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Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Proper 22A
Comments and Observations When preaching on Exodus 20 and the Ten Commandments, there are multiple directions to go in a sermon. It’s a bit challenging to preach on all of the commandments at once, though a way can be found to do that, of course. But for this sermon commentary, I have chosen to ponder…
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Proper 21A
When I read Psalm 78, I can’t help but think about my Sunday School experience years ago. Before we would go off to our separate age-appropriate classes, the whole motley crew of us would gather in the sanctuary for a time of singing. It was my favorite part of Sunday School. And I think it…
Exodus 17:1-7
Proper 21A
As my colleague Scott Hoezee noted in an earlier Sermon Commentary on this text, a piece to which I’m deeply indebted for several of this piece’s ideas, at first glance this may seem like just another story of Israelite bellyaching to Moses about dragging them out of Egypt. It seems to reveal nothing new about…
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Proper 20A
We are now deeply into Ordinary Time on the liturgical calendar. During Ordinary Time we don’t celebrate any of the extraordinary Feasts of the Christian year; we simply walk along with the Incarnate God, the Crucified Jesus, the Risen and Ruling Christ by the power of the Spirit. Our reading for today speaks to one…
Exodus 16:2-15
Proper 20A
Human memory can be remarkably pliable. It isn’t just illness or advancing age that can bend and twist it. Trauma too can do remarkable things to memory. Exodus 15 describes how God responds to God’s Israelite children’s grumbling about their lack of something to drink. At Marah and Elim God gives them refreshing water to…
Psalm 114
Proper 19A
Psalm 114 has been called the most exquisitely crafted of all the Psalms because of its four perfectly matched two line stanzas, its smoothly flowing parallelism, its use of personification, and its mounting suspense. All of this literary beauty combines to highlight the central theme of the whole Old Testament, if not the entire Bible….
Exodus 14:19-31
Proper 19A
Its narrator so packs Exodus 14 with pyrotechnics that it almost begs for an update to Cecil B. DeMille’s classic, The Ten Commandments. Yet it’s easy to focus so much on all of its light, sound and fury that even its preachers and teachers may lose sight of its ultimate author. The text the Lectionary…
Psalm 149
Proper 18A
Psalm 149 is one of the five Psalms that make up the “Hallelujah Chorus” with which the Psalter ends. Beginning with Psalm 146 each of these Psalm begins and ends with Hallelu Yah, which means, literally, “Praise Yahweh.” What a fine uplifting way to end this magnificent, variegated collection of Israel’s song! Let’s just praise…
Exodus 12:1-14
Proper 18A
Comments and Observations If you assign the average high school student to read the unabridged version of Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick and then ask the student about it, the odds are good that the first thing he or she will talk about will not be the story. At its core Moby Dick tells an…
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b
Proper 17A
Psalm 105 is clearly an historical Psalm. It traces the five stages of Israel’s early history, from the promise of the land to Abraham to the possession of the land under Joshua. Indeed, the entire Psalm, like that history, is driven by that covenantal promise made to Abraham and rehearsed here in verses 8-11 (where…
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