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Then he took a child and had him stand in front of them. He put his arms around him and said to them, “Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me” [Mark 9:36-37, Good News Translation]. One of the more unusual episodes in the life of the first century Palestinian rabbi named Jesus is described in the Gospel reading appointed for this upcoming Sunday (Mark 9:30-37, the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B). Unfortunately, if one reads only the appointed verses, one misses some important contextual elements. For example, beginning in…

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom [Isaiah 35:1] This Sunday, the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Year B), the Lectionary committee provides us with six readings. The OT reading is a curious one, Isaiah 35:4-7a, not so much because it lacks importance, but rather, due to its brevity. Why not include the entire chapter? It consists only of ten verses that form a cohesive poem. Not to travel too far down into the weeds, lest you think I’m an Isaiah expert—I’m not—but most modern Isaiah scholars see chapters 34 and 35 as a distinct, separate segment of the overall book. Here, we…

My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone [Song of Solomon 2:10-11]. This Saturday (August 28), Jane and I celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary. I remember—as if it was just last week—the moment I followed the Rev. Dr. Charles Shannon through the side door of the chapel at First UMC in Gastonia, at High Noon, on a partly cloudy, hot August Saturday. Ours was a small wedding, with about 100 friends and family present. A minute or two after my entrance (twin brother, Todd, was my best man), Jane and…

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God [Psalm 84:1-2]. This week—the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B—the Revised Common Lectionary favors us with two readings from the Psalter. We may opt for selected verses from the 34th. Alternatively, we may choose the entirety of the Psalm that is numbered 84. Over the past day or so, as I have thought and prayed about the pilgrimage of a close friend from his earthly existence to his place in the church triumphant, I have been…

Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink” [John 6:53-55, NIV]. “Come on, we’re leaving,” said the Hebrew man to his son and daughter. “He’s speaking blasphemy.” The son, who was in his mid-teens, protested, “Father, please. This man is different. You heard some of them say it earlier. ‘He teaches as one with authority.’ He…

Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth [2 Samuel 18:9b, NRSV]. Not that it makes any difference, but I’ve long been less than comfortable with the notion espoused in 1 Samuel 13:14, that David was “a man after Yahweh’s own heart.” By the way, the point is repeated in Acts 13:22. To be sure, the whole Goliath business shows David to be a faithful and courageous young man. But once David became king, he seems to have let his absolute power get to…

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” [John 6:34-35]. Have you ever had that eerie feeling that you needed something and yet, you couldn’t quite put a name on it? For example, I remember a few years ago, after our father died, I would sometimes find myself sitting in my reading chair, gazing off into space for something that seemed just beyond my visual reach. On several such occasions, Jane entered the room and, after seeing my expression, allowed that I seemed deep…

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself [John 6:14-15]. For many of us, the feeding of the multitude story ranks high on our list of Gospel favorites. As you may know, it’s the only miracle story found in all four Gospels. The Gospel reading for this upcoming Sunday, the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (RCL, Year B) is John’s version, which has several important variations. For…

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me [Psalm 23:4]. One of the many personal advantages of living here in Durham is my proximity to one of my alma maters, Duke Divinity School. As you may know, for almost 20 years, I worked either on or near Duke’s campus. The Div School library is in a category of its own. Only Yale and Princeton would have anything like it. Prior to the pandemic, the Div School also sponsored numerous seminars, discussion groups, and other gatherings. During the pandemic,…

Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother [Mark 6: 25-28, portion of the Gospel lesson for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (RCL, Year B)]. If…