Wrestling the Parable (Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost)
Joel Baden and Bill Goettler discuss wealth, disempowerment, and the meaning of parables in Matthew 25:1-13. The text is appointed for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
An Uncertain Kingdom (Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost)
Kate Ott and Almeda Wright discuss the challenge of problematic parables in Matthew 22:1-14. The text is appointed for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Mercy and Debt (Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost)
Bill Goettler and Joanne Jennings discuss the challenge of forgiveness and the role of grace in Matthew 18:21-35. The text is appointed for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Hunger and Abundance (Tenth Sunday after Pentecost)
Jennifer Herdt and Jere Wells discuss justice, abundance, and the spiritual power of leftovers in Matthew 14:13-21. The text is appointed for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
The Flower in the Desert (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)
Bill Goettler and Joanne Jennings discuss applying the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23) to our own dynamic lives of faith. The text is appointed for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Forging a New Community (Fourth Sunday after Pentecost)
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss Jesus’ scarier proclamations in Matthew 10:24-39. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
The Dream of Joseph (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss the role of Joseph, the divine potential of dreams, and membership in the Holy Family in Matthew 1:18-25. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Claiming that Story (Transfiguration Sunday)
Joel Baden and Tisa Wenger discuss leadership, inherited stories, and transfiguring moments in Exodus 24:12-18 and Matthew 17:1-9. The texts are appointed for Transfiguration Sunday, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
God Loves the Poor First (Fourth Sunday after Epiphany)
Justin Crisp and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss blessedness, poverty, consolation, and the dangers of transactional theology in Matthew 5:1-12. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Mary, Joseph, and the Infant Messiah (Fourth Sunday of Advent)
Mark Heim and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss Christian and Muslim interpretations of the Nativty of Jesus, with special reference to Matthew 1:18-25. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.