Acts 27:9-26 “We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard, and on the third day with their own hands they threw the ship's tackle overboard. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned” (Acts 27:18-20) The story of Paul’s travails at sea provide a nice metaphor for life under a pandemic. The measures taken to try to stay afloat (only some of them...

Hosea 8:1-14 “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7) The prophets are often good for a sick burn. Today’s selection is no different. I imagine the quoted portion above was a pre-existent proverb or folk wisdom, which Hosea uses to call Israel back to some basic ethics or moral guidance. Maybe he produced this himself, but more likely he’s like a counseling parent who – after their kid gets caught TPing a house with some friends – says to their kid “Choose your...

Luke 5:27-39 “Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answered, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…’” (Luke 5:29-31) You gotta imagine that as exuberant as Levi was to be hosting Jesus, Jesus’ disciples had to be...

Acts 19:1-10 “He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:8-9) Been arguing with anyone about politics lately? It’s inevitable. We’re six weeks out from an election. Emotions run hot and passions run deep. Yet I’m intrigued by Paul’s...

Acts 16:16-24 “One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling…. She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the...

Job 29:1, 30:1-2, 16-31 “Surely one does not turn against the needy, when in disaster they cry for help. Did I not weep for those whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the poor? But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for light, darkness came” (Job 30:24-26) Job is a lament. It is more than a lament, but it is definitely a lament. Lament is a special type of biblical literature. It doesn’t necessarily try to reveal who God is in it. It doesn’t try to provide an...

John 8:47-59 “Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:58-59) Can you imagine that church service!?! Note the setting for this showdown between Jesus and His Jewish brothers; it’s the Temple. The setting for worshiping God. The place where God Himself dwelt in the Holy of Holies. So, again I ask, can you imagine that church service? Probably there’s some poor rabbi...

John 7:1-13 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil” (John 7:7) Every time I hear language like “Christian nation” and even “God bless America,” I’m reminded of these words from our Lord: “The world… hates me.” It is unclear to me why that would still not apply as much today as when Jesus first uttered this sad confession. I’m also reminded of the classic scene from Fyodor Dosteovsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov called “The Grand...

Psalm 4 “When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent” (Psalm 4:4) If I’ve achieved any major growth as both a human and a disciple of Jesus Christ over the last five years, it’s been in learning to talk to myself about what is happening within myself. My wonderful counselor calls this “naming my emotions” – and this is fair enough language – but I like to think of it in terms of Psalm 4. “When you are disturbed… ponder… be silent.” For the longest time, I would...

John 4:1-26 “The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you’” (John 4:25-26) The first half of John’s Gospel is structured around seven signs (more on this during Epiphany 2021!). The seven signs are a literary device meant to help convince and persuade John’s original audience that Jesus truly is the Messiah, the Christ. Our lectionary reading for...