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Those of us preaching the Narrative Lectionary get to hang out with the prophets for a few weeks. We’ve already encountered Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, and the “how not to be a prophet” story of Jonah. This week we come to Isaiah, whose prophetic voice echoes in much of Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom of God.…
Sure, 2020 has been a rough year with lots of adjustments and some difficult losses. But just think of all the stuff we’ve learned along the way! Talk about “things they didn’t teach us in seminary”! (Except #5. Dr. Graves tried very hard to teach me #5.) So here are The Top 10 Things I’ve…
This piece was originally published at RevGalBlogPals on December 14, 2020. As the Narrative Lectionary moves into the Gospel of Luke, most of the people in the (virtual) pews will find themselves in more familiar territory. Mary, Gabriel, Elizabeth, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Ahhhh. There is, I think, a temptation to relish the familiarity;…
Originally published on RevGalBlogPals, January 11, 2021. Many of the people who raided the United States capitol building last Wednesday were wearing “Jesus” t-shirts and waving Christian flags. And it is pretty obvious those people have listened to a lot of unfaithful preaching and read very little of the actual Bible. We’re in the season…
Dear Clergy Colleagues, It’s rough out there! Between a worldwide pandemic, the attempted overthrow of democracy in the United States, and the projected beer and Spam shortages, 2021 isn’t looking much better than 2020. In the current reality, our jobs are incredibly difficult—emotionally, spiritually, and practically. So here are some helpful things to keep in…
This reflection was originally posted on RevGalBlogPals on February 8, 2021. While the story of the Transfiguration is in all three Synoptic Gospels, it is only Luke who tells us what Moses and Elijah speak with Jesus about: They “were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (v. 31). Moses…
This post was originally published on RevGalBlogPals on March 8, 2021. This morning my husband and I were talking about Donald Trump’s 28,000 square foot house in upstate New York. The house he hasn’t been to for four years or so. With an indoor swimming pool and bowling alley and tennis court. Here where I…
This post originally appeared on the RevGalBlogPals site on May 10, 2021. Those of us using the Narrative Lectionary get to preach from Galatians yet again this week! With the Revised Common Lectionary, you can always choose the Gospel reading, or the Hebrew Scripture, or even the Psalm when passages like this show up. But…
This reflection was originally posted on RevGalBlogPals, September 13, 2021. I was so excited to start a new cycle of the Narrative Lectionary last week! I love that the NL focuses in on one passage (compared to the RCL’s four), so there’s no hemming and hawing and spending half of my week just trying to…
*Originally published on RevGalBlog Pals, October 11, 2021 Well, Narrative Lectionary preaching friends, so much for Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth; we’re jumping right into 1 Samuel! This Sunday is our one chance to talk about the period of the judges before we find ourselves in the monarchy next week. It’s likely that…
This week’s readings (Narrative Lectionary, October 25, 2021) are 1 Kings 5:1-5 and 1 Kings 8:1-13. We’ve skipped over the entire reign of David (which, honestly, is fine by me) and are now reading about the dedication of Solomon’s Temple. Of course, it is not really Solomon’s Temple, it is God’s Temple. Though reading through…
Source of Life,Creative Force,Bearer of BurdensWho longs to gather us under your strong, feathery wings:We are tired of being the parent, the pastor,The figure-outer, the fixer.We grow weary of the weight we carry.We are exhausted from being the one in charge.Except, of course, we’re not in charge,Because if we were, things would not be such…
I know it’s a day late, but I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas-in-July. My gift to you is an updated blog site with NO ADS! (Those things are sooo annoying.) Enjoy! While Christmas still seems a long ways away, Advent will be here before we know it! And it’s only six weeks…
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