The Adventurous Lectionary – Second Sunday of Easter – April 12, 2015

Last updated on: April 4, 2015 at 9:26 am By Bruce Epperly

The Second Sunday of Easter Acts 4:32-35 Psalm 133 I John 1:1-2:2 John 20:19-31 Today’s scriptures have too much going on to cover in just one sermon. They could easily be part of a sermon series on practices of Easter. The inspirational preacher needs to be selective about choosing her or his focus among themes such as John’s Pentecost, breath prayer, believers’ authority, forgiveness, doubt and faith, faithful economics, ethical behavior, and confession of sin. John 20:19-31 initially highlights an... Read more

Easter Sunday

Last updated on: March 30, 2015 at 2:48 pm By Bruce Epperly

Easter Sunday Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 I Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark 16:1-8 and John 20:1-18 This is the day that God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! This is the heart of the Easter proclamation – God’s new thing, the divine creativity that brings forth new life with every new day, and that creates life where death appeared triumphant. On Easter Sunday, my practice is to read the passages from both Mark and John and a... Read more

A Naturalistic Resurrection

Last updated on: March 26, 2015 at 2:11 pm By Bruce Epperly

There is no getting around Easter if you belong to the Jesus movement. Jesus’ first followers were transformed by their encounters with the Risen Christ. Once fearful, they became courageous; once uncertain, they became confident in that Jesus was unique, the savior of humankind, victorious over sickness, sin, and death. The power of the resurrection to transform lives can’t be denied by any honest observer. The narratives of Jesus’ resurrection – not to mention the resurrection experiences themselves – has... Read more

Practicing Resurrection in an Ambiguous World

Last updated on: March 25, 2015 at 6:07 am By Bruce Epperly

Affirming the resurrection doesn’t come easy for many of us. Frankly, many of us find it difficult to celebrate life these days. Holy Saturday, the time of uncertainty and waiting, the experience of suspense and the provisional nature of life, seems a far more realistic assessment of the human and cosmic condition than the bursting forth of new life on Easter. Even devout Christians, reflecting on Easter Sunday, struggle for a realistic and life-transforming message to affirm. According to Jesus’... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Palm and Passion Sunday – March 29. 2015

Last updated on: March 22, 2015 at 9:05 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – Palm and Passion Sunday – March 29. 2015 Bruce G. Epperly Mark 11:1-11 Philippians 2:5-11 Mark 14:1-15:47 (or 15:1-47) Palm Sunday is a challenging holy day in the life of the church. Many congregations join palms and passion, hoping to counteract diminishing attendance at Holy Week services. It is believed that folks need to experience the Cross before the ecstatic celebration of Easter. Apart from experiencing Christ’s suffering, Easter lacks gravitas and promotes an unrealistic prosperity... Read more

Reclaiming Good Friday: Salvation without Divine Violence

Last updated on: March 19, 2015 at 8:51 pm By Bruce Epperly

What do you do with Good Friday and the Cross when you’ve abandoned the centrality of the doctrines of substitutionary atonement and the divine necessity of Jesus’ death? Like many progressive Christians, I grew up hearing the mantras “Jesus died for our sins,” “Jesus died so that we might have eternal life and escape God’s wrath,” “Jesus paid the price for our salvation,” and “sin deserves death and Jesus stood in our place.” Recently, I saw a billboard with the... Read more

Mary as One of Us: A Conversation with Denise Bossert’s Gifts of the Visitation: Nine Spiritual Encounters with Mary and Elizabeth.

Last updated on: March 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm By Bruce Epperly

In her new book, Gifts of the Visitation, Denise Bossert chronicles her adventures in discovering the role of Mary as a spiritual guide and model for her own spiritual formation. Her journey takes her from evangelical Protestantism to an orthodox understanding of Roman Catholicism. Along the way, she encounters Mary as a unique spiritual figure, divinely chosen and yet freely human. I am perhaps an interesting commentator on Mary’s role in the spiritual life and Bossert’s engaging text. I appreciate Denise... Read more

The Grace of Interdependence: A Response to Jamie Arpin-Ricci’s ‘Vulnerable Faith’

Last updated on: March 17, 2015 at 5:58 pm By Bruce Epperly

As a child growing up in the Salinas Valley in California, I grew up singing that grand evangelical hymn “Just as I Am,” popularized by the Billy Graham Crusades. Jamie Arpin-Ricci’s Vulnerable Faith brought me back to the revival meetings and evangelical theology of our small town Baptist church. While I no longer hold the theology of my childhood, there is still much truth in the hymn’s recognition that we are lost apart from grace. That’s the point of Vulnerable... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – March 22, 2015

Last updated on: March 15, 2015 at 8:38 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – March 22, 2015 Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 51:1-12 Hebrews 5:5-10 John 12:20—33 What is it like to have God’s law written on our hearts? For most of us, there is a dissonance between God’s vision and our behaviors and attitudes. Often God appears as an external agent, ready to judge us for our imperfections or as the voice of conscience alerting us when we’ve gone astray. Jeremiah promises a different kind... Read more