Psalm 147:12-20
Christmas 2B
[…] a poem like this given the historical and spiritual realities we know only too well? This Psalm seems to be a favorite for the Second Sunday after Christmas as it was assigned for the first Sunday in January in the Year A Lectionary too, which last year was January 5, 2020. A year ago, […]
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Advent 1C
[…] things, nevertheless proclaim words of hope. But then, aren’t those precisely the situations where one needs to find hope? As we begin to celebrate Advent and then Christmas once again, we know full well that not all the forced Christmas “cheer” in the world can cover up or finally compensate for the gloominess and […]
Psalm 80:1-7
Advent 4C
[…] psalm. It is filled with dark and bitter imagery. It is written from the depths of sorrow. All in all, in short, this does not feel terribly Christmas-like. Probably most preachers will opt for the alternative reading of Mary’s “Magnificat” (see above for the link to a commentary on that). But when you think […]
Psalm 47
Easter 7B
[…] over? No, ours is a world of hatred and strife, of children shooting children on playgrounds, of cancer and leukemia, of homegrown terrorists shooting up campuses and Christmas parties. It doesn’t look like a world ruled by a good Lord. How then can we claim the truth of Ascension Day–the truth that Jesus is […]
Isaiah 40:1-11
Advent 2B
[…] as the Son of God prepares to return to judge the living and the dead. If looking ahead to an apocalyptic time seems at variance with “the Christmas spirit,” then week two of Advent may seem that way, too, as we are thrown out into the wilderness where grass withers and flowers fade and […]
Micah 5:2-5a
Advent 4C
[…] the sanctuary or in order to understand the messages that we preach. Few times of the year tempt us more in that direction, however, than Advent and Christmas. I suspect that I need not detail the reasons why. But it’s a temptation to resist at this time above all times. If Christ cannot be […]
Mark 1:1-8
Advent 2B
[…] on, Mark, go back, get back to angels and shepherds and stars and stables and mangers and all that good stuff. This is Advent not Epiphany. It’s Christmas, for pete’s sake, and the last place we want to be in December is in the middle of some dry, dusty wilderness where someone is screaming […]
Isaiah 52:7-10
Christmas Day A
[…] a Savior who would rescue God’s adopted sons and daughters from our sins. Yet the situation of some of God’s children today is little better, even on Christmas morning, 2016. People have wrapped some of us in the chains of oppression. Poverty, neglect and racial prejudice have also tried to claim some of us […]
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Advent 1B
[…] James, and John saw the truly blinding nature of Christ’s glory as it shone from the face of the glorified Jesus. All of that has Advent and Christmas resonances for certain. But one suspects that another reason for connecting Psalm 80 to Advent is from what we read in verses 17 and 18 where […]
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Advent 2B
[…] text for the second Sunday of Advent is a vivid reminder that Advent is not only about the coming of the “tender and mild” baby Jesus at Christmas, but also about the Coming of God in the terrifying Day of the Lord. Frankly, no one really wants to think about that Day, especially during […]
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