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Textweek ATLAS links May 19, 2013, Day of Pentecost

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/pentecdc.htm

Day of Pentecost
May 19, 2013

Kershner, Shannon Johnson, "Outside the Walls," Journal for Preachers, 2006. Sermon.
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"Pentecost church is one that is willing to take risks and engage people who may look or sound different or act differently from the usual person sitting next to us in the pew. A Pentecost church is one that does not expect that unity in Christ must equal uniformity, or diversity must bring division."

Long, Thomas G., "A Night at the Burlesque: Wanderings through the Pentecost Narrative," Journal for Preachers, 1991.
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"There they are, people who are struggling, sometimes in nearly slapstick ways, to be the Church of Jesus Christ. Keep looking because Luke is claiming that if we look carefully and faithfully we can, from time to time, see resting on them the tongues of the Pentecostal fire. Such an insight pushes the language of preaching to the limits, perhaps even to the burlesque."

Schott, Faye E., "Acts 2:1-21, Between Text & Sermon," Interpretation, 1996.
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"God's faithfulness is not depicted simply as a matter of continuation. On the arrival of the day of Pentecost, the promise of then becomes now. The time of the last days has reached fulfillment, in accordance with the prophecy of Joel, and that fulfillment is connected with the pouring out of the Spirit in witness to the risen and ascended Jesus."

Taylor, Barbara Brown, "God's Breath," Journal for Preachers, 2003.
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"That is why I think it is so interesting that we have two very different birth stories to choose from this morning. One of them is told by John, whom many Christians consider the most spiritual of the four gospel writers, and one is told by Luke, who is the author of Acts. That they tell two different stories should not surprise anyone, since they wrote for different times and places and from different theologies as well, but if we are sometimes confused about what it means to be the church in the world then John and Luke are at least two reasons why."

Willimon, William H., "'Everyone Whom the Lord our God Calls': Acts 2 and the Miracle of Pentecost Preaching in a Multicultural Context," Journal for Preachers, 2002.
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"We preachers must be constantly reminded that God's peculiar multiculturalism begins with the Spirit's "violent wind" (2:2) that intruded into our settled, religious club and demanded that we follow the Spirit's assault upon "every nation under heaven" (2:5) with a promise to "all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him" (2:39). Preaching is always confrontive of the world's boundaries and divisions, as well as the world's sources of identity."

Textweek ATLAS links May 12, 2013 Easter 7C

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc7.htm

Easter 7C

May 12, 2013

Jones, L. Gregory, "Come, Lord Jesus," The Christian Century, 1992.
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"Do we take the water of life as a gift that empowers us to work and to pray for the church's unity? Is the Risen Christ's promise that 'surely I am coming soon' an invitation for us or a threat?"

Rakotojoelinandrasana, Daniel, "The Gospel in Adversity: Reading Acts 16:16-34 in African Context," Word & World, 2001.
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"God may be unpredictable, and the Bible tells how God can turn the impossible into the possible, predicaments into blessing, and a hopeless situation into salvation. Our text is a perfect illustration of those affirmations. Acts 16:31 contains one of the Bible's clearest promises of salvation ('Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household') yet it stems from a time of great adversity."

Staley, Jeffrey L., "Reading Acts 16:6-40 on the Edges of the Navajo Reservation," Word & World, 2004.
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"Reading Acts 16 in conversation with experiences and literature of the American West offers new insights into how the old and new might creatively interact when they meet at significant cultural and religious horders."

Loscalzo, Craig A., "Come Lord Jesus: A Sermon Based on Revelation 22:12-21," Review & Expositor, 1999.
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"In a real sense, God longs to see us using the gifts God has given. God wants to see how you have honed them. God wants to see how you have used them. Are you using your gifts for kingdom issues? Do you have the gift of evangelism? If you do, then evangelize. Do you have the gift of hospitality? Then open up your doors and invite those who are unchurched into your home."

Somerville, James G., "With the World Watching," The Christian Century, 1998.
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"Jesus' prayer for unity among his followers has not been answered. We are not all one."

Textweek ATLAS links May 5, 2013 Easter 6C

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc6.htm

Easter 6C

May 5, 2013

Hesselink, I. John, "Expository Article: John 14:23-29," Interpretation, 1989.
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"There is an element of truth here, for peace, like salvation, justification, and sanctification, has an eschatological dimension. Here we experience Christ's peace imperfectly; the fullness awaits the life in glory. Yet what Christ promises his disciples here is an assurance, a tranquility, an inner strength which they will enjoy from the resurrection onwards, first in his postresurrection appearances and then more fully after Pentecost."

Kelly, Caroline M., "I Am Still With You," sermon, Journal for Preachers, 2002.
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"In the midst of all our goodbyes this season, when life seems fragile and transitory, when everything around us seems to be changing, remember God's promise to dwell in us and be with us forever. We don't even have to reach for God because God has already claimed us. God is holding us, even now, and God will never let us go." 

Duke, Paul D., "John 5:1-15," Review & Expositor, 1988.
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"This is as troubling as 'Do you want to be well?' We do not like it. But it stands as Jesus' admonition to passive people on the far side of sheer grace. The generous initiative of Christ is not contingent on our taking responsibility for our wellness—though he may ask about our will; but if in time we take no responsibility for wholeness, we are not whole. We are atrophied indeed."

