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2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
Proper 14B
Comments and Observations: I have this theory that although the actors who win the Academy Award earn the award for the entirety of their performances in the movies in question, there is often (maybe always) one key moment in those films that really cinch things. So in Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks is impressive throughout but…
Psalm 51:1-12
Proper 13B
Psalm 51 is what Old Testament scholar James Mays calls a “liturgy of the broken heart.” Like so many of the psalms, it’s a prayer of someone who’s in deep trouble. Here, however, the psalmist doesn’t complain to God about God or other people causing that trouble. He admits he alone has caused the trouble…
2 Samuel 11
Proper 13B
See the OT commentary for 12B which covers both weeks: https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2015-07-20/2-samuel-11/
Psalm 14
Proper 12B
Psalm 14 paints what Jennifer Green calls a “picture of humanity that could hardly be more dismal.” In fact, while most psalms at least begin by acknowledging God in praise or prayer, the poet begins Psalm 14 with the fool’s claim that “there is no God.” She then goes on three times in just three…
2 Samuel 11
Proper 12B
This commentary is for both 12B and 13B: In a memorable sermon on this text, Haddon Robinson said that this difficult chapter in the David saga is a good example of what can happen in middle age when we let our defenses down and become maybe a bit too full of ourselves, a bit too…
Psalm 89:20-37
Proper 11B
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Most scholars suggest Psalm 89 is a psalm of lament. Yet the poet devotes most of it to praising God for God’s faithfulness and celebrating God’s covenant with David and his descendants. Even the segment toward which the lectionary directs our attention seems reluctant to highlight the lament aspect…
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Proper 11B
Comments and Observations In his commentary on I and II Samuel Walter Brueggemann makes the bold claim that this text from II Samuel 7 is the centerpiece to the whole of the Samuel corpus and is a crucial text for the church to pay attention to in this day and age as well. In the…
Psalm 24
Proper 10B
Scholars call Psalm 24 a processional liturgy that celebrates Yahweh’s entrance to Zion. They speculate that the poet composed it for either David’s bringing the ark into Jerusalem as reported, for example, in 2 Samuel 6, or a festival that commemorated that event, or the return of the ark to Jerusalem and its temple after…
2 Samuel 6:1-5; 12b-19
Proper 10B
One of my students once preached a sermon from Joshua that was, shall we say, downright “edgy.” He began by quoting a comedy routine done by a non-practicing Jew in which this comedian tackled—without knowing he was doing so—that great question long ago raised by Marcion: why does the God of the Old Testament appear…
Psalm 123
Proper 9B
Psalm 123 is a poignant plea for God to show the poet mercy. However, this is also a prayer that he offers on behalf of the entire embattled worshiping community. It’s a good reminder that even those who find themselves under duress should never forget to pray on behalf of others who are also experiencing…
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