Epiphany 7C

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 23, 2025 (Epiphany 7C)


Joseph recognized by his brothers

Joseph recognized by his brothers (1863), oil painting on canvas by Léon Pierre Urbain Bourgeois (1842-1911). Musée de la Faïence et des Beaux-Arts, Nevers, France. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Throughout Sunday’s readings, we hear a clear  call to listen for God and to forgive even those who have hurt us. So it is with Joseph in our first reading. Sold into slavery in Egypt by his jealous brothers, Joseph rose through difficulties to become a chief advisor to Pharaoh. Now Joseph’s brothers, who have come to Egypt to escape a famine at home, find Joseph elevated to this powerful position. They are terrified, fearing their brother’s revenge, but Joseph forgives them amid tears and kisses.

Psalm: Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42

Trust in God and do good, the Psalmist urges the people. Don’t worry about evildoers or envy those who do wrong: They won’t last. But those who follow God’s ways will receive their heart’s desire. As we sing these verses, notice the parallels with Jesus’s instructions in Luke’s Sermon on the Plain: Be patient. Don’t strike out in anger. These things only lead to evil. Trust in God, rather, knowing that the meek shall inherit the land. Wait for God with patience and confident trust. Follow God’s ways and be rewarded.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50

In the passage we read this Sunday, Paul continues his extended theological reflection on resurrection and how it works. He sets up an opposing question, asking what kind of body the resurrected will have; then he shouts “Fool!” at his imagined debating opponent. Using the example of seeds and sowing as a metaphor, he observes that seeds of grain cannot come to life as plants unless they first die by being sown in the earth. Just as God then gives each kind of seed its own body, Paul says, so it is with resurrection: Our physical bodies perish, but what is raised cannot perish. Just as Adam, the first human, came from dust, but Christ, like a second Adam, came from heaven,  in resurrection we will bear Christ’s image.  

Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

This week we hear more of Jesus’s Sermon on the Plain as told by Luke, and its reversal of expectations continues in a more edgy and even challenging interpretation of Jesus’s words than we hear in Matthew’s Beatitudes. Moving from the blessings for those who suffer and the woes for those who revel in riches, Jesus now poses a difficult, counterintuitive challenge: Love our enemies and do good to those who hate and hurt us, doing to others as we would have them do to us. Jesus goes on to make clear that practicing this Golden Rule is not to be done in hope of reward: “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. … But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.”

Epiphany 6C

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 16, 2025 (Epiphany 6C)

The Evangelist Luke

The Evangelist Luke (15th century), as imagined by a Greek Orthodox icon writer. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10

The cursed and the blessed, the wicked and the righteous, the doubters and the believers, and the woeful and the blessed: Sunday’s readings seem to portray a world forever divided. Listen closely, though, and hear a more hopeful narrative in which trust in God is amply rewarded. In our first reading, the Prophet Jeremiah separates the cursed – those who turn away from God toward trust in mortals and must wither and die – from the blessed: those who trust in God and so will be deeply rooted and nourished like plants near water.

Psalm: Psalm 1

Does the first of the 150 Psalms set a theme for the entire book of Psalms? Psalm 1 echoes the covenant that God gave to Moses, singing praise for righteousness and its rewards while warning about the dangers of following the ways of the wicked. Using metaphors that echo Jeremiah’s division of humankind in the first reading, the Psalmist promises delight for the righteous, who will thrive and bear fruit like trees planted near water. But there’s no joy for the wicked, the prophet declares: They will be doomed like chaff that the wind blows away from the good wheat.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Paul continues working out his theology of salvation through Christ’s resurrection in the closing chapters of First Corinthians. Written at least a generation before Mark, the first of the Gospels, Paul’s words offer a glimpse of the infant Christian community’s ideas largely through an oral tradition about the adult ministry of Jesus that had occurred only about 20 years before. In this passage, Paul challenges those who doubt that Christ’s resurrection means that we, too, are freed from the fear of death. If Christ was not raised, Paul tells his Corinthian congregation, then our faith has been in vain and our sins have not been forgiven. But Christ truly was raised from the dead, Paul assures them: He is the first fruit of all who die and will now live again.

