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.
5:9 Why is the phrase “I
have rolled away” reminding me Christ’s resurrection? What “disgrace of Egypt” was the LORD referring
to? Where is Gilgal? What does “Gilgal” mean?
5:10 The Passover can
apparently be celebrated anywhere, even while camping upon the plain of
Jericho.
5:11 Were unleavened cakes
and parched grain the produce of the land, or was that in addition to the
produce of the land?
5:12 What was manna?
5:11-12 Now that the
Israelites enjoy the produce of the land, the manna stops. Either way, God is the ultimate provider.
32:1 What is your
definition of happiness?
32:2 What is iniquity?
32:3 How can the Psalmist
be silent while also groaning?
32:4 What does it mean for
a hand to be heavy upon you? What do you
do with “Selah”? How about a guitar
riff?
32:5 As if we really could
hide our sin from God? Are sin, iniquity, transgressions, and guilt synonyms?
32:6 What is the meaning of
“the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them”?
32:7 Does God want us to
hide from trouble?
32:8 Who is teaching and
instructing?
32:9 In other words, don’t
be an ass? What function do bits and bridles serve?
32:10 What is the nature of
“trust” and how does it differ from faith?
32:11 Will somber, doer
Christians, please take note.
32:1-11 Confession is good
for the soul and one’s demeanor. Are
Christians happier than non-Christians?
I usually discern a thematic connection between the First Reading and
the Psalm, but I am not discerning any this week. Am I missing something? How do you see Joshua
5:9-12 and Psalm 32 in conversation?
5:16 Does Paul mean that
his viewpoint has changed? What other point of views are there than human point
of views?
5:17 What does it mean to
be “in Christ”? Note that in the NRSV,
it is the creation that is new, not the person!
This verse is often use as a traditional liturgical Call to Confession.
5:18 What is the ministry
of reconciliation? PC(USA) Presbyterians
might want to take a look at the Confession of 67.
5:19 Does “the world” refer
to only people? Why did the world need reconciled to God?
5:20 What is the role of an
ambassador?
5:21 What is “the
righteousness of God” and how do we become it?
5:16-21 There are numerous
theories of the atonement and the Reformed Tradition has room for many of them
without endorsing any one over all the others.
Does this Reading, however, presuppose any particular understanding of
the atonement?
15:1 Is this perhaps
hyperbole? Why are tax collectors and sinners lumped together?
15:2 How do the Pharisees and
scribes move from sinners listening to Jesus to Jesus eating with sinners?
15:3 And the lesson for
Preachers and teachers is: When people
are grumbling about your ministry, tell a parable?
15:11b Who was this
man? What was his name? What were the son’s names? What is wrong with these sort of questions?
15:12 Why would this
younger son think he could have his inheritance before his father died?
15:13 I think I prefer
“dissolute” to other translations. What if the son had invested his invested his
property and earned a sizeable profit?
15:14 Was fate conspiring
against the younger son?
15:15 What is the irony in
this?
15:16 Was the younger son
not earning enough to feed himself?
15:17 Is it significant
that his father’s hire hands had enough bread to spare rather than pods or
other food?
15:18 Juxtapose this with
the 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Reading.
15:19 What is the
difference between a son and a hired hand?
15:20 Now THIS is an
example of family values!
15:21 The son is true to
his intentions!
15:22 What do the robe,
ring, and sandals symbolize, signify, or represent? While bathing or baptism is
not mentioned, baptism is often equated with “putting on Christ”.
15:23 Would there have been
only one fatted calf?
15:24 Who are the “they”
that celebrated?
15:23-24 I think we in the
institutional church do not celebrate enough.
In too many of churches, the Lord’s Supper is less like a celebration
and more like a mournful dirge. Maybe if we celebrated more and exuded more joy
our younger brothers and sisters would come back home. Read this again in light of Psalm 32:11. Just
saying!
15:25 Why was the elder son
not summoned when the celebration began?
15:26 How would the slave
know what was going on?
15:27 Note the use of “your
brother” and “your father”.
15:28 This single verse is
both a reversal and an extension of the tale, making it a true parable! Do you
know any elder brothers, or just elders, who too often act like this?
15:29 I sympathize with the
elder brother.
15:30 Not that the elder
son refers not to his “brother” but to his father’s “son”.
15:11b-32 I think this
parable is more about the elder son than the younger son or father.
15:1-3, 11b-32 One problem
with this Gospel Reading might be that we are too familiar with it and think we
already know what it is about. How can
we hear it as if we were hearing it for the very first time? Is it too obvious that the tax collectors and
the sinners are the younger son; the Pharisees and scribes are the elder son;
and God/Jesus is the father? Fast
forwarding to the present day, where do you find yourself in this parable? The poignant teaching for us is that we might
become or be like the elder son. I contend that parables are not based on fact.
It does not matter if the facts of the facts of the parable are true or not.
What matters is that the moral of the story, the lesson, is true. This parable
seems to be about a younger son’s contrition, a father’s loving heart, and an
elder’s son resentment. Where was the mother in this parable?
ADDENDUM
I am currently a Member at Large of Upper Ohio
Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I am a trained and
experienced Interim Pastor currently available to supply as a fill-in
occasional guest preacher and worship leader or serve in a half-time to
full-time position.
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