Welcome to Holy Textures

Holy Textures is a spot for my musings on the various Biblical texts that come our way through the Revised Common Lectionary.

My goal is to provide timely, short, easy to use and thought-provoking background commentary for your sermon or bible study preparation.

Please click on the heading of any post or "Continue reading" to see the full post.

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Year B - Seasons of Advent & Christmas - 2014

Advent 1
November 30, 2014
Mark 13:24-37.   
"The lesson for Advent is still: Stay awake. Be alert. Live in expectation. Live now as you will when the Son of Man does return."

Advent 2
December 7, 2014
Mark 1:1-8.  
"Unlike us, John the Baptizer is a wild and woolly character. But like us, he lives to point people to one who is greater than himself. John is the first Christian in the sense that he is the first who gives witness to Jesus."

Advent 3
December 14, 2014
John 1:6-8, 19-28.  
"This Advent season is a time for us to wake up and see the light. It is time for us to do what is our work: to prepare the soil of our souls, so that the seed of God’s word can take root in us and put down deep and strong roots."

Advent 4
December 21, 2014
Luke 1:26-38.  
"As the story of Jesus' life is bookended with a special embedding of the spiritual and the material (spiritual conception at birth; spiritual body at resurrection), so too, just within each bookend, as the first and last books on the shelf, are stories of total shame, violation and degradation (pregnancy outside of wedlock; naked execution on a cross)."

Note: Any of the following lessons may be used on Christmas Eve / Day.

Christmas Eve, December 24,  or Christmas Day, December 25
Proper   I: Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)   
Proper  II: Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20    
Proper III: John 1:1-14   

First Sunday After Christmas Day
December 28, 2014
Luke 2:22-40. 
"By the time we have finished reading Chapters 1 and 2 of Luke, we should realize that the stage has been set for a powerful confrontation between two kingdoms. The Pax Romana of Caesar - the way of peace through force of arms; and the peace of Christ - the way of peace through justice."

New Year's Day - January 1
Matthew 25:31-46
"What I love about this parable is that BOTH those judged to be honourable AND those judged to be dishonourable have exactly the same response: Lord, when was it we saw you hungry ...?."

Second Sunday After Christmas Day
Sunday Between January 2 and January 5 Inclusive
May be replaced by readings for Epiphany. See note below.
January 4, 2015
John 1:(1-9), 10-18.  

Note: The Season of Epiphany begins on January 6, the Day of Epiphany of the Lord.

If January 6 is a weekday, Epiphany may be celebrated on the first Sunday in January and replace the readings for Sundays following Christmas Day.