Monday, November 17, 2014

Lectionary Ruminations 2.0 for Sunday, November 23, 2014, Christ the King (Reign of Christ) Sunday (Year A)

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 

PREFACE:
This is the last Sunday in Liturgical Year A. Next Sunday, November 30, the 1st Sunday in Advent, begins Liturgical Year B.

34:11 How did God lose these sheep in the first place? Why might God be doing the searching rather than entrusting the searching to a representative?
34:12 Why do sheep scatter and why do shepherds allow them to scatter?
34:13 How can one not read this and be a Zionist?
34:14-15 Why am I thinking of Psalm 23?
34:16 What is the difference between the lost and the strayed? Does it seem that God will search out and rescue the 99% while punishing the 1%?
34:20 I think it is time for me to eat less, exercise more, and drop a few pounds.
34:21 To whom is this addressed?
34:22 Note that God will judge between sheep and sheep, not sheep and goats.
34:23-24 David, King of the 99%!

100:1 Is “all the earth” a poetic reference to all people or and invitation to rocks and trees as well?
100:2 If we are to worship God with gladness, why do so many worship services feel like a funeral and so many worshipers act like they are mourners?
100:3 How many people in the pew understand the nuance of “LORD” and “God”? Does this verse justify this Psalm being paired with the Ezekiel Reading?  What and where is the LORD’s pasture?
100:4 To what does gates refer, the gates og the temple, the gates of the city, or something else? To what does courts refer?
100:5 Is it redundant to say his steadfast love endures forever? What does it mean for the LORD to be faithful?

1:15 How might Paul have heard of the Ephesians faith and love? Who are the saints?
1:16 I would love to hear Paul praying.
1:17 What is “a spirit of wisdom and revelation”?
1:18-19 I love the phrases “the riches of his glorious inheritance” and “the immeasurable greatness of his power”.
1:20Is this a reference to the Resurrection as well as the Ascension?
1:21 Yes, this Sunday is Christ the King.
1:22 What does “for the church” mean?
1:23 What does “fills all in all” mean?

25:31 Who is speaking? How much do we need to know about the theologically loaded title “Son of Man” to responsibly interpret this passage?  Does the mention of a throne justify this being the Gospel Reading for Christ the King?
25:32-33 The Gospel’s “sheep and goats” juxtaposed with the “sheep and sheep” of the Ezekiel Reading seems to offer us a mixed or confused, metaphor.
25:33 Is this an example of right-handed prejudice?
25:34 Is the king the same as the Son of Man?
25:37 What does it mean to be righteous?
25:41 The devil has angels?
25:35-45 How do members of the Tea Party and the 1% read these verses?
25:46 Must there be eternal punishment?

ADDENDUM

I am currently serving at the Interim Pastor of The Presbyterian Church of Cadiz, worshiping at 154 West Market Street, Cadiz, Ohio, every Sunday at 11:00 AM.

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