Irreverently Reverend

  Ordinary Time 4  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”  5  And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.”  6  And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.  7  And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”  8  And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.   (ESV)             An article in the Los Angeles Times from 2019 named the fact that “self-ca...

  Ordinary Time So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When Nathan arrived he said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich, one poor.  2  The rich man had a lot of sheep and cattle,  3  but the poor man had nothing—just one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised that lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his food and drink from his cup—even sleep in his arms! It was like a daughter to him. 4  “Now a traveler came to visit the rich man, but he wasn’t willing to take anything from his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had arrived. Instead, he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the visitor.” 5  David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the one who did this is demonic!  6  He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over because he did this and because he had no compassion.” 7  “You are that man!” Nathan tol...

  Ordinary Time A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack . Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.”  43  But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”  44  He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord .   (NRSV)               Toward the beginning of lockdown last year, it seemed that everyone and their mother was making bread.   Hands up, how many of you had sourdough starter?   I didn’t get on that train but oh, how many people I knew did.   I remember my poor friend Sid grieving over having accidentally killed his sourdough starter and my friend John delighting in everyon...

  Ordinary Time David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.  2  David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim.  3  They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart  4  with the ark of God; [ [1] ]  and Ahio went in front of the ark.  5  David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.   12  It was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom...