Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 2nd Sunday of Advent (Year B)

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.

Isaiah 40:1-11

40:1 Perhaps this all too familiar passage reminds us that Advent is a season for the preacher to comfort, while Lent is a season for the preacher to afflict.

40:2 This sounds somewhat like legal language but good news none the less. What does it mean to speak tenderly?

40:3 Whose voice is crying out? What wilderness might Isaiah have in mind?

40:3-4 Having grown up and spent most of my life in the mountains of West Virginia, I resonate with the imagery of straight highways.  On the other hand, I fear someone might want to relate the “every mountain and hill shall be made low” and language following to the ecologically devastating practice of Mountain Top Removal Mining.

40:5 Who or what is the mouth of the Lord?

40:6-7 How do these verses fit in here? Has a new thought begun?

40:8 What does Isaiah mean by “the word of our God?”

40:9 How can the prophet get up to a high mountain if all the mountains will be made low? Where is God?

40:10 Is this militaristic imagery and language?

40:11This language and imagery seems antithetical to the previous verse but reminiscent of the reading from Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 two Sunday’s ago on Christ the King / Reign of Christ.  Who is the mother sheep?

PSALM 85:1-2, 8-13

85:1 Does this verse assume a theology of the land?

85:2 How do you and your church deal with “Selah?”

85:1-2 Compare these verses with Isaiah 40:1-2.

85:8 Does God speak peace only to God’s people?

85:8-9 What about people who do not turn to God in their hearts and who do not fear God?  What does it mean to fear God? What does it mean to turn to God in your heart?

85:10-11 I like this imagery! The structure appears to be poetic.

85:12 Once again, I wonder if this verse and the entire Psalm assumes a theology of the land?  What is the connection between God and the land, the land and God?  Does this feed into the Arthurian legend and the Fisher King?

85:13 Is this a personification of righteousness?

2 PETER 3:8-15a

3:8 I do not know where it originated, but there is a joke that goes something like this.  A person asks God if it is true that one day to God is like a thousand years. God answers “yes.”  They then ask God if it is true that God will give them whatever they ask for. God again answers “yes.” The person finally asks God for a million dollars. God replies, “OK, I’ll do it tomorrow.” On the other hand I have often heard this verse used to reconcile the six day story of creation with evolution as if that solves all the apparent problems.

3:9 God’s apparent slowness is really a manifestation of God’s patience.

3:10 Of all the images that one could employ, why employ the imagery of a thief?   What does the author mean by “the heavens”, “elements”, and “the earth?” Will what is done on the earth not be disclosed until the day of the Lord?

3:11-12 Shall we refer to this as the “Big Dissolution Theory?”  How do we reconcile this imagery with contemporary cosmology that posits an expanding universe expanding at an increasing rate and which may expand indefinitely? What is this verse asking?

3:13 Note that this is a “promise” and not a threat. Where else can we find “new heavens and a new earth” language? I am reminded of C. S. Lewis’ image of a new heaven and a new earth in the final installment of The Chronicles of Narnia.

3:14 What might be a spot or blemish?

3:15a Once again, what appears to be the Lord’s tardiness is actually our salvation.

Mark 1:1-8

1:1 For a minute, there, I thought I was reading the incipit of Genesis. Exactly what is “the beginning of the good news?”

1:2-3 Déjà vu! Why does Mark quote Isaiah 40:3?

1:4 Never having been a Baptist, I much prefer the NRSV “John the baptizer” rather than the more familiar “John the Baptist”. What about you? How did John’s baptism differ from the baptism of the early church?

1:5 I think there is some hyperbole here. Nevertheless, John is portrayed as a popular guy.

1:6 Has anyone else ever heard the explanation that “locusts” is not a reference to insects but to a nutty substance from a tree native to Palestine? What purpose might it serve to describe John this way?

1:7-8 What power did John have?  How could John have known all of this?

1:8 What is the difference between baptism with water and baptism with the Holy Spirit?

