Looking into the lectionary - Is risk part of a pastor’s job description?

Romans 5:1-11 Third Sunday in Lent March 8, 2026 In the iconic comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes,” Calvin is handed a snow shovel and shunted out the door with the observation that he is building character. In response, Calvin quips, “Pretty convenient the way every time I build character, Dad saves a few bucks.”  If it seems old-fashioned to think about building character, perhaps it is because the institutions most known for character-building in society, namely the church and the academy, have fallen silent on the subject. In When Jesus Came to Harvard, Harvey Cox, a Harvard professor, remembers how the college noted that a disproportionate number of its alumni were being featured in the papers for financial scandal. To be sure, Harvard is a fine school. Its alumni tend to be successful. Yet success apparently was affording its graduates greater opportunities for moral failure. Acutely aware that their alumni were being indicted at a rapid clip, the faculty began to question the adequacy of their undergraduate curriculum: were they simply failing to teach such things as ethics and character. And if so, what should be done about it?  According to Cox, the institution’s answer, in part, was to throw Jesus at the problem. He began teaching a moral reasoning course that focused on the person of Jesus Christ. To his utter astonishment, the class became a runaway success. Cox writes of the experience, “These students, like increasing numbers of people in the modern world, sense – however vaguely – that there was something fundamentally inadequate about moral relativism. They were sickened by the devastation some technologies have wreaked on nature. They winced at the posturing of politicians and the deceptions of the media. They recognized that advertising is saturated with calculated sham… but when it came to sorting through real ethical choices in conversation with other people, they seemed awkward and stifled.” I wonder if the members of our congregations feel similarly ill-equipped to understand the ethical choices they face in their day-to-day lives.  ... Thank you to this week's writer, Baron Mullis. Read the rest of the commentary at pres-outlook.org. Want the worship resources for March 1, 2026? You can find them here. Order of worship — March 8, 2026 by Baron Mullis How one Houston church turned a childcare crisis into a calling by Lydia Griffiths Why Christian clergy see risk as part of their moral calling by Laura E. Alexander 8 days, 7 bikers. 500 miles. Awesome church people. Lots of Presbyterians. by Charlie Berthoud The gift of finding our finitude in a digital world by Michael W. DeLashmutt Faith leaders form rapid response network for migrants facing ICE detention in Dallas by Harriet Riley Did you miss our conversation with members of the PC(USA) Special Committee to Write a New Confession? Want to watch it again? You can view the recording here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Lessons from a penguin and his caregiver Rubén Arjona writes on how empathy allows us to imagine the other person’s feelings, thoughts and experiences. Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story In "Marce Catlett," Wendell Berry shows how stories of land, labor, and loss shape generations and our sense of belonging. Chris Taylor offers a review. Horizons – The Woman Bent Over, Luke 13:10-17 Rosalind Banbury's seventh reflection on the 2025-2026 Presbyterian Women/Horizons Bible Study. Our faith calls us to share in letting empathy loose Alfred Walker shares how a 1989 letter from a man who was imprisoned opened a path for ministry. What we lose when confessions are treated as optional Keanu Heydari pens a response to Charles Wiley’s “Why the PC(USA)’s Book of Confessions is too long — and how to fix it.” ‘I am somebody!’: Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader who ran for presidency, dies at 84 'I don't think Jesse Jackson saw his political life as something different from his call from God as a preacher', said the Rev. Valerie Bridgeman. — Adelle M. Banks “Train Dreams” and learning to live with wonder "Train Dreams" asks how we endure loss, accept mystery and remain attentive to beauty, writes Brendan McLean. A daily Lenten devotional Explore how to live faithfully amid division and uncertainty through Matthew’s Gospel.

Looking into the lectionary - Commissioners painted into a corner

July 28, 2024 Tenth Sunday after Pentecost  John 6:1-12 John’s story of feeding the 5,000 invites reflection on scarcity and abundance. In response to the crowd’s size, Jesus asks Philip: “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” John tells us that this question is a test, for Jesus “knew what he was about to do.” So what is this test about? By now, the disciples should have learned something about abundance amid scarcity. After all, the first act of Jesus’ public ministry in John took place at a wedding at Cana where he averted social disaster by providing vast quantities of choice wine (2:1-11). So now, faced with scarcity once again and a large crowd of strangers, what would his disciple suggest? Well, Philip sees only scarcity and individual deprivation, observing that “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” By contrast, Jesus sees abundance. There is a lad with five loaves and two fish, so Jesus invites the gathering to sit down, gives eucharistic thanks, and distributes the food. And when they had eaten, Jesus instructed his disciples to gather the remaining scraps: “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost” — and there were 12 baskets of leftovers! The story invites us to reflect on abundance amid scarcity and sharing with strangers who are not part of our in-group. It also invites us to consider why scarcity has such a hold on our lives and imaginations. Let’s begin with the question of scarcity. Philip’s response to Jesus’ question contends that there is “not enough.” And, in our world, this contention is on steroids, for ours is a sum-zero culture. Scarcity is a lie with deep and pervasive implications for economics, race, sexuality and ecology. It says if poor people win, privileged people lose; if people of color win, White people lose; if trans folk win, cis-gendered folk lose; and if the earth wins, the economy loses. These equations are lies not only because none of them are factually true, but also because they “other” and demonize minoritized people and the non-human world. In an amazing book entitled The Sum of Us, Heather McGhee, an expert in social and economic policy, challenges the sum-zero world. ... Read the rest of the commentary on the website. Thanks to this week's writer Roger Gench. Order of worship for July 28, 2024, by Roger Gench. PC(USA) national offices unification: What’s next? by Gregg Brekke God redeems us (July 28, 2024) by Letarshia C. Robinson #GA226 commissioners painted into a corner over fossil fuel investments by John Bolt Want the worship resources for July 21, 2024? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Migration, faith and community in the Mesoamerican Mission Network A new PC(USA) mission network focuses on migrants leaving Central America for the United States. Anton Ahrens writes about the network's launch. The chair of the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment, the Rev. Kerri Allen, concludes her leadership role Allen says she has continued hope for MRTI’s role in holding companies accountable. — PNS Try to win: Dr. Cynthia Rigby’s relentless hope Rigby was awarded the Excellence in Theological Education Award during #GA226. At a luncheon honoring her career, she offered insight and theological encouragement. — Teri McDowell Ott ‘The children of this nation are tired of dying’ Stories of gun violence and heartbreak lead to unanimous vote for action at #GA226. — Greg Allen-Pickett The spirit of connection: Reflections on faith, community and stories In five or ten years, commissioner Alan Olson won't remember the business of #GA226. He will remember the people. 226th General Assembly confirms Milwaukee as next assembly location and rejects moving to all in-person format Also thwarts effort to keep moderator election at beginning of the assembly. — PNS Navigating virtual challenges in the General Assembly, a creative way forward One commissioner at the 226th General Assembly shares lessons she has learned in facilitating community online. — Greg Allen-Pickett

