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Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Easter 5A
For the most part Psalm 31 sounds just one primary note across its 24 verses. So although the Lectionary has chopped it up to carve out the opening 5 verses and then 2 verses closer to the middle of the song, the main theme and imagery of the psalm are still visible. In the verses…
Psalm 23
Easter 4A
In an article he wrote some years ago, theologian Neal Plantinga told the story of a choir that was rehearsing for a performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. But the choir was not giving the conductor what he was looking for. As it turned out, the choir was almost too good, too professional. So the…
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
Easter 3A
Since I can detect no logical reason for skipping verses 5-11 as the Lectionary would have us to do, it makes sense to preach on the entire psalm as these 19 verses form a seamless whole. But I leave that up to you! In general, as a psalm in Eastertide, one could map this song…
Psalm 16
Easter 2A
What if we took the middle section of Psalm 16 and grafted it over the story of Jesus from the Gospels? If we did that, what would we see and notice? Consider the following: 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. Can we read these words and not…
Jeremiah 31:1-6
Easter Day A
Illustration: Have you ever experienced a moment when time stood still? Maybe you were afraid to breathe for fear of breaking the magic of the moment. It’s the stuff of hospital bedsides – the passing on of death and the passing into life of birth. It’s the good news of a proposal, the announcement of…
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Easter Day A
Sometimes I think the Revised Common Lectionary wants to test the creativity of us preachers. Just last week for Palm Sunday / Passion Sunday, the Year A Lectionary served up either Psalm 118 or Psalm 31. Now on Easter we get Psalm 118 again and if you look ahead a little down the RCL road,…
Isaiah 50:4-9
Palm Sunday A
Illustration: America loves winners. We like it when our teams win. We celebrate the victors. We talk about our children’s successes in our Christmas cards and humble brag about promotions on social media. America celebrates winners. And the American church has, largely, followed suit. Of course, it’s obvious in the health-and-wealth “gospel” scene but we’ve…
Psalm 31:9-16
Palm Sunday A
Since the Lectionary each year gives us a psalm each for the Liturgy of the Palms (Psalm 118 most years) and the Liturgy of the Passion (Psalm 31 this year), each year we select just one of them to focus on. This commentary is on the Psalm 31 lection but if you would like to…
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Lent 5A
Lectionary Connection Chekhov’s Hope There is an adage of storytelling that comes from the world of theatre and it goes like this: any gun brought on stage in the first act must be fired by the final curtain. This is a direct reference to Anton Chekhov’s play, The Seagull, in which a character brings a…
Psalm 130
Lent 5A
As we near the conclusion already of the 2026 Season of Lent, this Year A psalm selection serves up something that is quintessentially Lenten in nature. The entirety of this fairly short song deals with two linked realities: Our human need to be forgiven of our sins and God’s divine penchant to be a forgiving…
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