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Psalm 85:8-13 Sermon Commentary
Proper 14A
“Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” Here is a lyric and pretty well-known line from Psalm 85. But based on how this psalm begins—in the part the Lectionary would have us leap frog over in the first 7 verses—you would not have predicted this Hebrew poem would end up including…
Romans 10:5-15 Sermon Commentary
Proper 14A
Few passages of Scripture hit me harder and closer to home than this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson. In fact, its verses 14-15a leave me figuratively squirming as I try to open myself to the Spirit’s prompting toward writing something meaningful about them. Eugene Peterson’s The Message’s paraphrases verse 13 as Paul’s profession that “Everyone who calls,…
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Sermon Commentary
Proper 14A
Patterns of preference and favoritism and jealousy replay themselves with uncomfortable regularity through the history of God’s people. Abraham’s son Ishmael is nearly written out of the story by Sarah’s jealousy. Isaac and Rebekah are #TeamEsau and #TeamJacob accordingly. Jacob shames Leah and honors Rachel. No doubt the ten sons of Leah have noticed Jacob’s…
Matthew 14:22-33 Sermon Commentary
Proper 14A
Jesus’s literal declaration, “I am” (translated as “it is I”) is the very center of this story. Literally: in his commentary on the miracles of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, Birger Gerhardsson counted the Greek words and noted that these two, egō eimi, are the exact middle of this story. Because Jesus is the…
Commentary posted on August 7, 2023
Proper 14A Sermon Commentary
The Proper 14A Sermon Commentaries include reflection and illustration ideas for Matthew 14:22-33 from the Lectionary Gospel; Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 from the Old Testament Lectionary; Psalm 85:8-13 from the Lectionary Psalms; and Romans 10:5-15 from the Lectionary Epistle.
Related Reformed confession: Lectionary Epistle: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 128 (Lord’s Day 52)