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Psalm 16
Proper 8C
Psalm 16 presents the words of a person whose life appears to be going swimmingly. Everything is working for this poet. These look to be the words of a winner, of a person who was born sunny-side up as a confirmed optimist. And I suspect we’ve all met people like this. I also suspect that…
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Proper 8C
What a way to go! That’s my first reaction upon reading this story. People my age often talk about the end of life. Many want to live as long as they possibly can, to, say, a hundred, and then die peacefully in their sleep. Others want to go in their prime, after hitting a three…
Psalm 22:19-28
Proper 7C
Ordinary Time is just beginning in the early summertime of 2019 yet the Lectionary directs us to a sometimes difficult psalm. Yes, we are being asked to consider only the hope-filled, praise-filled conclusion to this poem but it’s not as though we can forget its terrible opening set of verses. “My God, my God, why…
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
Proper 7C
This is one of the great short stories in the Bible, indeed, in all of literature. It has all the elements of a riveting story—a twisting plot, clever symbolism, stylistic devices, unexpected irony, deep pathos, raw humanity, stunning theophanies, and an ending that we don’t see coming. But best of all, it speaks a message…
Psalm 8
Trinity Sunday C
The poet of Psalm 8 stared into the night sky and was properly dazzled at what he saw. But to put it mildly, what he did not see was a lot! Had this psalmist been able to spend a scant ten minutes looking through a telescope, he would doubtless have fainted in wonderment. Ancient astronomers…
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Trinity Sunday C
There are better texts for this Trinity Sunday than these words about wisdom in Proverbs. The New Testament readings from John 16:12-15 and Romans 5:1-5 are much more Trinitarian, since they at least mention Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of course, you will still have to interpret that three-ness/one-ness language. And, if you are willing…
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Pentecost C
Sample Sermon: You wouldn’t think a wasp could do so much damage. Unless you are allergic to bee and wasp stings, getting stung by these bugs, though briefly painful and annoying, does not generally create any lasting effect or damage. However, about 150 years ago there was one particular kind of wasp that appears to…
Psalm 97
Easter 7C
A few years ago the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship produced a new hymnal based on the Psalms. Its title is “Psalms for All Seasons.” The title is apt because as most of us know, the Hebrew Psalter is a collection of varied prayers that matches life’s many and varied seasons. As C.S. Lewis and…
Psalm 148
Easter 5C
Some years back at a worship service we used St. Francis of Assisi’s poem “Canticle of the Sun” as part of a responsive reading. There was, alas, a slight typo in the bulletin that made it sound at one point as though we were worshiping Mother Earth. This led a rather conservative member of my…
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