Tag: lectionary
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Anxiety and Hope as Existential Moods
Psalm 131 -7/6/2026 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul within me is like a weaned child. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore. Psalm 131:2-3 (NRSVue, alternate translation) Anxiety is an important mood for philosophical reasons. Anxiety exemplifies the…
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An Easy Burden
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 – 7/5/2026 – Sixth Sunday after Pentecost For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Matthew 11:18-19 (NRSVue) Jesus famously promises in…
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Become Like a Child
Luke 10:21-24 – 7/4/2026 At that very hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. Luke 10:21 (NRSVue) Jesus…
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Paul’s Moral Psychology
Romans 7:7-20 – 7/3/2026 – The Feast of Thomas, the Apostle What then are we to say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not…
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The Spirit and the Letter
Romans 7:1-6 – 7/2/2026 Now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are enslaved in the newness of the [spirit] and not in the oldness of the [letter]. Romans 7:6 (NRSVue with my translation correction) One of the themes of Paul’s letter to the Romans, one…
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A Polyvocal Scripture
Jeremiah 18:1-11 – 7/1/2026 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:6 (NRSVue) Jeremiah’s words of prophecy indicate a God of will, a God…
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Testing Spirits and the Weight of Choice
1 John 4:1-6 – 6/30/2026 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 (NRSVue) One of the distinctive features of the New Testament writings that bear John’s name is an emphasis on God’s…
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When You Were Younger…
John 21:15-19 – 6/29/2026 – The Feast of Apostles Peter and Paul, Martyrs Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you…
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Service Is its Own Reward
Matthew 10:40-42 – 6/28/2028 – The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward. Matthew 10:42 (NRSVue) This is perhaps one of my favorite verses of Scripture. It points…
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Love More Important than Moral Perfection
Luke 17:1-4 – 6/27/2026 Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for [stumbling] are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones…
Dionysus on a Bike 