Irreverently Reverend

  Ordinary Time Let me sing for my beloved     my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard     on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,     and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it,     and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes,     but it yielded wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem     and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard,     that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes,     why did it yield wild grapes? 5 And now I will tell you     what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge,     and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall,     and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will make it a wa...

  Fifth Sunday of Lent When  Adonai  restored Tziyon’s fortunes, we thought we were dreaming. 2  Our mouths were full of laughter, and our tongues shouted for joy. Among the nations it was said, “ Adonai  has done great things for them!” 3  Adonai  did do great things with us; and we are overjoyed. 4  Return our people from exile,  Adonai , as streams fill  vadis in the Negev. [NRSV: Restore our fortunes, O Lord,     like the watercourses in the Negeb.] 5  Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy. 6  He who goes out weeping as he carries his sack of seed will come home with cries of joy as he carries his sheaves of grain. (CJB)             House Bill 1557, colloquially called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, passed in Florida this past week, prohibiting discussion about sexual or gender identity in primary school classrooms. ...

  Fifth Sunday after Epiphany   In the year of King Uzziah’s death , I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, the edges of his robe filling the temple.  2  Winged creatures were stationed around him. Each had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew about.  3  They shouted to each other, saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heavenly forces! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” 4  The doorframe shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. 5  I said, “Mourn for me; I’m ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips. Yet I’ve seen the king, the Lord of heavenly forces!” 6  Then one of the winged creatures flew to me, holding a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs.  7  He touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips. Your guilt has departed, ...

  First Sunday after Epiphany In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  2  asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”  3  When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;  4  and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.  5  They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6  ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,     are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler     who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 7  Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.  8...