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Many of us can only hear the first line of the psalm in the King James Version: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”1 With a simple metaphor in a concise and elegant (...)

Psalm 80 is a communal lament.1 It seems have been written in response to a disaster, most likely the fall and exile of the Northern Kingdom.2 The lament is dire, yet full of hope. Repeatedly, (...)

Are we teachable? Can we change? Can we grow into the image of God in which we are created?¹ Each text for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost asks these questions. Psalm 25 puts them in the (...)

In a world divided into bordered nation-states, the migration of people tends to trigger feelings of anxiety, fear, and, for some, hatred. This emotional reflex usually finds expression in the melodramatic narratives of crisis and (...)

Three years ago, when we were last traversing Year A in the Revised Common Lectionary cycle, I was assigned to write on the texts for Proper 15 (Ordinary 20). In that essay I encouraged you, (...)

With the Song of the Sea still ringing in our ears, chapter 15 of the Book of Exodus ends with the first episode in a series of narratives where the people complain against Moses and (...)

Psalm 26 is a sturdy prayer that can be prayed by any individual at any time.¹ The morally upright citizen can echo the psalm’s claims of integrity with confidence. The hopelessly accused sinner can voice (...)

This three-week series, with readings primarily from the New Testament, serves as a sort of throwback.1 By “throwback” I mean that creeds are typically the result of a concerted effort to “codify” a kind of (...)

This psalm lection contains a magnificent constellation of biblical terms, portraying them with a striking intimacy that catches modern readers off guard: “righteousness and peace will kiss each other” (verse 10)?¹ This psalm lection contains (...)

This four-week summer series highlights three biblical books—Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon—that garner little attention in the Revised Common Lectionary and in most mainline churches’ preaching.1 And it is easy to see why. Proverbs (...)