Gospel: Luke 6:17-26

It is interesting to compare Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Plain with Matthew’s perhaps more familiar Sermon on the Mount. In Luke’s telling, Jesus comes down from a mountain where he has spent the night to a level place where he teaches his just-chosen disciples and a huge crowd of followers. The series of beatitudes or blessings that he offers them sound a more edgy tone than Matthew’s version: Each blessing is followed by a contrasting woe. The actual poor are blessed, in contrast with Matthew’s “poor in spirit.” The hungry are blessed, and those who weep and those who are reviled. Then we hear Jesus declaring woe on the rich, those who are full of food and wealth, those who laugh as they receive constant praise. This liberating preference for the poor and downtrodden is a constant subtext through Luke. We’ve already heard it in his stories of the Song of Mary and Jesus’ first sermon in his hometown, and we will continue hearing it all the way to the Cross.

Epiphany 5C

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 9, 2025 (Epiphany 5C)


The Miraculous Draft of Fishes

The Miraculous Draft of Fishes (1308-1311), tempera painting on wood by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319). Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana del Duomo, Siena, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

God’s call to serve is a command so powerful that it is difficult to resist. In Sunday’s Lectionary readings we see this at work in God’s call to the Prophet Isaiah; the Psalmist’s conversation with a faithful God; Paul’s call as an apostle of Christ, and Jesus calling his apostles at the Sea of Galilee. In our first reading, Isaiah is granted a terrifying vision of a gigantic God on a throne surrounded by six-winged seraphim. This vision is so majestic that Isaiah fears for his life, declaring himself an unworthy creature of unclean lips. But God sends a seraph to touch Isaiah’s lips with a hot coal, burning out his sin. Isaiah then eagerly accepts God’s call, responding faithfully, “Here I am! Send me!”

Psalm: Psalm 138

Psalm 138, a hymn of thanksgiving, reminds us that communication with God can be a two-way conversation: God responds when we call, the Psalmist tells the people. God loves us and is faithful. We often pray when we’re in need. In time of trouble and fear, we call out in our helplessness and beg God to come to our aid. Although the kings of Earth praise God, God cares for us, the lowly: God keeps us safe when we walk in the midst of trouble. The love of the Lord endures forever, the Psalmist sings. God will not abandon the works of God’s hands.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

We have come to the final chapters of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Turning to the good news of Christ’s resurrection, Paul places it in the center of Christian theology: Christ died for our sins, was buried, was raised on the third day, and was then seen by the Apostles and by hundreds of followers. Acknowledging his own unfitness to serve Christ because he had persecuted the church, Paul declares himself the least of the apostles, the last to see Christ, but now forgiven in spite of his sins. Paul was not chosen to serve thanks to his own merits, he says, but through God’s saving grace that comes through the crucifixion and the resurrection.

Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Encountering a huge crowd near the lake of Gennesaret (Galilee), Jesus got into a boat owned by a fisherman named Simon so he could address the people from offshore. When Jesus finished teaching the crowd, he told Simon to head for deep water and put out his fishing nets. Simon was doubtful, knowing that they had come up empty after fishing all night. But he trusted Jesus, and to his surprise, caught more fish than the nets could hold. Peter, in a response that might remind us of Isaiah’s fearful plea to God, dropped to his knees and told Jesus to leave him, a sinful man. Jesus told him not to be afraid; and then, when Jesus called Simon and his partners James and John, they eagerly left everything behind and followed him.

The Presentation of Our Lord

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 2, 2020

Simeon’s Song of Praise, Nunc Dimittis

Simeon’s Song of Praise, Nunc Dimittis (c.1700-c.1710). Oil painting on canvas by Aert de Gelder (1645-1727). Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

The feast of the Presentation of Our Lord comes 40 days after Christmas. When it falls on a Sunday, as it does this year, it takes precedence over the usual liturgy for the season of Epiphany. Sunday’s Gospel reflects on the presentation of the baby Jesus and the ritual purification of his mother, Mary, in the Jerusalem temple. First, we hear the Prophet Malachi speak of purification, using the metaphor of a refiner who purifies gold and silver with heat and fire: poetic words that the composer Handel will later adopt for a beautiful aria in The Messiah. For Malachi, the refiner’s cleansing fire stands as a symbol of Israel’s duty to restore the Temple and its priesthood upon the people’s return from exile.

