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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.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Commentary
Lent 5B
Comments, Observations and Questions: Hearing “New Covenant” with the Ears of Ancient Israel The Israelites are in exile. The consequences of their disobedience and failure to keep their side of the bargain haunt them everyday — in the foreign language, customs, foods and, most grievously, religions of Babylon. So Jeremiah, who is often called the…
Numbers 21:4-9
Commentary
Lent 4B
The people of Israel have been wandering around in that desert for quite awhile. You know how this goes: slaves in Egypt, they are freed by God’s mighty hand, some plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. They make it to the border of the Promised Land, send in some spies who — with…
Exodus 20:1-17
Commentary
Lent 3B
Must Be Important Here we are, less than 6 months since the last time this text came up in the lectionary reading cycle. You can find my previous commentary here [Mary, can you add hyperlink?] At the least what we should consider when a text comes up more than once in a calendar year is…
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Commentary
Lent 2B
Cutting Out the Covenant Perhaps the compilers of the Lectionary intended a compassionate reprieve for those who might have to explain the meaning of circumcision to their youngest and most inquisitive learners. It is, however, a lamentable omission for two reasons. The first is that it truncates the literary markers of covenant-making, which typically include…
Genesis 9:8-17
Commentary
Lent 1B
Covenants For preachers interested in holding a cohesive theme through Lent, this year’s Old Testament lectionary readings provide an opportunity to reflect deeply on the nature of God’s relationship with God’s people through covenant. This Sunday, it is his covenant not to destroy the earth, next Sunday, his choosing and making a great nation through…
2 Kings 2:1-12
Commentary
Epiphany 6B
On grief and staying the course From the outset of this story, the reader knows what is about to transpire. This is a story about, among other things, the valley of the shadow of death. It’s right there in the first clause of the first verse: “When the Lord was about to take Elijah up…
Isaiah 40:21-31
Commentary
Epiphany 5B
Psalm 103 promises that God will satisfy our desire for good things, using words that will sound familiar from the reading of Isaiah 40: “so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.” The parallels between these texts are instructive. Psalm 103 does not begin with God’s promise of satisfaction but with forgiveness, healing, liberation…
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Commentary
Epiphany 4B
Judges, Kings, Priests and Prophets – oh my! Up to this point in Deuteronomy, the law has spelled out the role of kings and judges and priests. Each is invested with a distinct kind of institutional authority. However, over time, in the history of Israel and her people, these roles began to take on a…
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Commentary
Epiphany 3B
A common exercise for aspiring creative writers is to write a 6 word story. With the platform of social media, these short stories have taken off on sites like Reddit and Tumbler. Here are a couple examples: “Axe falling, the rooster crows, ‘Wait!’” “Only child, but never the favorite.” “They lived happily ever after, separately.”…
1 Samuel 3:1-10, (13-20)
Commentary
Epiphany 2B
Calling In the context of this morning’s Gospel reading and perhaps even some elements of the psalm, a straightforward reading might catalog this text under the genre of “call stories.” There are plenty of texts that fall in this category throughout Scripture: Abraham, Moses, Saul, David, the prophets and, yes, the disciples called by Jesus:…
About Meg Jenista