Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog: September 20 and 27
Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.
Sunday, September 20, 2026 – Proper 20 (25)
Old Testament (Paired) – Exodus 16:2-15
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “Bread Shared With All The Eaters”
Along with the prospect of bread, they also were promised that they would see “the glory of the Lord” (16:7). What a surprise that fit none of their expectations: God’s glory in the wilderness! They had assumed that God’s glory, along with pomp and circumstance, was all back in the land of Pharaoh. They had seen God’s glory in connection with unequal splendor and wealth. But now they learned a radical new dimension of the God of the Exodus. It turns out that the natural habitat of God is not in Pharaoh’s court, but in the wilderness.
Psalm (Paired) – Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “An Unwelcome Read of History”
The forty-five verses of Psalm 105, with a powerful cumulative effect, is a long recital of the glorious transformative deeds of YHWH that offer a review of the entire sweep of Israel’s “canonical” memory. According to this memory, the long journey from Abraham (v. 9) to the land of promise (v. 44) is all accomplished by the compelling power of YHWH.
Gospel – Matthew 20:1-16
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “Thoughts on Labor Day”
Of course, the parable is about more than economics. But it is about economics! It is about generous pay for workers who are treated with high regard. The parable, at its finish, is about “the last becoming first.”
Narrative Lectionary – Genesis 12:1-9
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “The Hard Work of Exceptionalism”
Two matters stand out in this summons. First, the overriding matter is that Abram is to receive a land. This topic is further clarified in Genesis 15:18-21. Israel’s history and destiny are to be on the way to “the land of promise.” Second, land promise is in the context of other nations who are to be blessed by and in and through the people of Israel. This two-fold accent delicately balances the deep commitment of God to Israel, and the insistence that Israel as chosen does not and will not exist in an historical vacuum, but must deal constructively with other neighboring peoples.
Sunday, September 27, 2026 – Proper 21 (26)
Old Testament (Paired) – Exodus 17:1-7
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “Squirming Toward Newness”
And says the Psalmist, if you do not believe that, take a look back to Exodus 17:1-7 and the water drawn from flint rock. Everyone knows, in that pre-scientific world, that you cannot get water from rock. But we are witnesses to it! We have witnessed creation at the behest of the creator. We have witnessed the capacity of God to up-end all of our assumptions and all of our power arrangements, and all of our designations of privilege.
