Easter Sunday C

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 20, 2025 (Easter Sunday C – Principal Service)

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1463), mural in fresco and tempera by Piero della Francesca (1415-1492). Museo Civico di Sansepolcro, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading or alternate Second Reading: Acts 10:34-43

Alleluia. Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! On Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Lectionary readings for the principal Easter Sunday service consistently speak of resurrection and life. The first reading (which may optionally be used as second reading instead) is from the Acts of the Apostles, the evangelist Luke’s story about the life of the early church and its growth and spread. In this passage, we find Peter offering religious instruction in the household of the centurion Cornelius, a Roman army officer. Peter tells them about the Christian way: Jesus was crucified but raised from the dead, and now God’s saving grace is given through Jesus to Jew and Gentile, to all the nations. Jesus is Lord of all!

Alternate First Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25

In this alternate reading we turn to the closing chapters in Isaiah. The people have returned home to Jerusalem from their long exile in Babylon. Much work must be done to restore the war-battered city and the ruins of its first temple. But first, there is time for celebration. God promises through the prophet to make Jerusalem a virtual heaven on earth, where everyone will enjoy abundance and happiness, peace, and joy. Even the wolf and the lamb shall feed peacefully together!

Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

In this selection from Psalm 118, we repeat Israel’s joyful thanks to God for its return from exile. While the prophetic words, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” alludes specifically to the temple in Jerusalem, Christians have long borrowed these words as a metaphor for Jesus. The verses shout out the hope of an Easter people: “I shall not die, but I shall live … The Lord … did not give me over to death. … you have answered me and have become my salvation.”

Second Reading: I Corinthians 15:19-26

Members of the early Christian community of Corinth were clearly puzzled by the idea of Jesus’s resurrection and probably arguing over its interpretation. In these verses, Paul tries simply and pastorally to express the resurrection and its significance: Recalling Adam’s fall and the ancient tradition of offering the first fruits of the harvest to God, Paul declares that Jesus’s resurrection makes Christ the first fruit of everlasting life, and this changes everything: The resurrection promises the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth and of eternal life. If Christ has risen, Paul says, then all who believe in him will also rise again.

Gospel: John 20:1-18

Each of the four Gospels tells of the resurrection from a different perspective, each reflecting the traditions of its particular community of origin. In John’s Gospel we walk this road with Mary Magdalene, portrayed in tender verses as the one who stayed behind at the empty tomb after the others had left. John portrays her as the first person to meet and speak with the risen Christ, and the one sent to proclaim the good news of his resurrection to the others. As in many other Gospel accounts of the risen Christ encountering his friends in unexpected ways, Mary did not recognize Jesus at first. But when he calls her name, we can feel the joy in her delighted response, “Rabbouni!”

Alternate Gospel: Luke 24:1-12

Eyewitness accounts of any great event typically differ on the details, and the Gospels’ resurrection narratives are no exception. Only in Luke’s Gospel do we hear that the women who came from Galilee with Jesus were the first to learn that Jesus was risen. Luke even called out three of them by name: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. But when these women hurried back to tell the grieving men this wonderful news, the men thought it was just “an idle tale.” Before he would believe the news, Peter ran to the empty tomb to see it for himself.

Holy Week 2025

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Holy Week 2025

The Last Supper (1704), oil painting on canvas by Jean Jouvenet (1644-1717). National Museum in Warsaw, Poland. (Click image to enlarge.)

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 17, 2025 (Maundy Thursday)

Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 [The first Passover]

Psalm 116:1, 10-17 [O Lord, I am your servant]

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 [This is my body that is for you]

John 13:1-17, 31b-35 [Jesus knew that his hour had come]

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 18, 2025 (Good Friday)

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 [See, my servant shall prosper]

Psalm 22 [My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?]

Hebrews 10:16-25 [He who has promised is faithful]

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 [He became the source of eternal salvation]

John 18:1-19:42 [“It is finished.”]

The Entombment of Christ (c.1602-1603), oil painting on canvas by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City, Rome. (Click image to enlarge.)

