Moving Forward - Weekly Lectionary Podcast

Acts 9:1-6; Rev 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 - I don't know about you, but I spend a lot more time thinking about how to follow Jesus than I do in thinking about how to worship Jesus. Revelation 5, and someone of wife's favorite music, offer a useful corrective.

Acts 5:27-32 & John 20:19-31 - We hear it all the time: "When God Closes a Door, God opens a window..." God opening and closing doors as a metaphor is both ancient and Biblical. What do the lectionary readings have to say about Jesus and doors? And why is knowing the difference between Pharisees and Sadducees so important? [I'm looking at you, "King of Kings" movie...]

Acts 10:34-43 & John 20:1-18 - One of my favorite aspects of Bible is that there were multiple human authors inspired to write to multiple human audiences. We have multiple voices and multiple perspectives that all testify to God's work in the world. Jesus' resurrection is no exception. I love that Mary, Peter, John, the angels and Jesus all notice differently, and that we are allowed to see t...

Luke 22:14-23:56 - I don't know about y'all, but sometimes it feels like words just don't have meanings anymore. Words like "justice," "save," "defend," and "fix" are used to describe injustice, persecution, abandoning and ruining. Folks in power throwing around worthless words is nothing new, though. In fact, in addition to everything else that Jesus endured in the Passion account, worthless word...

Isaiah 43:16-21; Psa 126; Phil 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8 - How do we intentionally forget? Think of a pink gorilla - now, stop thinking about it! How well does that work? And yet, forgetting can be healthy, and necessary for moving on in the present and future. The lectionary texts this week have 4 examples of mentally moving on when something new comes along.

Joshua 5:9-12; 2 Cor 5:16-21 & Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32: Sometimes we've gotta take the spacewalk - completely untether from everything, let go, and jump off toward the new. Spring is a good time to think about this. In the lectionary readings for the week, we have three stories of letting go of what is past, and moving into the future. And, I remember the first time I ate carob pods...

1 Cor 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9 Repenting isn't a game. We can enjoy grace all we want [and we should!], but God's goals don't stop there. God wants transformed humans who are deeply committed to learning how to love each other better every day. Jesus and Paul use current events and ancient stories to incite their audiences to repent. now.

Luke 13:31-35 - Jesus makes a pretty stark comparison between himself and Herod, using two female animals. Those who ruthlessly pursue and then cling to power are like vixens who search for chicks to devour. Jesus is like a mother hen, who only wants to gather and protect her chicks. Jesus insists that we reflect on who we trust ourselves with and who we should follow.

Deut 26:1-11; Rom 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13. Oh boy, this one is near and dear to me. Repeated stories, prioritizing books of Law, holiday genesis, foreigner love, redemptive empathy... Come and learn why Deuteronomy is one of God's favorite books of the Bible, and can be yours too!

Exodus 34:29-35; 2 Cor 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36 I'm tempted to quote the intro to the Reel World here... After the golden calf episode, after the sin in Eden, after the relationship fell apart, after we saw who Jesus really was, after the veil slips or the mask comes off, it can be difficult to know what to do next or where to go. It's temping to try to put the veil right back, or find a new mask. B...

Gen 43:3-11; 1 Cor 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38 - Looking at Judah's moral arc - is he an inhumane monster, a practical realist just trying to do the best he can in a bad situation, or the saint of the story who sets things right? Yes, all of the above. Just like us, Judah has to undergo a sort of death to self so that he can become who God and his family want and need him to become. In his story...

Jeremiah 17:5-10; 1 Cor 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26. Do our human ideas get in the way of what God is actually doing? Sure! All the time! Just about everyone in the Bible who has an encounter with God is surprised about the direction it goes! The readings for this week off guidance on how to hang on loosely to what we think we know and to follow God into unfamiliar directions.

Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11 - There's this thought that flows throughout the Bible that no one may see God and live, and yet, Adam and Eve; Abraham and Sarah; Hagar; Moses; the Sanhedrin on Sinai; Isaiah; Ezekiel and several others all see God and live. The imbalance between holy and unholy is indeed a problem. But God has a solution for that - grace, followed by repentance. The lecti...

