Bruce Epperly on the Lectionary, Pentecost + 8 (C)
This is a very interesting Adventurous Lectionary.
This is a very interesting Adventurous Lectionary.
Bruce Epperly challenges us to think more carefully about God and human suffering in his Adventurous Lectionary for the week. Takeaway: Adventurous theological reflection challenges images of God as unilateral punisher and bully. These images are unworthy of Jesus of Nazareth.
One of the great benefits of using the lectionary, especially for major days during the church year, is that it helps us keep these various days in context. It’s easy for Christmas to be simply the holiday of giving, the one that allows us to sing all that good music and have some parties. Keeping…
Baptism of our Lord, Cycle B When we hear the word “water” in our modern world we generally think of nice things–a thirst-quenching drink, a nice shower or bath, fun in a swimming pool, or perhaps a fine ocean cruse. Thus when we think about baptism we tend to think mostly about cleansing or even…
In dealing with source criticism there are two broad questions for the Biblical exegete, as opposed to the actual source critic. The first is whether there are identifiable sources at all, or at least in any substantial sense, and the second is how important these sources are for exegesis. Though I’m not going to go…
Bruce Epperly has an excellent set of comments on the texts for Advent 1B at Process and Faith. In particular take a look at the discussion of our perception that God has abandoned us in the comments on Isaiah 64. But are we abandoned, and what would it mean? Perhaps, as later Jewish mysticism suggests,…
That’s a pretty obvious theme, but it would seem even more odd to skip it! The second Sunday in Christmas is a good day to commemorate these events. There are a few different items that strike me here. The connection of the return from exile with the redemptive mission of Jesus. This shouldn’t be surprising,…