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 19, 2025 (The Great Vigil of Easter)

At The Liturgy of the Word

At least two of the following Lessons are read, of which one is always the Lesson from Exodus. After each Lesson, the Psalm or Canticle listed, or some other suitable psalm, canticle, or hymn, may be sung. A period of silence may be kept; and the Collects provided on pages 288-91, or some other suitable Collect, may be said. It is recommended that the first Collect on page 290 be used after the Lesson from Baruch or Proverbs. (pp 893, BCP)

Genesis 1:1-2:4a [The Story of Creation]

Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 [The Flood]

Genesis 22:1-18 [Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac]

Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel’s deliverance at the Red Sea]

Isaiah 55:1-11 [Salvation offered freely to all]

Baruch 3:9-15, 3:32-4:4 [Learn wisdom and live]

Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6 [Does not wisdom call]

Ezekiel 36:24-28 [A new heart and a new spirit]

Ezekiel 37:1-14 [The valley of dry bones]

Zephaniah 3:14-20 [The gathering of God’s people]

At The Eucharist

Romans 6:3-11 [Death no longer has dominion over him.]

Psalm 114 [Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord]

Luke 24:1-12 [He is not here, but has risen]

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 20, 2025 (Easter Sunday – Principal Service)

See Easter Sunday – Principal Service Illuminations posted separately.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 20, 2025 (Easter Sunday – Evening Service)

Isaiah 25:6-9 [Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces]

Psalm 114 [Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord]

1 Corinthians 5:6b-8 [A little yeast leavens the whole batch]

Luke 24:13-49 [He showed them his hands and his feet]

Palm / Passion Sunday C

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 13, 2025 (Palm / Passion Sunday C)

Entry of Christ into Jerusalem (second quarter of 17th century), oil painting on oak wood from the workshop of Frans Francken the Younger (1581-1642). National Museum in Warsaw, Poland. (Click image to enlarge.)

The Liturgy of the Palms C

Gospel: Luke 19:28-40

Once celebrated in successive weeks, Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday now are joined on the Sunday that begins Holy Week. This combined liturgy prompts us to watch in shock and surprise as the crowds who cheered for Jesus upon his arrival in Jerusalem abruptly turn to mocking him and calling for his crucifixion. The Liturgy of the Palms begins as the people wave palm leaves in celebration as Jesus rides a colt into Jerusalem while the crowd chants the words of the prophet Zechariah celebrating the arrival of Israel’s king: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey!”

Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

This ancient hymn of celebration for victory resounds harmoniously with the Palm Sunday Gospel’s celebration of Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem. The selected verses evoke a joyful crowd at the gates to the ancient Temple, clapping hands and loudly singing, praising the Lord our God, whose mercy and steadfast love endure forever. “On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

The Liturgy of the Passion C

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a

The waving palms and procession are complete, and the readings grow dark as the liturgy turns to the Passion. But even as shadows and twilight fall, the hope that rests in faith and trust remains. The Prophet Isaiah surely meant the “Suffering Servant” figure as a metaphor for Israel under the iron foot of exile, hoping someday to return home with God’s help. Christians must respect this tradition, but the Servant’s pain may make us think of Jesus too, particularly in its call to turn the other cheek against our enemies, knowing that God is with us.

Psalm: Psalm 31:9-16

The darkness grows still deeper in this portion of Psalm 21. Echoing the pain of the Suffering Servant, the Psalmist reminds us that numbing anguish can sap the strength of body, mind, and soul. Yet hope remains even in the darkest depths. Even when life seems full of pain and void of hope, we trust in God and pray: “Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.”

Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

This letter written by Paul from prison in Rome seems to resonate with Isaiah’s Suffering Servant. In poetic verses that may have been taken from an early Christian hymn, Paul tells us that Jesus “emptied himself” as fully human, even a slave; he became one with us even in suffering. Jesus took on human frailty as he bore the gruesome pain of crucifixion. With this as our model, Paul declares, we all are called to serve God and our neighbor humbly and obediently, becoming “more” through being “less.”

Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:49

Now we hear Luke’s telling of the Passion story. In its more than 100 verses, we are taken from the Last Supper with Jesus and his friends, where he declares the bread and wine his body and blood, to his arrest and the terrible account of Jesus’s torture and gruesome death. At the end of these long and horrifying events, the disciples were left with Jesus’s words to them at the Last Supper: “The greatest among you must become like the youngest,” Jesus told them, “and the leader like one who serves.”

