Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, February 19, 2012, the Transfiguration of the Lord (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  

First Reading - 2 Kings2:1-12

vs. 1-12 How much does this reading influence our understanding of the Transfiguration and inform our interpretation of  Mark 9:2-9?  Can we read Mark 9:29, in part, as Midrash on this reading? What is a whirlwind?

v. 3 Who are the company of prophets here and in verse 5?  Why did Elisha bid them to keep silent?  What do you know about Bethel?

v. 5 What do you know about Jericho?

v. 6 What do you know about the Jordan? Why this travel narrative?

v. 7 Is there anything significant or symbolic about the number fifty?

v. 8 What is a mantel?  Is this a Midrash on Moses’ parting of the Red Sea?

v. 9 What is a double measure of spirit?  I would settle for half of Elijah’s spirit.

v. 11 Why does a chariot of fire and horses of fire appear?  What is their relationship to the whirlwind?

v. 12 Why did Elisha tear his clothes in two?

Psalm - Psalm 50:1-6

v. 1 Does God not summon from the setting of the sun to its rising?

v. 2 What is perfect beauty?

v. 3 Does this verse alone justify this Psalm being paired with the First Reading?

v. 5 Are we to assume from the First Reading  that only Elijah was faithful?

Second Reading - 2Corinthians 4:3-6

v. 3 Is our gospel veiled?  What sort of veil is Paul talking about?

v. 4 Who, or what, is the god of this world? How does this verse illuminate our understanding of the Transfiguration and inform our interpretation of the Gospel Reading?

v. 6 Wherein Scripture did God say “Let light shine out of darkness,”?

Gospel - Mark 9:2-9

v. 2 Six days later, after what?  Why does Jesus always seem to take with him Peter, James and John?  Whatis the meaning of the word “transfigured”?

v. 3 Was this in the days before Clorox and/or OxiClean?

v.4 Why Elisha and Moses?  What do they represent and/or symbolize?  If you had to pick two people from the Jewish Scriptures to appear with you, whom would you pick?

v. 5 Why might Peter have wanted to build three dwellings?

v. 7 Where and when have we heard something like this before?

v.8 What just happened?

v.9 Why would Jesus order Peter, James and John not to tell anyone about what they had just seen?  Why is “Son of Man” used here but not earlier in this account?  Why do the three have to wait untilafter the resurrection?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, Sunday, February 12, 2012, the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  

2Kings 5:1-14

v. 1 How many juxtapositions can you find in this verse and the reading in addition to a great man suffering from leprosy?

v. 2 Is this the only Biblical instance of a captured Israelite bringing some sort of salvation to their captors?

v. 3 Who is the “my lord” being referred to?

v. 4 Who is the “his lord” being referred to?

v. 6Why was Naaman sent to the king of Israel rather than the prophet in Samaria?

v. 7 Does the king of Israel ask a rhetorical question?  Why does the king of Israel think the king of Samaria is trying to pick a fight?

v. 8 How might have Elisha heard about what had happened?  Note that in verse 3 the young girl referred to a prophet who is in Samaria, yet in this verse, Elisha refers to a prophet in Israel.

v. 9 Why seven times?

v. 11 What was the source of Naaman’s anger?

v. 12 Is there any difference between the water in the Jordan and the water in the Abana or Pharpar? Why are some rivers, such as the Jordan and the Ganges, considered sacred and holy, while others are not?

Psalm30:1-12

v. 1 What does it mean to “extol” the LORD?  Do you extol anyone  or anything?

v. 2 This verse pairs well with the First Reading, but can you imagine these words, or this Psalm, being spoken by Naaman?

v. 3 Is this verse about resurrection, or something else?

v. 5 I like the contrast between God’s anger and God’s favor.  Why does it seem that some people get this backwards?

v. 6 I hear echoes of other passages here.  How do we read this and the following verse in the midst or, or near the end of, The Great Recession?

v. 9 What logic is the psalmist employing?

vs.  11-12 Is it the promise of God’s grace, or the experience of God’s grace, that leads to mourning turning into dancing?

