The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – April 2, 2017 Bruce Epperly Ezekiel 17:1-14 Psalm 130 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 Lent is a season in which we confront our limitations, sin, and mortality. We are dust and to dust we return, we are finite and our finitude is the source of creativity and fear, we are sinful and sin leads to separation from God, others, and our personal destiny. Yet, during the Lenten season, self-awareness is the... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 26, 2017 I Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 Today’s scriptures are surprising. The unexpected child becomes a leader, we feel safe a trek through the darkest valley, we can live in contrast to the norms of our culture in which the blind can see and the sighted are blind. These scriptures speak of light and darkness, and sight and blindness They are metaphorical in nature, and must... Read more

Winnie the Pooh is a wanderer. Each day is an adventure with no preordained destination. It might be the quest for a honey tree, a conversation with Christopher Robin, a float down the stream, or a journey to the North Pole. Wherever he finds himself, he feels blessed as he rejoices in the wonders of the 100 Aker Wood. Winnie the Pooh trusts the Gentle Providence of life to guide him where he needs to be and whenever he needs... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary -The Third Sunday in Lent – March 19, 2017 Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11;. John 4:1-42 Psalm 95 sets the stage for this week’s readings. Joy, gratitude, and trust characterize the Psalmist’s relationship with God. Singing praise for all that God is and what God has done is at the heart of a holistic faith. Divine providence is at work in the micro and the macro, in the human and non-human worlds. In the spirit of... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday in Lent – March 12, 2017 Genesis 12:1-42; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5; 13-17; John 3:1-17 God’s call is universal and ubiquitous. God is still moving and speaking, and faithfulness to God invites us to be on the move, too! The story of Abraham’s call celebrates forward movement. Despite the brevity of the text and the absence of Sarah as an equal protagonist, the passage points to forward looking spirituality. With Abraham Joshua Heschel,... Read more

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. A Jewish saying counsels that each person should have a note in each pocket. In one pocket, the note should announce “for you the universe was created.”... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday in Lent – March 5, 2017 Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 Lent is the season of simplicity. The season of getting back to basics, to going from the worship of many things to the worship of the One True God. Lent is a season of mindfulness, in which we are invited to practice our own form of the Ignatian Examen or examination of conscience. Lent invites us to ask... Read more

I regularly commune with Abraham Lincoln and the residents of the 100 Aker Wood. Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t hold séances here on Cape Cod, nor do I hear voices from stuffed animals and deceased presidents. But, I do regularly ponder the spirit of Lincoln and my friends from the 100 Aker Wood. Yesterday in my “Words for All God’s Children” aka “Children’s Sermon” at South Congregational Church, UCC, Centerville, Massachusetts, I invoked President Lincoln’s first inaugural... Read more

In the course of writing “The Gospel According to Winnie the Pooh,” I came upon this quote from Star Trek actor George Takei. It captures the spirit of the peaceable realm of the 100 Aker Wood: “One awesome thing about Eeyore is that even though he is basically clinically depressed, he still gets invited to participate in adventures and shenanigans with all of his friends. And they never expect him to pretend to feel happy, they just love him anyway,... Read more

The Transfiguration of Jesus – February 26, 2017 Exodus 24:12-18, Psalm 2, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9 Epiphany blossoms into theophany, the quest for the revealing God leads to a dramatic manifestation of the divine. The doors of our perception are cleansed, as Aldous Huxley asserts, and we see everything as it is – infinite! Moses and Jesus are transfigured and those who witness are filled with awe and, dare we say, terror. Such mystical experiences and divine encounters partake... Read more