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JANUARY 31, 2009 - YEAR B |
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Psalm 111
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
1 Cor. 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28
Hymn: 413 (God Has Spoken by His Prophets)
Homilist: Esther Kinzer Our Old Testament text both appeals to me and disturbs me. I like the text because it is part of the Hebrew nation’s book of laws, regulations and policies. I spend a significant amount of my time in my job reading, interpreting, and applying laws and regulations from federal and state agencies, and creating and applying policies from my employer—and I like doing it. Knowing that this text is found in Deuteronomy, the Israelite’s equivalent of the “code of federal regulations” I asked myself how was it intended to be understood by the people it was written for, and whether it applies today. In first reading over the text, I was disturbed by the last two verses which imply that the test of a true prophet is whether or not what he says comes true. This does not seem particularly practical. Had I been Isaiah’s contemporary, how long would I have had to live to see the fulfillment of his prophecy concerning the Persian king Cyrus, when he said “[Cyrus] is my shepherd, . . . he will say of Jerusalem ‘Let it be rebuilt’?” Or if I had to wait to see the fulfillment of Haggai’s prophecy concerning the coming of ”the desired of nations” who would fill the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem with a glory “greater than the glory” of Solomon’s temple?
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JANUARY 10, 2009 - Year B - Baptism of the Lord |
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Baptism of the Lord
Psalm 29
Genesis 1:1-5
Acts 19:1-7
Mark 1:4-11
Hymn: 545 (Savior, Like a Shepherd)
Homilist: John Dugee Our two New Testament texts today have a point in common. They compare the baptism of John with the baptism of the Spirit. Our passage in Acts 19 tells us that one day in Ephesus, Paul encountered some disciples that had never heard of the Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John's baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. In today’s Gospel passage, Mark tells the story about John the Baptist. “And this was John’s message:” Mark says. “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” |
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NOVEMBER 8, 2008 - YEAR A |
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Joshua 24:1-3a,14-25
Psalm 78:1-7
1 Thess. 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
Hymn: Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers (599)
Homilist: Halcyon Wilson As a little girl, I loved weddings. Most little girls love weddings and dream about being a bride. I’m sure most little boys do not dream about being a bridegroom! When I heard the parable of the 10 bridesmaids, (or some versions say “virgins”) I felt the bridegroom was unfair. Certainly not very gentlemanly. Why would a girl have to wait for the bridegroom? Why couldn’t the other girls share their oil? Then they would all be together and the bridegroom would see that he was being unfair to be so late. And when they were waiting so long, of course they were going to fall asleep. Poor girls . . . I can smile at those thoughts now. My mother told me at the time that I didn’t understand the story very well. She said I was too young . . . Today, in my maturity, I see that the bridegroom is actually very compassionate in the waiting! Today we live in such a different culture than the one in the Bible, it is a wonder we understand this parable at all.
As in most of Jesus’ parables, this one has an immediate and local meaning, and also a wider and universal meaning, and does not stand on all four legs... |
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The attached documents list the lectionary readings for the 2008-2009 liturgical year (beginning after Thanksgiving, 2008). The PDF and DOC files include a description of readings for the year, and the Excel file is used for those who want to work with the texts or use them to help plan the service.
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Exodus 20:1-20
Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46
Hymn: Be Thou My Vision (547)
Homilist: Doug Clark
To say that we live today in uncertain times would be an understatement. If your home mortgage has not been affected by recent events on Wall Street, then maybe your retirement accounts have. If you don’t know anyone who has served in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan, maybe you know someone who has stood in unemployment lines. Whether or not you feel climate degradation has been caused by humans, you have to be aware of alarming changes in global temperatures and their affects worldwide. If you have not suffered any kind of setback, you must know someone who has. While I am not an alarmist by nature and don’t want to add to fears already pumped into your head by political campaign speeches, too many of which are constructed on the platform of anxiety and fear, I would observe that we really do face a rising crescendo of concerns about everything around and affecting us. So what, then, do God’s ten words have to tell us, in times like these? |
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