11th Hour Preacher Party: Palm Sunday

So here we are! Jesus makes his approach to Jerusalem; the crowds go wild! Tree branches are waved and laid; small children run along in excitement… You may be beginning in-person worship after the lockdown – this is very possible in Scotland as our restrictions are lifted a little from Friday. You may already be… Read More

Narrative Lectionary: What, no palm branches? (Luke 19:28-44)

In times gone by, my usual practice would have been to allow the liturgy and hymns, the marching with palm leaves and the singing of “Hosanna”, to speak most loudly on Palm Sunday. However, in their absence (due to Covid restrictions this year), there is both a need and an opportunity to take a closer… Read More

RCL Commentary: Palm Sunday 2021: Living on Borrowed Time, Colts, and Promises

Mark 11:1-11   John 12:12-16 Approaching Jerusalem, Jesus paused. It had been another unsettling week for the disciples – a week full of parables they struggled to understand, an unexpected lunch with a tax collector, and a morbid take on this trip to Jerusalem. But seeing the city in the distance and knowing that ahead lay… Read More

Narrative Lectionary: Use What You’ve Got

Which to choose… the part of the text about the mass protest, or the part of the text about touch… Lord, you do have a sense of humor. I’m sticking with chapter 11 for the majority of this post, but chapter 14 is one of my very favorite texts, in the end, I offer a… Read More

Saturday Prayer – Saturday Teaching

On that day, Holy Friend, before dusty cloaks thrown onto even more dusty earth, before the powers’ posturing, before you washed your friends’ feet and sat at a table even with the one who would betray you and prayed in a darkened olive grove, before torture and death. On that day, Holy Friend, you did what… Read More