Month: October 2020
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Shabbat shalom
The hasidic movement did not weaken the hope in a Messiah, but it kindled both its simple and intellectual followers to joy in the world as it is, in life as it is, in every hour of life in this world, as that hour is. Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim, Schocken Books, 1947, 27.
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Reflecting on John 13 1-15, 34-35
We are studying John 13:1-35 for Sunday, November 1 – when we FALL BACK, in our neck of the woods to Eastern Standard Time, don’t forget! [Some belated notes on the text are here.] Here are a few questions we might want to consider in our study or discussion of the text: It seems like […]
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Studying John 13 1-15, 34-35
We are studying John 13:1-35 for Sunday, November 1 – focusing on Jesus’s act of washing the disciples’ feet, and on his articulation of “the new commandment … to love one another.” Our curriculum emphasizes the theme of “loving by serving” embedded in the text. [Some questions on the text are here.] Here are some […]
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“Expect Delays”
Because before I can post notes on the Bible I need to grade assignments and pay bills and cook dinner. And sleep. Just sayin’. (Four more weeks in this session … )
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Asking for Money
It’s “stewardship season” at our tiny church. “Stewardship season” is Christianese for what other voluntary organizations call “the annual fund drive.” Various members get tapped to stand up and say “what stewardship means to me,” hopefully to good and inspiring effect. After three or four weeks of that, plus a couple of letters, we collect […]
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Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14
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Shabbat shalom
The underlying purpose of all great religions and religious movement is to beget a life of elation, of fervor which cannot be stifled by any experience, which, therefore, must spring from a relationship to the eternal, above and beyond all individual experiences. Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim, Schocken Books, 1947, 26.
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Reflecting on 1 Corinthians 13
We are studying 1 Corinthians 13 for Sunday, October 25. This is the familiar “love chapter,” one of the texts that reminds us again and again what way of life we are being called to. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions we might want to consider as we think about […]
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Studying 1 Corinthians 13
We are studying 1 Corinthians 13 for Sunday, October 25, another candidate for most well-known passage of scripture inside and outside the church. Almost anyone who has been to a wedding has heard it at least once. In this case, familiarity never seems to breed contempt, as it should not. [Some questions on the text […]
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Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
Say among the nations, “YHWH is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. YHWH will judge the peoples with equity.”Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of […]
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Shabbat shalom
The core of hasidic teachings is the concept of a life of fervor, of exalted joy. But this teaching is not a theory which can persist regardless of whether it is translated into reality. It is rather the theoretic supplement to a life which was actually lived by the zaddikim and hasidim … Martin Buber, […]
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Reflecting on Leviticus 19 18, Luke 10 25-37
We are studying Leviticus 19:18 and Luke 10:25-37 for Sunday, October 18. This is the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself, and Jesus’s commentary on the commandment, in the form of the parable of the Good Samaritan. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions we might want to consider as […]
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Studying Leviticus 19 18, Luke 10 25-37
We are studying Leviticus 19:18 and Luke 10:25-37 for Sunday, October 20. This is the instruction in the Torah to “love your neighbor as yourself,” and the commentary on that instruction provided by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan, as told by Luke. [Some questions on the text are here.] Here are a […]
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Nudges Past Inertia
The Peacemaking Offering always makes me think of the Hennessies. Anne was a welcoming fellow alto when I started singing with the choir. She made me feel like I wasn’t completely incompetent, by sharing the secret that listening to the people around you to stay on pitch is not only not cheating, it’s what everyone […]
Matters of Interpretation 