The Adventurous Lectionary – January 1, 2017 – The First Sunday of Christmas Isaiah 63:7-9 Psalm 148 Hebrews 2:10-18 Luke 2:13-23 A new year is upon us. After the revels of the holidays, with extra services and visits, and imaging for the year ahead, I’m taking this Sunday off, leaving it in the capable hands of two colleagues in ministry. Hopefully, it will not be a “low” Sunday, after the “high” of Christmas Eve. Still, I find this passages edifying... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Christmas Eve and Day , December 24/25, 2016 Isaiah 9:2-7 Luke 2:1-12 John 1:1-14 Christmas Eve is a challenge for preachers. And, this year, so is Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is perhaps the best-attended worship service in the Christian year. Family members and visitors who don’t normally attend church show up not only as a matter of obligation to their parents, but also hoping to experience wonder amid the bells, carols, and candle lighting. Self-described spiritual... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday in Advent – December 18, 2016 Isaiah 7:10-16 Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-25 This week I am focusing on Joseph’s Christ-saving dream. While we need not neglect Isaiah’s imaginative vision of a child whose birth will change everything, the Psalmist’s hymn to divine restoration, or Paul’s account of Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises, Christmas is on the horizon and with it the surprising accounts of Jesus’ birth. Today’s Gospel... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Healing the World – Third Sunday in Advent – December 11. 2016 Isaiah 35:1-10 Luke 1:46b-55 James 5:7-10 Matthew 2:1-11 Advent is a time for hopeful transformation. Creation and humankind lean toward wholeness; creation groans and so do we. We imagine a new age – an age of Shalom – despite the realities of war, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, sexism, and polarization. God is at work in all things, restoring the broken, healing the sick, and welcoming... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – December 4, 2016 – The Second Sunday in Advent Isaiah 10:1-11 Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12 Today, we explore radical transformation, guided by God, but brought about by ourselves. I think global history argues against a divine rescue operation. The meek seldom inherit the earth. The wealthy seldom give up power. All revolutions, including our own nation’s, are imperfect works in progress. After two thousand years of false prophesies, expecting a dramatic unilateral second... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday of Advent -November 27, 2016 Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 22, Romans 3:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44 Let us walk in the light of God, so says the prophet Isaiah. With darkness descending in the Northern hemisphere and fears of darkness politically and globally, these words are good counsel. The dark night – whether in terms of weather or the social order – challenges us to embrace God’s enlightened paths. Open to the light, we can see... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – November 20, 2016 – The Reign of Christ Jeremiah 23:1-6, Luke 1:68-79, Colossians 1;11-20, Luke 23:33-43 In many congregations, Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday will be celebrated this Sunday. Pentecost, beginning with the coming of God’s Spirit in its fullness on the Feast of Pentecost, will conclude this Sunday with an affirmation of the universality of Christ’s sovereignty and grace. In a pluralistic age, the image Christ the King, or the Reign... Read more

God all of peoples, we give thanks to you on this Election Day. We thank you for the United States of America, for those who sacrificed their lives and fortunes for our freedoms, for bravery in the quest for human rights, for immigrants who built our nation, and first Americans who welcomed pilgrims from a far off land. We thank you for those who protested injustice, segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. We thank you for suffragettes and freedom riders, for peaceful... Read more

An Election Eve Meditation It would be an understatement to admit that many of us are feeling anxious tonight. We have lived through months of the most contentious presidential election in recent history. We have witnessed bullying, allegations of sexual assault, racist statements, violence at political rallies, and accusations of improper handling of classified information. Some have even questioned, without clear evidence, the foundations of our electoral system – the peaceful transfer of power following an election – and others... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – November 13, 2016 – Pentecost 26 Isaiah 65:17-25 and Isaiah 13 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21:5-19 Today’s lectionary passages seem tailor-made for the Sunday after Election Day. There will be celebration, gnashing of teeth, shouts of jubilation, and complaints of dishonesty. Election days matter – politics matters – both to our well-being and the fate of the earth. Isaiah and Jesus, speaking from very different political contexts, have words of wisdom for us in the wake... Read more