal churches are open to a variety of... Read more

Third Sunday after the Epiphany Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62:5-12 I Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 All things flow. The historical process moves onward and, as Heraclitus of Ephesus once noted, you can’t step in the same waters twice. In fact, they are new waters even as you dip your toes in for the first time. The author of Lamentations had a similar image in mind, when he proclaimed that God’s mercies are new every morning. Today’s lectionary readings invite us... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Second Sunday after the Epiphany – January 14, 2018 Samuel 3:1-10 Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 I Corinthians 6:12-20 John 1:43-51 There is a good deal of wisdom in congregational humor. There is a bittersweet joke circulated among members of my denomination, the United Church of Christ. When we proclaim in the spirit of one of our key statements that “God is still speaking,” usually someone responds with a bit of irony, “But is anyone listening?” As members... Read more