Download or Stream this Episode In America, we specialize in having strong feelings about everything and knowing something about a few things.  The Bible might be what taught us to…

Revised Common Lectionary Page for 6 March 2016 (Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C) Joshua 5:9-12  • Psalm 32  • 2 Corinthians 5:16-21  • Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 I know I gripe about this too much, but…

Isaiah 55:1-9  • Psalm 63:1-8  • 1 Corinthians 10:1-13  • Luke 13:1-9 Too often, I fear, folks praise a writer or other public figure as “prophetic” because that public figure speaks moralistically, often aggressively against people…

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18  • Psalm 27  • Philippians 3:17-4:1  • Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) The second Sunday in Lent, a season dedicated to fasting and reflection on our sins, seems a…

Deuteronomy 26:1-11  • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16  • Romans 10:8b-13  • Luke 4:1-13 Since Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, I have a public-service announcement to make: LENT IS A FAST. FASTING MEANS ABSTAINING FROM SOMETHING INHERENTLY GOOD, FOR…

Exodus 34:29-35  • Psalm 99  • 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2  • Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) Now that I preach only occasionally, usually when our preacher at Bogart Christian Church is out of town, I realize that one of…

Jeremiah 1:4-10  •Psalm 71:1-6  • 1 Corinthians 13:1-13  • Luke 4:21-30 I’ll admit that the gospel reading for this week is one that would have tempted me to too-easy, shock-value sermons in a…

Isaiah 62:1-5  • Psalm 36:5-10  • 1 Corinthians 12:1-11  • John 2:1-11 I realized, as I started re-reading John 2, that I don’t have much of an idea of what a “steward” is. …

Isaiah 43:1-7  • Psalm 29  • Acts 8:14-17  • Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Before I get rolling on the reflection proper, I want to exhort folks who are preaching the gospel text this week…

Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12  • Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21  • Ephesians 1:3-14  • John 1:(1-9), 10-18 One of my defects of personality (the list is long) is that, when…

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26  • Psalm 148  • Colossians 3:12-17  • Luke 2:41-52 First, I am aware that Christmas lies between today and next Sunday.  But this is a series of blog posts…

Micah 5:2-5a  • Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80:1-7  • Hebrews 10:5-10  • Luke 1:39-45, (46-55) One of my favorite bits of wisdom for reading the Bible comes from Robert Alter’s book The Art…

Zephaniah 3:14-20  • Isaiah 12:2-6  • Philippians 4:4-7  • Luke 3:7-18 Once again, reading the text of the Bible carefully reminds me why these blog posts do me at least as much good…

Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4  • Luke 1:68-79  • Philippians 1:3-11  •Luke 3:1-6 Everyone loves the Magnificat, and I don’t blame them.  The faithful with a traditional theological bent can exult in the…

Jeremiah 33:14-16  • Psalm 25:1-10  • 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13  • Luke 21:25-36 As I publish this reflection, I will have been an ex-preacher for almost eleven months.  I deliberated on whether I should…