Lots of emotive triggers in our texts this week, in both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary. Themes of grief, grace, forgiveness, resourcefulness, compassion, empowerment, themes that cannot fail to speak into all our differing contexts. Knowing the context into which we are called to preach, do we have the courage to go… Read More
Friday Prayer: Longings
Creator God, Like the hungry fox staring at the empty bird feeder I long for things that will not satisfy my hunger for you. Remind me when I yearn for the lost chances, the broken dreams, the end of a road, that you are still there, And I can be fully satisfied by the bounty… Read More
Thursday Prayer: disrupting the status quo
Dear God, Make us in your likeness: that we might disrupt what is taken for granted, and be challengers of the status quo that privileges the normative white, straight, able-bodied. Nourish us with the stories of our forebears: that their actions might fuel prophetic imaginations in our own time. Equip and empower us to work… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: Love Your Enemies Edition
Sometimes, it feels like all the world is against you. Everyone is cursing, hating, or abusing you. Nothing is working out the way you want, and all the powers are conspiring against you. Sometimes, this is really the case. When that happens, Jesus has difficult but important advice for us. Love those people anyway. The… 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
Monday Prayer: blessings
Bestower of blessings, fling wide the portals of your love as we draw near to you this day. Bless those keeping watch over the tender moments of letting go, and those waiting with eagerness to cradle new life. Bless the studious child, the wandering thought, the imagination stretched out beyond what the horizon can hold.… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Calm in the Face of a National Emergency
Declaring something an emergency escalates it. I’ve learned that the best way to deal with the anxiety, bluster and stress of the situation is simply to be calm, quiet and composed. Read More
Saturday Prayer – Berries in Winter
For berries in winter, we praise your name, oh Creator of all things. For the miracle that is their rich color, taut skin, juice in each bite. For berries in winter, – and every gift that comes unexpectedly deliciously delightfully out of season – we praise your name, Oh Creator of all things. Amen. ________________________________________________________________… Read More
RevGalBookPals: Far More Terrible for Women
Reading is an exponential activity. In a linear activity, when you finish A, you can proceed directly to B and then to C. In an exponential activity, completion of A leads to a directional dilemma between A 2.0, A2, or B. Reading spreads out in all directions and it only occasionally loops back on itself… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: On Earth as it is in Heaven
After reading the kin-dom stories found in this week’s text around 7 times this morning I can’t help but wonder if Jesus is expounding on the “on earth as it is in heaven” portion of the prayer he teaches his disciples in Chapter 6…? The story about the “good” and the “bad” dwelling together sounds… Read More
