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Galatians 4:4-7
Christmas 1B
Ask almost any school-aged Christian why we celebrated Christmas, and she’s likely to answer something like, “Because it was Jesus’ birthday!” While she might have a harder time identifying why Jesus’ birthday is important, most mature Christians know that Jesus’ birthday is important because he grew up to redeem us from our sins. On this…
Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
Proper 9C
“It ain’t braggin’ if you can back it up” has spilled from the lips of at least some of us. Sometimes, of course, we try to cloak our braggadocio in the mantle of false humility. But few of us easily resist the temptation to brag about ourselves or people who are dear to us. Thugs…
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Proper 8C
It comes up repeatedly in our conversations with our Jewish friends and acquaintances. “How can you live without God’s law to guide your life?” The observant Jews we know and love can’t imagine living without the structure Torah gives them. “Doesn’t it lead to some kind of anarchy?” is one form of the questions they…
Galatians 3:23-29
Proper 7C
Occasionally the Revised Common Lectionary’s choice of where to begin and end a Lesson isn’t just puzzling. It’s also downright bewildering. This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson is a case in point. After all, the chasm between verses’ 23-25 and 26-29 may seem to be a kind of grand canyon that has no bridge that crosses it….
Galatians 4:4-7
Christmas 1B
Simeon, Luke tells us, “was waiting for the consolation of Israel.” However, most of us don’t like to wait. In fact, nearly every year at Christmastime my wife and I have a quiet debate about waiting. It’s not about how long to wait to buy Christmas presents or put up our Christmas tree. Our annual…
Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
Proper 9C
A text whose dominant metaphors including sowing and reaping seems somehow especially appropriate, at least for residents of the northern hemisphere at this time of the year. This month, after all, some “northern” gardeners and farmers are at least beginning to “reap” the cucumbers, chilies, peas, potatoes, onions and other crops they’ve “sown.” Eugene Peterson,…
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Proper 8C
This week’s national celebrations in North America give Canadians and Americans opportunities to think about freedom. July 1 is, after all, the Canada Day that at least some people think of as Canada’s birthday. July 4 is the day on which Americans celebrate the anniversary of their declaration of independence from Great Britain. So one…
Galatians 3:23-29
Proper 7C
Too many white Americans including Christians have made a mess of race relations by endorsing the horrors of things like Native American displacement, slavery, Japanese-American internment camps and even real estate redlining. In fact, whether it’s in connection with the abomination that is racial profiling or the controversy that surrounds affirmative action, we still manage…
Galatians 4:4-7
Christmas 1B
Whenever a child is born, there is a change in status for various people. When a first child is born, someone becomes a mother for the first time or a father. The birth of a child can confer the new status of “grandparent” on someone or perhaps “uncle” or “aunt.” A new child can turn…
Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
Proper 9C
As Paul brings this landmark letter in for a landing, he says a whole lot of things quickly. The whole letter gets summed up in two main themes: First, we need to do our best to glorify God in how we live and in serving one another in love. Second, there is nothing to boast…
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