Narrative Lectionary
Be Human
This Sunday we keep plodding through the Gospel of John with the famous story of the resurrection of Jesus dear friend, Lazarus. This is a long and full story, rich in symbolism and the complexities of life, death, friendship, grief, anger, and love. In that sense, it is deeply, deeply human. We’ll see what bubbles out of it for us this week! -Pastor Paul
They Know His Voice
This Sunday we take a big leap in the narrative, moving all the way from John 4 to John 10! Furthermore, this Sunday is before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. We once again will not have an Ash Wednesday service, as this Wednesday is a third Wednesday and therefore the night of our community meal, which we thought was more important and felt we could not effectively do both. So I will be addressing some Ash Wednesday/Lenten themes on Sunday…
Life Cycle
On Sunday, we will move backwards a bit in the narrative. We missed the Nicodemus story a couple weeks ago because we needed to leave room to collectively grieve and lament, and we skipped over the story of The Woman at the Well last week. But it all kind of works out, because there is a way in which these two stories are meant to be compared and contrasted, so I will do just that in the reflection on Sunday…
Bone to Its Bone
We are headed into the 2nd week of Advent this Sunday with the very rich vision of Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones. Like last week’s text, it may seem an odd Advent text, but as you look at it, it makes a lot of sense. It’s quite a vivid vision he has, and I look forward to unpacking it with y’all and seeing what Ezekiel might have for us this week. -Pastor Paul
Deus Ex Machina
This Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, which is the beginning of the Church Year, so, I guess “Happy New Year” is also in order! We will take a look at a somewhat famous story in the Bible, that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Kind of a strange one for the first Sunday in Advent, but it’ll work. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Daniel 3:8-28 (NRSVUE) 8 Accordingly, at this time certain Chaldeans came forward and denounced the…
A Day in the Life
“We get one of my favorite passages of Scripture this week. And, what do you know, it’s a passage about… serving your city (in its many and varied definitions). I look forward to unpacking it with you. This Sunday is also our last Sunday before the season of Advent starts! It is traditionally ‘Christ the King’ Sunday, which was originally created in an effort to separate The Church from the Roman Empire, proclaiming Jesus as our only king, but even…
Light is Shining
As it just so happens, we are talking about light shining in the darkness this Sunday, with what is a pretty familiar passage from Isaiah. It is often read on Christmas Eve, but the Narrative Lectionary forces us to look at it outside of the context of Christmas, by placing it before Advent starts. Applying this prophecy to the birth of Jesus is not a bad or wrong application at all, it’s just not the only application, and there is…
Let Justice Roll
This week we are introduced to a prophet who falls into the “minor prophet” category, but the punch he packs is hardly minor. His name is Amos, and in my 20 years of preaching, I would say his words has never been more relevant. -Pastor Paul
