Rev. Meg Jenista Kuykendall lives in Philadelphia, PA and is an ordained minister in the Reformed tradition. She earned her M.Div at Calvin Theological Seminary (2008) and her ThM, also at CTS (2019). She spent 15 years pastoring churches in Kalamazoo, MI, and Washington DC. Currently, Meg is studying for her PhD in public theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, with a particular focus on the intersection of political discipleship and pulpit ministry. She balances out her PhD research by reading Sandra Boynton and Mo Willems books with her young son, cooking with her husband, and exploring their new home of Philadelphia.
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
Commentary
Proper 20C
Illustration: The Emperor’s New Clothes is a wonderful parable for explaining the prophet’s task. The prophet is not the only person who knows or notices what is true. The prophet is the one who foregoes pretense and is unafraid to say the quiet part out loud. In the classic children’s story, it is a young…
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Commentary
Proper 19C
The Politics of Babylon Jeremiah is coming at God’s people with every attempt he can think of in hopes of stirring them out of complacency. The emotional appeals run the gamut: grief, anger, provocation, reasoning, coaxing. He sees the people jockeying for power, attempting alliances with this super-power and then another. He observes their systemic…
Jeremiah 18:1-11
Commentary
Proper 18C
Illustration: One of the most delightful challenges of pastoring is attempting answer kids’ questions about God. They are unfiltered and haven’t yet learned the church rules dictating what one can wonder, ask or assert about who God is and how God works in the world. (Maybe this is what Jesus intended when he wished that…
Jeremiah 2:4-13 2025
Commentary
Proper 17C
Kicked When You Are Down Immediately, in chapter two, Jeremiah seems to be working counter one of MLK’s principles of non-violent resistance. That resistance “seeks to win friendship and understanding.” Instead, against the backdrop of Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem, Jeremiah seems to be standing over the people saying, “you know, if you think about it,…
Jeremiah1:4-10 2025
Commentary
Proper 16C
Context I’m spending a bit more time this week on some background information, as well as a potential framing for a series (see below: Illustration) since we are going to be in Jeremiah for much of the late summer and fall. In fact, the book of Jeremiah provides far more in terms of historical context…
Jeremiah 23:23-29
Commentary
Proper 15C
Dreams and Discernment Taken on its own, this text would leave us thinking dreams are a terrible way of knowing the truth. But then consider a couple experiences in the book of Genesis — I’m thinking of both Jacob and Joseph — and the prophet Joel who promises that one day God’s people will “see…
Genesis 15:1-6
Commentary
Proper 14C
Illustration I suppose it’s fair to say that Hebrew Scripture has been in the cultural zeitgeist long enough that its contents are public domain. I mean, I don’t even know who would be qualified to bring a lawsuit on behalf of … Moses? At the same time, I do think you could make a plausible…
Hosea 11:1-11
Commentary
Proper 13C
In Context The book of Hosea levels charges of infidelity against God’s people through an allegory in which Hosea is married to an unfaithful woman. This is compared to Israel’s idolatry, folly, foolishness and unfaithfulness and the bulk of the book is taking up with God’s judgment, punishment and condemnation. Hosea 11 stands out within…
Genesis 18:20-32
Commentary
Proper 12C
Lectionary Connection: This week’s Hebrew Scripture text pairs well as an example of Jesus’ teaching about prayer in Luke 11. Abraham’s brash intervention on behalf of Lot and, by extension, to Sodom is the personification of Jesus’ teaching: “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened…
Genesis 18:1-10
Commentary
Proper 11C
Divine Revelation Genesis 18:1-10 is a duplicate telling of the same information—a technique quite familiar to the reader of Genesis. Note, for example, the double telling of creation. Biblical criticism accounts for this through the naming of various narrative voices in Hebrew Scripture. Leaving that intensive evaluative technique aside for the moment, what we read…
About Meg Jenista