A reflection on Exodus 33:12-23, the Hebrew Bible lesson for Proper 24a, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. God takes Moses, and he puts him in a little crack in a rock atop a mountain. God was going to pass by Moses, and God wanted to let Moses catch a glimpse of Him. So God passed by – but Moses wasn’t allowed to look yet. He wasn’t able to look until God had already passed. […]
See the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare. Isaiah 42:9 Our faith stretches back into history like the roots of a mighty oak stretch into the earth, grabbing at the earth and clutching onto the bedrock beneath. But, our faith is not just a lesson in history.
Everything in the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel – which tells of God doing this wondrous thing in the birth of Jesus – seems to point backwards. Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy, starting with the Patriarch Abraham. Then we have the reference to Isaiah’s prophesy that the child shall be called “Emmanuel.” And then the child is given the name “Jesus,” which not only means “God saves” but in Hebrew it’s also the name […]
The following is a reflection on Luke 9:28-36, the Gospel lesson for the Last Sunday in Epiphany, year C, according to the revised common lectionary. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the Israelites were freed from Pharaoh’s hand, and they were wandering […]
The following is a reflection on John 6:56-69, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 16B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. This post is from the tenth chapter of my book, “Going to Hell, Getting Saved.” Jesus told the people that his flesh was real food and that his blood was true drink—and to eat his flesh and drink his blood meant eternal life. And people stopped following him. The disciples grumbled about how hard […]
The following is a reflection on John 3:14-21, the Gospel lesson for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. The scene of the brazen serpent (in Numbers 21:4-9) immediately makes me recall the serpent in the Garden of Eden. That the Israelites were punished for their thanklessness with deadly biting serpents, and then forced to look upon the image of another serpent to find a cure, makes me think […]
After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And he was called Jesus. It’s a peculiarity that Christianity as we know it came through the furnace of the Latin speaking Roman Empire that we call the Son of God “Jesus.” Unless the Angel Gabriel spoke in Latin to the Virgin Mother, he told […]
The following is a reflection on Joshua 3:7-17, the Hebrew Bible lesson appointed for October 30th, 2011 according to the New Revised Common Lectionary. (Proper 26, Year A) On this site there is also • a reflection on the Gospel Lesson for the same day, and • a version of the Prayers of the People, based on the lessons of the day. The miraculous crossing of the River Jordan is one of those texts that […]
The following is a reflection on Deuteronomy 34:1-12, the Hebrew Bible lesson appointed for October 23rd, 2011 according to the New Revised Common Lectionary. (Proper 25, Year A) On this site there is also • a reflection on the Gospel Lesson for the same day, and • a version of the Prayers of the People, based on the lessons of the day. When someone great dies–someone whose life altered the lives of countless others, and […]
The following is a reflection on Exodus 33:12-23, the Hebrew Bible lesson appointed for October 16th, 2011 according to the New Revised Common Lectionary. (Proper 24, Year A) On this site there is also • a reflection on the Gospel Lesson for the same day, and • a version of the Prayers of the People, based on the lessons of the day. “In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every […]