textweek

Dan Clendenin for July 4

"Believers without Borders: Christian Ambivalence on the 4th of July," The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with Jesus Foundation, 2010. 

2 Kings text for June 27

Kairos CoMotion Lectionary Discussion, 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 / 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21, "A place of conversation regarding Progressive Christianity." "A mantle of power (covering term is 'spirit') is very attractive and addictive. It is an equivalent of a ring in Tolkien's major work."  What do you all think?

Galatians 5 at "The Ekklesia Project"

"Freedom and Obedience," Jake Wilson, The Ekklesia Project, 2010.

"In contrast to the destructive works of flesh, the freedom to be Church is sustained by the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience…these are the marks of individuals and communities who live in the freedom that only God can offer."

I keep thinking about this Gal...atians text in terms of the meaning of true freedom, and the fruit of the spirit as example of this, not something to strive for or even "proof" of faith and faithfulness. Any thoughts?

Kate Huey on 2 Kings text for June 27

"Pick Up the Mantle," commentary by Kate Huey, i.ucc.org: Sermon Seeds, lectionary citations, weekly theme, lectionary texts, bulletin back page, 2010: "How much do we trust that God is at work in every loss, and that God is working in mysterious and amazing ways, behind and below and above the scene? There are some very dramatic touches to this story of Elijah being carried up to heaven, chariots and fire and all, but the most powerful thing about the story, its heart, is something much more accessible to us for those times when we have lost a strong and beloved leader: God will send us the leaders we need. Our prayer might be for the wisdom to recognize the right leader at the right time, and to have the courage to respond when we are offered our portion of the spirit for leadership ourselves."

What do you think, within the complexity that there is good and evil in every leader, and different people of faith and faithfulness may judge different leaders in different ways?

ATLAS recommendations for June 27, 2010

Proper 8 / Ordinary 13 / Pentecost +5

June 27, 2010

 

• 2 Kings 2:1-14 / 1 Kings 19:15-21
• Psalm 77 / Psalm 16
• Galatians 5:1, 13-25
• Luke 9:51-62

  

Psalm 77

 

Brueggemann, Walter, "Psalm 77 - the 'Turn' from the Self to God," Journal for Preachers, 1983.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

“Psalm 77 offers a stunning embodiment of the reorientation of life most hoped for by evangelical faith. In the exposition that follows, I take the Psalm not simply as a devotional or liturgical residue of faith, but as an actual "speech pilgrimage" of one whose self spoke through to new faith. Specifically, the Psalm shows the route by which this life was moved from a preoccupation with self to a submission to and reliance upon God.”

 

 

Luke 9

 

Allison, Dale C., Jr., "Rejecting Violent Judgment: Luke 9:52-56 and Its Relatives," Journal of Biblical Literature, 2002.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

“In some Christian circles, the implied critique of 1 Kgs 1:9-12 in Luke 9:51-56 made it, at least by Marcion s time, part of a case for distinguishing between the God of the Jews and the God of the Christians.53 But the problem of conflicting theologies was not born with Christianity. That predicament was already internal to Judaism.54 The indiscriminately compassionate God of Ezek 33 and Wis 11 is not easily thought of as heeding a pitiless prayer for fire, and some Jews saw this plainly enough. If, after Marcion, the issue for Christians became which God to acknowledge, this was only a later variant of the earlier question, Which texts should we sanction?”

 

 

Brueggemann, Walter, "The Stunning Outcome of a One-Person Search Committee," sermon, Journal for Preachers, 2001.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

A sermon by Walter Brueggemann which includes references to both Kings text and Luke. “Evidently Elisha's mother and father are alive and well, functioning and supportive of this new place where deep gladness and the deep need of the world converge. In the second case, the father is already dead. In that case, the demand is sharper: Do not go back to death. Do not kiss a corpse.”

 

 

Spencer, F. Scott, "'Follow Me,' The Imperious Call of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels," Interpretation, 2005.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

“Jesus displays audacious personal authority in summoning his followers to join him in advancing the kingdom of God. He does not negotiate with disciples. Moreover, the content of his call implies an alternative political (imperial) as well as religious (spiritual) vocation.”

