by Melissa Kelly | Dec 3, 2023 | Advent, Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 2, Sermons
Hope Has a Context Jeremiah pens some of the most beautiful words of hope to his community. But those hope-filled words are smack in the middle of horrors. Pan back even just a few verses, and one can see that Jeremiah is writing from prison, where his people are...
by Melissa Kelly | Nov 26, 2023 | Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 2, Sermons
Renewable Fidelity When the Very Good King Josiah is informed that a long lost scroll has been found in the dusty corner of a closet, he rends his garments in mourning for himself and for his people. Despite his commitment to just labor practices, and the narrator’s...
by Melissa Kelly | Nov 19, 2023 | Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 2, Sermons
Poetry The prophet Isaiah writes poetry: to express deep love between God and God’s beloveds, to convey heartache, to cleverly and poignantly pierce through word play, to evoke hope and catalyze action, to faithfully proclaim the truest nature of God. If poetry is...
by Melissa Kelly | Nov 5, 2023 | Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 2, Sermons
Remember Much could be said of the exaggerated and hyperbolic showmanship of this contest Elijah sets up between himself and the prophets of Baal. But step back from the spectacle, and I want to know why the people remembered this story, told it over and over, and...
by Melissa Kelly | Oct 29, 2023 | Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 2, Sermons
How NOT to be a Saint? Amidst political maneuvers, power grabs, conditional allegiances, threats, oppression, and terrible advice, a king is crowned and a kingdom divided. And precisely NOone comes out looking like a saint. We too live in violent and divided times,...
by Melissa Kelly | Oct 22, 2023 | Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 2, Sermons
Praising God in a Time of Genocide? Is God a megalomaniac who needs our praise? Or do we praise God because WE need it? And what about those of us who struggle with “praise” given our religious histories? Or those of us who quite simply value being thoughtful,...
