RCL: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17 Jeremiah 1:4-10 When I read this passage in Jeremiah, there is one line that immediately captures and convicts me: “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy” (Jeremiah 1:6). Jeremiah’s response to God sounds so familiar. It…

RCL: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:1-2, 8-18; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56 Isaiah 5:1-7 Chapter five concludes the introductory section of the Book of Isaiah. While previous chapters have been hopeful, chapter five is one of indictment and judgment. The primary verdict is that God’s people have acted unjustly; they have not acted in accordance with God’s…

RCL: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 The part of Isaiah that this reading comes from was written before the Babylonian Exile and is part of a series of oracles against Judah and Jerusalem. Judah was the southern part of what was once the united kingdom of…

RCL: Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21 Hosea 11:1-11 It is striking to see the emotional vulnerability and passion of God in this passage. Forget any notion of God as a distant, unaffected observer. God desires us with a powerful passion. Israel is the wayward son who continually breaks relationship with God,…

RCL: Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2:6-15, [16-19]; Luke 11:1-13 Hosea 1:2-10 Hosea, like the major prophets, performs prophetic sign acts to convey the Lord’s prophetic message, in addition to spoken or written words. These acts are grotesque in the literary sense: they are over the top and cannot be ignored; they are obtrusive, demanding…

RCL: Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42 Amos 8:1-12 Our immediate surroundings are not always the best indicators of the great world around us. Sometimes we, like Amos, can see only that the basket of fruit sitting before us is, well, a basket of fruit. That basket of fruit, however, might be one…