I prepare these mailings a number of weeks in
advance and update them at the beginning of each
current lectionary week. Because the messages tend
to be rather long, I'll only be posting the
current lectionary week's mailing here. If you
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(Holy Name/Mary Mother of God and New Year)
This direct link to the weekly resources page for Holy Name/Mary
Mother of God, Year B, (January 1, 2000):
http://www.textweek.com/yearb/holynameb.htm,
and New Year (January 1, 2000):
http://www.textweek.com/yearb/newyearb.htm
will point you toward a number of resources for general study of the
lectionary texts, and worship and liturgy resources. Many of these
general resources are available close to the date of the lectionary
week, and are posted at The Text This Week after they are up at
others' sites.
Highlights of Study Resources for Holy Name (January 1, 2000):
Luke 2:15-21
http://www.textweek.com/mtlk/lk2b.htm
Find links to a number of images of the Shepherds at the Nativity at
http://www.textweek.com/christmas.htm
"Commissioning Stories in Luke-Acts: A Study of their Antecedents,
Form and Content," by Benjamin J. Hubbard, in Semeia 8: Literary
Critical Studies of Biblical Texts.
http://shemesh.scholar.emory.edu:6336/dynaweb/Semeia/Semeia_8/@Generic
__BookTextView/5745
"...the commissioning form transposes interior experiences onto
the stage of external dialogue. In this way the form shares a common
feature with all religious language, the effort at transposition. The
writers of these religious texts, however, were well aware that the
meeting of man with God can be verbally described but not verbally
encompassed..."
Extraordinary News-Verse Commentary on Luke 2:8-20, Dennis Bratcher,
Christian Resource Institute.
http://www.cresourcei.org/luke2b.html
"...In contrast to the heavenly fanfare in the previous scene, the
birth of Jesus couldn’t have been more down-to-earth..."
___
Galatians 4:4-7
http://www.textweek.com/pauline/gal4.htm
"The Inferiority of Immaturity (Galatians 4:1-11)," by Robert L.
Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
http://www.bible.org/docs/nt/books/gal/deffin/gal-10.htm#TopOfPage
"...While the Jews were no better than slaves under the economy of
the Law (4:1), the Gentiles were truly slaves, in bondage to
elementary principles. These elementary principles were somehow
related to the false idol worship of "no gods" (4:8; cf. 1 Cor. 12:2;
Eph. 2:1-3). How foolish it would be for them to turn back to the
"elemental things," which Paul here calls "weak" and "worthless"
(4:9)..."
Environmental & earth-centered reflections, Rev John Gibbs, from the
Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota Environmental Stewardship Commission.
http://www.env-steward.com/lectionary/lecta/a-1ch-nt.htm
"...In the wake of Christmas, then, the household of faith is
freed from its self-preoccupations as it is sent forth into the world
to participate in that grand process by which God works throughout
Creation toward the energetic "fullness of time."..."
___
Philippians 2:1-13
http://www.textweek.com/pauline/phil2.htm
"Stand Against or Walk Alongside?" Commentary, Animating
Illustrations, Quotations, Worship Resources and Childrens Sermon.
Homiletics Online, 1996.
http://www.homileticsonline.com/Installments/mar3196.htm
"...Jesus never "stood against" anyone. He always "walked
alongside" everyone. He journeyed with people where they were and as
they went. Over and over again, Jesus crossed the street and "came to
where he was" as he crosses the streets and comes to where we are
today..."
"Heads Down, Thumbs Up," Commentary, Animating Illustrations,
Quotations, Worship Resources and Childrens Sermon. Homiletics Online,
1995.
http://www.homileticsonline.com/Installments/apr0995.htm
"...The old adage, "Pray as if everything depended on God; work as
if everything depended on you," can be translated into body language:
Heads Down, Thumbs Up. On Palm Sunday, Jesus gave a thumbs up to the
bowed down..."
The Poured-Out Life: The Kenosis Hymn in Context, Dennis Bratcher,
Christian Resource Institute.
http://www.cresourcei.org/kenosis.html
"...We live in a society dominated by rights-activism, permeated
with the philosophy of "me first," and molded by the corporate ideals
of efficiency and success. The Church must be called to remember that
demanding one's rights and privileges may be popular, even necessary
in some cases, but if it does so at the expense of Christian unity and
love, it is not Christian!..."
