Break Open the Word

The Second Sunday in Lent - 4 March 2012 Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22:22-30 Romans 4:13-25 St. Mark 8:31-38                                                                                     Background: Names for God Several names for God surface as we read through the cycles of the Pentateuch (The Five Books of Moses).  Some will be familiar, while others will not be, having been translated into terms in English, that mask their meaning or original usage.  The most common is YHWH, which forms an unpronounceable word that is now transliterated as Yahweh.  Since it...

The First Sunday in Lent - 26 February 2012 Genesis 9:8-12 Psalm 25:1-9 I Peter 3:18-22 St. Mark 1:9-15                                                                                     Background: Covenant The Hebrew word for “Covenant” appears 286 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, and represents an important concept in both Judaic theology and later in Christian theology.   Its roots are in the Ancient Near East where covenants were made between peers, or between non-peers, with conditions or without conditions, in a religious context, or attested to by local deiti...

Ash Wednesday - 22 February 2012 Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Psalm 103:8-14 II Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 St. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21                                                                                     Background: Ashes The imposition of ashes has deep roots in the usage of the Hebrew Scriptures and perhaps other cultures as well.   It was a way of signifying to others mourning, or of penitence as well.   There are examples of this practice in most of the cultures of the Ancient Near East.   The biblical witness is full of examples as well.   Readings f...