2 Kings 22:1-10 [11-20]; 23:1-3 Josiah’s Reform (Luke 24:30-32) When the temple is rebuilt, like when we renovate or remodel, surprises are found. In this case, there is a scroll found, a book of the law. It’s a surprise. It’s old fashioned. And it is not really good news when it comes to Josiah. Josiah hears the words, and realizes how…
Isaiah 5:1-7; 11:1-5 Isaiah’s Vineyard Song(Mark 12:1-3) Isaiah’s prophetic voice is not to be underestimated. With 66 chapters, there’s a lot to consider, read, and hear. Isaiah’s use of metaphor is wide and varied, and today we hear two different images, both of which have to do with plants and growing. The vineyard is a major investment. Hills are selected…
Hosea 11:1-9 Hosea(Mark 10:13-14) The benefit of hindsight is great. Often we see things we had no way of seeing before, or we see things whose significance we did not recognize in the past, or in the moment. We receive warnings in advance, and yet we do not heed those warnings. We say that we’ll never do that, and then…
1 Kings 18:[17-19] 20-39 Elijah at Mount Carmel (Mark 9:2-4) We have here the classic battle between power and faith. Elijah, that most famous of prophets, it facing off against Ahab, who accuses Elijah of troubling Israel, when Ahab has followed Baal. This is the introduction of Jezebel who gets the short end of the stick historically and in the Biblical tale.…
Jeremiah 33:1-4, 10-22 Promise of the Messiah Jeremiah is a prophet for the people of Israel. He is prophet of God Almighty, to the southern kingdom (Judah) through the fall of Jerusalem. He has an unpleasant, unwanted message for the people of God – that they have violated the covenant, and that God will withdraw God’s blessings. By the time…
1 Kings 12:1-17, 25-29 Kingdom Divided(Mark 10:42-45) Just 2 generations later, we end up in these passages. We hear what we often hear about the young neglecting the wisdom of their elders, of men who need to impress with their strength and virility, and of people who take the wrong advice. Rehoboam angers the people who was meant to serve.…
John 3:9-17 Focus on the idea that the verse is translated poorly, with the world (cosmos) being the focus, not man (anthropos). We’ll talk about how we need to do our part to live in community with the earth and our neighbors. Christina Krost, Faith in Place
The tail end of this passage is often used at weddings. Often the bias in using it is towards having the woman docilely follow her husband or her husband’s family. That’s not really the power of the narrative though. We have a renewal of the earlier story of the chosen people of God moving from one place to another due to…
Deuteronomy 5:1-21; 6:4-9 Hear O Israel, Ten Commandments (Mark 12:28-31) Over my lifetime, the 10 commandments have made a comeback. It sounds odd to say that, but for the longest time many Christians were convinced that anything Old Testament was made irrelevant by Jesus, including the 10 commandments, and so we heard more about the greatest commandment. And then suddenly there…
Exodus 1:8-14 [1:15–2:10]; 3:1-15 Moses and God’s Name (Mark 12:26-27a) This small (3 chapter) section of Exodus highlights again how long a scale God does things over. At the very beginning we hear that things have changed in Egypt. The people of God are forgotten – their connection to Joseph and Joseph himself are unknown by those in power. That situation didn’t…