Mathewson, David, "The Destiny of the Nations in Revelation 21:1-22:5: A Reconsideration," Tyndale Bulletin, 2002.
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Abstract: "There has been a variety of attempts to account for the presence of the nations in Revelation 21:1-22:5 and their inclusion in eschatological salvation, when their judgement and destruction has already been described in Revelation 19-20. Many scholars have suggested that John envisions the salvation of a segment of the nations, while the unbelieving meet their doom in the lake of fire. A few have suggested that the tension can be resolved by reference to universalism: ultimately even the wicked who are punished will be redeemed. One of thé most significant attempts to account for the destiny of the nations is in the work ofBauckham, who suggests that John gives priority to the vision of salvation and envisions the conversion of the nations in fulfilment ofOT expectations, while a few who refuse to repent will experience punishment. Through an examination of the key texts in Revelation 21:1-22:5, namely 21:3; 21:24; and 22:2, this article suggests that the tension between the judgement and salvation of the nations must be allowed to retain its full force. Neither side of the tension should be privileged over the other. The tension functions in a rhetorical manner: to present the options available to the nations, and to highlight the reversal of power structures and the absolute sovereignty of God."

Ricciuti, Gail A., "Between Text and Sermon: Revelation 21:22-22:5,"Interpretation, 1999.
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"How would we live now, on a civil plane, if we envisioned our cities to be so intimately contained by God? How would we live if we looked not to a CEO but to the most vulnerably Lamb-like, the poor in spirit, for light on the most troublesome enigmas of our day?"

Textweek ATLAS links April 28, 2013 Easter 5C

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc5.htm

Easter 5C

April 28, 2013

Brown, William P., and John T. Carroll, "The Garden and the Plaza,"Interpretation, 2000.
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"The Bible has more to say about urban landscapes than it does about green pastures and still waters. Moreover, scripture uses certain agricultural images to impart a compelling vision of the city and, more broadly, what it means to live in community before God."

 

Thomas, Harvey, "Forgiveness and Reconciliation: John 13:31-35," Review & Expositor, 2007. (Issue focus on "reconciliation.")
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Forgiveness! 'I forgive!' Maybe you also need to say, 'I'm sorry!' No one will know when you go to that individual and you say it except God and the person concerned. That is what reconciliation is. 'I forgive and I'm sorry.' 'I'm sorry and I forgive.' It can be either way, but that is what the Bible means when it says, 'You are one in Christ Jesus.' All the different messages, different ways of earning a living, different ways of communicating, but one in Christ Jesus."

Raj, Victor, "Homiletical Helps on LW Series C - Old Testament," Concordia Journal, 2007.
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"God's Holiness Code: This theme emerges out of the instruction Peter received, so that he could break away from his comfort zone and reach out with the Gospel to people who were not one kind with him in race, religion, and perhaps language. As Peter ventured on his mission to Cornelius's household, he built a bridge to them with that divine instruction, 'Do not call anything impure what God has made clean.' This is God's holiness code, established by the death and resurrection of God's Son, sealed with His innocent blood, and delivered in Baptism to those who, in repentance and faith, embrace His promises. The Lord is no respecter of persons. He shows no partiality. He is Lord of all."

 

Walton, Jon M., "Dreaming in Joppa," The Christian Century, 2007.

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"It would have been So much easier if the Spirit had left well enough alone and not blown where it did, showing Peter the wider dimensions of a gospel meant for all people, both clean and unclean. But the Spirit is a spirit of love and cannot resist drawing disparate elements together; it has a broader vision of the future and a greater hope for our humanity than we have ever imagined, a vision articulated by the 148th Psalm, which sings of a time when all the earth and all created things shall praise the Lord."

Textweek ATLAS links April 21, 2013 Easter 4C

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc4.htm

Easter 4C

April 28, 2013

Gomes, Peter J., "Good Shepherd, Good Sheep," Currents in Theology and Mission, 2003.
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"For us, where the metaphor ends and the good news begins is that we are gathered and guarded not for the slaughter, and not to be eaten, but for love and redemption. That is where we take leave of the metaphor and embrace reality. What do we do in response to this truth and this reality?"

Hays, Richard B., "Shepherded by the Lamb," The Christian Century, 1992.
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"The deepest mystery—at 'the center of the throne'—is that the great shepherd turns out to be a Lamb. Because he is one with the Father, he is able to hold us securely in his hand; because he is one of us, we can recognize his voice and follow."

Kysar, Robert, "Expository Article: John 10:22-30," Interpretation, 1989.
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"'Pastor, how much are the dues to belong . . .?' The question poses two significant features of human nature, or at least of current American mentality. The first is the longing to belong. We need to feel ourselves part of a community of others. There is a compulsion in us to know we are attached to that which gives us significance and meaning. Isolation feels like nothingness. There is strength in numbers, but more importantly there is meaning and identity. If nothing else, we can say we are 'Lutherans,' 'Presbyterians,' 'Lions,' 'Masons,' or at least 'Packers' fans. Belonging wards off the loneliness we so much dread and the void of identity which so much haunts us." 

 

Panikkar, Maimundo, "The Crux of Christian Ecumenism: Can Universality and Chosenness Be Held Simultaneously?" Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 1989.
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"We cannot have it both ways. The Jewish-Christian dialogue, for instance, is all right, provided no Hindu hears the conversation, and vice versa. Each tradition is understandable within its proper background and as a proper language. There is no lingua universalis.Pluralism is at the heart of Reality. This essay shows the particularity of any pretension to universality and the internal dialectic it implies. Only a kenotic Christ and a de-kerygmatized Christianity can face the challenge. What, then, is the identity of Christ and of Christianity? The mystical element, tul now neglected or segregated, reveals itself as essential in any ecumenical - and human - enterprise. "

Troeger, Thomas H., "Resurrection Weavings," Journal for Preachers, 2001.
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(Poetry)