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.
FOR AN UPDATED AND REVISED VERSION, GO
TO THIS LINK
PREFACE: Some might be observing this Sunday as
Reformation Sunday? Will you? If so, how would these Readings lend themselves
to such? Is observing Reformation Sunday counterproductive in a
post-denominational age?
34:1-3 Why all the geographical
references? Do we know today where all these places are?
34:4 Once again, the women are not
mentioned. Why would God allow Moses to
see this land, even show him this land, if he were not going to be allowed to
enter it?
34:5 Did Moses die on Mount Nebo or on
the plains of Moab?
34:6 We know the vicinity of where he was
buried but not the actual place. Why not?
34:7 Is there any sexual connotation
here?
34:8 Why mourn thirty days?
34:9 Was Joshua ordained by Moses? What is so special about the laying on of
hands? Why? What do you know about Reiki?
34:10 It was true then but is it still
true today? The LORD may have known Moses face to face but did Moses know the
LORD face to face?
34:11 What signs and wonders?
34:12 What mighty deeds and terrifying
displays of power? Is this verse simply reiterating the preceding verse for emphasis
and linguistic effect?
90:1 How can the Lord be a dwelling
place? What does it mean to dwell in the
Lord?
90:2 God was God even before the big
bang?
90:3 Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, or in
a more modern cosmology, ashes to ashes, star-dust to star-dust.
90:4 I know this is metaphor, but do the
metaphorical math. 1000years = 1 day.
What is a watch in the night?
90:5 What does “them” refer to, to
mortals or to 1000 years? How are dreams like grass renewed in the morning?
90:6 Is this a comment about the human
lifespan?
90:13 Is the Psalmist asking the LORD to
repent?
90:14 I think this verses harkens back to
verse 5b. As the grass is renewed in the
morning, God’s steadfast love renews us daily.
90:15 How many days has the Psalmist’s
community been afflicted? How many years have they seen evil?
90:16 Is the Psalmist is asking the LORD
to show some results?
90:17 What work?
90:1-6,13-17 Does this psalm reflect the
pre-Exodus or post-Exodus period? God is timeless but we are not. May our
labor, our work, not be in vain.
2:1 Were some claiming that it was in
vain?
2:2 Shame on those Philippians. What was
the nature of the great opposition? What do we do with this “gospel of God”
when we usually use the terminology “Gospel of Jesus Christ”?
2:3 Were some claiming that Paul and his
companions were engaging in deceit, impure motives, or trickery? Are any
contemporary religious leaders similarly accused?
2:4 Is this a biblical warrant for being
faithful over being popular or successful?
2:5 I am hearing a refrain. “As you know” here and “You yourselves know”
in 2:1
2:6 What religious leader does not
occasionally appreciate praise, especially during Clergy Appreciation Month?
2:7 What sort of demands? What is the imagery of a “nurse tenderly caring
for her own children”?
2:8 How does Paul and his colleagues
share their own selves?
22:34 Is the Gospel writer playing on
some rivalry here? What is the difference between Pharisees and Sadducees?
22:35 What is the meaning of “test”?
22:36 Was he asking about the Decalogue
or the entire Levitical law code? Was this anything like a presbytery’s
examination of a candidate seeking ordination?
22:37 What is Jesus quoting? Is this from
The Shema?
22:38-39 If this is the first and
greatest, how can there be anything like it?
22:39 What is Jesus quoting?
22:40 Why does Jesus add the prophets to
the law?
22:41 This is becoming a dialogue. Is this question also a test, a tit for tat?
Is Jesus attempting to turn the tables?
22:42 Were not all male Jews “sons of
David”?
22:43 Why does Jesus say “by the Spirit”?
22:44 What is Jesus quoting?
22:45 Jesus and I are still waiting for
the Pharisees to answer. How would you answer the question?
22:46 As a practitioner of the Socratic
Method, I think questions are good.
Sometimes the questions we ask are more important than any answer we
might receive. Why would the Pharisees no longer ask Jesus and questions?
ADDENDUM
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