This meditation is based on a passage for January 23, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Isaiah 47:1-15 Reflection and Question: Here, God speaks to Babylon, the dominant power of Isaiah’s era, arguably comparable to the United States in today’s world. […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 22, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Psalm 56 Reflection and Question: I cannot say that I have the same problems the poet describes in this psalm. It is simply not the […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 21, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Mark 4:35-41 Reflection and Question: Up until this point in Mark, Jesus has been a teacher and a healer and a bit of a provocateur. […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 20, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Ephesians 5:15-33 Reflection and Question: Paul gets very specific here about how to live in marriage. While Christians are to be subject to one another, […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 19, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Mark 4:1-20 Reflection and Question: One of the first things I learned in seminary was how central the theme of secrecy is to the Gospel […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 18, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Isaiah 44:24-45:7 Reflection and Question: What an astoundingly audacious claim that Cyrus (the founder of the Persian Empire, which is toppling the Babylonian Empire) is […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 17, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Ephesians 4:1-16 Reflection and Question: Paul’s wonderful capturing here of the binding together of unity and diversity in the body of Christ, the church, reminds […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 16, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: John 4:27-42 Reflection and Question: The way Jesus comes alive in the Gospel of John is quite different from the other three Gospels. In John’s […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 15, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Mark 2:23-3:6 Reflection and Question: Back in Mark 1, Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and it caused amazement and growing fame. By Mark […]

This meditation is based on a passage for January 14, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993). Text: Isaiah 42:10-17 Reflection and Question: Psalms 96 and 98 start with this same command: “Sing to the Lord a new song!” This is an image […]