                                                                  

ADDENDUM

I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church, Wheeling, WV. Sunday Worship at Bethlehem begins at 10:45 AM. Here is Bethlehem United's Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/Bethlehem-United-Presbyterian-Church-102482088303980

#OptOutside #Cycling @RailstoTrails #REIEmployee

This is the third year running that Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI) closed its stores on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday, encouraging its employees, members, customers, and others to #OptOutside with friends and family rather than spending the day in retail stores  shopping for bargains. What started as a moment in 2015 has become a movement as more and more retailers, especially those in the outdoor industry, have joined the #OptOutside movement by encouraging outdoor loving folk to post photos of their Black Friday outdoor activities on social media. When #OptOutside participants did so, using additional hashtags, they qualified to possibly win prizes from various retailers and organizations and to have their photos and videos featured on various web sites.

Three years ago I thought REI's #OptOutside decision was a bold move and I participated by going hiking the day after Thanksgiving. Now that I am a part-time REI employee, I REALLY appreciate #OptOutside because I not only have the day off to enjoy the great outdoors but also get paid for it.

My only #OptOutside quandary was to decide what outdoor activity I would engage in and where. Would I kayak at Cross Creek County Park in Washington County, Pennsylvania, paddling my Zydeco 9.0 of Necky Chatam 17 on Cross Creek Lake? Would I slip into my Merrill Wilderness hiking boots and throw a day pack on my back to meander along any number of the trails at Western Pennsylvania’s Raccoon Creek State Park?

Rather than hiking or kayaking I opted, instead, to cycle my Trek 8.3 DS Hybrid over twenty five

At the beginning of my 25.2 mile
#OptOutside #Cycling  @railstotrails ride

miles along two of my go to rail trails, the Brooke Pioneer Trail in West Virginia’s Brooke County and the Wheeling Heritage Trail in West Virginia’s Ohio County. Though two separate trails, they meet at the Brooke County – Ohio County line, offering over 20 miles of paved rail trail.

I hit the trail around 1:30 in the afternoon. The sky was a cloudless azure. The sun's rays blazed through mostly leafless trees. The temperature was slightly above 50°. In other words, the weather was nearly perfect for a fall ride.

Yes, it was that windy

At first I seemed to be dragging ass, which I attributed to the previous day’s Thanksgiving dinner and not having been on my bike for ten days. Rather than cycling at my usual 12-15 mph pace I was struggling to maintain an 8-12 mph pace. As soon as I saw the flags at Pike Island Dam, however, I knew it wasn’t my lack or recent cycling activity or the previous day’s turkey with all the fixings that was slowing me down. It was the steady northerly wind blowing up the Ohio River valley.

After a little over twelve and a half miles, I stopped for a break. Sitting on a bench beside the trail and overlooking the Ohio River, I watched a coal barge slower plod north as I basked in the warming sun and felt the breeze brush across my face. I was glad to be enjoying the outside rather than shopping in some mall or retailer, or sitting in front of a big screen television watching football.

As soon as I climbed back on my bike and started cycling north I felt like the peddling was easier. I looked down at my speedometer/odometer and saw that I was easily maintaining my usual 12-15 mph pace. As soon as warmed back up, cleared the wind break of nearby trees, and was out in the open, my pace picked up to 17-18 mph thanks to the tail wind. My return ride northward was easier and quicker than the ride southward.

I saw perhaps a dozen other cyclists during my afternoon ride though I might have counted some riders twice.  All but one other rider were heading in the opposite direction. I passed no one and only one rider passed me in the same direction. One cyclist was even wearing short sleeves and shorts! I was wearing my cycling shorts but was also wearing riding tights over them. I was also wearing a lightweight SmartWool toboggan under my helmet, a neck warmer, a cycling jacket over a long sleeved cycling jersey, and long fingered riding gloves. I was warm, but not toasty or overheating.

As other cyclists and I passed, I wondered how many of them were also posting their #OptOutside #cycling selfies on social media.

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year B)

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.

PREFACE:

A little over three years ago I had just finished reading Lowry’s Living with the Lectionary (1992, Abingdon Press) and found this passage warning about quick fix lectionary aids insightful. “The problem is that lectionary preachers often turn to these helpful aids prior to having internalized the texts. When I have inquired of lectionary preachers, how they prepare—the sequence of their work—I find a trend. Often they read the text and immediately turn to the published lectionary commentaries.  They may receive good advice, but altogether prematurely. In short, at the point in sermon preparation when they ought to be internalizing the text and exploring the many questions which might emerge, they are already finding answers to the questions they have not yet raised. The result is a homiletical preparation short-circuit.” (p. 25)

I think Lowry’s warning is reflected in the way I prepare Lectionary Ruminations 2.5. I first read the text and then consider what questions I have or think it is important to ask of the text, perhaps make a few observations and opine about the text, but I DO NOT CONSULT ANY LECTIONARY AIDS as I write. Similarly, I think it would behoove readers of Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 to first read the text and consider what questions they ought to be asking and what questions the text asks of them before reading Lectionary Ruminations 2.5.

