Daily Lectionary Readings for October 11, 2010
Psalm 44
Hosea 11:12-12:1
Acts 26:1-23
Luke 8:26-39
Acts 26:1-23
Paul appearing before King Agrippa to defend himself against the charges brought by the Jewish leadership. It takes little time for him to get to a story he tells in several places in Scripture and which, I suspect, he told many more times throughout his life - the story of his conversion on the Damascus Road. Paul's regular retelling of this seminal moment in his life can serve as an example to us. Many of us are reluctant to speak of our faith - we don't want to impose, we feel like we are being pushy. Whether we had a conversion experience of a dramatic sort as Paul did or something less dramatic, but no less meaningful - we came to know Christ somehow. It is important for us to retell the story of how we came to know Christ as it, first, speaks to our excitement in coming to this life changing relationship and, second, shares an example that relationship came into being for us. By telling and retelling our story we become comfortable with the story and learn to tell it in a way that is not an imposition and not pushy, but simply an authentic part of who we are.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Parents and Children - October 10, 2010
Daily Lectionary for October 10, 2010
Psalm 107:1-22
Hosea 11:1-11
1 Corinthians 4:9-16
Matthew 15:21-28
Hosea 11:1-11
A wonderfully tender passage with God expressing his love for his children - Ephraim and Israel. The ache at the willful disobedience of the children is palpable and the promise of grace that God makes is uplifting. Especially uplifiting when we have that jolt of realization that we are right there with those disobedient children and we surely need that grace.
1 Corinthians 4:9-16
More talk of disobedient chldren. Pauls says, "I am writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children." Paul encourages the folks in Corinth to be "imitators" of him. Another aspect of the parent metaphor - a parent shows the way, provides an example and the child then does what they will with that example as they find their own way.
Matthrew 15:21-28
The Matthew text shows us an actual parent at work on behalf of her child. A woman, a Canaanite woman, come to Jesus seeking healing for her daughter. The disciples ask Jesus to send her away and Jesus seems inclined to do so, but she is relentless and Jesus ends up doing what she asks and praising her faith. This mother gives us another layer to add to our insight into God as parent as we see her unflagging love for and attachment to seeking the best for her child.
And so it goes...
The Reds finish out a season to remember with a series to not remember too much. But the disappointment is not to great - the Phillies (who I hope ill for) are a very good team with superb pitching) - and the season was a great ride. So thanks to the 2010 National League Central Division Champion Reds - you are great! And now that they have bowed out, go Yankees!
Psalm 107:1-22
Hosea 11:1-11
1 Corinthians 4:9-16
Matthew 15:21-28
Hosea 11:1-11
A wonderfully tender passage with God expressing his love for his children - Ephraim and Israel. The ache at the willful disobedience of the children is palpable and the promise of grace that God makes is uplifting. Especially uplifiting when we have that jolt of realization that we are right there with those disobedient children and we surely need that grace.
1 Corinthians 4:9-16
More talk of disobedient chldren. Pauls says, "I am writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children." Paul encourages the folks in Corinth to be "imitators" of him. Another aspect of the parent metaphor - a parent shows the way, provides an example and the child then does what they will with that example as they find their own way.
Matthrew 15:21-28
The Matthew text shows us an actual parent at work on behalf of her child. A woman, a Canaanite woman, come to Jesus seeking healing for her daughter. The disciples ask Jesus to send her away and Jesus seems inclined to do so, but she is relentless and Jesus ends up doing what she asks and praising her faith. This mother gives us another layer to add to our insight into God as parent as we see her unflagging love for and attachment to seeking the best for her child.
And so it goes...
The Reds finish out a season to remember with a series to not remember too much. But the disappointment is not to great - the Phillies (who I hope ill for) are a very good team with superb pitching) - and the season was a great ride. So thanks to the 2010 National League Central Division Champion Reds - you are great! And now that they have bowed out, go Yankees!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Two Perspectives On Covenant - October 9, 2010
Daily Lectionary Readings for October 9, 2010
Psalm 111
Hosea 10:1-15
Acts 25:13-27
Luke 8:16-25
Psalm 111 and Hosea 10:1-15
One of the things that is helpful about reading the lectionary is reading passages in layers. A Psalm, an Old Testament passage, a New Testament passage, a Gospel passage. Sometimes you are drawn to one, sometimes to several and sometimes the passages seem to speak to and/or with one another. Here Hosea and the Psalmist illuminate the idea of the covenant relationship between God and humanity by coming at it from different perspectives.
"They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants...."(Hosea 10:6a)
"He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant" (Psalm 111:5)
The people, Hosea says, speak easily and don't attach any credibility or value to their words. God on the other hand, the Psalmist points out, is ever mindful of the content of the covenant and acts accordingly. God is always faithful in his covernant relationship with us. These passages remind us to aim to make our side of the covenant relationship one not of words alone, but of honest struggle to be faithful to the core and content of our faith.
