[Note: This is a very long post. If you don't want to read the whole thing, I would encourage you to read the introduction and then to scroll to the "Putting it together" section.] Part of the practice of lectio divina involves taking a passage as it is, without thinking of what comes before or … Continue reading Is it Peace? (An Integral Reading of 2 Kings 9-10)
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been obsessed. Pretty much every spare moment I’ve had has been spent studying, reading about, and wrestling with a particular story from the Hebrew Bible: Jehu’s rebellion in 2 Kings 9-10. A strange thing for me to be obsessing over, I know. It’s a violent mess of a … Continue reading Stories Matter.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. So begins Psalm 48, a stirring hymn of praise to God — not the distant God of the philosophers or even the cosmic God of the theologians, but the God who dwelled right there, with and among God’s people. As … Continue reading The City of our God (A reflection on Ps 48)
The Hebrew Bible text assigned for today presents a curious story. Moses is leading the people from slavery in Egypt through the wilderness to the land of Canaan. The journey is hard and the people are complaining. As a result of their complaints, they are beset by venomous snakes until they cry out for help. … Continue reading Deliverance (A reflection on Numbers 21.4-9)
I’ve been asked to preach at my local parish tomorrow and so I’ve been spending a lot of time the past couple weeks in the readings for this Sunday. The text from the Hebrew Scriptures caught my eye but I unfortunately wasn’t able to fit it in to my sermon. So I thought I’d take … Continue reading A Song of the Vineyard (A Reflection on Isaiah 5.1-7)
Matthew Root 