LTSP Blogs

Dr. Grafton will be leading the Lenten Devotional Study at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church, Ambler, PA (6:00-7:30).

 

Dr. Grafton provided the recent public lecture at the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut, Lebanon entitled

“Ishmael, the founder of their nation…": The politics of pre-Islamic Arab Christianity in Contemporary Scholarship

January 24, 2013

The Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
Holy Communion
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 11:30 am
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First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 

Psalm 19

Second Reading: II Cor. 12:12-31a

Gospel: Luke 4: 14-21

Rape is at the forefront of our civil discourse in ways it has not been in my memory or experience: young woman raped to the point of death in India has been the focus of international media. During the run up to the presidential election Rep.

Exodus 1:1 These are the names (shemoth) of the sons of Yisra’el who came into Egypt with Ya‘akov…

Baniym can of course mean "sons" or "children" and usually I err on the side of inclusion. But in this text, it is clear that only male progeny are indicated, demonstrated by the list of names that follow. These are the names of Israel’s sons, but what about his daughters?

After this year of mass shootings, economic hijinks in Congress, hateful political rhetoric leading up to the election, one absurd celebrity incident after another, discord and division in every realm of our society, and failed attempts at being a better people - I am tempted to be cynical about 2013.