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

v. 24 Yes, we know this.  Although, for some, just finishing a race is reward enough, even if they do not finish first.

v. 25 How might you compare Christian spiritual disciplines to the regimen of athletic training?  What can winning athletes teach us about the Christian life?

v. 27 Is this a call to Christian asceticism, or self flagulation?

Mark1:40-45

v. 40 Recalling the First Reading, I hereby proclaim this Sunday to be “Leper Sunday.”   Oh wait, this Sunday has already been proclaimed “Evolution Sunday”.  What does it mean to be made clean?

v. 41 Do you think Jesus was really moved with, or motivated by, pity?

v. 42 One of Mark’s favorite words: “Immediately”!

vs. 43-44 Why would Jesus sternly warn the man he healed not to anything about itbut to show himself to the priest?  What did Moses command to be offered?

v. 45 Why could Jesus no longer go into towns openly?

ADDENDUM

For those who are observing it, February 12, 2012 is Evolution Sunday.  How might these texts illuminate the relation of science and faith and one’s understanding of creation and evolution?

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, February 5, 2012, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) 

Isaiah40:21-31

vs. 21-31 This is one of the longer readings we have seen in a while.  Note that it is not prose.   How does that affect or influence your interpretation and application?

v. 21 Are these merely rhetorical questions?

v. 22 Who is “he”?  I am surprised by “the circle” of the earth as I would have expected a flat earth with four corners.

v. 24 what are the “they”?

v. 26 What are the “these”?

v. 27 Is there any instance in Scripture of anyone speaking these words?

v. 28 I hear a refrain.  This sounds like a confession of faith.

vs. 30-31 This is one of my favorite passages to read as part of a Service of Witness to the Resurrection.

Psalm147:1-11, 20c

v. 1 Why is it that some worshiping communities simply do not like to sing hymns and spiritual songs?

v. 2 Who are the outcasts of Israel?

v. 3 Are the brokenhearted and wounded the same people as the outcasts of Jerusalem?

v. 4 I wonder what God has to say about all the organizations that, for a small fee, will name a star after someone and register that name.

v. 5 A confession of faith as well as expression of praise.

v. 7 See my comments for v. 1

v. 9 I wish God would get up every morning to feed my dog so that I did not have to.

v. 10 So God is not a sports fan, or least not horse racing or track and field.

v. 11 What is the meaning of “fear”? Do you fear God?

v. 20c Always a good way to end a Psalm and in this case the last/ending line echoes the first/opening line.

1Corinthians 9:16-23

v. 16 If? IF?  IF? I can almost resonate with Paul’s assertion.

v. 18 How do “compensated” preachers handle this one?

v. 20 But Paul WAS a Jew!

v. 21 Who were outside the law?

v. 22 How did Paul become weak?  Can anyone truly be everything to all people?

Mark 1:29-39

v. 29 Where did Simon and Andrew live?

v. 30 Simon was married?  Were he and Andrew living with Simon’s in-laws or were Simon’s in-laws and Andrew living with Simon and his wife?

v. 32 ALL?  Really?  I think this is hyperbole.

v. 33 The whole city? All one thousand of them? Could this be another example of hyperbole?

v. 34 Is this verse an example of messianic secret of Mark?

v. 35 So Jesus was a morning person!  Why pray in a deserted place?

v. 36 Who were Simon’s companions?

v. 39 What if Jesus had proclaimed the message but not cast out demons? What if he had cast out demons but not proclaimed the message?  Must proclaiming the message and casting out demons go hand in hand?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt  page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 29, 2012, the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  

Deuteronomy18:15-20

v. 15 Who is speaking?

v. 16 Is there any other reference to the people saying this?

v.19 What does it mean to be held accountable by God?

v. 20 What other gods?  Do we ever presume to speak in God’s name when God has not commanded us to speak?

