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Controlled Burns & Faithful Forecasting

Lectionary Reflection for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, August 14, 2016
Fire has the power to destroy and the power to foster regeneration and new growth. What if we consider Jesus’ fire imagery this week as being that of a controlled burn, a deliberate fire kindled for the purpose of regeneration and new growth? (Photo: US FIsh & Wildlife Service, Creative Commons)

Aflame

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Lectionary Reflection, August 18, 2013
Do these lessons leave you burning with the passion of the gospel or afraid of being burned? One thing’s for certain, these are tough texts for today’s times. Read on for ideas for preaching, worship, and time with children and youth. (Photo: Matthew Venn)

Peace, Walls, and Fractured-Faith Forecasting

Lectionary Reflection
August 15, 2010, 12th Sunday after Pentecost

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” says the narrator in Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall.” Could that “something” be the gospel? We humans build walls that Jesus is in the business of shattering, but there is still pain and cost. How do we preach this text without throwing up additional walls?