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Psalm 119:33-40
Proper 18A
The Lectionary now and again plunks down into some seemingly random segment in the sprawling Hebrew acrostic that just is Psalm 119. This week’s Year A lection lands us in the fifth section in which every Hebrew word in the first line of these 8 verses begins with the Hebrew letter ה or He, the…
Exodus 12:1-14
Proper 18A
Comments, Questions and Observations: Of all the strange details of this strange meal, isn’t it a bit odd that God tells the people of Israel, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” As though the…
Psalm 26:1-8
Proper 17A
Most Bible scholars have serious doubts about the authorship attributions in the psalms. Certainly we know the superscriptions were added much later and are not considered canonical (like ones that claims a certain psalm stemmed from a time when David was fleeing Saul and such). And even all the psalms that are said to be…
Exodus 3:1-15
Proper 17A
From the banks of the Nile to a parched mountain (the literal translation of Horeb), we find Moses settled into the humble lifestyle of a nomadic shepherd just about as far from Pharaoh’s court as humanly possible. The King James tells us that, as the curtain rises on this scene, Moses is hanging out with…
Psalm 138
Proper 16A
Years ago I read a wonderful novel by Indian writer Arundhati Roy and one of the things I liked about the book was its great title: The God of Small Things. That title can be an apt summary for something you run across often in the psalms, including in Psalm 138. Israel praised their God…
Exodus 1:8-2:10
Proper 16A
Comments, Questions and Observations: On Pharaoh Over time, we’ll see Pharaoh’s heart become hardened, which means that, at some point and in some way, his heart was tender and open. How does a person like that come to the conclusion that having infants murdered and people enslaved and oppressed is a good idea? That seems…
Psalm 67
Proper 15A
When we think of getting a blessing, we tend to focus on ourselves as the recipient of something good—something that will be good for us, something that will benefit us. The classic Aaronic Benediction from Numbers 6—that is clearly echoed in Psalm 67:1—is a good example. When I give this benediction in church, I am…
Genesis 45:1-15
Proper 15A
After chapters and chapters of third person narration, reading Joseph’s story through someone else’s lens, we might come to this chapter eager to hear how Joseph makes sense of the unfolding events. At last, Joseph lets his brothers know who he is. He tells his own story. He could have told a story about a…
Psalm 85:8-13
Proper 14A
“Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” Here is a lyric and pretty well-known line from Psalm 85. But based on how this psalm begins—in the part the Lectionary would have us leap frog over in the first 7 verses—you would not have predicted this Hebrew poem would end up including…
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Proper 14A
Patterns of preference and favoritism and jealousy replay themselves with uncomfortable regularity through the history of God’s people. Abraham’s son Ishmael is nearly written out of the story by Sarah’s jealousy. Isaac and Rebekah are #TeamEsau and #TeamJacob accordingly. Jacob shames Leah and honors Rachel. No doubt the ten sons of Leah have noticed Jacob’s…
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