[Habakkuk] Questions for God

[Habakkuk] Questions for God

by | Aug 14, 2018 | Lectionary & Scripture, Reflections

Though the fig tree does not blossom,     and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails,     and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold,     and there is no herd in the stalls,      yet I will rejoice in the Lord;...
[Nahum] God is Good?

[Nahum] God is Good?

by | Aug 3, 2018 | Lectionary & Scripture, Reflections

“Yahweh is good, a stronghold in a day of troubles, protecting those who take refuge in God.”  — Nahum 1:7 God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. It is a popular call and response. I’m not sure of its origins. I recall it as I...
[Micah] You Lived

[Micah] You Lived

by | Aug 2, 2018 | Lectionary & Scripture, Reflections

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  — Micah 6:8 All prophets claim authority. Most prophets are full of courage. Micah balances...
[Jonah] A Large Prayer

[Jonah] A Large Prayer

by | Jul 23, 2018 | Lectionary & Scripture, Reflections

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish.”  Jonah 2:1 Now about that fish, the whale that swallowed Jonah. Some scholars believe the Book of Jonah is the story of a real life messenger of God: Jonah, son of Amittai, a prophet of...
[Obadiah] Beyond Doom

[Obadiah] Beyond Doom

by | Jul 8, 2018 | Lectionary & Scripture, Reflections

“Though you soar like the eagle, and your nest is set among the stars, From there I will bring you down—      oracle of the LORD.”  Obadiah 1:4 Speaking in metaphor, Obadiah addresses the Edomites who lived among the cliffs and mountaintops around the Dead...
[Joel] A New Normal

[Joel] A New Normal

by | Jun 20, 2018 | Lectionary & Scripture, Reflections

“The pastures are desolate and the land mourns, for the grain has been destroyed, the new wine has dried up, and the olive oil is but a trickle… the farmers wail, the vines wither, the fig trees fail. Pomegranate, palm, apple – every tree in the land have dried up,...
[Hosea] Hinged on Love

[Hosea] Hinged on Love

by | Jun 17, 2018 | Lectionary & Scripture, Reflections

“How can I give you up, Ephraim?     How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah?     How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me;     my compassion grows warm and tender.” – Hosea 11:8 They deserve judgement....
A Sabbath Exercise in Four Directions

A Sabbath Exercise in Four Directions

by | Jun 13, 2018 | Ordinary, Reflections

A Guest Post by by Linda Yates  North Face the North – hold your hands up in the air. In the north are bedrock and cold. The land of snow and ice comes down to visit us in our winter. Winter is a time of coziness, of creatures sleeping under snow, trusting in the...