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Jeremiah 31:7-14
Christmas 2C
Illustration: Imagine the crankiest person you know. Don’t say their name out loud. Perhaps it is a character from fiction: Eeyore, Ron Swanson, Debbie Downer or the Grinch. Perhaps someone in real life like Simon Cowell on America’s Got Talent. Now imagine Eeyore with a smile, Ron Swanson giggling, Debbie Downer with a soundtrack of…
Psalm 147:12-20
Christmas 2C
It’s not at all clear why the Lectionary skips the first 11 verses of the 147th psalm since they contain much of the same sentiments and ideas as the final verses that the RCL does select. In any event, this is one of a number of psalms and other biblical passages where the psalmist takes…
I Samuel 2:18-20, 26
Christmas 1C
Acknowledging that the Hebrew Scripture text may not be everyone’s immediate choice for the Sunday after Christmas, I want to use this text as a lens on the others or, perhaps, to demonstrate reverberations and harmonies between this text and the others as a way of deepening your engagement with all the texts together. Commentary:…
Psalm 148
Christmas 1C
Whether it is Lectionary Year A, B, or C, if it’s the first Sunday after Christmas, you will see Psalm 148 as the psalm reading. Somebody along the way must have determined that this is such a fitting post-Christmas Day psalm that no Lectionary cycle would be complete without it. Many years that Sunday is…
Psalm 80:1-7
Advent 4C
If you pay close attention to the Psalm readings across the three-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary, then you know the Lectionary likes Psalm 80. But it never manages to assign the whole psalm. Either you get just the first seven verses (as here for Advent 4C) or nine verses from the middle of…
Micah 5:2-5
Advent 4C
Illustration: Depending on how churches structure their worship services for the holidays, this may function as a kind-of Christmas preview or, at least, one last Sunday before the Christmas Eve or Christmas Day celebrations. So you might riff on those expectations a bit. If you have the opportunity to solicit answers and foster a bit…
Isaiah 12:2-6
Advent 3C
For the second Sunday in a row the Year C Advent Lectionary does not have an actual Psalm assigned but instead another psalm-like passage. Last week it was Zechariah’s song from Luke 1 and today on this Third Advent Sunday it is a lyric passage from Isaiah 12. This chapter of course follows on the…
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Advent 3C
A Pastoral Word: The Christmas season can be difficult for those grieving, lonely, struggling financially. In fact, any time of year is difficult for those in distress. But the particular difficulty of Christmas is the temptation to throw tinsel and lights on the outside without attending to the realities on the inside. For this reason,…
Malachi 3:1-4
Advent 2C
Commentary: Advent is most commonly referred to as a season of waiting. But the minor prophets don’t let us off that easy. They rightly point out that there is a world of difference between waiting and preparing.As little kids, we thought the waiting was the hard part. As adults, we’ve learned that waiting around with…
Psalm 25:1-10
Advent 1C
The Revised Common Lectionary likes the first 10 or so verses of the 25th Psalm. Psalm 25:1-9 or 1-10 occur at least once each in Years A, B, and C. The last time we saw this was earlier in 2024 when these exact same verses were assigned for the First Sunday in Lent in Year…
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