"Shall We Dance?" The Rev. Dr. William H. Willimon, (Palm Sunday)
April 5, 1998, Philippians 2:5, 7-8. Sermons from Duke University
Chapel.
http://www.chapel.duke.edu/sermons/040598.htm
"...The call is not to march to your own beat, your own
subjective, inner drum, to devise your own rhythm and stick to that.
The call is to march to a different drummer, to pick up a different
beat, that of Jesus..."
"The Background of the Philippians Hymn 2:6-11," by David Seeley.
Journal of Higher Criticism 1/1 (1994).
http://www.depts.drew.edu/jhc/seelyphl.html
"...Unlimited force and impeccable piety are wedded; political
and religious/ethical categories are aligned; what is and what should
be are at last unified. This unification provided the early churches
with what every group needs: a strong and admirable leader..."
"The Kenosis: Philippians 2:5-11," by Dr. Rodney J. Decker, Bible
Baptist Seminary.
http://faculty.bbc.edu/rdecker/rd_ken.htm
"...This article summarizes the semantics and theology of the
text from the perspective of evangelical theology, concluding that
Jesus did not "empty" himself of anything. Rather Paul's statement
refers to Jesus--who was and is fully equal with God in
nature--veiling his preincarnate glory and voluntarily humbling
himself by accepting existence in the form of humanity for the
purposes of providing salvation..."
Highlights of Study Resources for Holy Name (January 1, 2000):
If you're celebrating the millenium, check out "From Standing at the
Door: Millenial Change Worship Resources from the United Methodist
Church."
Watch Night Vespers & Vigil, Dwight W. Vogel.
http://www.gbod.org/worship/articles/standing_door/p46.html
Watchnight Owlah (Burnt Offering) Service.
http://www.gbod.org/worship/articles/standing_door/p52.html
Seven Days of Praise and Prayer (Jan 1 - 7, 2000), Roger C. Dowdy.
http://www.gbod.org/worship/articles/standing_door/seven.html
Matthew 25:31-46
http://www.textweek.com/mtlk/matt25c.htm
"Is There Room for One More?" Commentary, Animating Illustrations,
Quotations, and Childrens Sermon. Homiletics Online, 1996.
http://www.homileticsonline.com/Installments/nov2496.htm
"...The "little ones" of 10:42 and the "least" of 25:40 are
identical--and both references are located in the context of how
members of the Matthean faith community are treated by the world.
Accordingly, on the basis of this understanding of "the least," the
whole focus of this text can be shifted. Instead of presenting general
readers with the possibility of universal salvation, this text points
directly to the Matthean community and their concern about venturing
out into the Gentile world with the gospel..."
"The Parables in the Olivet Discourse," by Hampton Keathley IV at the
Biblical Studies Foundation.
http://www.bible.org/docs/nt/books/mat/mat25.htm
"...The works are the fruit that demonstrates the reality of the
conversion of one’s heart. The love shown by these deeds of mercy
springs from true faith. As Walvoord affirms, 'What is presented here
is not the basis or ground of salvation but the evidence of it….
Accordingly, while works are not the ground of justification for
salvation, they can be the fruit or evidence of it.'..."
"Christ's Realm," by Fr John Kavanaugh, SJ, in Company: A Magazine of
the American Jesuits, Fall, 1996.
http://www.companysj.com/v141/realm.html
"...Matthew's great apocalyptic parable presents the glorified Son
of Man, in an entourage of angels, rising in judgment before the
world. The blessed and the lost will be separated according to one
principle: the care of others..."
Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist," Commentary
and Homily, 1999.
http://www.agreeley.com/homilies99/nov2199.html
"...The kingdom he wants us to establish is not a kingdom of power
or domination, it is a kingdom of service to the least of the brothers
and sisters, a kingdom of self-giving love, a kingdom of unselfish
generosity..."
Reflections by Dr. William R.G. Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting
Church in Australia.
<http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/Pent23King.html#Christ the
King>
"...It has been very hard trying to resist the tendency to treat
Easter as a reversal of all that Jesus was instead of an affirmation
of all that he was. Jesus was not an exception in the life of God, but
the rule. His subversive summons to a new understanding human
greatness is not to be abandoned after Easter by projecting our
imperious will to power into an image of Christ enthroned in military
splendour. What we do to him we do to ourselves; little wonder we have
sanctioned such power in church and society. The will to destroy our
enemies finds its ultimate sanction in a theology that has God do the
same; the one sanctions the other. We should not then be surprised to
find Christians advocating capital punishment and handling conflicts
in ways that abandon the path of reconciliation. Yet Matthew's parable
also offers an alternative vision: of one who is ever to be found in
loving and being loved, in change and confrontation and hope..."
