Divergence on the Lectionary – Maundy Thursday (All Years)
First Reading Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Good Friday (All Years)
First Reading Isaiah 52:13–53:12 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Passion Sunday, Year A
Because the Passion Narrative for this Sunday is so long, I’m putting a link here so that you can click straight to the Comments and Questions for Discussion if you’d rather do that than scroll and scroll (and scroll). (Click Here for Comments and Questions.) First Reading Isaiah 50:4–9a The Lord GOD has given me […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year A
First Reading 1 Samuel 16:1–13 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” And Samuel […]
Repent
I wrote this some years ago when I was sending out weekly emails to many members of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. Looking it back over during this Lenten season, it still seems to ring. “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and […]
A Fast from Striving
One of the most important things that I ever learned from Graham Cooke was the value of rest. Not naps, although I love naps now that I’m older, but rest. Rest isn’t about being still, although it results in much inner stillness. Rest isn’t about not doing anything. On the contrary, I can be very […]
Receiving Your Inheritance XVIII – 2 Lent, Year A
I remember when my youngest daughter was born. It took a lot longer for the contractions to do their work than I’d expected, but when they had, things started to happen pretty quickly. When Gretchen was born, she was mad. No two ways about it. She hollered at us for two hours straight. (I’d like […]
Divergence on the Lectionary – First Sunday in Lent, Year A
First Reading Genesis 2:15–17, 3:1–7 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you […]