[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 Meditating on this passage of prophetic imagining surfaces the tension that characterizes the relationship between God and Israel. Both parties bend their backs, but God’s bending nourishes while the peoples’ bending isolates them from infinite sustenance. The poet paints a picture of YHWH—the…

[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 A basket of summer fruit: the prophet Amos lived among a group of shepherds and was “a dresser of sycamore trees” (Amos 7:14), so he knew and appreciated a basket of fruit more than anyone. He also knew that ripe summer fruit rots quickly….

[RCL] Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37 Amos 7:7-17 The prophet Amos is known for siding with the powerless against the powerful. He prophesied during the 8th century BCE, during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam in Israel. This is the time in Ancient Israel’s history when the kingdom…