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Psalm 130
Proper 8B
Psalm 130 is famous for its opening words, “out of the depths,” from which came the name by which this Psalm has been known for centuries, “De Profundis.” It is one of the Psalms of Ascent that Jewish pilgrims allegedly sang as they made their way up to the Temple for one of their annual…
2 Samuel 1:1,17-27
Proper 8B
This may, at first glance, seem like a rather odd passage to proclaim in the twenty-first century. The entirety of 2 Samuel 1, after all, mentions the Lord only twice. What’s more, David’s eulogy never mentions God. So if this were the only or last message I was ever going to proclaim, I wouldn’t choose…
Psalm 9:9-20
Proper 7B
In the Greek version of the Old Testament, Psalm 9 is treated as one Psalm with Psalm 10. There are multiple textual evidences for the validity of that connection, not the least of which is the fact that together they form an acrostic, an alphabet Psalm, in which each successive verse begins with the next…
1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49
Proper 7B
North American television might eat up 1 Samuel 17’s story. It, after all, bristles with the kind of military might and imagery that networks like the CBC and Fox News make their living on. They love to do close-ups on war’s most powerful human figures that are soldiers of one shape or another. Even 1…
Psalm 20
Proper 6B
In these politically charged times, it is interesting (or ironic, or fortuitous, or providential) that the Lectionary would give us two Royal Psalms in a row. Last week in Psalm 138 we had a Psalm that spoke truth to power. This week in Psalm 20 we have a Psalm that prays for the one in…
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Proper 6B
There’s almost always more going on than meets the eye. Whether it’s at a cosmic or molecular level, we just can’t always see what’s really going on. So, for example, the 1973 Watergate break-in initially looked like little more than a clumsy effort at burglary. It turned, however, out to be part of President Nixon…
Psalm 138
Proper 5B
While some scholars call this an individual Psalm of thanksgiving, I think there is enough evidence to label it a royal Psalm of praise. For one thing, it is “of David,” the first of 8 Psalms attributed to David. While that doesn’t definitively prove that David wrote it, the central section (verses 4-5) is addressed…
1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)
Proper 5B
How many times hasn’t each of us thought if not said something like, “But everybody else is doing it!”? How often have you heard children and young adults say something like, “Everyone else’s parents are letting them go!”? After all, we like to think that if “everyone else” is doing something, it can’t be wrong….
Psalm 81:1-10
Proper 4B
I’ve chosen to write on the alternative Psalm reading for today, since I have written on Psalm 139 twice in the last year (see January 14, 2018 and July 23, 2017 in the Sermon Commentary Archives on this website). Rather than repeating what I’ve said before, I want to suggest that you take a different…
1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Proper 4B
At first glance, “the word of the Lord” hardly seems as “rare” in many parts of Christ’s Church as it was in Samuel and Eli’s family’s day (1). After all, many who are reading this make at least part of our living proclaiming that word of the Lord. American cable television providers still broadcast numerous…
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