With honesty and tenderness, our bloggers are considering relationships this week – with God, with Jesus, with our stuff and with a lamented mother, who has just died. The hard work of stopping the rush of her life has Sally Coleman thinking about where God is inviting her to sing a new song. “I have… Read More
Friday Festival: Hot and Cold Running Wisdom
Sitting in front of fans and air conditioning units, our bloggers are digging deep within for wisdom. While many of us want to flop on the couch with beach books, or are now finding ourselves in mid-winter, depending on where we live, our bloggers are mining the depths for unexpected gems of wisdom. The body… Read More
Preacher Party: Pigs and Prejudices
Is it time to start pulling our hair out yet, preachers? Are you preaching from the Revised Common Lectionary this coming Sunday? If so, are you riveted again by Luke’s story of Jesus and the man possessed by so many spirits that they name themselves “Legion”? I can’t hear the story without thinking about… Read More
Friday Festival
Need a boost as this week ends? Our bloggers are offering help of all kinds, from the practical to the reflective. There are ways to get support for a knee or give love after an immense loss, ideas for an ending or a beginning, wisdom for a health challenge or an offer of a way… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Hoping Against Hope (Romans 5:1-11)
When my daughter was young, I would often say, “Hmmm…” as I thought about something. “What hmmm?” she would demand, wondering what I was pondering. We have the same reaction to Paul, as the reading begins with “therefore…” “What therefore?” we wonder. Read the Narrative Lectionary Commentary here. Read the scripture here. With his adept… Read More
Friday Festival: Back to the Foundation
As the week winds up, our bloggers are returning us to the essentials. They offer a counterbalance to whatever sorrow, aggravation, worry or rage the week has brought to us. The image above is Bonnie Jacobs meditation on the laundry — just in case your week has been like that, too. Jan Edmiston reminds us… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: The Living and the Dead (Matthew 28:1-10)
Matthew’s gospel begins and ends with angels, bringing the same message: “Do not be afraid…oh, and also, you have a job to do.” The first angel in Matthew instructs Joseph to make Mary his wife, before Jesus is born. The Easter morning angel tells the women at the tomb not to be afraid, and also… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Invitations (Matthew 22:1-14)
Decisions, decisions, decisions…the other day I RSVP’d for a wedding, and I was invited to choose my meal from these options: gluten-free, nut-free, vegetarian and “I’ll eat anything.” The hosts are working hard to show hospitality to all of their guests. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They have to make decisions about… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Banquets and Blessings (Matthew 14:13-33)
Yawn…another feeding story…another miracle story. Because versions of this story show up in the readings so often, the power of the story gets lost in our familiarity with it. Even the delightful details are familiar – Jesus inviting (commanding?) the disciples to share the work with him, the grass that evokes a new Eden, the… Read More
Friday Festival: After Valentine’s Day
Whether you love Valentine’s Day or despise it, it echoes through our culture, and the feelings linger on even when the day is past. Our bloggers are looking past the flowers, and past the pressure to be a perfect couple, past the teddy bears and the emphasis on romantic love to something deeper. This day… Read More