This First Sunday of Advent begins the new liturgical year, Year B, the year of Mark. A Reading from Mark, therefore, serves as the Gospel Reading after nearly a year’s worth of Gospel Readings from Matthew.

If you will be using the PCUSA resource GLORY TO GOD: Hymns and Songs for Advent and Christmas over the next several weeks, you might find this Alphabetical Index of Hymns helpful.

ISAIAH 64:1-9

64:1 Must God tear the heavens open to come down? Is God tearing open the heavens anything like a rip in the fabric of space time?

64:2 Who are God’s adversaries

64:3 What awesome deeds does Isaiah have in mind? Is this a reference to the giving of the theophany on Mt. Sinai?

64:4 What does it mean to wait for God?

64:5 Did God hide because the people transgressed or did the people transgress because God hid?

64:6 How can righteous deeds become like a filthy cloth? This reads like a communal confession of sin.

64:7 What does it mean that God has hidden the divine face?

64:8 Why the change of metaphors from storm and fire to potter and clay?

63:9 Please God, be just a little angry and remember our iniquity for just a little while.

PSALM 80:1-7, 17-19

80:1 The verse follows nicely upon the heels of last week’s First Reading. What are cherubim and where are?

80:2 Who or what are Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh? What does it mean for God to stir up the divine might?

80:3 What is the shining face of God or what does it represent or symbolize?

80:4 Is there a difference between being angry with the people and being angry with their prayers?

80:5 This sounds like anti-Eucharistic language.

80:6 Is this an appeal to God’s pride?

80:7 What does God’s shining face represent or symbolize?

80:17 Whom is the Psalmist talking about?

80:18 Is the Psalmist bargaining with God, offer a quid pro quo?

80:19 A repeat of 80:7, suggesting this is a liturgical response.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:3-9

1:3 Is there anything unique about “Grace to you and peace?”

1:4 Why “my” God and not “our” God?

1:5 How are we enriched in speech and knowledge?

1:6 What is “the testimony of Christ?”

1:7 What spiritual gift might we be lacking in? What does it mean for the Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed?

1:8 What is “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ?”

1:9 What is “the fellowship of his Son?” Is that something like Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring?

Mark 13:24-37

13:24 In what days? So the sun and moon will no longer give light AFTER suffering? Is this something other than total solar eclipse?

13:25 Do you think the writer was referring to meteors rather than stars? What powers are in the heavens?

13:24-25 If something is being quoted, what?

13:26 Who and/or what is “the Son of Man”? Why does the Son of Man come in clouds? How shall we interpret this, literally or metaphorically?

13:27 Where are the Son of Man’s angels? Does “the four winds” refer to the four cardinal directions?

13:28 How you ever lived around fig trees? What about the parable of the fig tree?

13:29 What things? What gate?

13:30 How do we reconcile this verse with the fact that we are still reading it and waiting nearly two-thousand years later?

13:31 How will heaven and earth pass away but not words? What words?

13:32 So why all the talk about the lesson of the fig tree if no one knows the day or hour?

13:33 In other words, pack your Christian “go bag” and make sure there is gas in the car, milk in the fridge, bread in the bread box, and Charmin in the bathroom.

13:34 Is this a parable? I am being reminded of a couple of parables in Matthew.

13:35 I would rather my master return than a thief come. Is keeping alert in 13: 33 the same as keeping awake in this verse?

13:36 Are we all expected to be doorkeepers? Does “sleep” refer to slumber or death?

13:37 What does it mean to “Keep awake??

