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.
8:4-20, 11:14-15 This is a
very long reading if one includes all the verses. I do not see what is really
added by including 11:14-15, so my ruminations focus on 8:4-20.
8:4 Who are the elders of
Israel? Why was Samuel at Ramah?
8:5 What did the elders
mean when saying “your sons do not follow in your ways”? Were the elders experiencing Kingness envy?
8:6 Why did the elder’s
request displease Samuel?
8:8 Some people do not
change.
8:9 Some things do not
change. Is this foresight or hindsight?
8:10 I wonder how Samuel
did this.
8:11 The first military
draft?
8:12 This sounds like
REALLY big government.
8:13 Forget military
conscription, this is sounding like slavery.
8:14 This sounds like
eminent domain?
8:15 The first tax?
8:16 This is getting out of
control.
8:17 Did the LORD lead the
people out of slavery so that they could be slaves under their own king?
8:18 Why will the LORD not
answer?
8:19 Of course the people
did not listen to Samuel. People hardly ever listen to a prophet. But by not
listening to Samuel, were they also not listening to God?
8:20 Why such a desire to
be lie other nations?
8:11-20 How do American
Christians hear these verses as candidates for President from both the left and
the right, Republicans as well as Democrats, start announcing and campaigning for
the next election??
138:1 What “gods”?
138:2 What direction do you
face when you give thanks to the LORD?
138:3 What does a soul with
increased strength feel like?
138:4 All the kings of the
earth shall praise the LORD? Who is this
psalmist kidding? In light of the First Reading the Psalmist ought to be happy
if the King of Israel praises the LORD.
138:5 What does it mean to
sing of the ways of the LORD?
138:6 Who are the lowley
and who are the haughty?
138:7 What is the symbolic
meaning of God’s right hand (other than discrimination against left handed
people)?
138:8 To whom is this verse
addressed?
4:13 Where does “I believed,
and so I spoke” come from?
4:14 How do know this?
4:15 Does this “your” refer
to only Christians in Corinth or to a larger group?
4:16 What is the outer
nature and what is the inner nature?
4:17 What is the “slight
momentary affliction” to which Paul refers?
4:18 How do we look at
things that cannot be seen? I want to
default to Plato’s forms here.
4:19 If Paul had been of a
trade other than tentmaker, would he have employed a different metaphor? Is Paul
alluding to the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting?
3:20 When was the crown
together before now? Who could not eat?
3:21 Whose family?Why would
people be saying this?
3:22 Why did scribes come
down from Jerusalem? Who, or what, is Beelzebul?
3:23 How did we get from
Beelzebul to Satan?
3:24-25 Who does Jesus
think he is, Abraham Lincoln? Did President Lincoln take this verse out of
context when he used it to critique the Civil War?
3:26 Can Satan be divided?
3:27 What about waiting
until the strong man is not around?
3:28 What is the difference
between sins and blasphemies?
3:29 What is “blasphemy”
against the Holy Spirit and why does Jesus say this? Theologically speaking,
can there really be an unforgivable, eternal sin if God chooses to forgive it?
3:30 What is an unclean
spirit?
3:31 What bothers?
3:32 What sisters?
3:33 Is this a rhetorical
question?
3:34-35 What sort of family
values are being demonstrated here?
ADDENDUM
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