Psalm: Psalm 84

When we sang Psalm 84 just one month ago, during Christmastide, we added our voices to the Psalmist’s joy in knowing that God will provide protection, favor, and honor to us when we trust in God. This time, hear it again through the perspective of creation: God provides nests for the small birds, for sparrows and swallows too. God attends to the prayer of all creation, not only our personal prayers. God provides pools of water for thirsty travelers and for all creatures who thirst as they go through desolate valleys.

Alternate Psalm: Psalm 24:7-10

This passage comes from one of the many psalms that tradition attributes to King David himself. The full psalm is thought to have been a processional chant as the priests and congregation approached the Temple. In the first verses, the priest calls out, “Who shall stand in his holy place? Who has the right to come in and worship?” The crowd responds, “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts.” Then, in the brief portion that we hear on this Sunday, a joyful chorus celebrates God, the King of Glory, creator of the earth and all that is in it.

Second Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

Christians in some parts of the Roman Empire faced frightening persecution late in the 1st century, a situation that prompted many Jewish Christians to abandon their new faith and return to Judaism, which at the time was not under such severe persecution. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews urges them to stay strong and persevere in their new faith. This passage names Jesus as Son of God and great high priest, God who became fully human like us and freed us from death through his sacrifice and resurrection. Because Jesus was so tested, the author argues, Jesus will help those who are being tested now.

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

Now Joseph and Mary come to the Temple for her ritual purification according to Jewish law, and to present the infant Jesus in accord with the practice that a firstborn son be presented to God. They offer two small birds as sacrifice, an option reserved for poor families who couldn’t afford a lamb. Then Simeon enters. An elderly man, Simeon had heard the Holy Spirit’s promise that he would see the Messiah before he died. He joyfully takes the baby, blesses Jesus and his family, and utters the verses that we know as the Nunc Dimittis, the Song of Simeon: “Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see.”

Epiphany 3C

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 26, 2025 (Epiphany 3C)

Christ teaching in the synagogue

Christ teaching in the synagogue (1878-1879), oil painting on canvas by Maurycy Gottlieb (1856-1879). National Museum in Warsaw, Poland. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Torah – understood as God’s teaching, so holy and beloved that we understand it as law – informs our readings for the Third Sunday of Epiphany. In our first reading, the minor prophet Nehemiah tells about the scribe Ezra reading the Torah to all the people of Jerusalem. They have finally returned home after the exile, but must regain familiarity with Israel’s written tradition. Ezra opens the Torah scroll and spends an entire morning reading and interpreting the text. It is a holy moment as the people, understanding the text perhaps for the first time, weep with joy at this revelation.

Psalm: Psalm 19

In its opening verses, Psalm 19 sings the glory of God. Then its narrative turns to sing the glory of God’s law, Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, in which God’s covenant with the people is expressed and set in context. These are the holy scrolls that the scribe Ezra read to the community in Sunday’’s first reading – and that Jesus will read and interpret in the synagogue in Sunday’s Gospel.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

This week’s passage from 1 Corinthians immediately follows and builds upon last Sunday’s reading, in which we heard Paul declare that every member of the community brings individual gifts and is called to use those gifts in support of the church. Now Paul likens the people of the church to the body of the risen Christ in the world. Each part of the body is needed. Every part is important, and all of them have to work together. The eye, the hand, the ear, the leg … none can go it alone.

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21

Jesus’s public ministry has begun. Driven by the Spirit that came down at the time of his baptism, he has been tested in the desert, preached and taught in Galilee, and now he returns to the synagogue in his childhood home, Nazareth. Unrolling the Torah scroll to the Prophet Isaiah, he reads verses that will define his mission, ideas that echo his mother’s song and God’s covenant with the people at Sinai. This scripture is fulfilled in him, he declares. He has come to bring good news to the poor and the oppressed, and to declare the year of Jubilee in which slaves are freed and debts are forgiven.