                                                                  

ADDENDUM

I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church, Wheeling, WV. Sunday Worship at Bethlehem begins at 10:45 AM. Here is Bethlehem United's Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/Bethlehem-United-Presbyterian-Church-102482088303980

Alphabetical Index of Hymns in GLORY TO GOD: Hymns and Songs For Advent and Christmas

The congregation I serve as Interim Pastor recently purchased Glory To God: Hymns and Songs For Advent and Christmas. At $5 per copy, this lightweight paperback hymnal containing seventy-five Advent and Christmas Carols is a great resource for congregations that don’t want, don’t need, or can’t afford the more expensive hardback Glory To God: The Presbyterian Hymnal. I hope that the congregation will make exclusive use of it during Advent and Christmas. As I have started to plan Advent and Christmas worship, however, my planning would have been made easier if an alphabetical index had been included. Since it wasn’t, I have prepared my own and I share it with you.

Alphabetical Index of Hymns in Glory To God: Hymns and Songs For Advent and Christmas

Prepared by The Reverend John Edward Harris, D. Min. and posted on his blog http://summittoshore.blogspot.com/ You have my permission to print, copy, and distribute it with attribution.

All Hail to God’s Anointed……………..…....... 68 (149)

Angels, from the Realms of Glory………….…. 62 (143)

Angels We Have Heard on High……………..... 32 (113)

As with Gladness Men of Old………………..... 69 (150)

Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn…....... 26 (107)

Away in a Manger [Tune: CRADLE SONG]..… 33 (114)

Away in a Manger [Tune: MUELLER]……..…. 34 (115)

Before the Marvel of This Night……………..  . 44 (125)

Blest Be the God of Israel…………………....... 28 (109)

Break Forth, O Beauteous Light………………. 49 (130)

(Canticle of the Turning)……………….…...…. 19 (100)

Come, Come Emmanuel…………………..…... 10 (91)

Come Now, O Prince of Peace……………….... 22 (103)         

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

            [Tune: HYFRYDOL]……………............ 1 (82)

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

            [Tune: STUTTGART]……….…..….…... 2 (83)

Comfort, Comfort, Now My People…….…....… 6 (87)

Creator of the Stars of Night………………….… 3 (84)

For You, O Lord, My Soul in Stillness Waits....... 8 (89)

From Heaven Above…………………………... 30 (111)

Gentle Mary Laid Her Child…………………... 65 (146)

Go, Tell It on the Mountain…………………..... 55 (136)

Good Christian Friends, Rejoice………………. 51 (132)

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing……………….... 38 (119)

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

            (Jesus is the Light of the World)……..... 46 (127)

He Came Down…………………...………..….. 56 (136)

In Bethlehem a Newborn Boy ……………...…. 72 (153)

In the Bleak Midwinter……………………….... 63 (144)

In the Heavens Shone a Star………………...…. 50 (131)

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly…………………….... 47 (128)

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear………….…..... 42 (123)

Jesus Entered Egypt…………………..……...… 73 (154)

(Jesus is the Light of the World)…………… …. 46 (127)

Jesus, Jesus, O, What a Wonderful Child…........ 45 (126)

Joy to the World……………………....……...… 53 (134)

Lift Up Your Head, Ye Mighty Gates…….....…. 12 (93)

Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah……..….. 4 (84)

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming……………..…. 48 (129)

Love Has Come……………………….……...… 29 (110)

Mary ans Joseph Came to the Temple………..… 67 (148)

My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout……..….. 19 (100)

My Soul Gives Glory to My God………………. 18 (99)

(My Soul in Stillness Waits)………………......…. 7 (89)

No Wind at the Window…………………..….… 20 (101)

Now the Heavens Start to Whisper………….…. 13 (94)

O Come, All Ye Faithful…………………….…. 52 (133)

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel………………..…. 7 (88)

O Little Town of Bethlehem………………..….. 40 (121)

O Lord, How I Shall I Meet You…………….… 23 (104)

Of the Father’s Love Begotten……………...…. 27 (108)

On Christmas Night All Christians Sing….....… 31 (112)

On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry………....… 15 (96)

On This Day Earth Shall Ring…………..…….. 60 (141)

Once in Royal David’s City……………….…... 59 (140)

People Look East…………………………....… 24 (105)

Prepare the Way, O Zion………………....…..... 25 (106)

Prepare the Way of the Lord………………...… 14 (95)

(Psalm 27)……………………………......……... 9 (90)

(Psalm 72)…………………………..…………. 68 (149)

Raise a Song of Gladness…………….……...… 74 (155)

(Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow)……….…...… 54 (135)

Savior of the Nations Come…………….….….. 21 (102)

