Month: July 2019
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Study Notes – 1 Samuel 18 1-5 & 19 1-7
We are studying 1 Samuel 18:1-5 and 1 Samuel 19:1-7 for Sunday, August 4. These are two of three passages in 1 Samuel that narrate Jonathan’s deep friendship for David, and its consequences, the third being the long narrative in chapter 20, where David actually has a speaking part. [Here are some study questions on […]
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Feels like truth
The human task is threefold. First, the human spirit must connect to the eternal by turning toward God’s immanence and ineffability with yearning. Second, each person must explore the inner reality of his or her humanity facing unmet potential and catastrophic failure with unmitigated honesty and grace. Finally, each one of us must face the […]
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Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We pondered judging – or rather, “judging not” – in class this morning. Then we listened to a moving sermon about unknowingly meeting Jesus in the guise of the hungry and thirsty and naked and sick and the stranger and the imprisoned. The righteous are the ones who responded with kindness, even though they didn’t […]
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Matthew 7 1-6, 15-23
We are studying Matthew 7:1-6 & 15-23 for Sunday, July 28. This includes the portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount that instructs us not to judge, which clearly does not mean abandoning every form of discernment. [Study notes on the text are here.] Here are a few questions we might want to think about […]
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Which Spin Wins in Kings?
The “special study” of the month was the book of Kings (First and Second). Little did I know. [Here’s some backstory: Our daughter swam competitively as a child – I’m a swim mom, not a soccer mom. One thing I learned from being a swim mom: there’s a world of difference between swimming summer league […]
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“Why Are You Here?”
This question came in email this morning. It matters which questions we ask ourselves.
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Study Notes – Matthew 7 1-6, 15-23
We are studying Matthew 7:1-6 & 15-23 for Sunday, July 28. This is some, not all, of the concluding section of the Sermon on the Mount. [Some discussion questions for this text are here.] Here are my notes on this text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: This is our fourth [and last, for awhile] week studying the […]
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This is why I’m so behind in my work
Just sayin’. Great are the works of YHWH studied by all who delight in Him. – Psalm 111:2
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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This turned out to be a big day in “ordinary time” in more than one way. A friend of ours talks about our “all day church.” “We can’t play bridge on Sunday because you all have all day church.” But we don’t have all day church, really, most days, just all morning church. This week, […]
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion – Matthew 5 38-48
We are studying Matthew 5:38-48 for Sunday, July 21 – Jesus’ teaching that deeply informs Christian commitment to the principle of non-retaliation. [Some notes on this text are here.] Here are a few questions we might want to think about before class, or discuss in class: In v39, Jesus says not to “resist an evildoer.” […]
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Study Notes – Matthew 5 38-48
We are studying Matthew 5:38-48 for Sunday, July 21. This is Jesus’ summation of “the antitheses,” that concludes with what may be Jesus’ most difficult command: being perfect, by loving our enemies. [Some questions on the text are here.] Here are my notes on this text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: We are still working our way […]
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An Ancient Social Justice Warrior?
This came in the daily email from Plough: When someone strips another of his clothes, he is called a thief. Should not someone who has the power to clothe the naked but does not do so be called the same? The bread in your larder belongs to the hungry. The cloak in your wardrobe belongs […]
Matters of Interpretation 