tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91109860062560636882024-10-06T21:01:08.248-07:00Put yourself in the PulpitScooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-90560644050066905502015-01-06T01:00:00.000-08:002015-01-06T01:00:02.663-08:00

Readings: Epiphany "Rise and shine!" I can almost hear my late mother's voice as she woke us up for elementary school. Not for many years would I connect that phrase with our Old Testament reading for today.  On this 6th day in January, we commemorate a time when God schooled us all about the little baby Mary had born under such humble circumstances. He is the God's Anointed King, the

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-91738773205613456312012-04-22T00:00:00.000-07:002016-11-22T20:49:59.749-08:00

Readings: Third Sunday in Easter Are you good? If you're reading this, then you probably are a good person, or you have the potential to be one, or you at least want to be one. That's the human condition. That's what we all want to think about ourselves. The Apostles in our first reading allowed their audience no such luxury. They had just cured a man of his longstanding lameness so that he

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-13166416130704563552011-10-02T01:00:00.000-07:002011-10-09T22:16:34.850-07:00

Readings: 16th Sunday after Pentecost As Christ's Resurrection is the defining event of the New Testament, so God's Theophany at Sinai is the defining event of the Old Testament. Our first reading takes us to the third day, when God speaks to all Israel assembled in fear and trembling at the foot of the mountain. God begins with the aseret hadevarim, Hebrew for the "ten words." We call them the

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Readings: Holy Trinity Sunday In 1674, Thomas Ken wrote a hymn called Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun, which ends with the following verse, now sung as the Doxology in many of our Christian services: Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. On this first

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Readings: Seventh Sunday in Easter, Year C Jesus, whom his disciples loved, had been killed by crucifixion, a form of execution well-known for its pain and humiliation. After this horrific shame, he appeared to his disciples in a hyper-physical living form, able to enter rooms without passing through doors or walls, yet still able to eat food with them, and to touch them and be touched by them.

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-19007122460736129942009-04-12T05:00:00.000-07:002010-05-09T20:56:28.374-07:00

Readings: Easter Sunday, Year B Sometimes there is a cloud over our lives, so vast, so dark that it is impossible to hope that it will pass over us. So overwhelming that it is impossible to hope at all. All one can experience is helplessness, despair. And the gnawing dread that things are getting worse. That we or our loved ones are going down into the pit from which there is no return. It is

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-46430136194370755632009-03-08T21:47:00.000-07:002010-02-02T17:12:21.739-08:00

Readings: Second Sunday in Lent, Year B God, for no particular reason that we can fathom, singles out Abraham and promises him that he and his wife will have a son whose descendants will become many nations. Our Psalm sings of the great Day of the LORD, when the LORD shall rule over all the nations. The New Testament Reading covers many topics in one short passage: Faith, Law and Gospel, and

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-88956685325573857802009-03-01T08:19:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:11:46.404-08:00

Readings: First Sunday in Lent In our readings we go from God's covenant to Noah and all living creatures that survived the Great Flood, to the Jesus being baptized by John. The images are of a purification by water: first as a punishment/trial and then as a cleansing immersion. The first letter of Peter comments on both. There is much to talk about in these short texts, but I want to focus on

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Readings: Transfiguration Sunday In our Gospel reading we are treated to a remarkable incident reported by Mark. Mark has fewer lines of dialog for Jesus than any other Gospel. Mark is about action. Jesus did this, Jesus did that. Prophetic action that both foretold and made real the imminent coming of God's Kingdom. This time it's the Transfiguration. Jesus' clothing becomes dazzling white,

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-29530370481979466902009-02-15T14:59:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:10:29.267-08:00

Readings: Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany So Naaman is healed by Elisha, who doesn't even do him the customary honor of coming out to see him. From within his house, Elisha sends his servant to tell Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times and he will be cleansed of his leprosy. Not an encounter, just a message of good news: do this simple thing and you will be fine. Elisha and Naaman are two

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-46001923654830266932009-02-08T08:21:00.000-08:002010-02-02T16:28:15.157-08:00

Readings: Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany Have you not heard? The LORD brings princes to naught. Let's count a few of the recent ones, shall we? Number 1, Hitler. Oh, wait, he shot himself after millions of soldiers and thousands of pilots and seamen kicked the asses of his army, navy, air force, and civilian population, and leveled most of the buildings in most of the cities of his country.

