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Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
Proper 21B
Our text from Esther today speaks to the human tendency to forget important events, even events that changed our lives and altered the course of history. That’s why history echoes with cries not to forget. “Remember the Maine!” But who does? “Remember Pearl Harbor!” But do Millenials do that? We have Memorial Day to help…
Psalm 1
Proper 20B
Digging into the Text: Psalm 1 didn’t just happen to be placed at the beginning of the book of Psalms. After all, Psalms is perhaps the most obviously and carefully edited of all the books of the Bible. It’s the forward to the book, the opening inscription, the epigram on the first page. Which means…
Proverbs 31:10-31
Proper 20B
Given the current climate in the church, I suspect that most preachers will steer a wide berth around this (in)famous text. At the funeral of a great woman who embodied this text, I wondered aloud to the younger women in her life whether this might be a fitting text to be used as a reading. …
Psalm 19
Proper 19B
Digging Into the Text: Like Psalm 23, 103, and 145, Psalm 19 holds a special place in the hearts of believers as one of the most beloved of the Psalms. It’s a poetic and theological tour de force. While its very depth and scope make it a formidable text for preaching, the preacher should not…
Proverbs 1:20-33
Proper 19B
In Plato’s dialogue Phaedrus Socrates tells an ancient Egyptian legend about a king named Thamus and a god named Theuth. Theuth, it seems, was an inventor of great tools and new technologies. One day he showed King Thamus a vast array of his inventions, climaxing with his most recent innovation: writing. The inventor proudly told…
Psalm 125
Proper 18B
Digging Into the Text: Psalm 125 is one of that small collection in the book of Psalms called “Songs of Ascent” (120-134). Most scholars agree that this is most likely a group of songs or chants used by pilgrims going up (ascent} to Jerusalem for one of the three great pilgrimage feasts– Jerusalem, Mount Zion,…
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Proper 18B
Proverbs 22 is full of famous proverbs on subjects as varied as child-rearing, sexual relations with prostitutes, laziness, the value of wisdom and knowledge, choosing friends and companions, sucking up to the rich and the powerful, abusing alcohol, and money. It is perhaps the best-known chapter in this book. At first, it seemed a little…
Psalm 45
Proper 17B
Digging into the Text: In reading this Psalm something about the phrase “palaces adorned with ivory” struck a chord in my memory. After some reflection I realized it was a hymn from my childhood entitled “Ivory Palaces.” It could be found in many hymnals from the first half of the 20th century, and was made…
Song of Solomon 2:8-13
Proper 17B
This is first and only time the Song of Songs appears in the Revised Common Lectionary, and it is an odd time. I mean that the reading clearly refers to the first days of spring, while we are in the last days of summer. What can we do with this oddly timed and controversial reading?…
Psalm 84
Proper 16B
Did Joseph, Mary, and Jesus sing this psalm on their way to Jerusalem that year when Jesus turned 12? Psalm 84 is a Song of Ascent, a pilgrimage song. Like most such psalms it was meant to bolster the determination and the energy and the enthusiasm for Jerusalem-bound travelers heading to the Holy City for…
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