Epiphany 2C

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 19, 2025 (Epiphany 2C)


The Marriage Feast at Cana

The Marriage Feast at Cana (1500), oil painting on wood panel by Juan de Flandes (1450-1519). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5

As we go through this liturgical season, we hear a series of “epiphanies” that manifest the divinity of Jesus to the world. Sunday’s Gospel tells of Jesus’s first miracle as told by John: changing water into wine for the wedding celebration at Cana. Sunday’s first reading comes from the final chapters of the Book of Isaiah. The exile is over. The people have returned to Jerusalem, to Mount Zion, where the ruins of the first temple lie in rubble, and a long, hard time of rebuilding lies ahead. “I will not keep silent … I will not rest,” proclaims the prophet. In words that set the scene for the Gospel’s wedding feast, Isaiah imagines Zion and the people as a bride and groom united in joy.

Psalm: Psalm 36:5-10

The passage selected for Sunday’s Psalm starts at verse 5, discreetly passing over several discouraging verses. We avoid hearing the psalmist lament the pain of being surrounded by wicked and deceitful people who fear neither God nor evil. Rather, we enter just as the song turns from sadness to chords of hope. In contrast with human wickedness, we sing, God showers us with amazing grace and abundant love. God’s protection and faithfulness come to us all, in that day and in this day.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

The second readings for the Epiphany season this year treat us to selections from three particularly beautiful chapters from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. This Sunday and next, we’ll hear Paul imagining the people of God as Christ’s body, with each member of the church enjoying certain gifts and being responsible for particular duties, much as each part of one’s physical body has its own function. The Christian community at Corinth, in Greece, probably consisted of fewer than 100 people; but it had plenty of issues with differences of opinion, arguments, and cliques that called for Paul’s pastoral voice in this letter sent to them from far away. It can be helpful to read 1 Corinthians through this lens.

Gospel: John 2:1-11


In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus met John the Baptist, was baptized, and assembled his twelve apostles. Now, in Chapter 2, they go out into the world. Their first stop is at a lively wedding feast, where John paints a picture of a gathering in which the wine flowed so freely that the host’s supplies quickly ran dry. When Jesus’s mother calls on him to save the situation, he complies somewhat grudgingly, turning water into new wine that’s much better than the old. This first of Jesus’s miracles (or “signs” as John calls them to highlight their broader significance) occurs at a social event of feast and fellowship, where this sign, John tells us, “revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

Epiphany 1C/Baptism of Our Lord

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 12, 2025 (Epiphany 1C/Baptism of Our Lord)


The Baptism of Christ

The Baptism of Christ (1506), tempera painting on canvas by Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506). Basilica of Sant’Andrea, Mantua, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7

We have an extra-long season after Epiphany this year because Easter does not come until April 20, moving Ash Wednesday forward to March 5. That’s almost as late as Easter can possibly occur, so Epiphany stretches out to fill the gap with eight weeks of epiphanies: Gospel readings focused on events that manifested the divinity of Jesus. We start with the baptism of Jesus, the beginning of his public ministry as told by Luke. In Sunday’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah assures the people returning from exile not to fear because God is with us. God calls us by name and watches over us as we pass safely through waters, rivers, and fire.

Psalm: Psalm 29

Psalm 29 is a thundering hymn of the ancient temple, a song depicting the power of God as it might be seen and heard in a great storm. Thunder crashes and lightning flashes; fire and winds shake the earth and topple trees. These are not things to fear, the Psalmist sings, but signs of the great power and majesty of God. As the storm comes to a close, we are left with God’s promises of strength and peace, gifts that we too seek to gain when we are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism.

Second Reading: Acts 8:14-17

The Acts of the Apostles is a fascinating story about the early church. Written by the Evangelist we know as Luke, it is essentially Part Two of Luke’s gospel, describing years after the fact how Christianity spread from its infant beginning in Jerusalem to much of the Mediterranean world. Though rooted in Judaism, Acts tells us that the church quickly opened its doors to Gentiles as well. This reading speaks of this significant change, as Peter and John travel to Samaria to welcome and embrace the once-hated Samaritans – now baptized in water and the Spirit – as new brothers and sisters in the church.

