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Psalm 85:8-13
Proper 14A
To be honest, Psalm 85 is a little all over the place. The first four verses reflect a time when God forgave Israel for some transgressions and restored them. But then the next set of verses seems to indicate Israel went backwards, sinned again, and so found itself under the wrath of God again. And…
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Proper 14A
We can approach this text from two very different angles. The first comes from renowned Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann. He suggests that this story might have taken its final form during the reign of Solomon, a time of royal splendor in Israel, when everything was going well for God’s people. There was peace internationally,…
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21
Proper 13A
The Lectionary presents some mysteries for those of us who follow it closely. In this case we are getting a couple carved-out sections of Psalm 145 a scant four weeks after we had a carved-out section of this exact same poem as the Psalm reading for July 5 (and parts of the August 2 reading…
Genesis 32:22-31
Proper 13A
When last we saw Jacob, he had finally won his second wife from his duplicitous uncle, Laban. In the ensuing years, Jacob has continued to work for his uncle, becoming a wealthy man because of God’s blessing on his efforts. After a total of 20 years working for Laban, Jacob is finally released from virtual…
Psalm 119:129-136
Proper 12A
Perhaps this would feel striking at any moment. But during this COVID-19 time and all that we have experienced in recent months, parts of this snippet of the longest psalm feel particularly odd. We have been living in largely unprecedented circumstances for most of 2020 and certainly since early March. Governors and mayors in particular…
Genesis 29:15-28
Proper 12A
If I am Esau, sitting back home in Beersheba, the injustice of my situation is infuriating. I’ve been deceived and robbed. My life has been forever changed by the slippery ways of my little brother. My birthright is gone; so is my blessing. I’m left here with my blind old father and a mother who…
Psalm 86:11-17
Proper 11A
With some frequency you run across such sentiments in the Psalms if not in the wider Scripture. God is praised for being compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Language to this effect pops up in Psalm 86 too when you get to verse 15. But look closely: this is only…
Genesis 28:10-19a
Proper 11A
You don’t have to feel close to God for God to be near to you. You don’t have to reach out to God for God to come to you. And you don’t have to be a perfect person for God to bless you. Jacob is a case in point. We are following the Hebrew Patriarchs…
Psalm 65: (1-8), 9-13
Proper 10A
For every psalm that stands out in some way or that is well-known for some reason, there are probably three or four psalms that are not very familiar and that frankly kind of all blend into one another. Most Jews and Christians know Psalms 23 and 100 well. Psalm 46 is a regular go-to poem…
Genesis 25:19-34
Proper 10A
Here we are, stuck in Ordinary Time. We’ve spent half the church year celebrating the mighty acts of God in Jesus Christ our Lord, but now the fireworks are over. Now we are plodding along through ordinary time. Except this time is extraordinary, too, because God is walking with us each step of the way….
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