Lent 5C

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 6, 2025 (Lent 5C)

Mary Magdalene anoints the feet of Jesus (early 16th century), oil painting on oak panel by the Master of the Legend of the Magdalene, possibly Jan Mostaert (c.1475–c.1552). Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21

As Lent turns toward Palm Sunday and Holy Week, this Sunday’s readings direct our imagination toward seeking our goals with God’s help. In our first reading, the Prophet Isaiah remembers the time when the people were in exile in Babylon, defeated and hopeless, unable to get up: “extinguished, quenched like a wick.” Nevertheless, the prophet declares, “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.” In God there is hope for new ways, Isaiah tells us. God will make a path in the wilderness and create rivers in the desert, protecting God’s people and bringing them home..

Psalm: Psalm 126

Psalm 126 echoes the feelings of hope that we heard in the Isaiah passage. The Psalmist envisions a future joyous day when all things old have been made new again. God will have restored Israel’s fortunes, filling the people with laughter and shouts of joy. Those who left the holy city weeping under burdens that seemed too great to bear now return with shouts of joy, bringing in a bountiful harvest.

Second Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

Writing to the Christian community of Philippi, a Gentile community of retired Roman soldiers in Greece, Paul tells them how he had been a zealous Pharisee, believing that he had much to be proud of. He had felt strong in his faith as he angrily persecuted Christians, regarding them as dangerous radicals. But then, he says, he discovered Jesus and everything changed: In words consistent with the reading from Isaiah, he urges the people to press on, as he does, toward the goal of resurrection and life.

Gospel: Gospel: John 12:1-8

To grasp the powerful context of this familiar narrative, re-read John’s verses just before and just after the story of Mary weeping as she anoints Jesus’s feet with expensive perfume. Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead, causing such an uproar that the chief priests and Pharisees decided to kill Jesus to keep the Romans from stepping in. Just after these verses, the temple authorities decide to kill Lazarus, too, because his miraculous return from the dead is inspiring people to follow Jesus. Jesus is at risk of death. He warns his friends that they won’t always have him with them. But don’t mistake the meaning of Jesus’s words, “You always have the poor with you.” This is not an argument against helping the poor. On the contrary, it is a direct quote from Torah, God’s explicit commandment that we must always open our hands to the poor and needy neighbors in our land.

Lent 4C

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 30, 2025 (Lent 4C)

The Prodigal Son (1622), oil painting on panel by Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656). Alte Pinakothek, Munich. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Joshua 5:9-12

Fresh starts and new beginnings: These themes resonate in Sunday’s readings as we reach the midpoint of Lent. From the Israelites’ arrival at the Promised Land in the first reading to the Prodigal Son’s joyful return home in the Gospel, we remember that God stays with us through transition and change. In the first reading from Joshua, we see a people filled with joy. They have reached Canaan, the land of milk and honey. No longer reliant on manna for sustenance, they celebrate the end of 40 years in the desert with fresh bread made from the produce of the promised land.

Psalm: Psalm 32

Who hasn’t known the anguish of doing something wrong that hurt a loved one? An angry word flares. A careless act happens. And then we see that look of pain, a sob, and a burst of tears, and we feel anguish and guilt. At that point, there is just one thing to say: “I’m sorry.” When this simple response brings a smile and forgiveness, everything feels better. This is the reward of repentance: When we sin and step away from God, it hurts. But then, as we chant in this Psalm, God’s forgiveness and steadfast love can make us shout for joy.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

There is tension in Paul’s second letter to the people of Corinth. The people of this Greek Christian community have been arguing with Paul and with each other. Paul, loving them in spite of it all, entreats them to be reconciled to God on behalf of Christ. Our new direction as Christians, Paul tells them, comes when we recognize Jesus not only as human but as Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah. In Christ, everything old has passed away. Everything has become new! Through Christ, God forgives all our trespasses and reconciles the world to God.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

The story of the Prodigal Son is surely one of the most beloved parables, and it’s easy to grasp its meaning: God forgives us when we stray and then return. Even if we have been prodigally sinful, God welcomes us home with a father’s joy and abundant celebration. But there’s more to this textured story: Consider the older brother: Hurt because his good and faithful behavior earned him no reward, he is consoled by his father’s loyal, long-standing love. It’s also easy to forget the setting for this familiar story: Jesus told it in response to a crowd of scribes and Pharisees who were upset because Jesus welcomed tax collectors and sinners at his table.

