First Reading

photo of a sculpture of Christ's crucifixion
Commentary on Isaiah 52:13—53:12

Setting the stage for this lectionary reading is the prophetic [...]

photo of an older woman washing a little girl's feet
Commentary on Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14

Today in the United States and elsewhere, fear, cruelty, and [...]

Detail from Antonio Ciseri's
Commentary on Isaiah 50:4-9a

This text in Second Isaiah (40–55) brings a human body into view. No gender, no [...]

Detail from Claes Corneliszoon Moeyaert's
Commentary on Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Valley of Dry Bones is perhaps the best-known text from the book of Ezekiel. [...]

Detail from Carl Bloch's
Commentary on 1 Samuel 16:1-13

The text of 1 Samuel 16 begins with a question [...]

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Commentary on Exodus 17:1-7

The signature events in the book of Exodus are exodus and Sinai, respectively: crossing the [...]

photo of a gas station turned religious meeting hall in Potlatch, WA, 1974.
Commentary on Genesis 12:1-4a

Like many who preach the lectionary calendar, I’ve encountered the beginning story of the ancestral [...]

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Commentary on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

As I write this biblical reflection—more theological and historical, likely—I [...]

photo of a man with ashes on his forehead
Commentary on Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

This text for Ash Wednesday skips from verse 2 down [...]

photo of a mountain
Commentary on Exodus 24:12-18

I have stood looking onto the horizon at sunset in Sedona, Arizona. I saw what [...]