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Genesis 1:1-5
Epiphany 1B
Questions about the “beginning” (1) of the universe, earth and people intrigue at least some of us. So God’s people sometimes turn to passages like Genesis 1:1-5 for answers to those questions. Yet wise people also ask whether Genesis is even interested in those increasingly divisive issues. To honestly answer questions about creation’s beginnings, God’s…
Genesis 45:1-15
Proper 15A
God always makes the dreams God gives God’s adopted sons and daughters come true. Sometimes, however, it takes so long for that to happen that it seems that the dream, if not the dreamers, dies. As Genesis 45 opens, God has partially fulfilled Joseph’s dreams by putting him in charge of both Egypt and his…
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Proper 14A
Almost all people walk the wide roads that are dreams for their children, work, future, and themselves. And while some of those dreams don’t come true, as long as they don’t disrupt current arrangements, they’re pretty harmless. However, where dreams about the future conflict with current realities, they can be very disruptive. In fact, they…
Genesis 32:22-31
Proper 13A
God graciously meets and accepts God’s adopted sons and daughters wherever and whoever we are. But God never just leaves us where we are. That’s no less true of God’s 21st century adopted daughters and sons than it is of Jacob. The first time God meets Jacob, he’s fleeing both his homeland and his twin’s…
Genesis 29:15-28
Proper 12A
Genesis 29 features one of the oddest, often slimiest groups of characters ever assembled outside a North American reality television show studio. Thankfully, then, it’s not oily enough to escape the grasp of God’s strong, gracious hand. In fact, God somehow graciously transforms all of their cheating and resentment into a vehicle for God’s amazing…
Genesis 28:10-19a
Proper 11A
While Christians profess that God is graciously present to everything everywhere, we also have to admit that it’s sometimes hard to recognize that presence. Especially when God’s adopted sons and daughters are busy running from some kind of pursuer. Genesis 28’s Jacob is at least figuratively on the dead run. He has, after all, swindled…
Genesis 25:19-34
Proper 10A
Sometimes it’s precisely when we assume nothing can go wrong that things, in fact, do go quite wrong. Thankfully, then, God is graciously present in and to such things, always providentially bending them toward God’s good and loving purposes. It certainly seems like nothing can go wrong as the Old Testament text the Lectionary appoints…
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Proper 9A
Sometimes God only seems to keep part of God’s promises. To see their complete fulfillment, we may need to squint pretty hard. Earlier in Genesis, God promised Abraham the land of Canaan, many descendants and a worldwide blessing through him. In their old age, Abraham and Sarah saw God initially fulfill that promise through Isaac’s…
Genesis 22:1-14
Proper 8A
I have colleagues whom I respect who tell me they’ll never preach this Old Testament text the Lectionary appoints for this Sunday. When I asked a very wise friend for advice on how to preach this text, he told me to “Skip it.” After all, while our text’s Abraham asks no questions, we have plenty…
Genesis 21:8-21
Proper 7A
If only the narrator of the Old Testament text that the Lectionary appoints for this Sunday had just quit at verse 8. After Isaac is weaned, Abraham throws a big soiree. Period. It would have made for a happy ending that would send everyone home happy. But that’s not the way Genesis 21 ends. Pain…
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