This week’s Narrative text begins a 4 week dwelling in the end of Jesus’ life in John’s gospel (chapters 18 and 19). Working Preacher commentary is here. Text this Week resources are here. There’s a lot of different places one can focus in this passage. Where are you leaning? A few weeks ago, we had… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Soft Targets (John 13:1-17)
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” The departing parishioner accosted my pastor friend at the church door, at the end of worship. “Is that all you have to talk about?” “Pretty much,” he answered. The Narrative Lectionary asks us the same question, and, thankfully, the answer is still yes. Read the scripture here. Read Meda Stamper’s commentary for Working… Read More
Ash Wednesday: Lectionaries
With all your heart, cries God through the prophet Joel. With a clean heart, prays the psalmist. With a heart set on heaven, teaches Jesus. (And for those preachers whose hearts are set on using the Narrative Lectionary texts for Ash Wednesday, check out this reflection on Psalm 23 and John 10:1-18.) Ash Wednesday’s Revised… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Who is Blind? Who Can See? Edition (John 9:1-41)
Why didn’t someone tell me decades ago that spit and dirt make such a great healing tool? I could have been a millionaire before starting kindergarten!!!! In the passage this week (John 9:1-41, you can read it here) we have a healing story, though to be honest it really appears that the healing is not… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Transformative Encounter (John 4:1-42)
The Working Preacher Narrative Lectionary post for this week can be found here. In the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, we see Jesus modelling a way of encountering others that is inviting, challenging, provoking, affirming, and, in the end transforming, not just for the one he encounters but for a… Read More
Narrative Lectionary:Born Again (again)
I’m at the RevGals Big Event Continuing Ed Event this week in Dallas. Grateful for this time to be with my clergy friends and learn Enneagram wisdom. (Be sure to sign up for next year’s Big Event, which will be online before too long). This week’s Narrative Lectionary passage is John 3:1-21. I’m partial to… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Table Tipping (John 2:13-25)
“Well, Jesus got angry,” we hear people of faith explain, giving ourselves the right to be mad, too. It can be directed at the person who made us late for an event to the ugliness of human trafficking, or anything and everything in between. Our anger can be a slow burn or a hot flash. … Read More
Narrative Lectionary—The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)
Have you noticed that Jesus never performed weddings? And yet, for us, weddings are one of the big ways we do our religious work. Not once does Jesus ever perform a wedding or officiate a funeral. And he didn’t officiate this wedding in Cana. But nearly every week, a young minister asks a question on… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Come and See Edition (John 1:35-51)
Welcome to 2018! This week we continue our journey through John 1 (3 weeks now!) and finalize the hand off from John the Baptist to Jesus, the Word-Made-Flesh, the Lamb of God who takest away the sin of the world (to use some phrases that have already been offered by the Gospel writer to describe… Read More
Narrative Lectionary:Testify to the Light
We close out the calendar year with John the Gospel Writer’s story of John the Baptizer’s story. John 1:19-34 Working Preacher commentary is here. Jan Richardson has some lovely reflections and poetry about this passage at Advent Door. How does the story of John the Baptizer look in the season of Christmas, rather than the… Read More