Psalm 111
Hosea 10:1-15
Acts 25:13-27
Luke 8:16-25
Psalm 111 and Hosea 10:1-15
One of the things that is helpful about reading the lectionary is reading passages in layers. A Psalm, an Old Testament passage, a New Testament passage, a Gospel passage. Sometimes you are drawn to one, sometimes to several and sometimes the passages seem to speak to and/or with one another. Here Hosea and the Psalmist illuminate the idea of the covenant relationship between God and humanity by coming at it from different perspectives.
"They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants...."(Hosea 10:6a)
"He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant" (Psalm 111:5)
The people, Hosea says, speak easily and don't attach any credibility or value to their words. God on the other hand, the Psalmist points out, is ever mindful of the content of the covenant and acts accordingly. God is always faithful in his covernant relationship with us. These passages remind us to aim to make our side of the covenant relationship one not of words alone, but of honest struggle to be faithful to the core and content of our faith.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Good News For Cities And Villages and Workplaces and Gas Stations - October 8, 2010
Daily Lectionary Readings for October 8, 2010
Psalm 103
Hosea 9:10-17
Acts 24:24-25:12
Luke 8:1-15
Luke 8:1-15
The passage contains one of the basic features of many good stories - folks on a journey. Jesus spends his ministry on a journey - this is one specific journey within that larger framework. "Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God."(v.1) It is the story of a specific journey and it gives some details about some of the folks along for the trip - the disciples as well as several women who helped provide for the needs of the group. It generally though is the story of the larger journey, both of Jesus and hopefully for us. We venture forth each day to our workplaces and our schools, to our recreation and our pumping of gas - to all the stuff that we have to do. And in that journey for this day, for every day, there is opportunity. Opportunity to, as we go through our version of cities and villages, to proclaim and bring the good news of the kingdom of God. This bringing of the good news is not peripheral to what we really need to get done, it is the thing, finally, that brings meaning and purpose to all that we do every day of our lives.
Psalm 103
Hosea 9:10-17
Acts 24:24-25:12
Luke 8:1-15
Luke 8:1-15
The passage contains one of the basic features of many good stories - folks on a journey. Jesus spends his ministry on a journey - this is one specific journey within that larger framework. "Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God."(v.1) It is the story of a specific journey and it gives some details about some of the folks along for the trip - the disciples as well as several women who helped provide for the needs of the group. It generally though is the story of the larger journey, both of Jesus and hopefully for us. We venture forth each day to our workplaces and our schools, to our recreation and our pumping of gas - to all the stuff that we have to do. And in that journey for this day, for every day, there is opportunity. Opportunity to, as we go through our version of cities and villages, to proclaim and bring the good news of the kingdom of God. This bringing of the good news is not peripheral to what we really need to get done, it is the thing, finally, that brings meaning and purpose to all that we do every day of our lives.
Unpleasant, Handy Character Traits - October 7, 2010
Daily Lectionary Readings for October 7, 2010
Psalm 94
Hosea 9:1-9
Acts 24:1-23
Luke 7:36-50
Acts 24:1-23
Tertellus making his case against Paul before the Roman governor Felix....
"We have, in fact, foun this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of th sect of the Nazarenes." I suspect if Paul was on the opposite side of an issue from you on something you felt strongly about he might seem to be described perfectly here. He is tenacious, he is bold and he does seem to be able to agitate with the best of them. What unlikely characteristics floating around in us is God planning to utilize in the manner that God so completely used these in Paul?
Luke 7:36-50
Jesus is at a Pharisees house for dinner. A woman, with a questionable reputation anoints Jesus feet. Jesus tells a brief story (there are two creditors one who owes five hunred denarii and one who owes fifty - who is happier when the debt is cancelled?) and then makes his point. "But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little".(v.47) Jesus' lesson is for each of us. Set this story alongside of the recent story of the speck in the neighbor's eye that we are trying to critique despite the log in our own. We all have a great burden of debt that has been cancelled by Christ's life, death and resurrection. To more fully appreciate what Christ has done for us we must be honest about the depth of our need and our inablity to have met that need on our own.
Psalm 94
Hosea 9:1-9
Acts 24:1-23
Luke 7:36-50
Acts 24:1-23
Tertellus making his case against Paul before the Roman governor Felix....
"We have, in fact, foun this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of th sect of the Nazarenes." I suspect if Paul was on the opposite side of an issue from you on something you felt strongly about he might seem to be described perfectly here. He is tenacious, he is bold and he does seem to be able to agitate with the best of them. What unlikely characteristics floating around in us is God planning to utilize in the manner that God so completely used these in Paul?
