The Adventurous Lectionary for August 3, 2014: Wrestling with Jacob

Last updated on: August 1, 2014 at 3:13 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections for August 3, 2014 – The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 32:22-31 Psalm 17:1-7, 15 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 13:14-21 Encountering the Holy One can leave you feeling wounded as well as blessed. Jacob wrestles with a nocturnal stranger whom he believes to be God, refuses to give up, and receives both a blessing and a limp. Jacob is particularly sensitive to the Holy. Despite his ambiguous business dealings, there is something about Jacob that pushes him beyond the... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary for July 27, 2014 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Last updated on: July 18, 2014 at 4:32 pm By Bruce Epperly

Does God give us what we want? Does God speak personally to us, inviting us to share our deepest desires and then receive our heart’s desires? Does God truly reach out intimately to us, inviting us to deeper levels of faith? Read more

Big Enough Desires? Reflections on Jen Pollock Michel’s “Teach Us to Want”

Last updated on: July 16, 2014 at 1:02 pm By Bruce Epperly

Jen Pollock Michel’s Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition, and the Life of Faith is an honest and insightful book, born of her own experience of responding to the legion of desires characteristic of daily life as a mother, spouse, and professional seeking to be faithful to God’s call. She invites us to explore the deepest desires of our hearts, to examine the relationship between what we want and God’s vision for us, and affirmatively recognize the power of desire,... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary for July 20, 2014: Genesis 28:10-19a

Last updated on: July 15, 2014 at 7:22 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – July 20, 2014 Genesis 28:10-19a Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The world is chock full of divinity. You can encounter the holy in the most unlikely places. Thin places, joining heaven and earth, abound for those for whom the doors of perception have opened. Life is messy, but it can be spiritually full in all its complexity when we open our senses to divinity within and beyond us. ... Read more

On Families and Faith: A Response to Mary Eberstadt’s “How the West Really Lost God”

Last updated on: July 8, 2014 at 2:57 pm By Bruce Epperly

Our congregations should make families key to our ministries, but we should support the health of families regardless of their constitution. Read more

Saints Everywhere: On Brandon Vogt’s “Saints and Social Justice”

Last updated on: July 2, 2014 at 12:04 pm By Bruce Epperly

Although I am a progressive Protestant and by inclination feel some discomfort in setting apart certain people as saints, I found Brandon Vogt’s Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World is an inspiring book. While many of the stories of saints belong more to legend than fact, what shines through is that certain people answer the call of God and devote their lives to transforming our world so that it reflects the values of God’s realm of... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – July 6, 2014 – Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Last updated on: June 30, 2014 at 2:46 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections for July 6, 2014 Romans 7:15-25a Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 “Come to me all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” These authoritative words from Jesus serve as God’s response to Paul’s, and our own, inner turmoil and ethical angst. Jesus speaks out of his unique relationship with God to provide us with wisdom and guidance as we seek to follow God’s path in our lives. The Apostle Paul’s words could be... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary: June 29, 2014

Last updated on: June 25, 2014 at 12:20 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflecions for the Third Sunday after Pentecost June 29, 2014 Genesis 22:1-14 Psalm 13 Jeremiah 28:5-9 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 This week’s stories are all challenging. We need to take exception to the story of Abraham and Isaac to be faithful to the God of grace. Following Christ is ultimately about a life-giving lifestyle, not violence or fear. To be honest, I am unsure what to do with the passage related to Abraham and Isaac. Though we can see... Read more

Relativity and Revelation: Responding to Samaa Habib’s “Face to Face with Jesus”

Last updated on: June 20, 2014 at 5:30 pm By Bruce Epperly

Samaa Habib’s Face to Face with Jesus: A Former Muslim’s Journey to Heaven and Encounter with the God of Love is a fascinating spiritual autobiography, describing one person’s encounter with the holy. It is a highly personal book with universal ramifications. It is highly particularistic and sectarian, yet it also has an unexpected globalism. Like a growing number of spiritual autobiographies, Habib’s text describes a “near death experience” in which she encounters the divine. In this case, she sees the... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary for June 22, 2014

Last updated on: June 16, 2014 at 12:53 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections for the Second Sunday After Pentecost – June 22, 2014 Genesis 21:8-21 Psalm 81:1-10, 16-17 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:24-39 God is faithful and invites us to look beyond our own resources and self-interest to a larger vision of life. When trouble surrounds us, we are not alone; God is with us. These affirmations burst forth from today’s lectionary readings. The Old Testament reading tells of the rescue of Hagar and Ishmael. Banished to the wilderness by Sarah and... Read more

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