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Psalm 27:1, 4-9
Epiphany 3A
It was Emily Dickinson who clearly enunciated one of the great principles of effective preaching: “Tell the truth, but tell it slant.” Most everyone who hears your sermons already knows the truth. Thus, you’ll have to find a new way to tell it so they will listen to the “old, old story.” No, I didn’t…
Psalm 40:1-11
Epiphany 2A
“The correct ‘voice’ for Psalm 40 is not in doubt,” says Patrick Henry Reardon in his Christ in the Psalms. “We know from Hebrews 10 that these are words springing from the heart of Christ our Lord and have reference to the sacrificial obedience of his Passion and death.” That may be ultimately true and…
Psalm 29
Epiphany 1A
Anyone who regularly preaches on the Lectionary knows all too well that the there are times when the choice of readings doesn’t make sense. That is not the case for this First Sunday after Epiphany when we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. The “main” reading from the Gospels is, of course, about the baptism of…
Psalm 8
1st Sunday after Christmas A
I was meditating on the words of verse 4, “what is man that you are mindful of him,” when I saw her picture—a lovely blond, her eyes closed in obvious contentment, a blissful smile on her lips, the perfect picture of serenity. She was on the cover of Time magazine with this headline next to…
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Advent 4A
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, just a week away from Christmas, it is easy to imagine those shepherds already in the fields keeping watch over their sheep, completely unaware of what is going to happen to them in just a few days. But we can’t go there yet. It is not Christmas yet; it’s…
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Advent 2A
I have given invocations at many events over the years—civic dinners with important speakers, the dedication of public and private buildings, the launching of significant social justice initiatives, even the inauguration of a local judge. But I’ve never given the invocation at the swearing in of a President. That is essentially what we have in…
Psalm 122
Advent 1A
When I began to study Psalm 122, I thought it was one of those homiletically barren texts from which any smart preacher should run as fast as she can. It seemed utterly unfit for this first Sunday of Advent. However, having plowed it now for some time, I’m not so sure my first impressions were…
Psalm 46
Proper 29C
These are auspicious days in my country. We’re less than two weeks downwind from our elections and we know now who our next President will be and what our new Congress will look like. During this coming week, we will pause as a nation to give thanks for the blessings we have received from God,…
Psalm 98
Proper 28C
On the church’s liturgical calendar, next Sunday is the last Sunday of the church year, on which we finally get to celebrate Christ the King. So, fittingly, the lectionary has us preaching on Psalm 98 this second to the last Sunday of the church year. We can think of it as a prelude to that…
Psalm 17:1-9
Proper 27C
There are a number of ways to read this Psalm. Clearly, it is a prayer, but what kind of prayer? A cursory reading might dismiss Psalm 17 as the proud prayer of a self-righteous person, an Old Testament version of the Pharisee’s prayer in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:11,12). One wag said that the Pharisee had…
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