Isaac, once betrayed by his father, Abraham, is now betrayed his wife and son, as they scheme together so the younger son, Jacob, gets the blessing intended for Esau, the older son. Read the Working Preacher commentary here. Read the scripture here. Not long before this, Esau comes home famished, and trades his birthright as… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: What Abraham Did (Gen 21:1-3; 22:1-14)
This week’s NL passage is the story of Isaac. It can be found here, and the Working Preacher commentary can be found here. Perhaps you’ve read the story of Luke Howard, who has been playing the piano non-stop at College Green in Bristol for 24 hours in a bid to win back his ‘lost love.’… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: God Who Has Created and Is Creating. (Genesis 1:1-2:4a)
This Sunday marks the beginning of Year 4 in the Narrative Lectionary cycle. Since the goal of the Narrative Lectionary is to carry the church through the scope of the Biblical Narrative between now and Pentecost Sunday it only makes sense that we (to quote a would-be nun named Maria) “start at the very beginning,… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Summer Hiatus
Our Narrative Lectionary feature will be on hiatus for Summer, 2017. The discussion resumes on Tuesday, September 5th, as we begin Year 4. As always, we thank our colleagues at Working Preacher for their resources, particularly those about preaching series you might want to check out for this summer.
Narrative Lectionary: All in the Family
We continue this week with Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Text can be found here (including the verses we aren’t preaching from–just to see what we’re missing): Galatians 3:1-9, 23-29. Commentary from Working Preacher is here. I am fond of Cuyler Black’s cartoon about Paul and his letter to the Bergmans. It’s always a helpful reminder… Read More
Narrative Lectionary – Before and After (Galatians 1:13-17, 2:11-21)
A staple feature of women’s magazine’s is the makeover. We get the “before” picture, with the disorganized closet, the unflattering haircut or the dated clothes. Then the experts take over, and we see the “after” picture of the functional closet, the arresting haircut, or the stylish new clothes. One magazine, bowing to reality, used to… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: The Early Church in Conflict (Acts 15)
The early church was full of amazing things, wasn’t it? The Holy Spirit working in and among the people, the people living together, sharing all things in common, all seemingly working towards a common goal. It seems idyllic, doesn’t it? And then we re-read this Sunday’s passage found in Acts 15:1-17. You can find the Working… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: The Circle Starts to Spread Edition (Acts 8:26-39, Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch)
As we continue our Easter journey through Acts we embark on a theme that will carry us through the next few weeks . Who gets to be part of the church? What are the criteria for inclusion? A foreign eunuch? Those who do not follow the Law? This week we have a story that is… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Stephen & Church Politics Edition (Acts 6:1—7:2a, 44-60)
We have a rather lengthy passage this week, jumping from last week’s Road to Emmaus to Acts 6 and 7. By missing the first 5 chapters of Acts, we jump over Pentecost (for the moment) and the promise of the early church, who shared what they had. “There was not a needy person among them, for… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Heartburn (Luke 24:13-35)
Journalist Cokie Roberts said once that, decades after her father’s death, she still thinks she sees him on the streets of Washington, D.C., the city where he lived and worked. Someone with a similar gait, or mannerisms, will catch her eye, and for a brief, impossible moment, she thinks it’s her father. We have the… Read More