Gospel: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Was John the Baptist the Messiah? Many of his followers came to him at the Jordan hoping that this was the case, we hear as this Gospel passage begins. But John demurs, declaring himself unworthy to untie Jesus’s sandals. John says that it is Jesus, not John, who will baptize not only with water but with the Holy Spirit and fire. John envisions Jesus presiding over a strict and final judgement like a harvester, separating the wheat from the chaff. Then we hear the familiar conclusion of Jesus’s baptism: The Spirit came down as a dove, and God’s voice proclaims that Jesus is God’s son, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.

Christmas 2B

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 3, 2025

Magi bear gifts to an infant Jesus in one of the earliest known depictions.

Magi bear gifts to an infant Jesus in one of the earliest known depictions. 2nd Century Sarcophagus, Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14

Merry Christmas! Sunday is the Twelfth Day of Christmas – the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6 will relate the story of the Three Magi – and Sunday’s Lectionary readings reflect the thanksgiving, hope, and joy of Christmastide. In Sunday’s first reading, Jeremiah – who is often called “the weeping prophet” for the dire warnings of destruction that fill his prophecy – turns to shouts of praise and joy. The prophet offers hope for all of God’s people, even those weeping in sorrow and pain. God will comfort all, turn our sorrow into gladness, our mourning into joy.

Psalm: Psalm 84

In poetic themes and metaphors that resonate with the reading from Jeremiah, the Psalmist provides a hymn of trust and praise in a loving God who will protect the people and lead them home. God will provide clear water in desolate places, guard them in the heights, and serve as their shield against burning sun and raging enemy. And home at last, they will know the joy of worshiping in the restored temple, lavished with God’s grace and glory.

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a

Paul offers generous, expansive praise for the Christian community at Ephesus in the opening pages of his letter to the church in this Greek city located on what is now Turkey’s Aegean shore. Paul praises the Ephesians for their faith in Jesus and offers them a promise similar to the one we heard in last week’s reading from Galatians: All are adopted as God’s children through Jesus, and in this way are freely given God’s grace.

The Lectionary offers a choice of three Gospels for the Second Sunday of Christmas: Matthew’s account of the Holy Family’s escape to Egypt from King Herod’s wrath; Luke’s story of the boy Jesus in the Temple; and Matthew’s narrative of the visit of the wise men from the East.

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-23

This is a difficult reading to ponder during the joy of Christmastide, and it gets worse if you look up the three verses that the Lectionary omits: The horrifying story about Herod’s genocidal slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem. This bloody event may not be historical, as no contemporary historians of the era mention it. Even without this passage, though, the story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fleeing to Egypt as refugees frames an important reality: When Jesus is grown, he will seek to bring in the Kingdom of God by delivering good news to the poor and the oppressed. This mission will not always be received with joy and approval, and it will lead to his crucifixion.

Gospel: Luke 2:41-52

The four gospels tell us little or nothing about Jesus’s childhood and youth. This disappointing gap is filled only by this short, fascinating story that appears only in Luke’s Gospel: Twelve-year-old Jesus disappears while the family is in Jerusalem, to the horror of Joseph and Mary, who find him three days later in the Temple, impressing the elders with his intelligent discussion. The child reassures his frantic parents, declaring that his place is in his “Father’s house,” the Temple. In the next chapter, in Luke’s account of the baptism of the 30-year-old Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan, we will hear the voice of God announce that Jesus is indeed God’s beloved Son.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

“We Three Kings of Orient Are … “ One of the most memorable Christmas hymns tells the familiar story of wise men from the East who followed a shining star to Bethlehem, the village that the prophets foretold as the birthplace of the Messiah. It might surprise us, though, to remember that Matthew doesn’t actually say there were three of them, or that they were kings. They are called “Magi” in the original Greek, a word meaning “magicians,” “astrologers,” or, simply, “wise men.” They came, Matthew tells us, following the star. They brought gifts. They knelt and paid homage to baby Jesus as if he were a king … and then they thwarted Herod’s evil plan to murder the child by heading home by a different route.