Lent 3C

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 23, 2025 (Lent 3C)

Moses and the Burning Bush (1642-45), oil painting on canvas by Sébastien Bourdon (1616-1671). The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Exodus 3:1-15

As the theologian Marcus Borg famously wrote, God is both right here and out there: as near as our thoughts and as far as the stars. Sunday’s readings stretch our imagination with ideas of a transcendent God of mighty power. In our first reading from Exodus, we recall the ancestral story of God addressing a startled Moses from a flaming bush that burned but was never consumed. The people have suffered in slavery in Egypt long enough, God tells Moses, calling Moses – despite his protests of inadequacy – to lead the people out of Egypt and bring them to a promised land flowing with milk and honey.

Psalm: Psalm 63:1-8

We began Lent by recalling the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert, defying temptation and preparing for his ministry on Earth. Psalm 63 is set in a similar arid wilderness, a barren and dry land where there is no water. The Psalmist seeks God with a thirsty soul, aching not only for liquid refreshment but for God, whose lovingkindness is better than life itself. Through prayer, the Psalmist’s hunger is satisfied. Upheld by God’s strong hand, the poet sings for joy under the shadow of God’s wings.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Paul, writing to the people of Corinth in a time when early Christians were still working out their relationship with Judaism, recalls Hebrew Bible stories in which Israelites were struck down for failing to keep God’s ways. Paul holds up these Israelites who strayed from their commitments as examples for the early Christians to consider when they felt that God was testing them with hard times. Learn from those ancestors, Paul urges. Be faithful, don’t stray, and know that when hard times test us, God will provide us strength.

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

A group of people came to Jesus, worried about a group of Galileans whom Pilate had killed and 18 others who died when a tower at Siloam fell on them. Did these bad things happen because the victims had sinned? Absolutely not, Jesus tells them. God does not punish sin with suffering, Jesus declares, perhaps recalling the wisdom of Job. But, Jesus goes on, repentance defeats death, bringing forgiveness and eternal life. Like the gardener who defers cutting down a barren fig tree to nurture it in hope it will eventually bear fruit, we are to hope for forgiveness and another chance.

Lent 2C

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 16, 2025 (Lent 2C)

Christ and the Pharisees, from Das Plenarium (1517), hand-colored woodcut by Hans Leonhard Schäufelein (1480-1540). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Even in times of darkness and fear, hold on to hope and trust in God: This optimistic idea illuminates Sunday’s readings. In Sunday’s first reading, Abram is worried because he and his wife Sarai remain childless in old age. Will they have to adopt a slave child to receive the inheritance that God has promised? But God guides Abram through a dark and terrifying night and, in the new day, assures him that he and Sarai – who we will know as Abraham and Sarah – will begin a family that will inherit the promised land; a family as countless as the stars.

Psalm: Psalm 27

Psalm 27 resonates with the Genesis account of God’s covenant with Abraham: Even when we feel under attack, beset with dangers and real-life fears, we can place our confidence in God and ask for God’s protection. We sing of our trust in God, our light and salvation, whose strength is so great that nothing can stand against it. Yes, bad things sometimes do happen to good people. That is the way of our lives. But we ask God’s to show us the way and lead us on a level path, and we trust that God will be with us both in bad times and good.

Second Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

The people of the church in Philippi in northern Greece had endured much to embrace the Christian way. They wrestled with fear as they faced persecution by their enemies. But Paul – himself writing from prison in Rome – reassures them pastorally in words that might remind us of the Psalmist’s wisdom: Look to God, through Christ, for our salvation. Stand firm in our faith and find meaning in our lives by making every effort to live as Christ would have us live. Christ is the one who will transform us.

Gospel: Luke 13:31-35

Several friendly Pharisees warn Jesus that King Herod wants to kill him, and urge him to protect himself. But Jesus, calling Herod “that fox,” won’t change his chosen course, even if it will lead to death in the “city that kills the prophets.” But then this dark and foreboding passage turns comforting as Jesus describes himself as a mother hen protecting her brood under her wings. This nurturing, feminine image invites us to reflect on Jesus as a source of gentle motherly love, expanding our vision of a Christ for all humankind.

