Liturgy of the Passion - Reflections on Isaiah 50:4-9a
Nearly every church I know celebrates Palm Sunday, rather than Passion Sunday, but today I choose to focus on the text chosen for Passion Sunday, Isaiah’s third Song of the Servant of YHWH.
New Life - Reflections on Ezekiel 37:1-14
In response to the question of YHWH God, “Mortal, can these bones live,” the prophet first says, “YHWH God, you know,” which may be a way politely of saying, “Not likely!” But God has not yet given up on Israel, nor on us, because the prophet is asked to animate these bones with his prophecy, with his prophetic voice.
Seeing as YHWH Sees? - Reflections on 1 Samuel 16:1-13
We preachers must be careful not to fall into the traps of simplism when we seek to elucidate these subtle and rich texts. After all, YHWH sees us as well, we claim, and evaluates our employment of the sacred texts, weighing our hearts as we ply our homiltical trade. Read more carefully, I regularly hear God say.
Must Reads, Episode 18, with Dr. Alyce McKenzie and Dr. Owen Lynch, featuring their book “Humor Us!”
Welcome to episode 18 of Must Reads! “Humor Us! “ is a collaborative effort by homiletician Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie and humor scholar Dr. Owen Hanley Lynch that promotes humor, a force capable of great good, to its rightful place in the pulpit.
What is Meaning, Anyway - Exodus 17:1-7
The Bible is a book filled with puzzles. To ask the question of the meaning of any text is to ask a very complicated question. Is the meaning what the author meant, what it may mean to this or that reader, or something else entirely different?
The Ancient Text Lives! - Reflections on Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
I propose something different today in my look at the familiar passage. I will newly translate the whole thing with an eye out for a few of the multiple nuances that might be captured in the actual words as I hear them. And along the way of my reading, I will emphasize those places where a preacher might reap a wonderful homiletical harvest.
The Mystery of the Mountain - Reflections on Exodus 24:12-18
At Ex.24, Moses, like Jesus later, calls selected followers to join him on a high mountain, this time the sacred hill of Sinai (or Horeb in another tradition). One can easily see the tokens in Exodus of the later Jesus story of transfiguration: clouds and fire and divine voice.
Choice - Reflections on Sirach 15:15-20
The book has been a very popular one both for Jews and Christians, leaving a profound impact on the proverbial literature of the West. It is filled with moral, cultic, and ethical maxims, folk proverbs, psalms of praise and lament, theological and philosophical reflections, homiletic exhortations, and rich comments about life and customs of the time.
True Fasting - Reflections on Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
It is from this marvelous and challenging passage from Isaiah that a significant religious and moral movement derives its name: “Repairers of the Breach” (Is.58:12).
How to Walk with God - Reflections on Micah 6:1-8
What God appears to seek here is the concerted work toward justice, based on the certainty of God’s connection, pursued diligently and persistently.
Gloom Becomes Light - Reflections on Isaiah 9:1-4
The verse speaks of a time when the subjects of the text, namely Zebulun and Naphtali, were “in anguish” and were experiencing “gloom.” This period of Israelite history is known as the Syro-Ephraimitic War. Hence, gloom and contempt were the orders of the day. But now Isaiah promises light. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those living in the land of zalmaweth—light has shone on them” (Is.9:2).
A Light to the Nations - Reflections on Isaiah 49:1-7
“I will create you as a light to the nations in order that my work of saving may reach to the end of the earth” (Is.49:6). Here is nothing less than the ultimate statement of God’s desire for the whole creation.