Silent Night, Holy Night……………….……… 41 (122)

Sing of God Made Manifest…………….………75 (156)          

(Song of Mary)……………………...……….… 18 (99)

(Song of Zechariah)……………………....……. 28 (109)

Still, Still, Still……………………..……….….. 43 (124)

That Boy-Child of Mary…………………..…… 58 (139)

The First Nowell…………………….…….....… 66 (147)

The People Who Walked in Darkness ……...…... 5 (86)

The Snow Lay on the Ground…………......…... 35 (116)

There’s a Star in the East………………….....….64 (135)

To a Maid Whose Name Was Mary………....… 17 (98)

‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime…………..…. 61 (142)

Wait for the Lord………………….……….……  9 (90)

Watchman, Tell Us of the Night………….……. 16 (97)

We Three Kings of Orient Are…………….…... 70 (151)

What Child Is This……………………….……. 64 (145)

What Star Is This, with beams So Bright…….... 71 (152)

Where Shepherds Lately Knelt…………..….… 39 (120)

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

            [Tune: WINCHESTER OLD]……….… 36 (117)

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks        

            [Tune: CHRISTMAS]……………….… 37 (118)

While We Are Waiting, Come………………..... 11 (92)

Who Would Think That What Was Needed........ 57 (138) 

Review of Earl Shaffer's "Walking With Spring"

            Earl Shaffer was both the first person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail and to write about it. He completed his south-to-north (NOBO or North Bound in Appalachian Trail lingo) trip in 124 days, averaging over sixteen miles a day, backpacking every day and never taking a day off for rest. As he himself noted, “Three years were to go by before Gene Espy duplicated [his] south-to-north trip, and Chester Dziengielewski and Martin Papendick completed the trip north-to-south (SOBO of South Bound in AT ling) the same year. That year was 1951, years before “NOBO”, “SOBO”, and “thru-hiker” became part of the AT nomenclature.

            Shaffer completed his second thru-hike, SOBO, in ninety-days in 1965. “The story that inspired thousands of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers,” about his 1948 thru-hike but with the hindsight of 1965 thru-hike, was privately printed in 1981. He entitled it Walking With Spring because “he had come to the woods to walk with spring” and followed spring’s arrival in the Appalachians as he hiked NOBO from Georgia to Maine.

            The first AT thru-hiker hoped to average twenty miles a day but was willing to settle for fifteen. While backpacking, he calculated that it took him about two thousand steps to cover a mile, or a stride of a little over two and a half feet. He once backpacked four miles in fifty-five minutes, an incredible pace I would be challenged to emulate as my best pace is a mere three miles an hour and I average far less even without a full pack.

            Shaffer was ahead of his time. Just as The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) was pioneering and perfecting minimum impact camping, which later morphed into Leave No Trace (LNT) principles and practices, Shaffer reflected on his 1948 thru-hike by writing, “When I left, the signs of my presence were so slight that the next rain would remove them. Like the Indians, I say ‘Where I go I leave no sign.’ P. 130.” It would be decades before others would consciously adopt such practices and principles.

            The author was also somewhat prescient, opining in 1981 about development along the AT and writing, “The encroachment that once seemed overwhelming must be stopped if the Appalachian Trail is to survive. P. 110” Here we are, nearly seventy years after Shaffer’s first thru-hike and more than thirty-five years after he published Walking With Spring, and we are still struggling to stop encroachments such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

            Reading the 2004 fourth printing of a facsimile reprint of the 1981 edition of Walking With Spring, published by the Appalachian Trail Conference in 1983, was a humbling experience. Shaffer hiked with a heavy and bulky Mountain Troop rucksack weighing an average of forty pounds fully packed, increasing to sixty pounds for the final stretch through the Maine wilderness.  Yet decades before “ultralight backpacking” became a modern mantra, Shaffer’s motto was, “Carry as little as possible but choose that little with care. p. 9.” He later opined, “a long distance hiker must choose between traveling light and not traveling at all. p. 27.” I doubt forty, and certainly not sixty pounds would qualify “as little as possible” by today’s ultralight standards. Yet Shaffer persevered. I doubt I would have fared as well.