 

 

Galatians 5

 

Boyce, James L., "The Poetry of the Spirit: Willing and Doing in Galatians 5 and 6," Word & World, 2000.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

“Far from being a digression from Paul's theological discussion of gospel and justification in the opening chapters of Galatians, the ethical considerations in chapters five and six are inextricably bound to the central argument of the letter. Paul maintains a crucial unity between theology and practical ethics.”

 

 

Fee, Gordon D., "Freedom and the Life of Obedience (Galatians 5:1-6:18)," Review and Expositor, 1994.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

The section on this week’s Galatians text begins on page 205. “The contrasting lists of fifteen vices and nine virtues that follow are so well known that it is difficult for the modern reader to keep them in context, to listen to them as if in a Galatian assembly and for the first time…”

 

 

Gench, Frances Taylor, "Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Expository Article," Interpretation, 1992.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

“It is interesting that as Paul speaks of the Christian life, he studiously avoids providing the Galatians with a comprehensive list of rules and regulations, even though this perceived ‘deficiency’ on his part may have given rise to their attempts to supplement his gospel in the first place. Paul indicates the contours of the Christian life with broad sweeping strokes…”

 

 

Padgett, Alan G., "'Walk in the Spirit': Preaching for Spiritual Growth (Gal 5:13-6:2)," Word & World, 2007.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

“Congregations are hungry for a biblical and trinitarian spirituality. With a sustained biblical leadership, local churches can be places where a genuine evangelical and trinitarian spirituality is reclaimed for our time.”

 

 

1 Kings 19

 

Epp-Tiessen, Dan, "1 Kings 19: The Renewal of Elijah," Direction, 2006.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

 

“Observing the chiastic structure of l Kings 19 brings into focus the various steps God uses to renew a weary, discouraged, and suicidal prophet.”

Walter Brueggemann on texts for June 27

"Discipleship Is No Picnic," Walter Brueggemann, "A Cast of Emancipated Characters," 2010. I appreciate Walter Brueggemann's words on this week's texts at Sojourner's. (Scroll down to June 27.) Thinking about the relationship between freedom and discipleship. Any thoughts?

"Working Preacher" and Galatians text for 6/27

Preaching This Week at WorkingPreacher.org, Luther Seminary, 2010. Commentaries on lectionary readings by Samuel Giere, Craig A. Satterlee, Kathryn Schifferdecker, Elisabeth Johnson, Marilyn Salmon. Don't miss David Lose's column at http://www.workingpreacher.org/dear_wp.aspx?article_id=364 . Those of you looking at Galatians might want to take a look at Elisabeth Johnson's thoughts about "freedom and love" and "flesh and spirit." ARE these helpful dialectics and are they a helpful way to think about these words in Galatians? What do you all think?

Suzanne Guthrie's meditations, June 27, 2010 - Ordinary 13C

I always find these useful to read at the beginning of the week and keep in the back of my mind as I am living, praying and thinking about the texts during the week:  Invitation, Incarnation, and Urgency, Suzanne Guthrie, At the Edge of the Enclosure, prayers and meditations, 2010.

Bill Loader on Galatians 5 (fruits of the Spirit) and Luke 9

I'm starting with William Loader's commentaries this week:
http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/CEpPentecost5.htm (Epistle) and http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/LkPentecost5.htm (Gospel). From the Galatians commentary: "Paul then lists "fruit of the Spirit" (5:22-23). It is a wonderful image, perhaps deliberatel...y chosen, for Paul is not wanting people to keep rules of goodness (such as we find in the biblical law). He wants people to change in themselves through their new relationship with God with the result that goodness is a consequence of their being. Goodness as it develops within generates goodness without. Love generates love. So Paul is arguing that a lifestyle lived on the basis of God's love declared in Christ will produce behaviours which flow from that relationship. It needs focus. That is why Paul urges the Galatians to keep focused on the relationship. The more they do, the more their lives will reflect the goodness and generosity they celebrate. They will not be loving because they know they ought to be loving, but because their being is undergoing change." I'm interested also in Loader's commentary on the Luke text and connections between these lessons...

Any thoughts?

June 27 Preaching & Worship Resources - Proper 8C / Ordinary 13 / Pentecost +5

Updates to links to worship, preaching, teaching, liturgy, and scripture resources for Proper 8 / Ordinary 13 / Pentecost +5 (June 27, 2010) have been posted at http://www.textweek.com/yearc/properc8.htm .