Living by the Word

Reflections on the lectionary readings by pastors, preachers and biblical scholars

Photo by Mary Harrsch

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Mark 10:35–45

Oct 09, 2012 by Lee Canipe

I’ve always been a goal-oriented person. I like to run marathons, for example, because they turn my daily training runs into a work in progress. What I do today will get me closer to the finish line several months from now.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Psalm 22:1–15

Oct 02, 2012 by Kathy Wolf Reed

Our church’s Deacon Care Manual includes a brief section titled “What Not to Say to Someone Who Is Grieving.” It lists some grief responses that we’ve probably all used at some point:

“It’s all part of God’s plan.”

“God will never give you more than you can handle.”

“I know exactly how you feel.”

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Mark 10:2–16

Sep 25, 2012 by Kathy Wolf Reed

One summer when I was a children’s camp counselor at a Presbyterian camp in northern Indiana, I spent long days listening to what we counselors affectionately referred to as nonstop “wubbins questions.”

“Wubbins if I don’t know how to swim?”

“Wubbins if a bear comes into our cabin?”

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Numbers 11:4–6, 10–16, 24–29; Mark 9:38–50

Sep 18, 2012 by Brant S. Copeland

My dad was a pastor. After serving in World War II, he went to college on the G.I. Bill and then on to seminary. Like other mainline denominations, the Presbyterian Church was in full growth mode back then, and clergy ranked high in polls among the nation’s most trusted and respected professionals.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Proverbs 31:10–31

Sep 11, 2012 by Brant S. Copeland

Those of us who follow the lectionary have encountered the industrious woman of Proverbs 31 many times. Every three years she appears with her wool and flax, her distaff and spindle, her keen eye for both fashion and a good deal, her open hand to the poor, and her penchant for providing her husband bragging rights at the city gates. But we haven’t always welcomed her.