Lectionary Reflection: 16th Sunday after Pentecost
Who belongs in the vineyard and who does not? What role will you play in this cast of characters? One thing’s for certain–this week’s gospel challenges our assumptions and asks us to look long and hard at how we embody the gospel.
Lectionary Reflection for Sept. 25, 2011
Do we say the right things but don’t do the right thing? If so, what will it take to experience a change in priorities and to recognize a new authority? What will you preach or teach this Sunday? (Photo by YourLocalDave used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!)
Lectionary Reflection, 14th Sunday after Pentecost
God’s idea of fair and our idea of what’s fair can be quite different. I’d say that’s a very good thing! What do you think?
Who benefits from forgiveness—the one forgiven or the one who forgives? Considering this question leads to some important answers, strange mathematics, and hard work. Are you ready? (Photo by FeatheredTar used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!)
Lectionary Reflection (12th Sunday after Pentecost, September 4, 2011)
Ministry is messy; there is no way to be intimately involved in the work of God without getting dirt under our fingernails and confronting the debris of broken lives and dreams. Do we dare to be real, or do we wear the masks of who we “think” we ought to be? Photo by Eli Duke used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!
11th Sunday after Pentecost Lectionary Reflection
Do you have what it takes to be among the biggest losers? If you are a disciple of Christ, you have what it takes to lose in order to win. This Sunday’s gospel tells all about it. (Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!)
Every life a sermon? Something brings people through the doors of our churches, and it probably isn’t our preaching, no matter how stellar. More likely it is the witness of friend and neighbor, a life on fire for the gospel and filled with love. (Photo by Steve Snodgrass used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!)
“We are beggars; this is true” are among the last words supposedly written by Martin Luther. In this week’s gospel reading we see both sides of the table–insider and outsider–and we play both roles in this life. Photo by Clevergrrl used under Creative Commons license. Thanks!
Lectionary Reflection for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, August 7, 2011
Even prophets get the blues sometimes. Elijah was ready to call it quits, but God comes to him in the silence to give new direction and hope. For us, like Elijah, it’s the listening that’s the hard part. (Photos of Mt. Sinai by Shannon Hobbs used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!)
Lectionary Reflection for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, July 31, 2011
This week’s texts invite us to contemplate both physical and spiritual hunger and our role as Christians in being filled and filling others for the sake of the gospel. Photo by hoyasmeg used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!
