Lectionary Ruminations
2.0 is a revised continuation of Lectionary Ruminations. Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised
Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary
Ruminations 2.0 draws on nearly thirty years of pastoral experience. Believing that the questions we ask are often
more important than any answers we find, without overreliance on commentaries I
intend with comments and questions to encourage reflection and rumination for
readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are
invited and encouraged. All lectionary
links are to the via the PC(USA)
Devotions and Readings website.
14:19 Are the “angel of
God” and the “pillar of cloud” one and the same or are they different
manifestations of the same reality?
14:20 What is the meaning
of “army”? How could fleeing slaves have
an army in the military sense of the word?
How could the cloud light up the night?
What did not come near the other?
14:21 How might we
variously understand the action of Moses stretching his hand over the sea? What, if any, is the significance of the
wind? If God was acting here, why did Moses need to do anything? Might the
causeway at Lindisfarne, off the eastern coast of England, in any way help us
envision how God might have been working here?
14:22 How might we
variously understand “wall”?
14:23 Why do chariot
drivers driving chariots not like mud?
14:24 When is the morning
watch? Why did the Egyptian army panic? Are the pillar of fire and pillar of
could one and the same?
14:25 Why did Captain Kirk,
in a damaged Enterprise, enter a nebula when Kahn, in a perfectly functioning
starship, sought to engage him in battle?
14:26 What is it about the
hand off Moses? Why does God need to work through the hand of Moses?
14:27 When did the water’s
part and when did the water’s return?
How might we variously understand “tossed”?
14:28 Does this verse
conflict with the one before it?
14:29 Is this merely a
restatement of 14:22?
14:30 How did the Egyptians
end of on the seashore?
14:31 If it was the LORD
that saved Israel, why did Israel “fear” the LORD and believe in Moses as well
as in the LORD?
114:1 When did Israel go
out from Egypt? Why do we have a comment about strange language?
114:2 Are the references to
“Judah” and “Israel” a references to places, a people, or both?
114:3 Does this verse
conflate two events? What does “Jordan turned back” mean?
114:4 How do mountains and
hills “skip”?
114:5-6 Why are bodies of
waters being compared, or poetically paired, to mountains and hills?
114:7 Is this a reference
to the God of the earthquake?
114:8 When did God turn
rock into a pool of water and flint into a spring of water?
15:1b Yes, there are other psalms
or songs in the Bible other than in the Book of Psalms. Who first sang this one? This is an alternative to Psalm 114. Which of the two, if either, will you use,
and why? How are they different and how
are they similar?
15:2 This sounds like a statement
of faith.
15:3 Must we maintain this
militaristic image of God?
15:6 What is the
significance of the LORD’s “right hand”?
15:8 God has nostrils? The parting of the waters was the result of
God sneezing?
15:11 And the answer to the
questions asked in this verse is? Who or what are the “gods”?
15:20 Miriam was a
prophet? Why is she identified as
Aaron’s sister rather than as the sister of both Aaron and Moses? When was the last time you heard a tambourine
played in a service of worship? When was the last time you saw dancing or
yourself danced in a service of worship? The last line sounds like a refrain; a
restatement of 15:1b.
14:1 What does it mean to
be “weak in faith”? Who were/are the weak in faith and how can they be
welcomed?
14:2 Are vegetarians weak?
14:3 Is Paul writing about
only diets?
14:4 Who are “servants of
another” and who is the “another”? How does this passage inform Church
discipline?
14:5 Is Paul talking about
the Sabbath and/or the Lord’s Day (Saturday and Sunday), or what?
14:6 Is Paul writing about
fasting? Do you know the meaning of the word “adiaphora”, especially as Calvin
used it?
14:7-9 These verses are often
used as part of the liturgy for Witness to the Resurrection and I myself have
spoken these words numerous times graveside.
What do they have to do, however, with what precedes or follows?
14:10 I think this is more
than a rhetorical question.
14:11 Where is this
written? What does this have to do with the topic at hand?
18:21 Why might the word
“church” seem out of place here? How
might we account for it being used here?
Is there anything special about the number “seven” in this context? Do
you think Peter was really looking for an answer or for justification of his
own views and practice?
18:22 Is there anything
special about “seventy-seven”? Are there
parallels to this passage in the other Gospels, and if so, how do they agree
and disagree?
18:23-35 Is this a “Kingdom
Parable”? Is this passage is not about wealth then what is it about?
18:24 What is the current
value of ten thousand talents?
18:28 What is the current
value of a hundred denarii?
18:34 How can the master
hold his slave accountable for a debt he has already forgiven?
18:35 Is this a
threat? Does this verse suggest that
forgiveness, even salvation, is revocable? Will God hand the unforgiving over
to be tortured?
ADDENDUM
I am currently serving at the Interim Pastor of The Presbyterian Churchof Cadiz, worshipping at 154 West Market Street, Cadiz, Ohio, every Sunday at
11:00 AM.
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