peace – A Preacher’s Ponderings

Whose image?

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost; 22 October 2023; Proper 24A (RCL); Exodus 33:12-23; Psalm 99; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22.

Since 1 Thessalonians is chronologically the first piece of Christian literature of which we have evidence, it is an interesting exercise to try to forget everything we know about Jesus and infer only what we can from Paul’s letter. What strikes me immediately is Paul’s use of phrases like “God the Father,” and “the Lord Jesus Christ.” As familiar as those phrases are to us, they would have sounded a new note to the readers of this letter.

A spirit of peace

Sixth Sunday of Easter; 22 May 2022; Easter 6C (RCL); Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5; John 14:23-29.

I always wonder if the author of the Book of Revelation could have had any idea that his (I presume he was male) book would end up as the last book of the Christian canon. I know that such is impossible as there was no canon for another couple of centuries after he completed his work, but this passage makes a perfect end to the overarching story of scripture.