Psalm 111:1-10

v. 1 Who are the upright?

v. 2 What are the works of the Lord? How does one study them?

v. 6 What is the heritage of the nations?

v. 9  What is meant by “redemption”?  What is the difference between “Holy” and “awesome”?

v.10  What is meant by “fear”?  What is meant by “wisdom”?

1Corinthians 8:1-13

v.1 When was the last time you were concerned about food offered to an idol? What is meant by knowledge?

v. 2 I think Socrates would have liked this verse?

vs. 4-6 what is Paul really saying about idols, gods and God?

v.7 what is the relation between knowledge and conscience?

vs.7-13  What is more pastoral, to dumb things down, or to set high expectations while helping people meet those expectatons?

Mark1:21-28

v. 21 Who are “they”?

v. 22 When was the last time you were astounded by someone’s teaching?.  I’m glad I am not a scribe.

v. 23 How convienant!

v. 24 What is the irony here?

v. 25 What would Jesus rebuke this truth speaking  spirit, even if it was an unclean spirit?

v. 27 Indeed, what is this?

v.28 When was the last time you associated the word ”fame” with Jesus?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 22, 2012, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  

Jonah3:1-5, 10

v. 1 What was the “word of the Lord” before the incarnation and how did it come to people?

v. 2 What do you know about Nineveh and what would be a modern equivalent?

v. 3 Three days to walk across? Really?  Is this perhaps hyperbole?

v. 4 What is so special about forty?

v. 5 So ritual without real repentance is OK?

v.10 This verse must a Process Theologian’s favorite.

Psalm62:5-12

v. 5 Who or what else might your soul wait in silence?  What does it mean to “wait in silence”?  What do you know about contemplative prayer?

v. 6 Are rock, salvation and fortress merely poetic synonyms or does each noun offer a unique  nuance?

v.7 Are deliverance and honor related?

v. 8 What times might we be tempted not to trust in God?  How does one pour bout one’s heart before God?

v. 9 What is the difference between a breath and a delusion?

v. 10 Why would anyone put confidence in extortion?  It is OK if riches increase, but if they do, do not set your heart on them.  How does this verse counteract the prosperity gospel?

v.11What is the meaning of “once” and how is it related to “twice.”

vs.  11-12 Is God’s steadfast love the source of God’spower?

1Corinthians 7:29-31

v.29 What is “the appointed time” being referred to?  How does any time grow short?   So much  for family values. This must be Newt Gingrich’s favorite verse!

v. 30 Let those who buy be as though they had no possessions? That is un-American!

v. 31 What is the present form of the world? How does it pass away?  Are Plato and C. S. Lewis any help here?

Mark1:14-20

v. 14 Is “after” a chronos or a kairos  reference? What is “the good news of God”?

v. 15 Is the good news of God the news that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near?  How does the kingdom of God come near?

vs. 16-17 It sounds like Jesus had a thing for brothers.  I wonder why.

vs. 18-20 It sounds like Mark has a thing for “immediately”.

v. 20 Why would Jesus call James and John but not their father or the hired men?  I think it is a shame that the father’s name is not given here.

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens  and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 15, 2012, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

v. 1 What does it mean that “the voice of the Lord was rare in those days”?  What does the voice of the Lord sound like? Is the voice of the Lord rare today?

v. 3 What do you know about the spiritual discipline of incubation?  Have you ever slept in the sanctuary of a church?

v. 4 Where have we heard “Here I am” before? 

v. 7 How can God be calling a person by name if that person does not know God or the word of God has not yet been revealed to that person?

v. 8 Is there any symbolism behind the fact that God called Samuel THREE times?

v. 10 The Lord “stood” there?  Physically?  Is this a metaphor?

v. 11 What makes your ears tingle?

v. 13 Woe to the parents of pks!

v. 15 How many people do you think might of experienced a spiritual vision but are afraid to talk about it with anyone, even their pastor?

v. 16 Samuel still responds to Eli the same way he responded to God.

v. 19 Whose words, Samuel’s or God’s?  How does one earn the trustworthiness of others?

