Lawrence M. Stratton

Lawrence M. Stratton is assistant professor of ethics and constitutional law at Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, and director of the university’s Stover Center for Constitutional Studies and Moral Leadership.

Sometimes when I set out to preach from the Revised Common Lectionary I feel like calling someone from the Consultation on Common Texts to get the scoop on why the group settled on a particular set of pericopes. This week, Isaiah’s marriage metaphor and Jesus’ miraculous transformation of water into wedding wine are an obvious match. The rationale for including 1 Corinthians 12:1-11’s discussion of spiritual gifts is less clear.
January 14, 2013

Until now I never appreciated the beautiful message of this week’s Old Testament passage. God’s promises to Israel—to not be drowned by water or burned by fire—make this text almost as comforting to its readers as the 23rd psalm.
January 7, 2013