Archive for May 2019

May 10, 2019 DAILY READING Psalm 23Ezekiel 20:39-44This weekend’s reading: Exodus 20:12 FIELD NOTES In Psalm 23, the enemy is external. It speaks of the darkest valley (v4) and enemies at the table (v5). In Ezekiel 20 the enemy is internal. It speaks of the ways and deeds we pollute ourselves (v43). But in both scenarios,…

May 9, 2019 DAILY READING Ezekiel 11:1-25This weekend’s reading: Exodus 20:12 FIELD NOTES Ezekiel can be a tough book to read.  Like the New Testament book of Revelation, which borrows heavily from Ezekiel, the story is full of visions full of spectacular images and metaphors.  But it also, and Revelation too, contains these nuggets of…

May 8, 2019 DAILY READING Isaiah 6:1-8Luke 5:1-11This weekend’s reading: Exodus 20:12 FIELD NOTES There are certain themes that repeat in both the Old and New Testaments.  So from time to time, like with today’s readings, the lectionary chooses to highlight this pattern. In both these stories, our main character is having a moment of emptiness–Isaiah…

May 7, 2019 DAILY READING Acts 26:1-18This weekend’s reading: Exodus 20:12 FIELD NOTES We see this time and time again.  A sports player steps unto the field and is booed.  They use to be cheered for, but they’ve been traded and now they wear the jersey of the other team, and so they get booed.  Something…

May 6, 2019 DAILY READING Today’s reading: Matthew 7:7-12This week’s challenge: PRAY FIELD NOTES Welcome to the BUMC Love Your Neighbor Challenge! Each Monday for 8 weeks, we’re using the Field Guide to share a church-wide challenge that is designed to help us form meaningful relationships with our geographic neighbors based on the Scripture reading…

May 4, 2019 DAILY READING Psalm 30Genesis 18:1-8Luke 14:12-14This weekend’s reading: Matthew 7:7-12 FIELD NOTES Andrei Rublev’s icon (15th c) shows God’s representatives sitting around Abraham and Sarah’s table. Abraham’s house is in the background beside the “Oak of Mamre” and Mt. Moriah. This threesome was also Rublev’s stand-in for the Holy Trinity—Russian Orthodoxy forbade…

May 3, 2019 DAILY READING Psalm 30Isaiah 6:1-4Revelation 4:1-11This weekend’s reading: Matthew 7:7-12 FIELD NOTES John’s vision in Revelation is most remembered for its depiction of the battle with the destructive powers of evil, but before the beast and the bottomless pit come into the picture, John assures his beloved community that all is not…

May 2, 2019 DAILY READING Psalm 30Isaiah 5:8-17Revelation 3:14-22This weekend’s reading: Matthew 7:7-12 FIELD NOTES We’ve been reading this week about celebrating God’s great victory for life, and we remember that we are still in the Easter season. Isaiah cautions us to focus on the reason we celebrate and the way we go about it.…

May 1, 2019 DAILY READING Psalm 122Esther 9:1-5, 18-23Luke 12:4-12This weekend’s reading: Matthew 7:7-12 FIELD NOTES As soon as their enemies were overcome, Mordecai sent out instructions to the Jews for a great celebration: two days of joyful giving and feasting—known as Purim—to be observed in perpetuity (celebrated in 2019 on March 21 and 22).…