20 Pentecost Psalm 8; Genesis 2:18–24; Hebrew 1:1; 2:5–12; Mark 10:2–16 I begin my meditation this morning with an exclamation:  What an odd question!  I am referring to the question which the Pharisees (who were the intelligentsia, the scholars, the learned men of the community) put to Jesus.  And the question was, “Can a man …

14 Pentecost Psalm 84; I Kings 8:1, 6, 10–11, 22–20, 41–43; Ephesians 6:10–20; John 6:56–69 The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63b A recent alumni magazine of my alma mater featured an interview with a freshly graduated young man who spoke about the power of words.  That did …

13 Pentecost Psalm 111; I Kings 2:10–12, 3:3–14; Ephesians 5:15–20; John 6:51–58 Giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:20 Our lectionary over these last four plus weeks has been unrelenting. Eating and drinking have held center stage, from the feeding …

3 Pentecost Psalm 138; I Samuel 8:4–11; 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1; Mark 3:20–35 Sometimes, when reflecting on the lessons appointed for our hearing at Eucharist, the non-religious, non-liturgical world intrudes.  And so it was this week that I thought of Kermit the Frog of Sesame Street fame, who used to sing, as perhaps you may recall, …