Post-Easter, the lectionary always turns to the Book of Acts in lieu of texts from the Hebrew Bible, a reality that I always dislike, but need to accept. I suppose I could merely substitute Hebrew Bible texts, but those of you who follow the lectionary that would be difficult. Hence, I will go with the Acts texts that I have done in the past, but will happily look at again. They offer rich insights into the rise of the early... Read more

Some two decades ago, I was asked to serve as the interim senior minister of a downtown Dallas church where I had been a participant for nearly 18 years; it was 1997. It was an unusual set of circumstances that led a United Methodist Bishop to ask me to perform this task. Three years earlier I had served in a similar capacity at a downtown Ft.Worth church, so I assume that fact is what led the bishop to think of... Read more

You know that Easter is on the near horizon when texts from 2-Isaiah begin to appear, especially texts from the four Songs of the Servant. Today’s pericope constitutes the 3rd servant song, a part of Isaiah’s exploration of the servant of YHWH, who is called to work for God, but remains deeply mysterious concerning clear identity. Though the second song, found in Is.49, explicitly names Israel as the servant (Is.49:3), that is the only time in the four that any... Read more

Today’s text from Jeremiah is certainly one of the most famous of all texts from the Hebrew Bible, given its later application to what was said to be “the new covenant in Jesus Christ” by readers of the New Testament. In fact, not a few of these readers, both ancient and modern, went so far as to say that the “old covenant” (the Hebrew Bible) had been made antiquated and finally useless in the light of the new covenant of... Read more

I have a confession to make. I understand confession is good for the soul, so here goes. I have always found this passage from the book of Numbers completely absurd. Its absurdity is only transcended by what the Gospel of John tried to do with it! Fiery poisonous snakes biting the terrified and complaining Israelites, saved by Moses’s creation and erection of a bronze model of a serpent, leading to John to think of hoisting Jesus up on the pole... Read more

One of the Sundays in Lent is often given over to an examination of the Ten Commandments. In my 2002 book on the famous Ten, I urged all preachers and teachers never to attempt a sermon or lesson that tried to deal with all ten of these complex and rich phrases that have served the West as foundational in so many ways. Such an attempt is doomed to failure; there is simply too much background for each of the ten... Read more

I have been struck, as I have observed the political landscape of my nation over the decades, how much of it seems to be fueled by hypocrisy. I have often taken that fact as a wholly and completely negative one. After all, is not hypocrisy the very antithesis of our necessary and continual search for truth and honesty in our human affairs? Surely we cannot have a peaceful and just society if that society is led by those who say... Read more

If one is reading straight through the book of Genesis, arriving at chapter 17 could easily be seen as a serious letdown. After the delightful and painful narratives of Abram’s boldfaced lies about his wife (Gen.12), after the reiteration of the promise of YHWH in that mysterious scene of smoky fire pot and flaming torch (Gen.15), and after the mess that Sarai makes of the promise of a child to an aging couple that nearly leads to one child’s death... Read more

I am easily old enough to remember 1956. I was ten years old that year, and as a grade school student in Phoenix, AZ, was used to beginning every school day with the Pledge of Allegiance: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” I have not recited that oath for decades, but it still rolls easily... Read more

And now, as Monty Python used to intone, for something completely different. Rather than explore biblical texts, either from the common lectionary or from my own choosing, and connecting those texts, however obscurely at times, to the modern scene, I today wish to become rather more personal. I have been thinking recently of what it means to me to be a grandparent of two delightful and engaging girls, ages 8 and 5, and to be able, even during this interminable... Read more