Christmas 1

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 22, 2024

Saint John the Evangelist

Saint John the Evangelist (c.1624-1629), oil painting on canvas by Domenico Zampieri (“Domenichino,” 1581-1641). National Gallery, Washington, D.C. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3
The Twelve Days of Christmas continue until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. It’s hard to resist the feeling that Christmas was over on December 26, though. We’ll return to work Monday, if we didn’t have to go back already; soon we’ll pack the colorful lights, the Christmas gift boxes and the holiday music. Sunday’s reading, from near the end of the book of Isaiah, finds the people getting back to work too. Returned to Jerusalem after years in exile, they rejoice in God’s righteousness as they face the hard work of rebuilding.

Psalm: Psalm 147
One of the half-dozen resounding songs of joy that conclude the book of Psalms, this memorable hymn begins with a mighty “Praise the Lord,” a shout of exultation that the ancient Hebrews sang as “Hallelu-Yah!” We praise the Lord who is near, who heals our hearts and binds our wounds. We praise the mighty far-off God of all creation, too: The Lord of stars and clouds, winds and waters, rain and the growing grass, all the animals and all of us, too. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-25;4:4-7
In his short letter to the Christians of Galatia, a Gentile Christian community in central Turkey, Paul argues in fierce conflict against some in the early church who demanded that gentile converts follow the strict requirements of Jewish law. We should be careful, though, not to interpret these words as anti-Jewish or as suggesting that the new covenant abolishes the old. There is no controversy in his ringing conclusion to this passage, though, celebrating our joy in being adopted without restriction as God’s heirs and children through Christ.

Gospel: John 1:1-18
These spiritual and poetic words that begin the Gospel of John are so familiar that we may hear them without deep thought. But let’s stop to pay attention: Surely John had the creation story from Genesis in mind when he began with the very same words, “In the beginning.” Then he goes on to place Jesus, the Word, at the moment of creation, when God uttered the creative word, “Let there be light.” John names John the Baptist as the witness to Jesus’ divinity, and he echoes Paul’s point about Moses giving the Law while Jesus gives grace.

Christmas Day I, II, and III

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Christmas Day I, II, and III (Dec. 25, 2024)

(Lectionary Selections I, II, and III are suggested for use for Christmas Eve midnight, Christmas dawn, and the main service on Christmas Day, respectively.).

Christmas Day I

Nativity of Jesus

Nativity of Jesus (c.1600-1610), oil painting on canvas by Alessandro Tiarini (1577-1668). Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading, Selection I: Isaiah 9:2-7

O Come, All Ye Faithful! It is Christmas again, and we gather with joy to celebrate the birth of the infant Jesus, God in human form. First we hear Luke’s familiar story of the census, the angels, and the manger. In our first reading for Selection I (Christmas Eve), we begin with the prophet Isaiah’s verses that would inspire the composer George Frideric Handel in “The Messiah.” The prophet foretells a glorious future when the oppressor’s yoke will be broken and a child will be born for us, a son given to us, a Wonderful Counsellor will take the throne of David: Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Psalm, Selection I: Psalm 96

All the earth sings a new song, blessing God’s name in this joyous psalm of praise. There is fascinating theology here, ideas that we may see reflected in the New Testament: We are called to proclaim the good news of God’s salvation; we are to go out and declare God’s glory, a great commission to show God’s majesty to all the nations. The whole earth, the heavens, the seas, the forests and all that is in them rejoice before our God.

Second Reading, Selection I: Titus 2:11-14

If the letter of Titus seems unfamiliar, here’s why: This is the only book of the New Testament that does not appear in the regular three-year Lectionary of Sunday readings. We read passages from it only in the first two services on Christmas Day. Much of Titus’ short letter is spent warning the people of Crete to rein in their sinful behavior, an instruction that leads the writer to a worthy conclusion: We should live well and renounce bad actions as we wait for the grace of God through Jesus Christ, who gave himself to redeem us and make us God’s people.