Along the C & O Canal Towpath
that also serves as a stretch
of the AT through Maryland

            I would be hard pressed to keep up with Shaffer’s pace even if I did not average in days spent resting, which he did not take. I would be equally challenged to do what he did with the gear available to him, relying instead on aluminum, nylon, and other light weight gear easily available today but not in 1948.

           

           At 152 pages long, Shaffer’s writing pace is a little over 13 miles a page. Evan at that brisk pace, however, I was able to enjoy the Native American legends and lore, local history, and references to American woodsmen such as Boone, Crockett, Carson, Wetzel, and others that he sprinkled throughout his work. Even though sections of the AT have been rerouted since Shaffer’s first thru-hike, and I have never thru-hiked the AT, I have backpacked enough of it to enjoy his descriptions of locations I have myself visited, such as Fontana Dam, OId Rag, The Chesapeake and OhioCanal, Swatara Gap, Hawk Mountain, the Delaware Water Gap, Tammany Mountain, Sunfish Pond, North Conway and Pinkham Notch.

At Old Rag many years ago

            Shaffer’s book is a memoir about his first AT thru-hike, not a detailed section-by-section description of the trail or a technical “how to” guide to thru-hiking the AT. His prose is easy going, not flowery or forced. I am glad I finally got around to reading it and recommend it anyone who loves hiking, especially backpacking the AT.

            My original review was originally published on The Trek and was edited before I posted it here on my own blog.

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for Christ the King / Reign of Christ (Year A)

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.

EZEKIEL 34:11-16, 20-24

34:11 How did God lose these sheep in the first place? Why might God be doing the searching rather than entrusting the searching to a representative?

34:12 Why do sheep scatter and why do shepherds allow them to scatter? Was the scattering caused by the day of clouds and thick darkness, or was the day of clouds and thick darkness a result of the scattering?

34:13 How can one not read this and be a Zionist?

34:14-15 Why am I thinking of Psalm 23?

34:16 What is the difference between the lost and the strayed? Does it seem that God will search out and rescue the 99% while punishing the 1%?

34:20 I am glad to be eating better, exercising more, and to have dropped a few pounds.

34:21 To whom is this addressed?

34:22 Note that God will judge between sheep and sheep, not sheep and goats.

34:23-24 David, King of the 99%!

PSALM 100

100:1 Is “all the earth” a poetic reference to all people or an invitation to rocks and trees as well?

100:2 If we are to worship God with gladness, why do so many worship services feel like a funeral and so many worshipers act like they are mourners?

100:3 How many people in the pew understand the nuance of “LORD” and “God”? Does this verse justify this Psalm being paired with the Ezekiel Reading?  What and where is the LORD’s pasture?

100:4 To what does “gates” refer, the gates of the temple, the gates of the city, or something else? To what does “courts” refer?

100:5 Is it redundant to say his steadfast love endures forever? What does it mean for the LORD to be faithful?

EPHESIANS 1:15-23

1:15 How might Paul have heard of the Ephesians faith and love? Who are the saints?

1:16 I would love to hear Paul praying.

1:17 What is “a spirit of wisdom and revelation?”

1:18-19 Our heart has eyes? I love the phrases “the riches of his glorious inheritance” and “the immeasurable greatness of his power.”

1:20 Is this a reference to the Resurrection as well as the Ascension?

1:21 Yes, this Sunday is Christ the King!

1:22 What does “for the church” mean?

1:23 What does “fills all in all” mean?

MATTHEW 25:31-46

25:31 Who is speaking? How much do we need to know about the theologically loaded title “Son of Man” to responsibly interpret this passage?  Does the mention of a throne justify this being the Gospel Reading for Christ the King? Does this Reading and the Reading from Ephesians offer differing chronologies about the enthronement of Christ?

25:32-33 The Gospel’s “sheep and goats” juxtaposed with the “sheep and sheep” of the Ezekiel Reading seems to offer us a mixed or confused metaphor.

25:33 Is this an example of right-handed prejudice?

25:34 Is the king the same as the Son of Man?

25:35-36 When was the king like this?

25:37 What does it mean to be righteous?

25:38-39 Is this an example of childlike innocence?

25:40 The king identifies with the inhabitants of the kingdom.

25:41 The devil has angels? The Son of Man has angels! (See Matthew 25:31)

25:35-45 How do members of the Tea Party and the 1% read these verses? How might these verses inform any Christian ethical contributions to current debates about tax reform and The Affordable Care Act?

