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Psalm 22:25-31
Easter 5B
The Lectionary can be a hard taskmaster, especially when it assigns the same reading twice in two months during entirely different seasons of the liturgical year. That is the case with this reading from the last verses of Psalm 22. It was our assignment two months ago during Lent and is now our reading for…
Psalm 23
Easter 4B
Even though the RCL uses Psalm 23 on the Fourth Sunday of the Easter season in all three years, and even adds it to the Lenten readings in one year, the enterprising preacher should not despair when assigned this lovely piece of poetry yet again. It is so rich that there is no end of…
Psalm 4
Easter 3B
The superscription of Psalm 4 tells us that this individual prayer was always intended to be used with musical accompaniment in a service of public worship. That’s how the church has used it for centuries now. Long ago, the monastic movements noticed the references to sleep in both Psalm 3 and 4 and have bracketed…
Psalm 133
Easter 2B
As is so often the case with the RCL, Psalm 133 seems an odd choice for this second Sunday of the Easter season– until we read it in conjunction with the other readings for today. Read in the context of Acts 4:32-35 in particular, it is very clear why we should focus on Psalm 133. …
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Easter Day B
Psalm 118 is the Lectionary’s default Psalm for Holy Week. It is used in all three years of the cycle for both Palm Sunday and Easter. It is easy to see why. Verses 26-27 are a virtual description of what would happen on Palm Sunday and verses 17-18 fairly shout, “Easter.” Making a connection to…
Psalm 31:9-16
Lent 6B
The Revised Common Lectionary has two suggested readings from the Psalms for this Sixth Sunday of Lent, Palm Sunday. The first, Psalm 118, emphasizes the positive side of this day with lots of verses that anticipate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The second, Psalm 31:9-16, zeros in on the tragedy of Palm Sunday, the gathering…
Psalm 119:9-16
Lent 5B
The Revised Common Lectionary has two suggestions from the Psalter for this Fifth Sunday of Lent—Psalm 51:1-12 and Psalm 119:9-16. Psalm 51 is, of course, the quintessential Lenten Psalm, full of guilt and contrition because a terrible sin has been committed by a man who was sinful from birth. Psalm 119 is all about how…
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Lent 4B
Psalm 107 was originally a liturgy of thanksgiving offered at one of Israel’s great festivals, as evidenced by the opening call to give thanks and the repeated refrain, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.” The theme of this thanksgiving is the often-repeated word, hesed,…
Psalm 19
Lent 3B
As I begin this piece, I am thinking about Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Underground Railroad, which follows two escaped slaves, Caesar and Cora, as they journey on a literal underground railroad to the north and freedom. On this Third Sunday of Lent we are a little less than half way on our journey…
Psalm 22:23-31
Lent 2B
Psalm 22 is the quintessential Lenten Psalm. Most obviously, Jesus quoted verse 1 on the cross and many scholars think that he quoted the rest of the Psalm throughout that dark time of God-forsakenness. Certainly, the Psalm has lines that perfectly fit other moments of his crucifixion. And the first Christians used this Psalm more…
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