For this week’s lectionary, we have two great posts from previous trips through the cycle: Debra Dean Murphy’s “The Hemorrhaging Woman” from 2009 and Brian Volck’s The Encounter More Than the Cure from 2012.

Fostering conversations about the Church among theologians, pastors, and congregations.
For this week’s lectionary, we have two great posts from previous trips through the cycle: Debra Dean Murphy’s “The Hemorrhaging Woman” from 2009 and Brian Volck’s The Encounter More Than the Cure from 2012.
Easter Sunday
Isaiah 25:6-9
Acts 10:34-43
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18 OR Mark 16:1-8
This Easter will be the first since my mother died in July. She died so unexpectedly and quickly that I could not be with her when it happened. Still, mom was a believer and hers was a fast, peaceful death. As these things go, we would call it a good death. Nevertheless, as I found out at Christmas, and I expect I will find out at Easter, her death has upset me more than I first knew.
Without question, there are various reasons for this. It is a normal part of the grieving process. I probably have some unfinished business with my mother. I feel guilty I was not there when she died. As we approach Easter, however, I need to think about death – her death in particular – and resurrection theologically, or, at least, as a Christian. Read more
We’ve been doing bLOGOS for a while now. The 2014-15 bLOGOS posts will be our third cycle of lectionary reflections for Year B. This list is the complete collection of previous posts for Year B. Due to calendar changes and times when authors were unable to submit, there may not be two posts for each week, but we hope this set of links will be helpful. The authors for the two years, mostly by order of appearance were: Jesse Larkins, Jake Wilson, Erin Martin, Doug Lee, Ragan Sutterfield, Kyle Childress, Debra Dean Murphy, Joel Shuman, Brian Volck, C. Christopher Smith, Janice Love, Halden Doerge, Mark Ryan, John Jay Alvaro, Danny Yencich, Jenny Williams and Heather Carlson.
A pdf file of the complete reflections can be downloaded here.
Advent- 1: 2008, 2011 2: 2008, 2011 3: 2008, 2011 4: 2008, 2011
Christmas – 2011
1st Sunday after Christmas – 2008
Holy Name of Jesus – 2011
Epiphany- +1: 2012 +2: 2009, 2012 +3: 2009, 2012 +4: 2009, 2012 +5: 2009, 2012 +6: 2009, 2012
Lent- Ash Wednesday: 2009, 2012 1: 2012 2: 2009, 2012 3: 2009, 2012 4: 2009, 2012 5: 2009, 2012
Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday: 2009, 2012
Easter- 2009, 2012 2: 2012 3: 2009, 2012 4: 2009, 2012 5: 2009, 2012 6: 2009, 2012 Ascension: 2009
Pentecost: 2009, 2012 Trinity: 2009, 2012
Ordinary Time 10: 2012 11: 2009, 2012 12: 2009, 2012 13: 2009, 2012 14: 2009, 2012 15: 2012 16: 2009, 2012 17: 2009, 2012 18: 2009, 2012 19: 2009, 2012 20: 2009, 2012 21: 2009, 2012 22: 2009, 2012 23: 2009, 2012 24: 2009, 2012 25: 2009, 2012 26: 2009, 2012 27: 2009, 2012 28: 2009, 2012 29: 2009, 2012 30: 2009, 2012 31: 2012 32: 2012 33: 2009, 2012
All Saints: 2009
Proper 14A/Ordinary 19A/Pentecost +9
Genesis 37:1-4; Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33
This week’s post is a reflection originally published in 2008.
I’ve been following a blog debate over at www.theolog.org [ed. note – this blog is now part of http://www.
The gospel text from Matthew 14 this week strikes me as the kind of passage over which science guy and defender guy would go at it, arguing past each other all the while—as they have been doing all week. The ghostly Jesus walking on the water is too much for the rationalist to take in; it’s laughable, even—easy pickins. The mocking denial of such an archetype biblical image of Jesus (and the sacrosanct truth it represents) is scandalous to the defender’s deeply-felt piety. You can almost hear defender guy quoting Jesus back at his opponent: “You of little faith, why do you doubt?” (14:31). Disagreement. Accusation. Counter-accusation.
Impasse.
What to say about such a text when there are probably many science guys and defenders guys (and gals) in our congregations? Whose side does the preacher take? Read more
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Genesis 28:10-19a
Psalm 139
Romans 8:12-27
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
A couple of weeks ago our family moved about 180 miles south and east to Dayton, OH, In the spring, I had been offered and accepted a job teaching Christian ethics to business students at the University of Dayton. I have been out of full time work for two years.
To get this job was a homecoming: I was now “Lecturer in Christian Ethics” at a good university. What’s more, in coming to this position I am being welcomed by friends—friends associated with the EP, as it happens. Who I am, what I have to offer, has been affirmed by persons who know something of me. Given the specific nature of the position, I was being affirmed not only for what I had done, but for what they believed I could do. Read more