Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement
of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary
Ruminations 2.0. Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings
for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral
experience. Believing that the questions we ask are often more important
than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with
sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to
encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible
study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and
encouraged.
17:22 Last week we learned
that Paul stood by while Stephen was stoned. Now, Paul is preaching in
Athens before the Areopagus. The transition and the symbolism are
startling. What do you know about the Areopagus? Why would Paul go
there rather than to a local Synagogue?
17:23 If Paul were to walk
through one of our cities, Such as New York, Washington, or Pittsburgh, what
would he identify as the objects of our worship?
17:24-29 What is the content of
Paul’s preaching? What does he not say? Is Paul’s sermon more
Theistic than Christocentric?
17:24 Can we still talk about
God, who made the world and everything in it, without positing a six day
creation and getting sidetracked into the creationism/evolution debate?
17:25 What does Paul mean
when he says that God is not served by human hands?
17:26 Who is this ancestor?
Does “boundaries” refer to political or geographical boundaries?
17:27 What does it mean to
search for and grope for God? Is Paul’s argument still valid in the
post-modern world?
17:28 Paul seems to appealing
to secular/pagan poets. Have we in the church forgotten how to employ the
artistic expressions of contemporary culture? What if we paired or even juxtaposed
contemporary writings (or other artistic expressions) with Scripture in worship
before we preached? What is Paul quoting from?
17:29 In Paul’s mind, in what
sense are we God’s offspring? I wonder what Paul would say about Icons, stained
glass windows, and other liturgical arts and art focused on the sacred and
divine.
17:30 When were the times of
human ignorance? Are humans no longer ignorant?
17:31 Note that Paul refers
to a “man” God raised from the dead. Paul seems not to here assert any
divinity to this “man” nor has he yet employed a name (Jesus) or a title
(Christ).
PSALM 66:8-20
66:8 This sounds like and
could be used as a Call to Worship. Why is “peoples” plural?
66:9 What does slipping feet
refer to?
66:10 What does it mean to be
tested and tried? Why is silver tried? What testing and trials might the
Psalmist be referring to?
66:11 Last week the net was
hidden. This week the people have been in the net by God.
66:12 Going through water
might refer to the Exodus. What might going through fire refer to? How
shal we read this after the Shoah? What and where is the spacious place?
66:13 What does it mean to
pay vows? One might want to juxtapose this passage with Acts 17:24.
66:14 I wonder what sort of trouble
the Psalmist had been experiencing. Might the psalmist’s trouble and
subsequent vows been anything like a foxhole confession or conversion?
66:15 How do we deal with
such burnt offering and sacrifice language in the context of contemporary
Christian worship, theology, and spirituality? Do you read or not read
the “Selah” in worship?
66:16 This sounds like
another Call to Worship? What does it mean to fear God?
66:17 What does it mean to
extol God?
66:18 Is the psalmist
bragging? Does God hear the prayers of only the righteous?
66:19 Does God not head the
words or our prayers if we cherish iniquity in our hearts?
66:20 Does God ever reject
prayer? Can steadfast love ever be removed?
1 PETER 3:13-22
3:13 Is this a rhetorical
question? It sometimes seems in life that no good deed goes unpunished.
3:14 Can we be blessed in
any other way other than suffering for doing what is right? Who are
“they”? What do “they” fear? What do you fear?
3:15 How does one sanctify
Christ in their heart? Is this a call for apologetics?
3:16 Nothing bothers me more
than mean, cruel, judgmental words said with gentleness and reverence.
3:17 Does the reason for
suffering in any way affect the moral value of our suffering?
3:18 What does this verse
say about the nature of the resurrection? Was Christ not alive in the spirit
until after he was put to death in the flesh?
3:19 Must we connect this
with the “He descended into hell” phrase in the Apostles’ Creed?
3:20 Is Peter thinking only
about those killed in the flood?
3:21 These are some
interesting words about baptism. Just as there are many understandings of
the Lord’s Supper, are there also many understandings of Baptism? When you
celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism, do you liturgically connect it to The
Flood?
3:22 Who and what are these
angels, authorities, and powers?
JOHN 14:15-21
14:15 This is a big
“if”? What is the nature of this love? What are Christ’s
commandments?
14:16 Is Christ’s
intercession contingent on our keeping his commandments? Why, in the
NRSV, is “Advocate” capitalized? What do you make of “another”? Can we
read and interpret this verse without being informed by the Doctrine of the
Trinity?
14:17 Notice that in the NRSV
“Spirit” is capitalized. Note that in John 14:15 Jesus uses the future tense
but we have both the present and the future tense in this verse.
14:18 “Orphaned” could be an
often overlooked but powerful image, after all, Christian Theology often speaks
of our being “adopted.” Is Jesus talking about the coming of the Spirit, the
Second Coming, or something altogether different?
14:19 What is a little while?
14:20 What day is “that day”?
14:21 Is this free grace or
does there seem to be an element of works righteousness? Had Jesus not previously revealed himself?
ADDENDUM
I am
a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United
Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00
AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The
Trek.
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