The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday of Advent – December 7, 2014 Psalm 40:1-11 Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 2 Peter 3:8-15a Mark 1:1-8 Make haste! A way is being made! The Holy One is coming! Perhaps God’s revealing one is already here. God comes to save and heal. Let us open our hearts to God’s new age. Isaiah 40 continues the theme of preparation, characteristic of the Advent season. Something wild is about to happen, something that will change everything,... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday of Advent – November 30, 2014 Isaiah 64:1-9 Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 I Corinthians 1:1-9 Mark 13:24-37 Advent is a season of awe and wonder. It is a time of waiting, not just for Jesus’ birth, but for the transformation of our lives and the world. Advent reflects the unfinished nature of creation. God brought forth an unfinished universe, requiring our participation in its ongoing history. Jesus the Christ came to earth, healed the... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost – November 16, 2014 Judges 4:1-7 Psalm 123 Philippians 5:1-11 Matthew 25:14-30 Today’s passages are challenging to those preachers who wish to include all four readings in worship. If you read the Old Testament/Hebraic scriptures, you must preach about them. Otherwise, you may perpetuate unhealthy and problematic images of God. The parable of the talents is a reminder that opening to divine possibility, even when it means the risk of novelty, awakens... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – November 9, 2014 – Pentecost 22 Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Psalm 78:1-7 I Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 Today’s readings focus on the practical implications of following the one true God. The objects of our faith shape our character and relationships with others. Believing in God isn’t enough; the type of God who commands our loyalty may be a matter of life and death. Theology, accordingly, is essential to the life of faith as a way of affirming... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – November 2, 2014 – Pentecost 21 Joshua 3:7-17 Psalm 1071-7, 33-37 I Thessalonians 2:9-13 Matthew 23:1-12 Today’s scriptures paint various pictures of God’s involvement in the raising up of leaders and in institutional and corporate decision-making. Does our image of God include or exclude those who differ from us, or create the possibility of persecution and genocide? Does our vision of God shape our vision of leadership in the church, home, and nation? The reading from... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – October 26, 2014- Pentecost 20 Deuteronomy 34:1-12 Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Matthew 22:34-46 Today’s readings point us beyond the individual self to identification with God’s Self and the well-being of others. Letting go of the small ego and its interests awakens us to the grandeur of the universe. Surpassing self-interest is the gateway to peace and to adventure in companionship with God. “I have been to the mountaintop; I have seen the Promised Land.”... Read more

We are a society dominated by worry. In many ways, North Americans have never been more affluent, protected, and secure. Yet, no people have been more preoccupied by weather worries, despite the warmth of our homes and availability of weather predictions. Germs terrify us despite better hygiene and greater longevity than previous generations. Parents are fearful for their children’s safety even in the front yards of their safe communities. With mortality comes risk, but are our worries inordinate? Fear is... Read more

When I received my copy of Jan Johnson’s Taste and See: Experiencing the Stories of Advent and Christmas for the Patheos Book Club, I did a double take – Advent and Christmas already! Of course, as an earnest senior pastor, aiming at balancing excellence and stress reduction in my ministry and the ministry of our congregation, South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in the village of Centerville on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, I had already met with my pastoral colleagues to... Read more