Luke 1:39-56: Magnificat for a Broken World

December 15, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Carolyn Sharp I left St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in New Haven with a soaring spirit. The Lessons & Carols service—quintessentially Anglican worship interweaving Scripture and music—had just concluded. Particularly memorable had been a haunting setting by Roderick Williams of one of the seven Greater Antiphons of Advent: “O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel” (“O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel”). This stunning piece has a dark edginess that beautifully captures what waiting for God can be like.... Read more

John 1:6-8; 19-28: Faith and Fear

December 8, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Thomas Long When Herman Cain, standing knee-deep in seawater, finally conceded what was obvious to the rest of us, that his once full-steam-ahead presidential campaign had indeed hit an iceberg, he fell back on an ancient political tactic: he blamed the iceberg. “These false and unproved allegations continue to be spinned…and in the court of public opinion,” Cain said to his dazed followers, referring to rumors of marital infidelities, “so as to create a cloud of doubt over me... Read more

Mark 1:1-8: God Barges Into Our Lives

December 1, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Michael Joseph Brown Beginnings can be abrupt. Our minds tend to search, often in vain, for the cause or the reason for a movement when, in truth, movements are frequently more the product of a confluence of causes or reasons rather than attributable to just one. (more…) Read more

Mark 13:24-37 – Advent: One of Those Dangerous Religious Ideas

November 24, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Matthew L. Skinner Here comes Black Friday, even earlier than usual. Bell-ringers are appearing outside stores. Advertisers are shifting the consumerism-as-therapy machine into high gear. And Christians say: This is a good time to think about the world falling apart. We’re not trying to be morose. We’re starting Advent. (more…) Read more

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 – Failed Kings and the Good Shepherd

November 17, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Walter Brueggemann In Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Ezekiel ponders a) how his society has come to the disaster of destruction and deportation and, b) how to move forward beyond the disaster. He reflects on the kings in Jerusalem, past and future, and he does so under the metaphor of “shepherd.” The image of “shepherd” is much used in the biblical world for “king,” an image that permits great elasticity in his interpretive commentary. (more…) Read more

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18: The Great Day of the Lord Is Near

November 14, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Walter Brueggemann This poem features extravagant language about a coming time of loss, disaster, distress, and suffering. It is commonly dated to the time before Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading Babylonian empire. While the daring poets whom we call “prophets” could discern the coming danger to the city, most of their contemporaries, ensconced in ideologies of self-regard, did not notice the danger. They simply assumed that as God’s chosen people, all would be well. That situation sounds very... Read more

Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25

November 14, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Walter Brueggemann This week’s text, Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25, features a great dramatic meeting as the culmination of arriving in the land of promise. The Bible thus far has traced the journey of Israel from slavery in Egypt through the wilderness (via Sinai) to the land of promise. The Book of Joshua, in violent detail, has chronicled the way in which the land given by God has been taken by Israel. And now there are decisions to be made... Read more

Jeremiah 31:31-34: The Oracle of Newness

November 14, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Walter Brueggemann Like other prophets before him, Jeremiah has spent ample shrill time and energy on the claim that Israel has systematically and long-term violated the covenant agreement of Mt. Sinai. They have violated the Ten Commandments of Sinai by economic policies that abused the poor, by foreign policy that depended on arms, by theological practice that offended God, and by illusions of privilege before God. Such violation brings with it, so say these poets, severe sanctions, culminating in... Read more

Matthew 22:34-46: On Loving God, Loving Neighbor and #OWS

November 14, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Jaime Clark-Soles I was 17 years old. This was Philosophy 101. There stood Dr. Rob Brady, diminutive in stature, expansive in mind, with a Socratic gleam in his eye and devilish grin on his face. (more…) Read more

Matthew 22:15-22: The Heavy Cost Of Paying “The Emperor”

November 14, 2011 By Odyssey Networks

By Matthew L. Skinner It couldn’t hurt for Jesus to show up and weigh in on America’s current economic and political challenges. It might be helpful if he issued a declaration about who should pay taxes, and how much. Then again, this would likely get him killed all over again. (more…) Read more