Break Open the Word

The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18 - 4 September 2011 Exodus 12:1-14 Psalm 149 or Ezekiel 33:7-11 Psalm 119:33-40 Romans 13:8-14 St. Matthew 18:15-20 Blake - Ezekiel                                                                                     Background: Ezekiel There is a moment in Terry Jones’ The Life of Brian, that I think actually portrays an ancient situation.   It is that moment when Brian, below the walls of Jerusalem, encounters prophets.   They are a staggering lot, crazy with make up and accessories, wild-eyed, speaking wit...

The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 17 - 28 August 2011 Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c or Jeremiah 15:15-21 Psalm 26:1-8 Romans 12:9-21 St. Matthew 16:21-28                                                                                     Background: Jesus the prophet. Prophecy, and its understanding in the American Church, seems to have become the main theological perspective of evangelicalism and fundamentalism.   Today’s readings, however, require us to move away from that point of view (prophecy as future telling) to a more classic v...