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

v. 1 How does the Lord search us?  What does it mean to be known by the Lord?

v. 4 How can God know what we are going to say before we ourselves know?

v. 5 What does it mean to be hemmed in by God?

v. 6 What was inscribed on the Temple at the Oracle of Delphi?

v. 13 What about in-vitro fertilization?

v. 14 Is the Human body, or the human eye, still enough evidence to support an argument for creation from design?  What would Darwin say about this verse?

v. 15 Was the psalmist made in the depths of the earth or in his or her mother’s womb?

v. 16 Is this book available for kindle or the nook?

v. 17 How much do thought’s weigh?

v. 18 Do you recall the story of Augustine and sand at a beach?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

v. 12 I think this might be Ron Paul’s favorite verse.

v. 13 What is the definition of fornication? Did it mean anything different in Paul’s day than it does today?  How do we responsibly deal with this verse when many young adults are postponing marriage until they are in their late 20’s or even early 30’s?

vs. 12-18 Of all possible actions that might not be beneficial, why is Paul singling out fornication?

vs. 19-20 I think these verses have been used to speak out against the use of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, meat, and who knows what else.

John 1:43-51

v. 43 What happened the day before this? Please note: Jesus found Philip.  Philip did not find Jesus.  I think I will market a new bumper sticker saying “Jesus Found Me”.

v. 45 Who are “we”?  Son of Joseph?  Why not son of the Virgin Mary?

v.46 Is this a rhetorical question?  Is not “come and see” the quintessential invitation?  I prefer it to “Are you saved?”

v. 47 How could Jesus know this?

v. 48 I think Psalm 139:16 would have been a better answer.

v.49 And Jesus did not even ask Nathaniel who people said he (Jesus) was!

v. 51 Was this ever  fulfilled or is Nathaniel still waiting to see this spectacular thing?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 8, 2012, the Baptism of the Lord (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  

Genesis 1:1-5

v. 1 There are several ways the verb can be translated.  Is it “when God created” or “when God began to create” or something else altogether?  What difference does it make?  Take a close look at the user notes in one or two study Bibles, or better yet, the gleanings and notes in The Torah.  Why is thispassage paired with Mark’s account of Jesus’ baptism?

v. 2 What is the Hebrew word for “wind” and how else can the word be translated?

v. 3 What, if any, is the significance of light being the first thing created?

v. 4 What if God saw that the light was not good? How did God separate the lighgt from the darkness?

v. 5 Can there be day without night, or night without day?

vs. 1-5 How does one preach/teach this passage in a post Copernican and post modern world, especially considering there is at least one other Biblical (and different) account of creation?

Psalm 29:1-11

v. 1 Who are the heavenly beings?

v. 2 What is the name of the LORD?

vs. 3-11 How can one teach/preach using storm god imagery while recognizing that storm god imagery is not the only imagery applied to the LORD?  Sleeping under a small tarp in the wilderness during a nighttime thunder and lightning storm and hiking on a high wilderness ridge during a daytime thunder and lightning storm has greatly influenced how I read this passage.  What are your experiences of storms and how do those experiences influence how you understand this passage?

Acts 19:1-7

v. 1 Who was Apollos? What else do you know about him?  Why does Paul mention him?

v. 2 How could someone be a disciple and never have heard about the Holy Spirit.

v. 3 Were these disciples actually baptized by John?

v. 5 Did Paul actually baptize them with water, or simply lay his hands on them?  What is the difference between being baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus” and being baptized “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”?  What does it mean to speak in tongues?  What does it mean to prophesy?

v. 7 “About” seems to be a relatively general term while “twelve” seems to be very specific and pointvto the twelve tribes of Israel and “the twelve” disciples of Jesus.