Luke 7:36-50
Jesus is at a Pharisees house for dinner. A woman, with a questionable reputation anoints Jesus feet. Jesus tells a brief story (there are two creditors one who owes five hunred denarii and one who owes fifty - who is happier when the debt is cancelled?) and then makes his point. "But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little".(v.47) Jesus' lesson is for each of us. Set this story alongside of the recent story of the speck in the neighbor's eye that we are trying to critique despite the log in our own. We all have a great burden of debt that has been cancelled by Christ's life, death and resurrection. To more fully appreciate what Christ has done for us we must be honest about the depth of our need and our inablity to have met that need on our own.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Sharing Jesus - October 6, 2010
Daily Lectioanry For October 6, 2010
Psalm 69:1-15
Hosea 8:1-14
Acts 23:23-35
Luke 7:18-35
Luke 7:18-35
John sends two of his disciples to question Jesus - to discover if "he is the one who is to come". Jesus, being Jesus, does not answer yes or no, but instead gives John's followers an assignment - "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them."(v.22) It is not a matter of having to vouch for Jesus - the evidence of who he is and what he has done is everywhere to be seen - they do not need to tell John Jesus is the one - they need to tell John what Jesus has done. And so it is with us. We are called to share with folks the ways we have witnessed Jesus at work in our world and in our lives. We may certainly profess that Jesus is Lord, but the point will be made that much stronger when we tell of the ways that we perceive the world to be different because Jesus is alive and at work in it.
Psalm 69:1-15
Hosea 8:1-14
Acts 23:23-35
Luke 7:18-35
Luke 7:18-35
John sends two of his disciples to question Jesus - to discover if "he is the one who is to come". Jesus, being Jesus, does not answer yes or no, but instead gives John's followers an assignment - "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them."(v.22) It is not a matter of having to vouch for Jesus - the evidence of who he is and what he has done is everywhere to be seen - they do not need to tell John Jesus is the one - they need to tell John what Jesus has done. And so it is with us. We are called to share with folks the ways we have witnessed Jesus at work in our world and in our lives. We may certainly profess that Jesus is Lord, but the point will be made that much stronger when we tell of the ways that we perceive the world to be different because Jesus is alive and at work in it.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Hope In God For The Downcast and Disturbed - October 5, 2010
Daily Lectionary For October 5, 2010
Psalm 42
Hosea 7:8-16
Acts 23:12-24
Luke 7:1-17
Psalm 42
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. (v.5)
I'm not feeling particularly downcast today - just the opposite really as it's a beautiful, nearly flawless fall day outside; a great day in the best season of the year - so probably a good day to think about the logic of this verse as opposed to the feeling of this verse. When I do feel downcast - I think when most of us feel downcast - it's no easy trick to move past to the postive spot described in this verse. Yet even when life is bleak and it's not a perfect fall day outside the underlying foundational truth is that God is with us and will not abandon us. Need to save a bit of this day and access it, and this verse, on one of the more challenging ones.
Luke 7:1-17
After healing a centurion's servant Jesus travels to a town called Nain. As Jesus is arriving a funeral procession is making its way out of the town, a crowd of folks surrounding a grieving mother who has lost her only son. "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.'" (v.13) An extraordinary window into the heart of God. In our moments of despair and grief, uncertainty and loss, God's heart goes out to us as well. A reminder that we don't navigate this life alone, but that, amazingly God has come to us and walks with us and at just the moment we reach our lowest ebb (when our soul is downcast and disturbed within us for instance) the heart of God aches for us. And beyond that ministers to us.
Psalm 42
Hosea 7:8-16
Acts 23:12-24
Luke 7:1-17
Psalm 42
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. (v.5)
I'm not feeling particularly downcast today - just the opposite really as it's a beautiful, nearly flawless fall day outside; a great day in the best season of the year - so probably a good day to think about the logic of this verse as opposed to the feeling of this verse. When I do feel downcast - I think when most of us feel downcast - it's no easy trick to move past to the postive spot described in this verse. Yet even when life is bleak and it's not a perfect fall day outside the underlying foundational truth is that God is with us and will not abandon us. Need to save a bit of this day and access it, and this verse, on one of the more challenging ones.
Luke 7:1-17
After healing a centurion's servant Jesus travels to a town called Nain. As Jesus is arriving a funeral procession is making its way out of the town, a crowd of folks surrounding a grieving mother who has lost her only son. "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.'" (v.13) An extraordinary window into the heart of God. In our moments of despair and grief, uncertainty and loss, God's heart goes out to us as well. A reminder that we don't navigate this life alone, but that, amazingly God has come to us and walks with us and at just the moment we reach our lowest ebb (when our soul is downcast and disturbed within us for instance) the heart of God aches for us. And beyond that ministers to us.
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