Holy Scripture and the Consecration of Gene Robinson
(It’s a long paper, so here’s a link to the PDF.) A good number of years ago the Episcopal Church consecrated her first openly gay bishop. It caused quite a furor in large segments of the Anglican Communion, and out of that furor came something called “The Windsor Report.” One of the things that the […]
Why another study on Luke?
Many years ago I became aware as I led a Bible study on Luke for my congregation, that there were things about Luke-Acts that were/are true but that I hadn’t read anywhere. A great number of commentators on Luke’s two volume work have noted the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit in Luke, […]
Listen
Listen And the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the […]
Receiving Your Inheritance – Birthing Possibility
This weekend, one of the two possible lessons appointed for the Old Testament reading is the story of Jacob, wrestling all night with the “man” prior to his confrontation with Esau. As I prayed over this passage, it became increasingly clear to me that this process of wrestling is as close as a man might […]
Receiving Your Inheritance – Receiving Him
As I did with the Hearing His Voice pieces, I’ll be trying to tie what I write to the lections for each Sunday. I find that this helps discipline me, keeps me from ranging too far into my own thinking, and keeps me listening more carefully for the Father’s word to me/us each week. This […]
Receiving Your Inheritance – Introduction
These pieces were written a number of years ago. I’m leaving them in the present tense, as trying to make them sound current is silly and dishonest. So, here they are, as they were. A couple of weeks ago the Gospel from the lectionary in Luke 14 started off with Jesus saying to His followers, […]
Week Two
We Were Made for More (Acts 9:1-6 (7-20), Psalm 30, Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:1-19) Hearing the Father’s Voice is a way of being in relationship to Him that I longed for without knowing how to express it. I tried a lot of methods to satisfy that desire. I learned a lot about meditation along the […]
Week One
What? It does all that? Acts 9:36-43, Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30 Why bother? I mean, we get along well enough with our worship and our daily lives don’t we? Why all this interest in hearing God speak? This wasn’t the first of these reflections that I wrote. It is the first here […]
Introduction
Synopsis and Outline “Hearing His Voice” is and invitation and a guide into a life of intimacy with God where His voice is no longer something foreign, but a deeply valued and often used gift. It consists of 14 weekly “chapters” which begin with a longer reflection (generally 700-900 words) followed by five shorter “daily […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Proper 13, Year C (track one)
First Reading Hosea 11:1–11 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Proper 12, Year C (track one)
First Reading Hosea 1:2–10 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Proper 11, Year C (track one)
First Reading Amos 8:1–12 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them. […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Proper 9, Year C (track one)
First Reading 2 Kings 5:1–14 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Proper 8, Year C (track 1)
First Reading 2 Kings 2:1–2, 6-14 (Omitted verses have been included in this and the next text in italics.) Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has […]