In the Lectionary
September 5, Ordinary 23B (James 2:1–17)
Proclaiming God’s abundance or dwelling in perceived scarcity?
August 29, Ordinary 22B (James 1:17–27)
Hearing the word and doing it aren’t as far apart as Martin Luther thought.
August 22, Ordinary 21B (Psalm 84)
In Psalm 84, an expectant swallow makes her nest in the temple.
August 15, Ordinary 20B (1 Kings 2:10–12; 3:3–14)
Solomon has everything—and still, he seeks transformation.
August 8, Ordinary 19B (2 Samuel 18:5–9, 15, 31–33)
David, Absalom, and the dangers of “hanging between heaven and earth”
August 1, Ordinary 18B (John 6:24–35)
“Trust me!” Jesus says, and the more he says it, the less the crowd is inclined to go along.
July 25, Ordinary 17B (2 Samuel 11:1–15)
Scripture does not accept David's behavior for business as usual, and neither should we.
July 18, Ordinary 16B (2 Samuel 7:1–14a)
God promises to build a bayit, a house. But not one with boundaries.
July 11, Ordinary 15B (2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19)
The gap in the lectionary’s account of the return of the Ark of the Covenant echoes a pattern we have seen too often in our country.
July 4, Ordinary 14B (2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10)
Whatever else David is, he is recognizably human and not a fairy-tale king.
June 27, Ordinary 13B (2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27)
When David praises Saul and Jonathan, is he acting out of expediency, faithfulness, or both?
June 20, Ordinary 12B (1 Samuel 17:1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49)
Saul would have provided better odds against Goliath. But God might not have favored him in the matchup.
June 13, Ordinary 11B (1 Samuel 15:34-16:13)
God is moving on, but Samuel can’t.
June 6, Ordinary 10B (1 Samuel 8:4-20)
What happens when Samuel reads his people the fine print?
May 30, Trinity B (Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17)
When words fail, the church sings—especially on Trinity Sunday.
May 23, Pentecost B (Acts 2:1–21)
Maybe we should see Pentecost as a celebration of land and labor in which the Holy Spirt is made known.
May 16, Easter 7B (John 17:6–19)
Jesus’ high priestly prayer is a call to a new kind of knowing and loving.
May 13, Ascension (Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53)
What we see reminds us of what we miss, and vice versa.
May 9, Easter 6B (John 15:9–17)
What would the insurance-mandated boundary trainings that I’ve attended make of Jesus’ intimacy with his disciples?
May 2, Easter 5B (John 15:1–8)
The vine branch doesn’t put “make grapes” on its to-do list. It just makes them.