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/yeara/lenta4.htm
Lent 4A
March 30, 2014
- McCarter, P. Kyle, Jr., "The Historical David,"Interpretation, 1986.
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“Seeing David in historical perspective means to see Israel's greatest king as a military commander superior to all others of his region, yet strangely flawed in personal and governmental affairs.”
- McKnight, Scot, "Move On," The Christian Century, 2005.
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“When Samuel resists he hears the voice of God directing him to a future that will be better. That future will include David the shepherd boy. Like all shepherds, he is often on the move.”
- Prince, Robert, "Top Ten Preaching Texts from 1 Samuel," Review and Expositor, 2002. (Section begins on page 211.)
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“The initial part of Samuel's search shows how humans normally proceed. We look on outward appearances and make snap judgments. Our culture reinforces the importance of physical appearances.”
- Calhoun, David B. "Poems in the Park: My Cancer and God's Grace," Presbyterion, 2008.
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“The Psalmist also makes two points: 1) this life is sometimes delightful and sometimes hard; 2) though our circumstances change, the Lord does not. He is with us, his people, all the way through this life and after this life we shall dwell in his house forever. We could sum up the Psalm with the words ‘life after life.’”
- Golding, Thomas A., "The Imagery of Shepherding in the Bible, Part 1," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2006.
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“Although its rich imagery is often not fully appreciated, the shepherd image can and must be pressed back into service.”
- McCann, J. Clinton, Jr., "Preaching the Psalms: Psalm 23," Journal for Preachers, 2008.
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“It simply would not occur to most North Americans to read Psalm 23 as a "political tract" or a condemnation of evil forces in the world. But again, this is a direction which I shall pursue in this essay. I shall suggest that Psalm 23 is "political," at least in the fundamental sense of the word - that is, Psalm 23 has implications for how we should organize our lives together. Furthermore, Psalm 23 makes its "political" points by condemning forces that, it seems to me, are tyrannical and demonic. By inviting us readers to resist such forces in our lives and in our world, Psalm 23 demonstrates its appropriateness for the penitential season of Lent.”
- Barton, Mukti, "I Am Black and Beautiful," Black Theology, 2004. (Metaphor of "light" and "darkness.")
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Abstract: “Racism is perpetuated when the colour black is used in negative, and white in positive, ways. Many believe that these uses have come from the Bible because of the metaphors of light and darkness. In this article I present an examination of the actual biblical usage. I argue that European prejudicial interpretation of the Bible may be responsible for value-loaded usage of black and white.”
- Cooper, Burton, "The Disabled God," Theology Today, 1992.
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"Our tendency is to think of divine power in the same terms as our power, except to extend God's power unlimitedty. That is, there are limits to our power; there are no limits to God's power If we can do some things, God is able to do anything. Thus, human 'ableness' provides us with the image to think about God's power. In this context, the image of a disabled God is not simply a shocker but also a theological reminder that we are not to think of God's powers or abilities as simply an unlimited extension of our powers or abilities.”
- Farmer, David Albert, "John 9," Interpretation, 1996.
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“Regret alone—pure regret, regret all by itself—is not acceptable to us. We cannot simply be sorry for someone else's misfortune or difficulty or loss. No, that is not enough for us. We have to try to figure out what has caused this calamity. We cannot seem to help ourselves, like gawkers passing by an interstate automobile accident. Forgetting our own schedules and much of what we know about safe driving, we peer into the wreckage wanting to see all we can see. Few of us have any intention of stopping to help.”
- Taylor, Barbara Brown, "Willing to Believe," The Christian Century, 1996.
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“However much we prefer the role of the blind man, we are not naturals for the part. We are not outcasts, most of us. We have not been set outside the community for our sins. We are consummate insiders—fully initiated, law-abiding, pledge-paying, creed-saying members of the congregation of the faithful—or in shorthand, Pharisees, who can work up our own anxiety about whether or not a mighty act should be ascribed to God.”
- Wynn, Kerry H., "Johannine Healings and the Otherness of Disability," Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2007.
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“The two most common assumptions in popular theology that marginalize people with disabilities are (1) disability is caused by sin, and (2) if one has enough faith one will be healed. Those who would liberate disability from such normate hermeneutics struggle to make sense of the healing passages found in the Gospels. One of the most cited passages is John 9:3.”
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