Commentary posted on November 21, 2016

Advent 1A Sermon Commentary

 

Home » November 21, 2016 - Advent 1A

Matthew 24:36-44 Sermon Commentary

Advent 1A

In Anne Tyler’s novel, The Amateur Marriage, we witness a sad series of events. The book’s main characters are Michael and Pauline, a pair of World War II-era sweethearts who get married and eventually have three children. But then one day their oldest child, Lindy, just disappears. She runs away from home and promptly falls…

Explore Commentary

Psalm 122 Sermon Commentary

Advent 1A

When I began to study Psalm 122, I thought it was one of those homiletically barren texts from which any smart preacher should run as fast as she can.  It seemed utterly unfit for this first Sunday of Advent.  However, having plowed it now for some time, I’m not so sure my first impressions were…

Explore Commentary

Romans 13:11-14 Sermon Commentary

Advent 1A

As with any number of Lectionary readings, we have a “this” in Romans 13:11 whose antecedent you cannot know unless you back up to the first ten verses of this passage.  The immediate context of the “this” (as in “And do THIS . . .”) is the command to love your neighbor as yourself.  The…

Explore Commentary

Isaiah 2:1-5 Sermon Commentary

Advent 1A

How can we experience peace in a world that’s so desperately short on it?  It’s a question both as ancient as our first parents’ fall into sin and as modern as ongoing war in places like parts of the Middle East. Some people assumed that we’d finally figure out how to have peace during the…

Explore Commentary