Rev. Meg Jenista Kuykendall lives in Washington, DC, 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 one-year-old son, cooking with her husband, and enjoying the great city of Washington DC, which she is privileged to call home.
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Commentary
Proper 22A
Textual Comments, Observations and Questions: Some commentators believe that these brief excurses (v. 5-6 and 10-11) signal a later addition to the original text, which could substantiate the lectionary compiler’s choice to excise them from the reading this week. However, getting down to just 10 commands out of all the attitudes, postures, words and actions…
Exodus 17:1-7
Commentary
Proper 21A
Comments, Observations and Questions: Don’t Forget to Remember There is a recent song, written by Ellie Holcomb, entitled: “Don’t Forget to Remember.” The chorus goes like this: “Don’t forget to remember you’re never alone. No matter if you are up high or down low. And as sure as the sun keeps rising above. Don’t forget…
Exodus 16:2-15
Commentary
Proper 20A
The waters of the Red Sea have barely even crashed back together. The victory song has barely even faded off Miriam’s lips. The Israelites have barely even finished filling their canteens at an oasis with twelve springs and 70 palm branches. But out in that desert, the people of God melt into a collective toddler…
Exodus 14:19-31
Commentary
Proper 19A
Over and over again in the story, God refers to the people as His army or His battalion. But they couldn’t have been a very fearsome force. They’ve just spend the last 430 years in slavery. Maybe they got strong building bricks but they would have had a lot of disadvantages. Hard to think that…
Exodus 12:1-14
Commentary
Proper 18A
Comments, Questions and Observations: Of all the strange details of this strange meal, isn’t it a bit odd that God tells the people of Israel, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” As though the…
Exodus 3:1-15
Commentary
Proper 17A
From the banks of the Nile to a parched mountain (the literal translation of Horeb), we find Moses settled into the humble lifestyle of a nomadic shepherd just about as far from Pharaoh’s court as humanly possible. The King James tells us that, as the curtain rises on this scene, Moses is hanging out with…
Exodus 1:8-2:10
Commentary
Proper 16A
Comments, Questions and Observations: On Pharaoh Over time, we’ll see Pharaoh’s heart become hardened, which means that, at some point and in some way, his heart was tender and open. How does a person like that come to the conclusion that having infants murdered and people enslaved and oppressed is a good idea? That seems…
Genesis 45:1-15
Commentary
Proper 15A
After chapters and chapters of third person narration, reading Joseph’s story through someone else’s lens, we might come to this chapter eager to hear how Joseph makes sense of the unfolding events. At last, Joseph lets his brothers know who he is. He tells his own story. He could have told a story about a…
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Commentary
Proper 14A
Patterns of preference and favoritism and jealousy replay themselves with uncomfortable regularity through the history of God’s people. Abraham’s son Ishmael is nearly written out of the story by Sarah’s jealousy. Isaac and Rebekah are #TeamEsau and #TeamJacob accordingly. Jacob shames Leah and honors Rachel. No doubt the ten sons of Leah have noticed Jacob’s…
Genesis 32:22-31
Commentary
Proper 13A
If you are searching Hebrew Scripture for parenting advice, healthy examples of marital bliss … well, you probably shouldn’t. The Bible is not a book about functional families. The Bible, chock full of dysfunctional people, is always the story of a functional God. Jacob’s whole life has been clouded by competition with the twin brother…
About Meg Jenista