Theophany (Jan 6) has become one of my favorite feasts of the church. It’sthe feast of water, the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan. TheBible text is quite mundane (if a heavenly voice can be consideredmundane). Jesus demands that John baptize him “to fulfill allrighteousness.” After the baptism a voice from heaven says, …
November and December are typically early winter in this part of the world, but aside from a few cold days, highs during these two months were in the 50s and 60s, turning these two months into late autumn rather than winter. That changed on Christmas Eve when temperatures dropped into the teens and have not …
Yesterday’s Gospel lesson from the Revised Common Lectionary, from John 1, is about the other John—John the Baptist. There is an especially vicious line about the religious leaders of the day. “Then [the representatives from the religious leaders] said to [John], ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent. What do …
Yesterday (Nov 26) marked the end of the church calendar as it is observed in the Western church. It was also my saint day, in the Eastern church; thanks be to God for St James the Solitary. Our son invited us down to Omaha on Saturday night for dinner at a southern style restaurant (shrimp …
I think quite a lot about the Exodus because it, along with the Day of Atonement, are the two primary metaphors explaining why Jesus Christ’s work. Moses’ encounter with the Pharaoh and his gods is dramatic. God’s victory, through his servant Moses, over the gods of Egypt (which parallels Christ’s defeat of death and Satan, …
The lectionary epistle lessons for the month of August this year are from Romans. August 6 focused on Rom 9; Aug 13 on Rom 10; Aug 20 will focus on Rom 11. These are long chapters, for the purpose of an epistle reading during worship. Therefore, the lectionary texts themselves are selective (8/6 was Rom …
Continue reading Achsah, Hobaba, the Gulloth Springs, and the Amalakites
It was the Sunday of St. Thomas yesterday in the Orthodox Church (and it was the week before for churches on the Western calendar). There are several aspects of this minor feast that I really like, so once again I want to to think with you on the implications of Thomas Sunday. But before I …
Continue reading St Thomas Sunday and the Rationality of Faith
When I was in 6th or 7th grade, I discovered the Irish Rovers. Among my favorite Rover tunes is The Orange and the Green. In 7th grade I was also becoming politically aware and in a moment of crazy political activism, I decided I should wear orange instead of green on St. Patrick’s Day. Of …
Continue reading It Is the Biggest Mix Up That You Have Ever Seen
At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Jewish priesthood and the temple bureaucracy were utterly corrupt. Many thought the heart of the corruption had been destroyed with the destruction of the Hasmonean dynasty in 37 BC, but as it turned out the Roman puppet dynasty of the Herodians was every bit as bad, and eventually …
Sunday’s appointed psalm for the Baptism of the Lord in the Revised Common Lectionary (yep, I’m still stuck on the Revised Common Lectionary weekly psalter) is Ps. 29, a psalm that has been associated with the Jesus’ baptism for as long as we have records. This is done in two different manners in the east …
Just Another Jim 