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
16:9 Was this a dream or a
vision? Does it make a difference? How many visions has Paul now experienced?
Where is Macedonia and where was Paul when he saw this vision?
16:10 What is the meaning
of “immediately”? What would Paul need to cross over in order to go to
Macedonia? Note the plural “us”!
16:11 Who is “we”? Who is telling this story? What do we know about Troas, Samothrace, and
Neapolis?
16:12 What do we know about
Philippi in addition to what we are told in this verse? Does it make any
difference that Philippi is a Roman colony?
16:13 What is “a place of
prayer”? Why might it have been outside
the gate? Where there no men gathered there?
16:14 What is a “worshiper
of God”? What do we know about
Thyatira? Is there any significance to
Lydia being a dealer in purple cloth?
How does the Lord open the heart?
Was Lydia spiritual but not religious?
Was she “a seeker”?
16:15 Who were in Lydia’s
household and why were they all baptized?
Consider Acts 11:14 from last week’s Lectionary Readings. Might Lydia’s
invitation to Paul and those with him to stay in her home be a bit scandalous?
67:1 The “us” makes this a
communal rather than a personal psalm.
What does it mean for God’s face to shine on someone? What is “The Aaronic blessing”? How do you
handle “Selah”?
67:2 Is God’s way the same
as God’s saving power, or am I reading too much into the parallelism of the
Hebrew Poetry? Note that 67:1 seems addressed to worshipers while 67:2 is
addressed to God.
67:3 Why the plural
“peoples” rather than the singular “people”?
67:4 Is there a difference
between “nations” and “peoples”?
67:5 I hear a refrain that
could be adapted for use as a Call to Worship.
67:6 What is the “increase”
yielded by the earth? It seems the psalmist shifts from addressing God to
addressing worshipers.
67:7 What is the meaning of
“all the ends of the earth”? How many ends does the earth have? How can they
revere God?
21:10 What is the meaning
of “in the spirit”? Who carried the
narrator away? What great, high mountain
might the narrator have been carried away to? How could Jerusalem come down out
of heaven?
21:22 Was the author
writing before or after the destruction of the temple? And the Lord Almighty
and the Lamb be a temple?
21:23 Maybe the city does
not need the light of the sun or moon, but what about their gravitational pull?
21:24 It sounds like this
Jerusalem is like a beacon.
21:25 What do open gates
symbolize?
21:26 What is the glory and
honor of the nations?
21:27 What is the Lamb’s
book of life?
22:1 Where did the angel
come from? Are there any rivers in
contemporary Jerusalem? What is the
water of life? Are God and the Lamb sitting on a single throne?
22:2 This city is beginning
to resemble Venice more than Jerusalem. How is a tree on “either” side of a
river? What kind of tree has twelve
kinds of fruit? How can leaves heal? Let’s
see, 12 fruits x 12 months = 144 individual piece of fruit,
22:3 Servants will worship
the singular whom?
22:4 Other than names, what
is traditionally on foreheads?
22:5 Who are “they” who
will reign?
This week’s Lectionary
offers the choice of one of two Readings from John. How will you decide which
one to use?
14:23 Whom did Jesus
answer? Is God’s love conditional or unconditional?
14:24 Is it logical to
conclude that if a person keeps Jesus’ words that they will also love Jesus? Is
this verse anti-Semitic?
14:25 How could Jesus say
these things if he were not with them? Who is “you”?
14:26 What is the meaning
of “Advocate” apart from the Holy Spirit? Why is “Advocate” capitalized? Why might anyone need or want an Advocate? What
is the difference between teaching and reminding? Will the Advocate give additional
or new teaching in addition to what Jesus already taught?
14:27 “Do not let your
hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” is one of my favorite verses
in all of Christian Scripture. I often read
this sentence from Scripture at a Service of Witness to the Resurrection and/or
at the graveside. Is fear a form of
doubt or lack of faith?
14:28 Why the “if”? Did
Jesus think those to whom he was speaking loved him or not?
14:29 Can they not believe now?
Why would they not believe until after this occurs?
Or
5:1 After what? Which
festival might this have been? Does it matter?
5:2 What and where is the
Sheep Gate? What is the meaning of Beth-zatha? Is the fact that this pool had
five porticoes significant? What is a portico?
5:3 Paralyzed?
(5:4) What are you going
do with the questionable 4th verse? If you choose to use it, how
will you handle that a paralyzed person would not be able to step into the
pool?
5:5 Is the number thirty-eight
significant. This man would be older than Jesus.
5:6 Why would Jesus ask
such a question?
5:7 What, in essence, is
the problem?
5:8 What is the meaning of
Jesus’ proclamation?
5:9 What is the
significance of “at once”? So what that it was the Sabbath?
ADDENDUM
I am currently a Member at Large of Upper Ohio
Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I am a trained and
experienced Interim Pastor currently available to supply as a fill-in
occasional guest preacher and worship leader or serve in a half-time to
full-time position. This Sunday I will be preaching and leading worship at The
Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. The service begins at
11:00 AM.
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