A dialogue between Piglet and Winnie Pooh points to the fact that adventure can be waiting around every corner. Piglet asks Pooh, “When you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing you say to yourself?” To which Pooh replies, “What’s for breakfast?” He then asks his small companion, “What do you say Piglet?” who responds,” “I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” Pooh thinks a moment and then notes, “It’s the same thing.” Every day can become a... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 7, 2015 I Samuel 8:4-20 Psalm 138 II Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-35 Today’s reading from I Samuel might come with the motto, “the government that governs least governs best.” Dissatisfied with their current political situation, the people demand a king. Both God and Samuel object. Following a more theocratic and libertarian approach, they object to the people’s desire for an intermediary, a human leader, rather than God or a... Read more
The Celts of Scotland and Ireland speak of certain patches of land as “thin places” where heaven and earth, the divine and human, eternity and time, touch one another. Thin places remind us that we are always on holy ground and that God’s Spirit moves temporally and geographically through our lives and the world. Janis Heaphy Durham’s mew book, The Hand on the Mirror: A True Story of Life Beyond Death, witnesses to her experiences of thin places in relationship to... Read more
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. Isaiah’s mystical vision is one of the most powerful witnesses to humankind’s encounter with the divine, or better put, God’s breaking into human life in a life-transforming way. God is always present, moving gently and sometimes dramatically in our lives. Still, there are moments that change everything. As I imagine... Read more
Pentecost Sunday – May 24, 2015 Acts 2:1-21 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 104:24-34, 35b Romans 8:22-27 John 15:25-26, 16:4b-15 Today, we celebrate the lively Spirit of God, God’s gentle and occasionally wild presence, that transforms our lives, breaks down barriers, and gives live to what otherwise might be dead. On the day of Pentecost, a wild spirit encompassed the early Christian movement, shaking everything up and breaking down the barriers that separate humankind. Fire and wind, turning everything upside down, uniting... Read more
The Seventh Sunday after Easter Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 Psalm 1 I John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 Today’s readings are about prayer and alignment with God’s vision. Belief and action are essential to Christian life, and prayer may be the most definitive faith practice. Prayer changes things and leads to world-transforming actions. The reading from Acts is a curious one. It describes the first congregational meeting in church history. Uncertain of who should take Judas’ place among the apostles, the community casts... Read more
The Seventh Sunday after Easter Acts 1:15-15, 21-26 Psalm 1 I John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 Today’s readings are about prayer and alignment with God’s vision. Belief and action are essential to Christian life, and prayer may be the most definitive faith practice. Prayer changes things and leads to world-transforming actions. The reading from Acts is a curious one. It describes the first congregational meeting in church history. Uncertain of who should take Judas’ place among the apostles, the community casts... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2015 Bruce Epperly Acts 10:44-48 Psalm 98 I John 5:1-6 John 15:9-17 Love is at the heart of today’s readings. God is love and God’s love invites us to love in action. Those who love go beyond the ego and its needs and are willing to sacrifice to transform our world and create new communities of love. In the brief passage from Acts, experience trumps orthodox theology. Peter... Read more
The Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 8:26-40 Psalm 22:35-41 I John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 Today’s scriptures are mystical, energetic, and empowering. Angels inspire and divine energy flows, giving life to all creation and fruitfulness to persons of faith. Revelation is unbounded and democratic. The Pentecost spirit is unconstrained and flows to all people. An angel challenges Philip to hit the road. Not knowing exactly what’s in store, Philip nevertheless follows the angel’s guidance and comes upon an Ethiopian yearning to... Read more
A Response to Everyone Belong to God, by Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (Plough Publishing House, 2015) One of my preaching mentors Ernie Campbell once said that “there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who are in God’s hands and know it and those who are in God’s hands and don’t.” Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt made this same affirmation one hundred years ago. He believed Christ is one of us and in Christ’s unity with us, all persons belong... Read more
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