Moving Forward - Weekly Lectionary Podcast

Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 - A lot of times, we are searching for the "what?". What's the meaning of life? What is my purpose? What is the correct way to life? What am I doing? This week, the lectionary readings assume you already know the "what". Instead, they move to focus on the "why" behind these questions.

Jer 31:7-14; Psa 147:12-20; Eph 1:3-14; John 1:10-18 - Can you remember a time that might have been a little TOO good? The lectionary passages this week describe God heaping up grace upon grace for those who will turn from Caesar's injustice and idolatry and follow the True God. Not even King James text editors can squash this good news that God piles up many different flavors of grace!

Isaiah 63:7-9 & Matthew 2:13-23 - As we sit around with families during this time of year, we hear a lot of old stories repeated. But are any of them still relevant to our lives? If we have wisdom and gentleness to really listen and learn from them, of course! Isaiah and Matthew this week insist that the old stories of God's people are still relevant for their audiences, and for us!

Isaiah 7:10-16 & Matthew 1:18-25 - There's never a perfect time to have a baby. But there are worse times than others. Major international conflict, pandemics or even just bad politicians make having a baby more difficult and more dangerous. God steps into two such times, announcing the births of two babies, both of whom remind us that God is with us!

Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; Matthew 11:2-11 - Wilderness times in the life are difficult (and pretty common!). What do we do as we wait for salvation and redemption?

Isaiah 11:1-10; Psa 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12 - This Advent, we return to many of the old promises and prophesies to hear Good news that leads to endurance and encouragement.

Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 - It's Advent, Thank God! How do the lectionary passages this week help us know how God would like us to prepare?

Jer 23:1-6; Col 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 - Bad shepherds and good shepherds. We can feel the difference, right? Those who harm some sheep, and divide the folk, might be kind to us, but we know, deep down, that they are not trustworthy shepherds. On this Christ the King Sunday, we see what kind of King Jesus is, and what kind of shepherding he models for us.

Mal 4:1-2a & Luke 21:5-19 - All kinds of predictions and prophesies abound - and always have - about what will happen ON THAT DAY. Jesus and Malachi help us think about the future as a continuation of the present. What happens on That Day is profoundly related to what we do on This Day.

Luke 20:27-38 - The Bodily Resurrection of the dead is one of the best pieces of Good News that we have! Jesus is willing to be drawn into an argument with argumentative agitators who were not his main audience in order to double down on bodily resurrection.

Isaiah 1:10-18 & Luke 19:1-10 - Ever been surprised at what happens in a worship setting? Me too! Actually, according to Isaiah, God finds what goes in in worship shocking! God cannot stand public worship practiced by people with blood on their hands, the prophet proclaims. It's deeply offensive to God that leaders who do not take of widows and orphans, the poor and foreigners, have the nerve...

Luke 18:9-14 - When someone creates Jesus as a mascot for their evil, what are we supposed to do about it? What happens when someone collaborates with evil, and oppresses their neighbors? The Gospel this week ruffles some feathers!!!

Genesis 32 & Luke 18 - Like a mountain climber nearing the summit, like a wrestler at the end of a long match, or like a marginalized person struggling for justice in a corrupt system - we are called to stay in the quest for blessing for us and for the whole world!

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c; Luke 17:11-19 "But what if we don't believe the same things? How can we worship together? What if that person is hurting our community?" This is what I've been struggling with this week. What can those who worship death and cruelty have in common with those who want to love neighbors? Surely nothing! But then along comes Naaman, perpetrator of attacks on civilians, enslaver o...

Hab 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Psa 37:1-9; Luke 17:5-10 In confusing, disorienting and sometimes scary times, what does God want from us? Probably the same thing that God wants from us in every other time - ordinary faithfulness to be the people who love neighbors and the God who created us all.

Amos 6:1, 4-7; Psa 146; 1 Tim 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 "Get Rich or Die Trying"...? More likely, "get rich, and die [period]" The lectionary passages this week warn of the dangers of accumulating or even having wealth in a world where basic needs go unmet.

Amos 8:4-7 & Luke 16:1-13 It's not like this is EVER topical when it comes up, is it? There is a battle on, for the soul of humans, and God and mammon are fighting it. Both sides are trying to recruit you!

Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 51:1-10; 1 Tim 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10 - This week, the lectionary readings all focus on the joy of repentance and making it right.

Deut 30:15-20; Philemon; Luke 14:25-33 - Going out for a sport? Or, trying to meet a new special someone? Thinking about a change in work? or Thinking about a change in living situations? There are ALWAYS pros and cons with every decision we make. This week, the lectionary texts all address the necessity to count the cost before we take the plunge.

Proverbs 25:6-7; Psa 112; Hebr 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14 One of the axiomatic passages in Scripture for me is James 1:9-10: We rejoice in the humbling of the exalted, and the exalting of the humbling. We see this throughout Scripture, and especially in the songs of Hannah and Mary. This week, the texts all point to God's delight in social leveling, especially through shared meals.

Isaiah 58:9b-14 & Luke 13:10-17 The sabbath is a command and a gift. It is an intervention into an undoing world that says that even God pauses, and that human empires should not crush human lives.

Jer 23:23-29; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56 - Okay, plenty of us feel this growing dis-ease and sense of dread. But why? [gestures wildly at, you know, everything]. But, how do we >make sense< of the times. rather than just feel gross and sad? This week, the appointed Bible readings help us analyze the times.

Gen 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 Migrants and Migration are in the news. And they are also all over the Bible! This week, we take a peak at the stories of two such folks, Abraham and Jesus.

Ecc 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23; Psa 49:1-12; Col 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21 Who doesn't want to give their kids good things? At the same time, who doesn't want to store up for themselves good things? In all four lectionary readings this week, we learn something about inheritance and greed. How are we being purposeful in passing down good things to the generations to come?

Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:6-15; Luke 11:1-13 - We all deal with shame, right? Sometimes it prevents us to doing what we should. And sometimes a little more shame could have prevented us from doing what we shouldn't do. The lectionary passages this week are all about when to feel shame, and when no to feel it.