Bruce K. Modahl
Bruce Modahl is a Lutheran pastor living in Fernandina Beach, Florida.
We pastors are not likely to encounter Jephthah. But we might encounter someone like the young man who sought me out after a stint in jail.
Biblical Prophecy, by Ellen F. Davis
Ellen Davis is full of surprises. Some are delightful, others raise questions for further study, and still others throw up stumbling blocks.
I begin sermon preparation by reading through the texts and writing a 200-word summary of the themes I observe in that initial reading. I include this summary in an online publication for the congregation I serve. It's called "Sunday is Coming," a title with an edge for the preacher. When I do this reading I I look for trouble—for the obvious, palpable problems in the text.
Ezekiel steps right into the middle of a group of people busy at that most ancient of activities, going back to Eden: the blame game.
I find more than a dozen military references in the Pauline corpus. In Philemon, Paul includes in his greetings “Archippus our fellow soldier.” In this week's second reading, Paul advises his readers to stand firm and strive side by side. The former Roman soldiers living in Philippi would have heard a reference to a Roman military formation.
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