Looking into the lectionary - Your worship companion for May 5

May 5, 2024 Sixth Sunday of Easter John 15:9-17 When my childhood pastor’s daughter was about 8, she told her mom she wasn’t going up for the children’s sermon anymore. “The answers are always the same,” she said, rolling her eyes. “God, Jesus, Love. It’s not even hard.” She wasn’t wrong. Sometimes it does feel like the answers in church are always the same, no matter what the question is: God, Jesus, Love. If you have been working through the readings from the Gospel of John in Eastertide, you have already preached plenty of love. Perhaps you find yourself reluctant or even resistant to preaching love again. Across the pages of Scripture, though, God makes it clear that love isn’t optional in the Christian life. Jesus makes it a command — the command, even: “Love one another as I have loved you,” he tells us in John 13:34, and there’s no wriggling out of this one, no tricky Greek to trot out or contextual hoops to jump through. Jesus says what he says: obedience to Christ means loving like he loved. It would have been nice if Jesus had commanded us to act like we loved each other. Maybe we could fake our way through a discipleship like that. But Jesus demands more. “I am giving you these commandments,” he says, “so that you may love one another.” Jesus calls us to love wholeheartedly, generously, truthfully — and that’s hard. That costs us something because love doesn’t solve everything. It isn’t some magical potion that makes our days easy and our relationships a breeze. Love can be helpless. Love can hurt. Love takes it out of us, and it doesn’t always – always – give back. We’ve all loved people who were difficult to love, who we pour more into than we get back from. We’ve all been in situations that love couldn’t cure — you can’t personally love someone out of cancer, depression or addiction. Sometimes it can seem like we, individually or as a church, have been loving and loving and loving and loving and not really getting anywhere. It’s painful, and it’s exhausting. Author Debie Thomas writes about her own struggle with Christ’s “impossible” commandment in Journey with Jesus. After noting the limits on her own ability to love, she asks, [W]hat can I do? Where must I begin? Jesus offers a single, straightforward answer: “Abide in my love.” Following on the heels of last week’s Gospel, Jesus extends the metaphor of the vine and branches and calls us once again to abide. To rest, to cling, to make ourselves at home. Not simply in him, but in his love. My problem is that I often treat Jesus as a role model, and then despair when I can’t live up to his high standards. But abiding in something is not the same as emulating it. In the vine-and-branches metaphor, Jesus’s love is not our example; it’s our source. ... Read the rest of the commentary on the website. Thank you to this week's writer Carol Holbrook Prickett.  Order of worship for May 5, 2024. These liturgies are free to use. Horizons — Tabitha’s encounter by Rosalind Banbury Life-changing grace (May 5, 2024) by Brendan McLean BFFs in Christ — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale Want the worship resources for April 28, 2024? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Beyond the offering plate: Diversifying your church’s fundraising strategy Laura Strauss offers three tips for churches who need help making ends meet. “Her sounds are welcome” If worship is meant to be a 'work of the people,' how can we welcome everyone, including those who disrupt our expectations? — Rebecca Gresham Presbyterians seek ways to address anxieties amid a harsh immigration culture   If enacted, the Texas ‘show me your papers’ policy would follow a similar national trend. — Adrian White The Rev. Danny Morales will stand with the Rev. Dr. Marian McClure Taylor for Co-Moderator of the 226th General Assembly Morales is a hospice chaplain and pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Liberty City, Florida. — Mike Ferguson Join Faith and Money Network for a free 90-minute webinar with Miguel Escobar, author of The Unjust Steward: Wealth, Poverty and the Church Today. On Wednesday, April 24, from 7:00-8:30 pm Eastern, Escobar will discuss what early Church thinkers have to say about money and generosity. Building arks: A call to action amidst ecological crisis The great ecological flood of global warming is sweeping life away, writes Raymond R. Roberts, but we are not without options or hope. Jesus through Middle Eastern eyes: The life and legacy of Kenneth E. Bailey Michael Parker recalls the life of missionary and New Testament scholar Kenneth Bailey, who depicted Jesus as a “metaphorical theologian.”