Acts 19:1-7
Epiphany 1B
[…] fills them. The Ephesian Christians then speak in strange languages and speak messages from God. It all sounds, candidly, a lot like what happened on the first Pentecost. The Holy Spirit and baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, after all, always somehow go together. Yet the link between baptism and the Spirit […]
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Advent 3B
[…] interesting translation, given that the word “fire” doesn’t occur in the Greek. Paul really says, don’t quench the Spirit. But the presence of tongues of fire on Pentecost and Paul’s similar command in Romans 12:11 (“be aglow with the Spirit”) and Wesley’s famous words (“my heart was strangely warmed”), give us a powerful image […]
Psalm 22:19-28
Proper 7C
[…] normal believer. It reminds us that the normal Christian life can be very difficult. Following Christ isn’t easy, as our other readings for this sixth Sunday after Pentecost show us. The alternate Psalm selections (42 and 43) have been called “the Depressive Psalms,” because of the Psalmist’s repeated question. “Why are you so downcast, […]
Acts 19:1-7
Epiphany 1B
[…] while I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of those who have received that gift, its lack in my life has been used by some well-meaning Pentecostal sisters and brothers to question whether I have the whole Trinity in me or just two-thirds of the Godhead. But I will say this: when in […]
Acts 3:12-19
Easter 3B
[…] right from the get-go! So what’s the big deal, people?” Well of course it was a big deal, and Peter was surely not so full of the Pentecostal flame that he himself could not feel at least a little giddy over what he was now able to do in Jesus’ name and by Jesus’ […]
Four Pages: Afraid and Silent
[…] at least passively to dismiss the work of God in other people in case they are not one of us. How easy to bracket out what the Pentecostals are doing, what the Catholics are doing, what God’s Spirit might be doing through . . . well, through fill-in-the-denominational blank. And so maybe, just maybe, […]
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Easter 7B
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Note: The Common Lectionary during Eastertide substitutes readings from Acts for Old Testament lections. Pentecost hasn’t happened just yet and so maybe we can give Peter a break for an exegetical exercise that you simply have to assume would not pass muster in the average seminary Bible course. […]
Psalm 30
Proper 5C
Easter and Eastertide have now passed this calendar year and yet in the Sundays after Pentecost the Lectionary provides us with some wonderful poetry to help us continue living into and celebrating Easter. With its imagery of death and resurrection, Psalm 30 is a perfect post-Easter Psalm. Its purpose is to keep the memory […]
Psalm 145:1-8
Proper 20A
[…] that seems to be making us live that out. As I looked at the Psalm selection for the Year A Proper 20 or the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, I knew I had seen this before. And I had: it was assigned just last month in mid-August. And when I saw that last month, I […]
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