Blogs | Lively Lectionary Old Testament

Wrestling With…? - Reflections on Genesis 32:22-31

I say that the wrestling match at Jabbok cannot be fully comprehended without the succeeding meeting of the two brothers. It is there that God is fully revealed.

What Goes Around… - Reflections on Genesis 29:15-28

What are we to make of this story of trickery, deception, and clever dealings? No character here is to emulated; the Bible does not say ever “be like Jacob” or “take Laban as your model for living.” What the Bible instead implies is: just how is the great God going to make anything out of these rascals? And, it follows, just how is God going to make anything out of us? How indeed.

Gee, Thanks a Lot! - Reflections on Genesis 28:10-19a

Context is always crucial when one reads any biblical text, but that is doubly true when examining Gen.28, the tale of Jacob’s mysterious ladder dream. The story is wonderfully spooky, deliciously important, and delightfully funny all at the same time.

Deception and Stupidity - Reflections on Genesis 25:19-34

I am continually amazed at the rich humor of many of our scripture passages. How anyone could read Gen.25:19-34, the tale of the birth and rivalry of Jacob and Esau, and not spare at least a chuckle at the story, is quite beyond me. If one does not laugh, one is left with a crushing sorrow.

Ancient Tales - Reflections on Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

I cannot in silence pass over the delightful story of Abraham’s bargaining with Ephron the Hittite for a burial place for his dead wife, Sarah, for it is all too reminiscent of some modern bargaining that I have tried and failed to do in the current Middle East. That lovely tale is followed by another in Gen.24. In a very long account, Abraham now sends a servant to secure a wife from among his relatives in Haran.

A Truly Tragic Tale - Reflections on Genesis 21:8-21

Some biblical stories are very dark, and the one for today is one of them. After the relatively light-hearted story of the miraculous birth of the child of laughter, Isaac, we are confronted with a rivalry between sons that we did not anticipate.

The Last Laugh? - Reflections on Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7)

Today’s text is a delightful one in several ways. It describes superb Middle Eastern hospitality, something one may still experience in the modern Middle East, at least in rural areas. But, of course, the chief delight is in the playful and delicious repartee that YHWH, Sarah, and Abraham engage in over the fantastic possibility that the prune-faced couple might be somehow able to have a child.

The Bible’s Hinge - Reflections on Genesis 12:1-9

Gen.12:1-3 is the hinge of the book of Genesis, the literary place upon which the entire Genesis story hangs. And, I would add, because Genesis is in fact the origin story of the entire scripture, Gen.12 is also the hinge of the whole biblical tale.

12 Weeks with Genesis - Reflections on Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Because this is Year A in the lectionary cycle, we are embarking on a three-month journey through the book of Genesis which will not end until August 20. We begin on Trinity Sunday, a day when the Christian community celebrates that mystical, and mystifying, theological doctrine of the Trinity, where God appears, it is said, in three indivisible guises: God, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Watch Those Omissions! - Reflections on Ps.104:24-34, 35b

I would imagine that most preachers will give primary attention on Pentecost, the so-called “birthday of the church,” to Acts 2, the tale on which the celebration is largely based. If we imagine that the Christian church was founded that day in Jerusalem, we should further hope that it was not founded on the slippery slope of being more against certain ideas than for the universal love and grace represented by the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Hatred of Enemies - Reflections on Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

The portrait of YHWH in Ps.68 is rooted in a time in Israel’s distant past when they struggled for survival in a hostile land, surrounded by people who were vastly superior to them in technologies and cultural stability.

Warning: Danger Ahead! - Reflections on Psalm 66:8-20

I must say that Ps.66 is a relic from a theological time that I hope has passed away, but that I know sadly has not. God is larger, more mysterious, more inexplicable than we all can imagine, and because that is true, we are in no position to know precisely what God is about in our lives at every moment, in every occasion.