"Faithless - Not Seeing," analysis and reflection by Ed Schroeder, in
Sabbatheology by The Crossing Community of St Louis, Missouri.
http://www.crossings.org/theology/theolo38.htm
"...The theological either/or throughout all of Matthew is Davidic
Messiah vs. Mosaic law as our linkage to God as Father. Thus the faith
alternatives are a) trusting Jesus Messiah or b) trusting something
else (in Matthew most often it is trusting my Torah-commitment or some
similar law-measured achievement that I can claim)..."
"The Power of Love," (Matthew 25:31-40), by Paul Tillich. From The
New Being (1955), at Religion On-Line.
http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll?action=showitem&
gotochapter=3&id=381
"...It is a rare gift to meet a human being in whom love—and this
means God—is so overwhelmingly manifest. It undercuts theological
arrogance as well as pious isolation. It is more than justice and it
is greater than faith and hope. It is the presence of God Himself. For
God is love. And in every moment of genuine love we are dwelling in
God and God in us..."
"The Sheep and the Goats," Don Schwager, Washtenaw Covenant
Community.
http://www.rc.net/wcc/parabl27.htm
"...God will judge us not only for the wrong we have done but also
for what we have failed to do..."
Review: Jacob Neusner, Rabbinic Literature and the New Testament:
What We Cannot Show We Do Not Know. (Trinity Press International,
1994) Reviewed by J. Duncan M. Derrett in Higher Critical Review.
http://www.depts.drew.edu/jhc/dmdneus.html
"Mt 25:32-33 [is clearer] if one realizes that "goats" are devils..."
___
Revelation 21:1-6a
http://www.textweek.com/epistlesrevelation/rev21.htm
"The Gospel Truth," Commentary, Animating Illustrations, Quotations,
and Childrens Sermon. Homiletics Online, 1998.
http://www.homileticsonline.com/Installments/may1098.htm
"...'The Gospel Truth' is good news that is transformative, not
informative..."
"Called to Newness," The Rev. Debra K. Brazzel, August 27, 1995,
Jeremiah 1:4-10, Revelation 21:5-7, Luke 13:10-13. Sermons from Duke
University Chapel.
http://www.chapel.duke.edu/sermons/Aug2795.htm
"...(quoting Marjorie Suchoki) 'This is an important dynamic - the
future can change the past. It's not that you go back in time and
change it. What happened happened. But the future changes the past by
lifting up things that you hadn't noticed before and bringing them to
a new prominence, by taking that which had been unusable and finding a
way to use it; by recontextualizing the past so that those things
which you couldn't deal with you now can because you have a new way of
viewing the past.'..."
"A Most Radical Act," The Rev. Dr. William H. Willimon, November 2,
1997, All Saint's Day, Revelation 21:3. Sermons from Duke University
Chapel.
http://www.chapel.duke.edu/sermons/110297.htm
"...So the stance before the Bible is the same that you will
assume as you come to the Table today open, empty hands, more ready
to receive than to critique, willing, expecting to hear something that
may challenge you to the very core of your being..."
___
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
http://www.textweek.com/writings/ecc3.htm
"The Right Time," The Rev. Dr. William H. Willimon New Year's Day,
January 1, 1995, Ecclesiastes 3:1-13.
http://www.chapel.duke.edu/sermons/010195.htm
"...You go on about your life, as Ecclesiastes says, eating and
drinking and taking pleasure in what time you have (3:12-13), and one
day you look back and, wonder of wonders, it is the right time..."
"The Right Time," (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), Paul Tillich. From The New
Being (1955), at Religion OnLine.
http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll?action=showitem&
gotochapter=21&id=381
"...All is vanity but through this vanity eternity shines into us,
comes near to us, draws us to itself. When eternity calls in time,
then activism vanishes. When eternity calls in time, then pessimism
vanishes. When eternity times us, then time becomes a vessel of
eternity. Then we become vessels of that which is eternal..."
_____
Further distribution of this e-mail message is encouraged.
Jenee
Jenee Woodard -- Jackson, Michigan
mailto:jeneewd@dmci.net
The Text This Week: http://www.textweek.com
"And the shock of walking out of the theater into
broad daylight can be terrifying!"
--Martin Scorsese