Exodus 34:29-  Moses descends from the mountaintop and returns to everyday living carrying “the two tablets of the covenant.”  When Aaron and “all the Israelites” saw him they “were afraid to come near him” because his face was glowing.  Apparently … Continue reading →

Genesis 45:3-1 The older brothers of Joseph, who had sold their younger brother  into slavery when he was still a child, go to Egypt for food during a famine.  There, they encounter Joseph who reveals to them his identity, “I … Continue reading →

Jeremiah 17:5-10 Jeremiah presents to our imaginations two starkly different images.  One image is of a scraggly bush struggling to survive in the desert or on a salt flat; the other is of a mighty tree, flourishing with a root … Continue reading →

Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13) Unlike Jeremiah’s response to his call to speak for the Lord (see last Sunday’s reading), Isaiah’s reluctance is due to his feeling of unworthiness, which makes God’s call the more astounding.  After a vision of “the Lord … Continue reading →

Malachi 3: 1-4 Although not much is known about the author, his priority is distinct: the centrality of the Covenant and, therefore, its teaching and use in worship in the Temple. Psalm 84 The psalmist rhapsodizes about the Temple as … Continue reading →

Jeremiah 1:4-10 The prophet describes his call when he was still a young boy.  The Lord speaks directly to Jeremiah and tells him that “before you were born I consecrated you, I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah … Continue reading →

Nehemiah 8: 1-3,5-6,8-10 The return of God’s people from exile in Babylon happened sporadically and with some difficulty.  The rebuilding of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem with the re-establishment of religious and civic order made progress and then … Continue reading →

Isaiah 62: 1-5 After a long, unexplained silence, the Lord speaks, the Book of Isaiah reports, and it is a damn-burst!  The Lord announces a “vindication” for the Lord’s people that will be the cause for a “new name that … Continue reading →

Isaiah 42: 1-9 The Lord announces how the Lord’s restoration of the “covenant people” and, through them, all nations, will be accomplished.  The Lord will use “my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights….”  The Lord … Continue reading →

Isaiah 60:1-6 The canonical Book of Isaiah is composed as a crescendo of recurring themes; each time a theme is revisited, the language is a little more extravagant.  In this passage, despite “thick darkness,” which had engulfed the nations, not … Continue reading →