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Progressive Christian

2015-04-18T13:07:19-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Shepherds and Economics: The Lectionary for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Last updated on: April 18, 2015 at 1:07 pm By Eric Smith

Acts 4:5-12 What It’s About: This is about Peter confessing his faith in front of powerful people. What It’s Really About: This is another one of those speeches in Acts–which are exactly like those speeches you make up in your head after you have a conversation, in which you say (to nobody) what you should have said in the moment. What It’s Not About: It’s not about that base. This is about the cornerstone! That’s an architecture joke. And a pop culture... Read more

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2015-04-13T12:24:11-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Sanctuaries, Bodies, and Journeys: The Lectionary for the Third Sunday of Easter

Last updated on: April 13, 2015 at 12:24 pm By Eric Smith

Acts 3:12-19 What It’s About: Peter giving a speech about the resurrection. What It’s Really About: The speeches in Acts are set-pieces. They are chances for the author to do long exposition on the meaning of ideas and events. Think of the famous “walk and talk” from shows like The West Wing; these speeches are opportunities for characters to explain things clearly. This one is about the resurrection, which is why it comes here in the Easter season. What It’s Not About: It’s... Read more

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2015-04-05T08:48:09-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Community and Tradition: The Lectionary for the Second Sunday of Easter

Last updated on: April 5, 2015 at 8:48 am By Eric Smith

Acts 4:32-35 What It’s About: It’s a hippie commune! What It’s Really About: Historians and bible scholars will always debate how likely it was that the community was really this happy and egalitarian and communalistic. But it really doesn’t matter; this is how the author of Acts wanted his readers to understand the community. The author of Acts understood that early community of Jesus-followers as idyllic, and this is how he chose to portray that. Christianity in nearly every age has... Read more

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2015-03-29T10:00:52-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Footraces and Kerygma: The Lectionary for Easter Sunday

Last updated on: March 29, 2015 at 10:00 am By Eric Smith

Acts 10:34-43 What It’s About: Gentiles! This is about how Peter’s accumulated experiences have led to this point, where he now understands God’s mission as extending to all people. What It’s Really About: It’s hard to understand this passage without reading it in the context of the first part of chapter 10, which is Peter’s vision of the sheet coming down from heaven. There is an elaborate and involved back-story here, involving Peter and Paul (and who knows who else) and... Read more

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2015-03-22T07:09:40-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Palms and Passions: The Lectionary for the Sunday before Easter

Last updated on: March 22, 2015 at 7:09 am By Eric Smith

This week’s lectionary is a little bit different. This week, in contrast to most other weeks, there is the option to go in two pretty different directions. You can choose to observe Palm Sunday, which is a fairly triumphant day full of procession, Hosannas, and glory—even if it ends in solemn anticipation of Jesus’ suffering that is to come. Alternatively, you can choose to observe Passion Sunday, which moves the story of Jesus’ death right up to the present. Here,... Read more

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2015-03-16T14:23:53-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Seeds, Restoration, and Melchizedek: The Lectionary for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

Last updated on: March 16, 2015 at 2:23 pm By Eric Smith

Jeremiah 31:31-34 What It’s About: A new covenant between God and Israel and Judah. What It’s Really About: This is really about restoration. In the prophets, there is this sense of intense loss: current loss, or loss that has happened already, or loss that is yet to come. The prophets measure from an ideal–an apogee of righteousness and faithfulness that seems to have passed into history. But the prophets are also about looking forward to the time when that loss will be... Read more

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2015-03-09T12:29:58-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Snakes on a Plain: The Lectionary for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

Last updated on: March 9, 2015 at 12:29 pm By Eric Smith

The lectionary giveth and the lectionary taketh away. Every minister I know (at least the ones who follow the lectionary) has weeks when the lectionary isn’t as compelling as it is at other times. In my experience, this is different for different ministers. What one person finds boring or uninspiring, others find thrilling. That is to say, different people react differently to different texts. This week’s texts don’t do much for me. That’s probably a failure on my part as... Read more

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2015-03-01T08:10:15-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Stars, Foolishness, Cattle, and Mountaintops: The Lectionary for the Third Sunday of Lent

Last updated on: March 1, 2015 at 8:10 am By Eric Smith

Genesis 20:1-17 What It’s About: The Lenten lectionary is about covenants, but this is THE covenant. This is one of the three tellings of the Sinai covenant (see also: Exodus 34, Deuteronomy 5)–the one where Moses goes up the mountain and comes back with the Decalogue. What It’s Really About: This is really about the salvation history of the Israelites. Here there is both a recollection of God’s past saving acts (“…out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of... Read more

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2015-02-22T14:29:49-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Covenants and Identities: The Lectionary for the Second Sunday of Lent

Last updated on: February 22, 2015 at 2:29 pm By Eric Smith

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 What It’s About: God’s covenant with Abraham and Sarah. What It’s Really About: The absurd generosity of God toward God’s people. What have Abraham and Sarah done to deserve this? What It’s Not About: It’s not about earning anything. Sure, Abraham is told to “walk before me, and be blameless.” But there’s precious little evidence that anything Abraham or Sarah have said or done up to this point has earned them this favor. Here is a capriciously... Read more

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2015-02-16T10:19:20-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Waters and Wildernesses: The Lectionary for the First Sunday of Lent

Last updated on: February 16, 2015 at 10:19 am By Eric Smith

It’s the first Sunday of Lent this week. Here are some things to think about while absentmindedly smudging the ashes on your forehead. Genesis 9:8-17 What It’s About: The aftermath of the great flood, when God speaks to Noah and his sons. What It’s Really About: This is a passage about covenant, and it’s kind of a strange one. Here, God makes a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and every panda bear, snake, and amoeba that was on the ark.... Read more

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