Gospel, Selection I: Luke 2:1-14(15-20)

Now we come to the familiar Gospel story of Jesus’s birth, as told in the nativity account told by Luke. This is the Gospel that gives us the memorable stories of Mary giving birth, wrapping the child in swaddling clothes and laying him in a manger in Bethlehem – the City of David – because there was no room in the inn. Here we have the beautiful scene of baby Jesus and his parents suddenly surrounded by shepherds and their flocks. Angels sing gloriously overhead while the Lord’s angel tells them that the baby is a Savior and the Messiah.

Christmas Day II

First Reading, Selection II: Isaiah 62:6-12

In the first reading from Isaiah for Selection II (Christmas dawn), we listen in as the people’s exile in Babylon nears its end. Through the power of God’s strong right hand and mighty arm, the Prophet Isaiah foretells, the people will return to Jerusalem. Prepare the way, build up the highway toward home and clear it of stones, the prophet calls. No longer shall enemies harvest Zion’s grain and drink its wine; God will bring a glorious future of redemption and salvation that will last until the end of time.

Psalm, Selection II: Psalm 97

God is king, and all creation rejoices. This Psalm praises God in an image of power and might that echoes the fearsome God who led the Israelites through the desert and protected them there, surrounded by clouds, lightning and fire. This psalm shows us a God over all other gods, over all other nations, but it also reveals a God who loves the righteous, provides light for them, and cares for those who live justly.

Second Reading, Selection II: Titus 3:4-7

In this passage, the writer known as Titus emphasizes that Jesus is God, our savior, the perfect manifestation of goodness and loving-kindness. Jesus saved us not because of any good that we had done, Titus writes, but entirely because he is merciful, giving us God’s grace through baptism by water and the Holy Spirit. Justified by God’s grace, we become heirs to eternal life through Jesus.

Gospel, Selection II: Luke 2:(1-7)8-20

Here again is the familiar Gospel story of Jesus’s birth, as told in the nativity account told by Luke. This is the Gospel that gives us the memorable stories of Mary giving birth, wrapping the child in swaddling clothes and laying him in a manger in Bethlehem – the City of David – because there was no room in the inn. Here we have the beautiful scene of baby Jesus and his parents suddenly surrounded by shepherds and their flocks. Angels sing gloriously overhead while the Lord’s angel tells them that the baby is a Savior and the Messiah.

Christmas Day III

First Reading, Selection III: Isaiah 52:7-10

Israel’s exile in Babylon is ending in this passage from Isaiah for Selection III (Christmas Day). God’s messenger brings good news of peace and salvation: When God leads the people back to Zion, the temple on the mountain, Jerusalem, even the ruins of the devastated city will break into song. Such is the joy of God’s return to the holy city: God reigns, the people are comforted, and all the nations shall see the power of God’s holy arm and the salvation that it brings.

Psalm, Selection III: Psalm 98

In a Psalm of praise filled with joyous music, we are again called to stand up and rejoice with harps, trumpets and horns. We sing a new song of praise for the victory won by God’s mighty right hand and holy arm. All the nations, not only Israel, shout with joy. Even the sea, the land, the rivers and the hills will rejoice when God comes to judge all the world with righteousness and equity. Lift up your voice! Rejoice and sing!

Second Reading, Selection III: Hebrews 1:1-4,(5-12)

The letter to the Hebrews begins with this beautifully poetic description of Jesus, chosen as the son of God, the perfect reflection of God’s glory, higher even than the angels. Indeed, the writer tells us, when Jesus was born into the world, multitudes of angels appeared in the heavens to worship him. Because Jesus loved righteousness and hated wickedness, says the Letter to the Hebrews, his throne is for ever and ever, and God speaks to us no longer through the prophets but through him.

Gospel, Selection III: John 1:1-14

There is no nativity story in John’s Gospel. Luke and Matthew, each in his own way, give us the familiar story of the newborn baby born in Bethlehem. But John introduces us to Jesus in a completely different way: It’s a poetic and spiritual passage instead, celebrating the unimaginable glory of God’s own word becoming flesh and living among us, lighting up the world. The Word that was in the beginning with God, when God said, “Let there be light,” is now, will be, and in God’s time always has been, incarnate as human flesh, Jesus, Messiah, God with us.