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Hope has teeth.
Tags: UncategorizedYeah, yeah, I misquoted Dickinson. (She wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers,” not “Hope’s the thing…”) But this is a meme I made a while back that isn’t really a meme because it’s not meming, but it does seem, unfortunately, to be evergreen: Feel free to use it if you like, though.
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You get your sea legs by using them
The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost—Proper 14, Year A, track 1August 9, 2026 Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45bRomans 10:5-15Matthew 14:22-33 Julius von Klever was a prolific Russian artist (of Baltic descent, also known in Russia as Yuly Yulyevich Klever) who painted stunning, dramatic nature scenes and landscapes. This image, however, is considered to be of…
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It’s a struggle—and a blessing
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost—Proper 13, Year A, Track 1—August 2, 2026 Genesis 32:22-31Psalm 17:1-7,16Romans 9:1-5Matthew 14:13-21 The story of Jacob wrestling with the angel is one of my favorites. It’s such a strange story. On the surface, it’s an etiology explaining how the patriarch Jacob came to also be called Israel. But there’s so…
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Oh, there’s a lot of stuff in that treasury.
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 12, Year A, Track 1—July 26, 2026 Genesis 29:15-28Psalm 105:1-11, 45bor Psalm 128Romans 8:26-39Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 Traditional marriage, eh? <sigh> Today’s reading from Genesis is one I remember learning about as a child. I don’t remember much of how Sunday School teachers or others fielded any questions children had about Jacob…
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The proximity of heaven
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11), Year A (Track 1)—July 19, 2026 Genesis 28:10-19aPsalm 139: 1-11, 22-23Romans 8:12-25Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 The lectionary today does not match the Genesis story to the Gospel we would expect. Perhaps I should have saved this work of art for a time when the two are aligned. Jesus uses the…
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“If it is to be this way, why do I live?”
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10), Year A (Track 1)—July 12, 2026 Genesis 25:19-34Psalm 119:105-112Romans 8:1-11Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 I have to confess; I find that phrase of Rebekkah’s to be rather quotable. I mean, it applies a lot. Right? And while the illustration above might tell us more about medieval birthing practices, it also somewhat…
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The Sound 