1 Cor 13:1-13 & Luke 4:21-30 Sometimes it's difficult to be an adult about things. When someone has what we want but don't have, whether it is love, a sweet car, a better job, or peace, it can make us mad. It happened in Corinth and in Nazareth, and I'm pretty sure it happens in our homes and halls of power. The answer is not to grab everything we can. Instead, God calls us to grow up and act...

Nehemiah 8:1-11; Psalm 19; Luke 4:14-21 - Sometimes it's difficult to recognize good news as such. I get so swamped in bad news, that I'm cautious when something actually sounds good. Did I read that correctly? Or, I wait for something bad to happen, too scared to believe that good is possible in this world. In the lectionary readings this week, people insist that the Good News is really real, and...

John 2:1-11 It is a common experience of preachers to have someone come up after the service and say to us, "It felt like you were talking just to me," and then the person proceeds to quote us, only we didn't happen to say anything close to what the person heard. Through God's Word, different people heard what they need to hear, even in different words at the same time. At the Wedding at Cana, Jes...

Isaiah 43:1-7 & Luke 3:15-22 My preferred metaphor for God is King. That feels appropriate to me, and is well-supported in Scripture. And yet, the parent motif is every bit as strong throughout the Biblical text, and sometimes, that is what I need to hear. This week, the lectionary readings focus on depicting God as a loving parent who is just crazy about God's kids.

Jer 31:7-14; Psa 147:12-20 & John 1:10-18 How many times are we preemptively underwhelmed because of our low expectations? Whether with concerts, politicians, vacations, or family members, sometimes we just expect too little and see exactly what we are looking for. This week, the lectionary readings invite us to see that the work of God is greater than we could ask or imagine.

1 Sam 2:18-20, 26; Luke 2:41-52 [and a little bit of Col 3...]: What do we do with the boyhood stories of Jesus and Samuel? Is there any wisdom for life here? I'm a parent, and I have parents [hi Mom and Dad!]. The lectionary passages this week discuss how to hold onto the good stuff that our folks gave us, and how to give good gifts to our kiddos.

Luke 2:1-20 What difference does it make that there are two words translated as "inn" in Luke's Gospel? Who were the shepherds the to whom the angels appeared? Re-reading Luke's birth narrative with contextualized eyes helps us re-frame the Jesus' nativity in the context of his life.

Micah 5:1-5 & Luke 1:39-55: Thank God we do not live our lives in a vacuum of faith. We need other folks to pray for us and give us words of comfort and wisdom (and sometimes I need rebuke, if I'm being honest...). Sometimes we give words and prayers to other folks too. This week, we encounter folks who believe the word of the Lord, however they hear God speak.

Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6 & Luke 3:7-18 - What's with all the judgement and forgiveness? Can't God just be cool and tone down the anger and compassion? Well, no, actually. The Gospel, in Luke is framed as God coming to do something about the ways that humans mistreat each other - and God! God is passionate about Justice and Reconciliation. The lectionary readings this week tell of God's...

Luke 21 & Jeremiah 33 - So, there's been a little bit up upheaval in leadership in the States as I prepared for this week. And, since I'm on vacation, I'm not checking the news anymore. So, who knows what is going on. But the more I think about political leaders, the more I need to be reminded that Advent is here, and my job is to prepare to welcome Jesus on the earth. What does that look like...

John 18:33-37 - On Christ the King Sunday, what is Jesus' real mission? And who are Jesus' real servants? Where is Jesus' real kingdom? And, why is Cory such a picture-taking fool?

Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25 & Mark 13:1-8 - What can we learn from how Jesus leaves the earthly temple, and from how he enters the Heavenly temple? Well, why do we enter and why do we leave holy spaces? Usually, we enter because we are looking for an encounter with God and an experience of transcendence. And usually we leave because we need to get back to work or normal life, or because we witness...