textweek

The Journey with Jesus - Epiphany 5B

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.

Epiphany 3B

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!

PowerPoint: Exploring the Lectionary

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!