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Psalm 130
Proper 8B
Even the most capable biblical scholars find Psalm 130 hard to categorize. After all, it beautifully combines a plea for forgiveness with an expression of trust that contains an element of thanksgiving. However, perhaps it’s precisely that combination of elements that makes it such an eloquent Old Testament expression of the gospel. Martin Luther called…
2 Samuel 1:1,17-27
Proper 8B
You can see why the Revised Common Lectionary wants you to jump from verse 1 to verse 17! There is an act of violence here in the skipped-over portion that tempts a Scripture reader to end the line “This is the Word of the Lord” in something of an interrogative mood: “The Word of the…
Psalm 9:9-20
Proper 7B
Psalm 9:9-20 (for help with the other psalm appointed for the day, Psalm 133, please consult the April 6, 2015 commentary) It’s regrettable that the Lectionary appoints only the verses 9-20 of Psalm 9 for this particular Sunday. It’s not just, after all, that it offers only part of Psalm 9 for our consideration. It’s…
I Samuel 17
Proper 7B
Some years ago when last the Lectionary included this famous story, I consulted my son’s “Student Bible” as it was the handiest Bible to grab while I worked at home that day. This particular version of the Bible inserts some textual explanations and elaborations into the biblical text inside little colored boxes. Midway through I…
Psalm 20
Proper 6B
It seems as if psalmists typically pray for themselves. However, in Psalm 20 the poet prays for someone else, in this case Israel’s king. After all, verse 4 refers to God’s “anointed.” Verse 9 also speaks explicitly of “the king.” Psalm 20 expresses a strong sense of dependence on God’s gracious provision even for rulers. …
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Proper 6B
Looks can be deceiving. That’s why God apparently doesn’t bother with them in the first place. “The LORD looks at the heart,” God says to Samuel in I Samuel 16:7, now one of the most famous lines of the entire Bible. And on the opposite end of the Bible (and in the paired Gospel lection…
Psalm 138
Proper 5B
Psalm 138 is a psalm of praise to God for deliverance from some kind of trouble. Its content suggests the psalmist’s enemies have done all they can to silence that praise. However, the psalmist remains utterly determined. Perhaps his foes’ opposition has even made him more determined than ever to praise God with “all of…
1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)
Proper 5B
Growing up, Samuel had watched the old priest Eli behave like Milquetoast vis-à-vis his wretched offspring, Hophni and Phineas. Probably even as a young boy that sad spectacle was enough to make Samuel shake his head in disbelief and disgust. Eli was such a nice guy—how in the world had he raised two boys so…
Psalm 29
Trinity Sunday B
Psalm 29 is a hymn of praise to the God of creation. It’s a rather “noisy” psalm that the poet fills with the sounds of praise, thunder, wind and even the sound that earthquakes make. It’s a psalm that the psalmist also fills with vivid images of angels around God’s throne, flashes of lightning, twisted…
Isaiah 6:1-8
Trinity Sunday B
Comments, Observations, and Questions It was the year King Uzziah died. Or, it was the year President Kennedy died. Or it was the year 9/11 rattled the world to its core. It was the year when things fell apart, when foundations were shaken, when the markets crumbled, when all that had once been familiar now…
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