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Psalm 116:1-9
Proper 19B
One of the benefits of the fact that psalms are not tied to any obvious specific set of circumstances is that they can be applied to a wide variety of experiences whether or not those exactly match whatever any given psalmist was talking about. In the case of Psalm 116, one could surmise this was…
Proverbs 1:20-33
Proper 19B
Wisdom Personified Tackling this week’s lectionary text from the first chapter of Proverbs, with next week’s text from the last chapter in mind, it may be worth considering making a short series out of the two together. The first thing that holds them both together is the theme of wisdom and, particularly, the way wisdom…
Psalm 146
Proper 18B
As we often note here on the CEP website and in our various sermon commentaries on the Psalms, we use the word “Hallelujah” as an expression of praise. For us it is synonymous with the sentiment, “I am praising God right now!” And sometimes we use it as a way to express gratitude and relief,…
Isaiah 35:4-7
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
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…
Psalm 15
Proper 17B
We could summarize and simultaneously contemporize Psalm 15 this way: Who may dwell with God on God’s holy mountain? The one who stays off social media. Or at the very least the one who does not do on social media what altogether too many other people have been doing in the years since Facebook and…
Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18
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…
Psalm 34:15-22
Proper 16B
So here we are for the third week in a row in Psalm 34, this time centering on the concluding verses. In the first of this Lectionary triplet on this psalm we took note of the fact that this is one of those sunny-side-up poems in the Hebrew Psalter in which everything is coming up…
Psalm 34:9-14
Proper 15B
When I wrote my sermon commentary for August 11, 2024, on the first 8 verses of Psalm 34, I confess I did not notice that the Lectionary continues in this same psalm for this week and, wonder of wonders, finishes it the following week. Three weeks in a row in the same psalm! Not sure…
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
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…
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