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-90611101393554956972009-02-01T20:29:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:09:40.123-08:00

Readings: Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany Islam has the audacity to claim all the Jewish prophets as Muslim prophets, from Moses to Jesus. So in the interest of inter-faith clarity, I would like to use today's readings to consider how prophethood was and is viewed in Judaism and Christianity. To begin, note that the archetypal prophet, Moses, was not a priest. His brother Aaron was the priest

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-36895097330774852462009-01-25T19:08:00.000-08:002015-01-04T20:57:09.533-08:00

Readings: Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B To really understand the context of our Old Testament reading, you have to read the first four short chapters of the Book of Jonah. Jonah is the comic prophet. The LORD tells him to give a dire warning to Nineveh, a large Assyrian city that was a worship center for the goddess Ishtar. At first, Jonah was having none of it. He knew what fate

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-63515651875649873612009-01-18T20:00:00.000-08:002015-01-04T20:55:09.811-08:00

Readings: Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B "Hey, you!" "Here I am." The call of the LORD and the response of the whole person, simple and immediate. "Here I am," was the way you declared that you were not only present, but accountable and responsible. You declared that you were ready to do your superior's bidding. But in the case of the young Samuel, "Here I am," was not enough.

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-75531770062254097172009-01-11T20:10:00.000-08:002015-01-04T20:53:32.752-08:00

Readings: First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B Water. God's breath moving over the primordial water. John baptizing in the Jordan. Paul at Ephesus. Pure, living water (flowing from a stream or a spring) was used by the Israelites to make a mikvah, to take a ritual bath to cleanse yourself after experiences that made you ritually unclean. The two innovative things about John's baptism were

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-22381588145827924642009-01-04T05:58:00.000-08:002015-01-04T20:35:42.665-08:00

Readings: Second Sunday in Christmas, Year B It's difficult to date Jeremiah's writings with precision, but it appears that he wrote our Old Testament reading shortly before, or perhaps during the exile of Israel's elites into captivity in Babylon. "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations... He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd a flock." Israel was not being gathered

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-81394401991330747152009-01-01T01:48:00.000-08:002015-01-04T20:09:13.441-08:00

Readings: The Holy Name, Year B In the ancient Middle East, one's name had special significance. Pharoahs of Egypt had their names carved everywhere, because the preservation of their name was part of insuring their immortality. Putting your name on something was a way of making it your own. Giving someone your true name was the equivalent of giving them your special confidence or trust. The

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-60408416081700567112008-12-31T14:31:00.000-08:002015-01-04T20:07:07.223-08:00

Readings: New Year's Day, Year B I will be brief, because I have a life, and as our Old Testament reading concludes: "I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil." I will shortly go and take pleasure in mine, go thou and do likewise.

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-20199307013243379652008-12-28T09:00:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:02:21.270-08:00

Readings: First Sunday after Christmas, Year B I know what you do. You step out of the shower, face the mirror, and check your flaws. You cover them with clothes. Maybe you color your hair, or wear makeup. If you're young, you try to cover the acne, if you're older, the lines. That's human nature. That's biology. But your inner flaws you can't see as easily, because they aren't reflected in

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-75991097445190193212008-12-25T05:00:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:00:59.229-08:00

Readings: Christmas Day, Proper III, Year B Hymn: " Joy to the World" "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." The writer of our Old Testament reading gave expression to the gratitude of his people for a national liberation. The exultation that his people had

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-25916209959658626402008-12-24T14:00:00.000-08:002015-01-04T19:21:47.134-08:00

Readings: The Nativity of our Lord, Proper 1, Year B, Christmas Eve Hymn: "A Stable Lamp is Lighted" Perhaps you can't hear the words of our Old Testament reading without Handel's Messiah running through your head. Surely, lofty music of some kind should accompany the mighty words of Isaiah, which promise the people Israel the end to their wars, and a son from among their own, given by God

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-5501974804436247472008-12-21T21:00:00.000-08:002015-01-04T19:15:40.350-08:00

Readings: Fourth Sunday in Advent, Year B Advent is a season of waiting. For us in the 21st century it is a season of waiting for Christmas. For those of us so fortunate, we wait to put up the outdoor lights, to put up the Christmas tree, to eat the feast, to sing carols with friends and relatives. For those of us who have lost or maybe cut off our ties to society and family, we wait for a

Scooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17897723268226845919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110986006256063688.post-47369550091576579092008-12-21T16:18:00.000-08:002015-01-04T18:09:07.116-08:00

Readings: Any Sunday in Advent, Years A, B, and C and "Christmas in the Trenches," John McCutcheon, 1984. Advent, from the Latin adventus, means "The Coming," or "The Approach." Once recognized as a holy season of the Christian Church beginning four Sundays before Christmas, it was specifically about the coming of Christ — in our past as the baby Jesus, and in our future as Redemptor Mundi,

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