Prayer is the most elusive practice of the Christian faith. On the one hand it is too often rote in that day after day we recite prayers paying little or no attention to the words, and on the other hand the mere utterance of voice directed towards God is life changing. On the one hand it is […]

Last week we finished up with our readings from Job. We had spent a number of weeks walking through a Biblical story that is one of the foundational story of the Bible. Job and God seemingly at odds, one of the traditional interpretations, which gives way to the notion that the story of Job is […]

Job 42:7-17 In the last chapter of the book, Job is commended by God for speaking “to me rightly” (42:7-8; a better translation than “of me what is right.”) Job, unlike his friends, has continued to speak to God rather than just about God and has thereby been faithful to that relationship.

Job 3:1-10; 4:1-9; 7:11-21 The patient Job of chapters 1-2 gives way to the anguished Job, who curses the day of his birth. His friends, who started out well, offering him their comforting presence in silence for 7 days (Job 2:13), now offer him advice instead. They claim that the innocent don’t perish, but Job’s […]

Job 1:1-22 The story of Job begins. We are introduced to this righteous man and to the wager between God and the Satan. (“The Satan” in the book of Job is a title rather than a name. In chapters 1-2, the word always occurs with the definite article. The “Satan’s” job is to investigate human […]

 2 Corinthians 5:11-21  Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you […]

2 Corinthians 4:1-15 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience […]

Holy Trinity Sunday 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 Instead of beginning the letter with a thanksgiving, which he does in other letters, Paul begins with a blessing that calls on God, “the Father of all mercies and the God of all consolation,” who consoles us in all our affliction so that we may be able to console […]