Lectionary
Ruminations 2.0 is a revised continuation of Lectionary Ruminations. Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised
Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary
Ruminations 2.0 draws on nearly thirty years of pastoral experience. Believing that the questions we ask are often
more important than any answers we find, without overreliance on commentaries I
intend with comments and questions to encourage reflection and rumination for
readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are
invited and encouraged. All lectionary
links are to the via the PC(USA)
Devotions and Readings website.
FOR AN UPDATED AND REVISED VERSION, GO
TO THIS LINK
3:1 The Moses saga
continues with last week’s infant Moses now a married, grown man. What other great figures from the Jewish
Scriptures spent their early life as a shepherd? Is the fact that Moses’ father-in-law was a
priest a foreshadowing of Moses future role? Where or what is Midian and is it
significant? Why would Moses lead his flock beyond the wilderness where there
be dragons or deities? Did Moses know he was near Horeb, the mountain of God,
or is this description hindsight?
3:2 Note that in the NRSV
it is “the”, not “an” angel of the LORD.
Why do we usually refer to this as “the burning bush” rather than “the
bush that was not consumed”? How often are angels and/or the LORD associated
with fire?
3:3 Turn aside? Where had Moses been looking before he looked
at the bush?
3:4 How often in the Jewish
Scriptures does God call a person’s name twice?
How many people in the Jewish Scriptures, and who, respond to God “Here
I am.” If the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses from the midst of the bush,
why did the LORD and not the angel call to Moses?
3:5 Why do some people
remove their shoes and socks when standing on holy ground? Why do Christians
not worship barefooted? I wonder how close to the bush Moses was when he was commanded
to remove his sandals.
3:6 Who was Moses’
father? Abraham? Isaac?
Jacob? Someone else? Why are only men mentioned? Can we be faithful to Scripture and include
Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel as well as Zilpah and Bilha in this list? Why
was Moses afraid to look at God?
3:7 What took God so long
to respond? How does God “know” their
sufferings?
3:8 Where has God come down
from and why did God need to come down at all?
What is a land flowing with milk and honey like? Is it not a problem
that this land seems to be already inhabited by others?
3:9 How did the cry of the
Israelites come to God? How did God see?
3:10 So, God comes down (v.
7), but sends Moses!
3:11 A perfectly good
question.
3:12 It sounds like the
confirmation will be after the fact? It
is like me telling you that you are an excellent Biblical scholar and you
asking me how you can be sure that you are an excellent Biblical Scholar and me
answering that you will know you are an excellent Biblical Scholar when you
earn a Ph.D.
3:13 Why does Moses refer
to “your ancestors” rather than “our ancestors”? Why is knowing God’s name so important?
3:14 “I AM WHO I AM”? Why, in NRSV, does this appear in upper case
letters?
3:15 It seems that the LORD
is known more by past associations than name or title, nevertheless, xxactly
what is God’s name and title? Is God’s
name the same as God’s title?
105:1 Why, in the NRSV,
does “LORD” appear in uppercase? What is
God’s name? Hoe can one call on God’s
name when God’s name is not pronounced? What are God’s deeds?
105:2 This is beginning to
read like a couplet.
105:3 What does it mean to seek
the LORD?
105:4 How does one seek the
LORD’s presence?
105:5 Are works, miracles,
and judgments synonyms for the same phenomena?
105:6 Why is Isaac not
mentioned? Why are Sarah, Leah, and Rachel
not mentioned?
105:23-26 Is this merely a
retelling of part of salvation history or is something more going on here?
105:45c A budding psalmist
can never go wrong ending a psalm this way.
12:9 How can love not be
genuine? Is “hating evil” the opposite
of “holding fast to what is good”?
12:10 is non-mutual
affection better than no affection at all?
12:11 What is zeal? What
does it mean to be ardent in spirit?
12:12 How does one persevere
in prayer?
12:13 Is this a reference
to any particular offering? How long should
hospitality to strangers last?
12:14 What does Paul mean
by “bless”and”curse”?
12:15 Who were rejoicing
and who were weeping?
12:16 What if we extended
the admonition to “live in harmony with one another” to extend to other
species? Who are the lowly? I think
Socrates would have liked this verse.
12:17 What is noble in the
sight of all?
12:18 And what if by “all”
we meant all living creation, not just other humans? What if it is not possible
to live peaceably with all?
12:19 What is the “wrath of
God”? While Paul advises us to not
avenge ourselves, what about state sanctioned punishment for crime? Where is it
written that “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” and how often is
it quoted out of context and misapplied?
12:20 Since when is food
and water the same as burning coals? Is
this good statecraft and foreign policy?
What would H. Richard Niebuhr say about this? What sort of enemies does
Paul have in mind?
12:21 Paul is sounding like
Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
Or maybe King and Gandhi learned their non-violent civil resistance from
Paul! Or Jesus?
16:21 From what time on?
Why did Jesus not show this earlier?
16:22 Why did Peter take
Jesus aside? Why did Peter rebuke Jesus?
16:23 Did Jesus just refer
to Peter as Satan? What is the pun in
referring to Peter as a stumbling block?
What is the human thing Peter was setting his mind on? What was the divine thing Jesus wanted Peter
to set his mind on?
16:24 What does it mean to
“deny” oneself? Is there a difference between taking up Jesus’ cross and taking
up our own cross?
16:25 What is the meaning
of this? Is this a paradox?
16:26 What is a life worth?
16:27 Who is “the Son of
Man”? Is Jesus applying this title to
himself? Why this shift from moral admonition to apocalyptic language?
16:28 How shall we
interpret this passage nearly two centuries after the death, resurrection and
ascension of Christ? What does it mean
to “see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”?
Can we read this as a reference to the Christian Pentecost of Acts
rather than a second coming of Christ?
ADDENDUM
2 comments:
The pun? = Peter went from rock to stumbling block in just a couple of minutes. Divine thing = Going to Jerusalem was of "divine necessity" not simply a way to spend Labor Day weekend.
Pun = Peter went from rock to stumbling block. Divine thing = He must go to Jerusalem was of "divine necessity."
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