The Riverside Gathering Posts

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert [Isaiah 43:19]. What if the God we long for is already moving—just not in the way we expected? This Sunday’s Old Testament reading, Isaiah 43:16-21 (Fifth Sunday in Lent, RCL, Year C) finds the people of Israel in exile—uprooted, disoriented, and uncertain. Forcibly removed from their homeland after Jerusalem’s destruction in 587 BCE, these displaced people have spent decades in a foreign land under foreign rule. The prophet addresses a community caught between memory and hope—remembering God’s mighty acts in…

<blockquote> <p>The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the Passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year [Joshua 5:9–12].</p> </blockquote> <p>This…

O God, you are my God; I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water [Psalm 63:1]. Jane and I have a dear friend who has spent the better part of two years confined to his bed. His back pain, persistent and unyielding, has created boundaries around his life that few of us can truly comprehend. His world has narrowed to the dimensions of his bedroom and the adjoining den, the daily landscape unchanged except for the shifting of light across the ceiling. The slow rotation of an overhead fan marks time, whispering through…

Abram’s Journey of Faith After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (Genesis 15:1) Why Abram? The question lingers whenever I reflect on the Genesis 15 text—the Old Testament lesson for this Sunday, the Second Sunday in Lent, Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 [RCL, Year C]. Why would YHWH choose a childless, aging nomad to become the father of nations? To be sure, throughout Scripture, YHWH’s choices often confound human wisdom—the youngest son [David—1 Samuel 16:11-13); the forgotten shepherd [Moses—Exodus 3:1-10]; barren women [Sarah—Genesis 18:1-15; Hannah—1 Samuel 1; Elizabeth—Luke 1:5-25]; and…

As we enter the season of Lent, our liturgical journey takes us from the mountaintop of last Sunday’s Transfiguration directly into the stark wilderness where Jesus faces testing. In Luke’s account, which serves as the Gospel reading appointed for this Sunday [Luke 4:1-13, RCL, Year C], we read that Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit,” is led by that same Spirit into the wilderness for forty days. What unfolds there is often framed as a battle between good and evil—Jesus versus the devil, each wielding scripture. Jesus answers with words from Deuteronomy [8:3]; the tempter counters with a passage from Psalm 91. To me, what’s interesting isn’t just that both…

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray [Luke 9:28]. In all three annual cycles of the Revised Common Lectionary, the Gospel reading for the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday is the Transfiguration story. This year, Year C, gives us Luke’s version [Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a). More or less consistent with the versions found in Mark and Matthew, Peter, John, and James witness Jesus transformed in glory. They see Him speaking with Moses and Elijah and, peculiar to Luke’s version, they hear the very voice of God affirming Jesus as beloved Son. It’s a moment…

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt” [Genesis 45:4, a portion of the OT reading assigned for this Sunday, the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, RCL, Year C]. Simple words, spoken in an Egyptian palace, they carried the weight of decades. There were no dramatic flourishes, no accusatory tone—just a plain statement of truth that must have fallen like thunder in his brothers’ ears. They remembered what they had done. They had lived with that knowledge for years, watching their father’s grief, perhaps justifying their actions to themselves in quiet moments.…

One of my closest friends is a devout Roman Catholic who attends Mass almost daily. While I won’t share his name, many of my Gastonia friends will readily know of whom I speak. He and I share not only a hearty friendship, but a spiritual journey. We are sojourners along the same path, and I draw great strength from his "presence," despite the fact that we physically see each other perhaps once each year. This morning, after returning from Mass, he sent me an email that sparked this "Friday meditation." The day’s Gospel reading was Mark 7:31-37, the account of Jesus healing a deaf man with a speech impediment. In…

Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream [Jeremiah 17:7-8a]. It’s 597 BCE. Jerusalem has already witnessed its first deportation to Babylon. Now, its remaining leaders face a wrenching decision: submit to Babylonian domination or gamble everything on Egyptian intervention. In this national crisis, the prophet Jeremiah steps forward. In the text that forms the OT reading for this upcoming Sunday, Jeremiah 17:5-10 [the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, RCL, Year C], he speaks of trust. While others frantically seek political solutions, Jeremiah sees a deeper issue: the tendency…

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst [Luke 5:4-6]. As we turn to the Gospel lesson appointed for this upcoming Sunday [Luke 5:1-11, the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, RCL, Year C], we see that a crowd has assembled on the shores of Lake Gennesaret. They want to hear Jesus teach. The pressing…