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Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Epiphany 3B
Sometimes actions have surprisingly pleasant results. A soccer players weakly strikes a ball that ricochets off a defender and into the goal. Or a chef blends guacamole, tuna fish and lima beans into a recipe that somehow turns out to be delicious. Other actions, however, have surprisingly unpleasant results. With perfect form a basketball player…
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
Epiphany 2B
A little more than half a year ago (July 17, 2017), I wrote a sermon commentary on the first and last parts of Psalm 139 on this Center for Excellence in Preaching website. Since I spilled a lot ink on the entire Psalm there, I’ll merely highlight some of those comments here and add a…
1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Epiphany 2B
Nothing quite grabs our attention like a voice in the night. After all, it almost always signals trouble. The voice may be that of a child from the next bedroom: “Grandma, I’m sick,” or a teenager’s cell phone: “Dad, I’ve run out of gas.” Sometimes, of course, the voice in the middle of the night…
Psalm 29
Epiphany 1B
The Revised Common Lectionary chooses this Psalm for this first Sunday after the Epiphany of Christ in all three years of its reading cycle. Clearly the Lectionary sees Psalm 29 as a parallel to the baptism of Jesus, because in both the voice of God rings out over the waters. Psalm 29 shows us an…
Genesis 1:1-5
Epiphany 1B
Questions about the “beginning” (1) of the universe, earth and people intrigue at least some of us. So God’s people sometimes turn to passages like Genesis 1:1-5 for answers to those questions. Yet wise people also ask whether Genesis is even interested in those increasingly divisive issues. To honestly answer questions about creation’s beginnings, God’s…
Psalm 148
Christmas 1B
What a magnificent Psalm for this first Sunday after Christmas! The middle Psalm in the five Psalm “Hallelujah chorus” that ends the Psalter, Psalm 148 calls on the entire universe to praise Yahweh. These five Psalms are called the Hallelujah chorus because each one begins and ends with the Hebrew words Hallelu Yah, Praise Yahweh. …
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Christmas 1B
My wife and I have a friendly but persistent discussion about on what date we should begin singing Christmas carols. Were it up to her, our home’s halls would start ringing with carols the day after American Thanksgiving. Were it up to me, we’d begin singing Christmas carols roughly one week before Christmas Day. From…
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
Advent 4B
I have a suggestion for this Fourth Sunday of Advent. Rather than singing with Mary about the Son she is about to have, let’s sing with ancient Israel about the God whose love and faithfulness will send this Son of David, in spite of the great sin of the sons of David. Mary’s Magnificat is…
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Advent 4B
2 Samuel 7’s David has been busy battling both Israel’s internal and external enemies. He’s also just finished “battling” his wife, Michal. So some who proclaim and hear 2 Samuel 7 feel a little like David. We come from dealing with, sometimes even “battling” people in our neighborhoods, families (and even churches). So we some…
Psalm 126
Advent 3B
On this third Sunday of Advent the Lectionary directs our attention to the third post-Exilic Psalm in a row (see previous articles on Psalms 80 and 85). Each of these three is focused on the word “restore.” But in Psalm 126 the tone is decidedly different than Psalms 80 and 85, where there was much…
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