(Lectionary for July 16, 2017) Today begins the tragi-comic tale of Jacob and his children that takes up fully half of the book Genesis. Frederick Buechner has a novel based on this story called Son of Laughter. I commend it to you, since Buechner is an extraordinarily fine writer with rich insights into this familiar material. One thing about the novel that is to me not so fine is its over-seriousness. Yes, this is the Bible, and it is of... Read more

My NRSV Bible, as yours I imagine, heads every section of the biblical account with an italicized introduction. These at times can be quite fanciful and roundly misleading. The one that precedes our lection for today is straightforward and correct in my judgment. It reads: “The Coming Ruler of God’s People.” Of course, in prophetic biblical terms the “when” of the ruler’s coming is completely unknown, and is thoroughly swallowed up in the description of just “what” this coming ruler... Read more

 (Lectionary for July 9, 2107) There are few occasions in the saga of Genesis where the reader may breathe a deep sigh of relief, an opportunity to cease for a time keeping a wary eye on the shady and ironic dealings of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel. We may stop at the well in Nahor along with Abraham’s faithful servant and watch with great pleasure as the beautiful virgin Rebekah fulfills all the hopes of the anxious servant by... Read more

More monumental foolishness and dangerous demagoguery are uttered on July 4 in this country than on any other day of the year. Politicians elbow one another out of the way to spew all manner of patriotic gibberish, one upping one another as they troll for popularity and votes from hot-dog munching, coke-drinking or beer-swilling ordinary folks, glad for the day off. Millions of our fellow citizens are coated with blather about “the greatest country on earth,” “the last best hope... Read more

( Lectionary for July 2, 2017) One of the very first sermons I published for all to see used this text as its inspiration (see my first book, Preaching Old Testament, 1988). I had preached that sermon several times in various ecclesiastical settings and had without fail received very positive responses from many of the listeners. It is without doubt an extremely dramatic tale, climaxing with that terrifying knife suspended over the throat of the helpless Isaac, stopped in the... Read more

Since I have ended my screeds against Donald Trump, based on biblical characters, which I called “The Bible As Mirror,” I have decided to use the alternate first readings from the Hebrew Bible that the Revised Common Lectionary offers each week as springboards to more random thoughts (no, not the “deep thoughts” of SNL’s Jack Handy, I hope!) that the texts suggest to my aging brain. These readings are designed to follow the “complementary historical tradition of thematically pairing the... Read more

(Lectionary for June 25,2017) Last week’s lection gave us the serio-comic scene of the birth of Isaac (“laughter” in Hebrew) to the prune-faced couple, Abraham and Sarah. Indeed, the story of the promise of the birth and the birth itself ended with Sarah crowing quite publically, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me” (Gen. 21:6)! Unfortunately, the laughter does not last, as the near inevitable rivalry between the two sons of Abraham too soon... Read more

Over the past months, since the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the USA, I have combed the Bible for figures and ideas that reminded me of the new president, especially with regard to his deficiencies, which I find obvious and myriad. I discovered that it was rather like shooting fish in a barrel to find analogous persons and books—from the couple in the Garden of Eden to Jephthah to Reheboam to the book of Revelation. As I... Read more

  The figure of Samson in the Hebrew Bible presents a portrait more influenced by lore than by careful reading of the text in the book of Judges. Two operas, based somewhat loosely on the biblical tale, make the point. In Handel’s “Samson,” (1743) the titular hero is presented as already blinded due to the treachery of his wife, Delilah. In the second act of three, she tries to convince Samson that she is sorry for what has happened to... Read more

(Lectionary for June 18, 2107) I first must apologize for my failure to write for the first Sunday after Pentecost, missing the wonderful first creation story of Genesis 1. Ironically, while I was not writing my usual lectionary blog, I was speaking to a group of folks on retreat about—you guessed it—Gen.1, among other useful and at the same time dangerous biblical passages that address the environment. Indeed, Gen. 1:26-28 has been used over the centuries as a club with... Read more