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The folks at Goettinger Predigten im Internet have a have listed a 2006 Lenten Sermon Series celebrating the 100th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's birth. Texts for the sermons are supported by background writings from Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison. You'll find the column for the English language sermons on the right-hand side of the page.
"The Work of the People" is offering a series of films and visual liturgies following the lectionary texts for Lent. This is a commercial site - the bundle of 7 films for Lent is $40.00. Each film follows a different lectionary text for that week. (Lent 1 - Genesis 9, Lent 2 - Mark 8, etc)
Don't miss this one: "For the Weak and the Weary - A Spirituality of Imperfection," The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with Jesus Foundation. This week, Dan looks at the Isaiah text and the desert monastics from the perspective of contemplating the death of his own mother. The result is a very helpful reflection on this text, with some fascinating discussion questions at the end of the article. If you're considering the Isaiah text (or even if you are not!) don't miss it.
Don't miss Todd Weir's bloomingcactus post for this week: "Give Jonah a Break." In this article, Todd explores both the Jonah text and the Mark text in terms of contrasting response to the call of God.
"Several years ago Michael Lerner wrote a book called “The Politics of Meaning.” Lerner said that to often we give up on our deepest held values of compassion, caring and community because they do not seem practical in the real world. Instead, an ethos of selfishness and materialism prevails by default. These are the values that we settle for when our deeper values seem out of reach."
Check out also in this article, Weir's illustration from the tv show, Early Edition. It's a keeper - if not for this week, then for another week's texts!
At the United Methodist Church's General Board of Discipleship site, you can find a PowerPoint developed by Safiyah Fosua, about the Revsied Common Lectionary. This presentation can help folks understand the organization of the lectionary and how the 3 year cycle of readings is laid out. The link is to a .ppt file, so you'll need either PowerPoint or the PowerPoint Viewer on your machine in order to see it. I've gotten many of requests for information like this from clergy and lay people both. Check it out!
Looking for a one-page front-and-back listing of lectionary readings? Cynthia Hinson of St Paul UMC, Conroe, TX, sent me this link from the United Methodist Church. This follows the United Methodist Church listings for 2006 (Year B and beginning of Year C). During the season after Pentecost it follows the read-through-OT-books options rather than the themed options. Worth taking a look at, even if you're not United Methodist. If anyone knows of anything like this for other lectionary variations, please let me know!
As we get started in the year of Mark, take a look at "Recent Reflections on the Gospel according to Mark" by Sean P. Kealy, in Biblical Theology Bulletin, Fall, 2005. It's a helpful introduction to scholarship especially of the past few years, with a useful bibliography.
At NPR's All Things Considered: "Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine."
"In his new book, Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine, Yale professor and literary critic Harold Bloom wrestles with the meaning of God's covenant with the Hebrew people. Bloom discusses his own troubled feelings about the Hebrew God Yahweh with Debbie Elliott."
At Speaking of Faith: "Einstein and the Mind of God"
"With physicists Freeman Dyson and Paul Davies, and through the words of Albert Einstein himself, we explore Einstein’s way of thinking about mystery, eternity, and the mind of God."
Dan Clendenin has written a review of Ann Rice's Christ Our Lord: Out of Egypt. From Dan's Journey with Jesus newsletter:
"The novelist Anne Rice has sold millions of books writing about the occult, so she shocked readers when she remarked in a *Newsweek* interview that henceforth she intends "to write only for the Lord." This week I review "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt," the first book in her planned trilogy about the life of Christ. She has a seven year old Jesus narrate the entire novel."