25:46 Must there be eternal punishment?

                                                                  

ADDENDUM

This Sunday is the final Sunday of Liturgical Year A. Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent of Liturgical Year B.

I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church, Wheeling, WV. Sunday Worship at Bethlehem begins at 10:45 AM. Here is Bethlehem United's Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/Bethlehem-United-Presbyterian-Church-102482088303980

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time / Proper 28 (Year A)

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.

JUDGES 4:1-7

4:1 Here we go again.  This is beginning to remind me of déjà vu all over again. How many times did the Israelites do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?  How many times do we? What was, and is, evil in the sight of the LORD?

4:2 Do the names of rulers, commanders, and place names add or detract from the narrative?

4:3 This is beginning to sound like a broken record.  How many times do we cry out to the LORD, asking the LORD to get us out of trouble we have gotten ourselves into?

4:4 What blasphemy, a female prophet!  With regard to any male prophet, how often are we told who their wife was?

4:5 Do you think the Palm of Deborah was known by that name in Deborah’s day? Too bad it was not a Bodhi tree. Why would the Israelites come to her for judgement?

4:6 How dare Deborah speak for God! I wonder how Barak felt taking orders from when those orders were given through a woman.

4:7 What is a Wadi and why does it matter?

PSALM 123

123:1 I thought God was enthroned on the cherubim.  Are the cherubim in heaven or in the Temple?

123:2 So God is a master and maid while we are servants and mistresses.  While the Israelites in the Judges passage cry to the LORD, the psalmist simply looks to the LORD.  Maybe those eyes were sad, droopy puppy dog eyes that the LORD simply could not resist.

123:3 To what contempt is the Psalmist referring? Is their neighbor’s contempt enough to elicit God’s mercy upon Israel?

123:4 To what scorn is the Psalmist referring? Are contempt and scorn synonymous?

1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-11

5:1 What times and seasons? If nothing needs to be written to the Thessalonians about times and seasons then why does Paul bring it up?

5:2 Is this an example of chiastic structure:  “day lord / thief night”? What does Paul mean by “day of the Lord?”

5:3 Since I am of the male persuasion, I chose not to comment on this verse.  If there is anyone of the female persuasion out there who would like to comment, please do so.

5:4-5 There is a lot of “light” and “darkness” to keep track of in these verses. Beware of racial stereotypes. Can the Dead Sea scrolls help us put this passage into context?

5:6 Since the overriding metaphor is staying awake, why does Paul add “sober”?

5:7 What point is Paul trying to make? It must be night somewhere.

5:8 Does the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of salvation, change the metaphor?  Note that a breastplate and a helmet are entirely defensive rather than offensive. Have you ever heard of a type of prayer known in the Celtic tradition as a Lorica?

5:9 Why do my Reformed/Presbyterian ears perk up when I hear this verse?

5:10 Is Paul confusing his “sleep” metaphor and using it to mean more than one thing?

5:11 In other words, keep on keeping on.

MATTHEW 25:14-30

25:14 “It is as if” makes this what, a parable? Why do I have a problem with slave language?

25:15 What is a talent?  Does our English translation help us or leas us astray? Ability to do what?

25:16 This slave should have been a stock broker or banker.

25:17 A 100% return! Not bad.

25:18 What were the abilities of the first and second slaves?  What was the ability of the third slave? Had the man going on a journey misjudged the abilities of his slaves?

25:19 What is a long time and does it matter?

25:20, 22 What if he had made bad business decisions and lost some or all of the five talents?

25:21, 23 What does it mean to enter into the joy of a master?

25:24 Maybe the third slave said too much in addition to not doubling the talent.

25:25 How do we sometimes allow fear to cripple us?

25:26 Was the slave really wicked and lazy or just overly careful?

25:27 If we take this too literally, it begins to break down and seems illogical. After all, the man could have invested his money with bankers to begin with rather than entrusting it to his slaves.

25:28-29 Does the growing disparity between the rich and the poor impact how we might read and interpret these verses?

25:30 Have we heard anything like this before? Where?

                                                                  

ADDENDUM

I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church, Wheeling, WV. Sunday Worship at Bethlehem begins at 10:45 AM. Here is Bethlehem United's Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/Bethlehem-United-Presbyterian-Church-102482088303980