Mark 1:4-11

v. 4 I much prefer the descriptive phrase “John the baptizer” rather than the more usual “John the Baptist.”   At least Mark agrees with Acts regarding a description of John’s baptism.

v. 5 “All the people of Jerusalem” seems to be hyperbole.

v. 6 Where does this imagery come from and what does it point to?  Might locusts refer to something other than bugs?

v. 7 As I have asked in a previous rumination, what is so special about the thing of a sandal?

v. 8 Might this be some literary foreshadowing or reading developments back into the text?

v. 10 What do the heavens being torn apart look like?  Is there a difference between the Spirit “descending like a dove” and “descending as a dove”?  Did anyone other than Jesus see these things?

v. 11 Did anyone other than Jesus hear this voice?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt  page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 1, 2012, the First Sunday after Christmas (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore. http://summittoshore.blogspot.com/

Isaiah 61:10-62:3

v. 10 How does one’s whole being exult? Most Presbyterians only exult with the mind.  I find it interesting that both bridegroom and bride imagery is employed.

v. 11 It seems righteousness must take root and grow and does not materialize out of thin air.

v. 2 What could this new name be?

Psalm 148:1-14

v. 1 Who, or what, is praising from the heavens?  Or is it the heavens that are praising.

v. 2 How do you deal with angels?

v. 3 It seems that everything above the earth is praising God.  What about everything below the earth?

v. 7 Now sea creatures below the surface of the earth join the choir.

v. 11 Some human voices finally join the chorus.

v.1-14 I think I would interpret this Psalm through an environmentalist’s lens.

Galatians 4:4-7

v. 4 What is”full” time?  Is this kairos time or the eschaton?  John Shelby Spong used a phrase from this verse as the title of his book about the birth of Jesus.  Why would Paul refer to Jesus being born of a woman rather than of the Virgin Mary?

v. 6 What do you think about translating “Abba” as “Daddy”?

vs. 4-7 These verses seem to base adoption as God’s children upon Jesus’ birth. So why did he have to die?

Luke 2:22-40

v. 22 What time was this?

v. 24 Why two turtledoves but no partridge in a pear tree or three French hens?

v. 25 Is there anything special about the name Simeon? 

v. 27 What was customary under the law?

v. 32 Gentiles?  I think Luke might be the only Gospel that could say this.

v. 40 Luke is long on prose but short on detail.

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, December 25, 2011, the Nativity of Jesus Christ (Year B)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  

Isaiah 62:6-12

v. 7 Being a native of Appalachia, I resonate with this verse.  How does the mountain reference resonate with people not familiar with, or who do not have an affinity for, mountains?  Why are feet the body part mentioned?

v. 8 who are the sentinels?  The sentinels do not talk or yell, they sing.

v.9 How can ruins sing?

v. 10 What does it mean to uncover an arm?  Is this anything like the euphemism “to roll up one’s sleeve”?  Is this a proof text for universal salvation?

Psalm 98:1-9

v. 1 I am drawing connections with Isaiah 52:8 and 9

v. 2 Why all this arm talk? (see Isaiah 52:10)

v. 3 Must God be able to forget in order to remember?

vs. 4-6 I think these verses call for joyous, hearty singing rather than shallow funeral dirges I usually hear.

vs. 7-9 I am thinking of musicians  such as Paul Winter who incorporate animal sounds into their music.

Hebrews 1:1-4

v.1 How long ago? How many and in what various ways?

v. 2 Why the plural “worlds”?

v. 3 What do you make of “reflection” and “imprint”?  How are sins purified?

v.4 What name has been inherited?

John 1:1-14

v. 1 Is this an allusion to Genesis 1:1, or something else?  What do you know about the role of the logos in Greek Philosophy?

v. 2 Can we cite this verse to argue for the preexistent Christ, or only the preexistent Word?

v.5 How could darkness ever overcome light?

v. 7 Not all witnesses are called to testify, but John is.  Who believes through you and your testimony?

v. 10 Another verse which seems to support the preexistent Word.

v.12 What is meant by “power,” how does the Word give it away, and how do people use it to become children of God?

v. 14 If the Word became flesh, then the word existed before becoming flesh.

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens  and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt  page and follow the appropriate links.