Deut 30:15-20; Philemon; Luke 14:25-33 - Going out for a sport? Or, trying to meet a new special someone? Thinking about a change in work? or Thinking about a change in living situations? There are ALWAYS pros and cons with every decision we make. This week, the lectionary texts all address the necessity to count the cost before we take the plunge.

Proverbs 25:6-7; Psa 112; Hebr 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14

One of the axiomatic passages in Scripture for me is James 1:9-10: We rejoice in the humbling of the exalted, and the exalting of the humbling. We see this throughout Scripture, and especially in the songs of Hannah and Mary. This week, the texts all point to God's delight in social leveling, especially through shared meals.

Isaiah 58:9b-14 & Luke 13:10-17 The sabbath is a command and a gift. It is an intervention into an undoing world that says that even God pauses, and that human empires should not crush human lives.

Jer 23:23-29; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56 - Okay, plenty of us feel this growing dis-ease and sense of dread. But why? [gestures wildly at, you know, everything]. But, how do we >make sense< of the times. rather than just feel gross and sad? This week, the appointed Bible readings help us analyze the times.

Gen 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 Migrants and Migration are in the news. And they are also all over the Bible! This week, we take a peak at the stories of two such folks, Abraham and Jesus.

Ecc 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23; Psa 49:1-12; Col 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21 Who doesn't want to give their kids good things? At the same time, who doesn't want to store up for themselves good things? In all four lectionary readings this week, we learn something about inheritance and greed. How are we being purposeful in passing down good things to the generations to come?

Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:6-15; Luke 11:1-13 - We all deal with shame, right? Sometimes it prevents us to doing what we should. And sometimes a little more shame could have prevented us from doing what we shouldn't do. The lectionary passages this week are all about when to feel shame, and when no to feel it.

Gen 18:1-10; Psa 15; Luke 10:38-42 - You can tell a lot about someone by who her friends are, right? What is she like, what is she interested in, all that. Well, who does God choose as friends? The lectionary readings this week all point to the people who God likes to hang around with. They all have in common a desire to be welcoming and learn from God.

Side note - sorry for the terrible audio this week. I was having some mic problems.

Deut 30:9-14; Col 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37 Did you grow up, like I did, hearing that trying to do the right thing, or act righteously or justly was somehow rejecting grace? Yuck, right? Even a casual read of almost every full page of the Bible contains instructions to respond to God's love and grace with love and grace of our own - manifested in acts of faithfulness and neighbor love. You really have to miss the point to think that Isaiah 64:6 is saying not to do righteousness. God wants justice and neighbor love [which are ultimately, acts of loving God] now!

Isaiah 66:10-14, & Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 Jesus presents a pretty stark version of how humans are defined in this week's readings. "Children of Peace" welcome strangers/foreigners without resources - such as folks sent from out of town without purses. Children of Violence are known for not welcoming foreigners. Jesus says for those who don't welcome poor strangers, it would have been better for them if they died under the flaming rocks that crushed the cities of the plain. SO, given the words of Jesus, how do we live as Children of Peace?