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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.
Isaiah 35:4-7
Commentary
Proper 18B
Is the Anger of God Good News? All the way back in Isaiah 27, the sword of the Lord’s wrath is brought out. We are told in verse 4 that thorns and briers will war against Israel’s enemies, that unless there is peace, God will bring judgment. All of these images are picked back up…
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Commentary
Proper 17B
Commentary: Hear and Live “Hear” is a key word in all of Hebrew Scripture, most notably in the Shema, which is the central prayer of Judaism. Perhaps Christians might think of it also as a credal formulation. It goes like this: “hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love…
Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18
Commentary
Proper 16B
Worship Idea: This reading from Hebrew Scripture is a key example of the ancient near-eastern tradition of covenant renewal. It comes at a wonderful spot on the calendar as students in many places are returning to the classroom and folks are finding the rhythm of the school year again. This is a great time to…
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Commentary
Proper 15B
Sermon Illustration: This might work well in the space of a children’s sermon because (speaking from personal experience) kids spend more time dreaming of what they would do with magical wishes in a way that adults — with home repairs, deadlines at work, kids dental work to save for — have moved past. If a…
1 Kings 19:4-8
Commentary
Proper 14B
Sermon Illustration: During the recent Paris Olympics, I was reminded again of the acronym: G.O.A.T., which stands for Greatest of All Time. While many athletes have claimed the title and a few of them have even earned it, I think the GOAT-iest GOAT in sports is American gymnast, Simone Biles. Her gold medals in Paris…
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13
Commentary
Proper 13B
It’s possible you got to the end of last week’s text deeply dissatisfied. Uriah, for all his integrity, is dead. David, for all his duplicity, has gotten his way. If this were the end, we might despair of justice and righteousness but, as it turns out, last week’s ending was just the cliff-hanger in a…
2 Samuel 11:1-15
Commentary
Proper 12B
Previously, in the Life of David… Before we proceed and in order that we can proceed well, it’s important to review where we’ve been in the life of David. When last we met our hero, he had wanted to build a temple for God’s dwelling place. Although it wasn’t the right move, we can easily…
2 Samuel 7:1-14
Commentary
Proper 11B
Spoke Too Soon In last week’s Old Testament reading, we had a shocking example of how politicians and public figures can use the Name of the Lord in vain, using it to baptize their causes and leadership. This week’s text is far more subtle but, in a sense, the transgression against the 3rd commandment remains. …
2 Samuel 6:1-19
Commentary
Proper 10B
Comments, Observations and Questions: There is a lot going on in these not-quite-20 verses of King David’s story. The pieces feel disparate but if you sting them together in the right way, you may actually find a somewhat convincing tale of failure —> redemption or sin —> salvation. Why Now? In at least one commentary,…
2 Samuel 5:1-10
Commentary
Proper 9B
Whose Idea? Something that ties together the two mini-texts within our larger lectionary reading for this week is the idea of Divine-human cooperation. In the first case, we knew long ago (all the way back in 1 Samuel 16) that God had chosen David to serve as the next king of Israel. But Saul (the…
About Meg Jenista