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Psalm 14
Proper 12B
Psalm 14 is not my favorite Psalm; I’ve never preached on it. And it is not a Psalm that occurs over and over in the RCL like Psalm 23. It is easy to see why. It is about as politically incorrect as anything in the Bible. It’s not the sweet political incorrectness of the Gospel,…
2 Samuel 11:1-15
Proper 12B
When my family lived in West Germany in the early 70’s, teenagers celebrated New Year’s Eve by lighting firecrackers. Among their favorites were strings of firecrackers that they linked together. One lit fuse would eventually produce a whole string of small explosions. 2 Samuel 11 is a bit reminiscent of those firecrackers. After all, just…
Psalm 89:20-37
Proper 11B
Before I dive into this difficult Psalm, I must get two preliminary comments out of the way, the first merely personal, the second deeply textual. On a personal level, I must point you to a previous Sermon Commentary on this very text written just 7 months ago (see the Archive on this Center for Excellence…
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Proper 11B
Some of the people to whom we proclaim 2 Samuel 7 feel a little like David. After all, Israel’s king has been very busy battling both Israel’s internal and external enemies. He has also just finished fighting a domestic “battle” with his wife, Michal. Some people will come to our churches from “battling” neighbors, co-workers…
Psalm 24
Proper 10B
Psalm 24 is as familiar to church goers as it is offensive to non-church goers. Christians know it from our annual celebration of Christ’s Ascension, where it is nearly always read. It is also part of some classic readings that attend Holy Communion. But many non-Christians will be offended by verses 3-6, which certainly seem…
2 Samuel 6:1-5; 12b-19
Proper 10B
2 Samuel 6 contains enough action and vivid images to fill a whole Netflix series. It, after all, features a mysterious box, stumbling oxen and impetuous priest. Our text also gives us a dancing king, livid queen and one great big party. David has spent many years running from Saul. However, as 2 Samuel 6…
Psalm 48
Proper 9B
Psalm 48 is one of the several Songs of Zion scattered throughout the Psalter (Psalms 46, 76, 84, 87, 122). They sing the praise of the great capital city of Israel, because God has blessed her beyond imagination. This combination of patriotism and religion makes Psalm 48 a perfect Psalm for this first Sunday after…
2 Samuel 5:1-10
Proper 9B
When North Americans think of politics, even some Christians sometimes think only of endless campaigns and slick advertising. We sometimes relegate talk about God’s involvement in politics to the conversations of people we think of as religious zealots. At least some Christians are especially reluctant to talk about God’s role in putting people into political…
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…
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