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Return/Turn to the Lord: Ruth, Luke 17, Psalm 111, and The Fear of the Lord
By Elizabeth Ahlman 3 Year Series C; Proper 23 If your church uses the 3-year series for their lectionary readings, then Ruth 1:1–19a is coming up as the Old Testament reading on Sunday, October 13. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for the Book of Ruth to get some “play,” so to speak. It is paired with 2 Timothy 2:1–13, and Luke 17:11–19. The psalm for that Sunday is Psalm 111. On this upcoming Sunday, especially, the Psalm gives us a wonderful hook for the interpretation of the passages from Ruth and Luke. Together, the three passages demonstrate that turning toward God and His gracious gifts is to…
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Strength in Weakness?
By Elizabeth Ahlman While we were living in Leipzig, Germany, my family and I had several opportunities to visit Lutherstadt Wittenberg. In the courtyard of the Black Cloister is one of my favorite statues. It’s Katie Luther, full skirts swishing out, arms pumping, looking as if she was striding purposefully across that courtyard. If anything depicts a womanly strength, it’s that statue. Katie looks all business, as if ready to take on anything — as if ready to go to battle on her own little homefront (or not so little, as the Black Cloister was actually huge). Historians and perhaps lore tell us that Katie was strong and bold –…
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Review on Demystifying the Proverbs 31 Woman
By Bethany Kilcrease Perhaps it’s just me, but I’ve always found the book of Proverbs a little baffling. Sure, I know it’s about Christ. I know that Christ is Wisdom incarnate (1 Cor. 1:30). On this basis I can work through the first nine chapters, in which Lady Wisdom contrasts herself to Dame Folly. Christ (Wisdom) is the way to life. Rejecting Him leads only to Folly and death. In chapter 8, Solomon gives an especially compelling picture of the pre-incarnate Christ calling out to foolish sinners in the persona of Lady Wisdom. But then what do we make of chapters ten through thirty-one? Despite having glanced at various commentaries,…