Lent 1C

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 9, 2025 (Lent 1C)

Christ Tempted by the Devil (1818), oil painting on panel by John Ritto Penniman (1782-1841). Smithsonian American Art Museum. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

During Lent, as we read in the Book of Common Prayer, Christians are invited “to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” Sunday’s Lectionary readings gently guide us into this season with reminders from Scripture that God loves us, protects us, and calls us to follow God’s way. Our first reading recalls an ancient harvest liturgy, when the people would tithe the land’s bounty in thanksgiving to God who led them out of slavery in Egypt and brought them to a rich and fruitful land.

Psalm: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

These verses that we chant in Sunday’s Psalm set the scene for the day’s Gospel: “He will command his angels concerning you … On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” This promise underscores the hopeful message of Psalm 91, and by extension the Gospel according to Matthew: Even when bad things happen – plague, injury, even attacks by lions and venomous serpents – we live in God’s shadow. God is with us when we are in trouble. God will answer when we call.

Second Reading: Romans 10:8b-13

Paul’s pastoral advice to the early Christian community in Rome, a mixed body of Jewish and pagan Christians, continues the theme of Sunday’s readings. In the Psalm, we acknowledged our trust in God’s protection. Here, Paul reminds the people of the infant Roman church that the pathway to salvation opens when we accept Jesus and the Resurrection. In the first reading, we recalled that our spiritual ancestors were foreigners in a strange land, held as slaves in Egypt. Now Paul makes it clear that there is no Jew or Greek, no insider or outsider in the way of Jesus: We are all together in one God for all.

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

Immediately following his baptism by John in the Jordan, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to fast and pray for 40 days, a period that is reflected in the 40 days of Lent. Famished at the end of his long fast, Jesus meets the devil, who tests him with the suggestion that if he is the Son of God, he could turn stones into food. Failing that, the devil tempts Jesus again with visions of power and glory if only he would turn from God. Jesus resists each temptations, warning the devil not to put God to the test. The devil then leaves him “until an opportune time.” In the verses that follow this passage, Jesus goes directly to his hometown synagogue where he will proclaim good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed.

Ash Wednesday

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on the Lectionary readings for March 5, 2025 (Ash Wednesday)

Ash Wednesday (1866), oil painting on panel by Charles de Groux (1825-1870). Stedelijk Museum Wuyts-Van Campen en Baron Caroly, Liere, Belgium. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Joel 2:1-2,12-17

Ash Wednesday is the first of the forty days of Lent, named for the custom of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of worshipers at Ash Wednesday services. The ashes are a sign of penitence and a reminder that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. Our readings begin with a passage from the short Book of Joel, who may have prophesied after the return from exile to Jerusalem. Much of Joel’s message deals with the people’s prayerful response to a plague of locusts, setting a scene of penitence and sacrifice for us to ponder as Lent begins.

Alternate First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12

Lent is the liturgical season set aside for acts of devotion and sacrifice as we reflect on the wrongs that we have done and recognize that life is short. In this alternate first reading for Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the Prophet Isaiah reminds us that public demonstrations of fasting and prayer, sackcloth and ashes are not enough to please God. We should show our righteousness, rather, in service and love of neighbor. The prophet reminds us of God’s call to oppose injustice: free the oppressed, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked.

Psalm: Psalm 103

God made us all from dust, the Psalmist declares. God knows well that we are all only dust. We are human: broken and sinful, often wicked. Yet God’s compassion and mercy vastly exceed God’s anger. God does not punish us with the wrath that we might fear that our sins deserve. Rather, the psalm goes on, God shows a mercy wider than the world itself, forgiving our sins and welcoming us in a parent’s warm embrace.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Much of the content in Paul’s less familiar second letter to the people of Corinth is devoted to trying to work out a disagreement he is having with the people of this contentious little Greek church. In this passage, Paul speaks of reconciliation. He enumerates the many pains that he has endured as a servant of God. Then he urges the people to accept God’s grace and work together in the Christ who reconciled us with God by taking human form and dying for us.

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

We land in the middle of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount in this Ash Wednesday Gospel. We hear him teaching the crowd how to practice almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and self-denial of worldly pleasures: A catalog of actions that have become traditional Lenten practices. In words that resonate with the alternate first reading from Isaiah, Jesus urges the people to practice humble prayer: Shun hypocrisy. Don’t show off. Keep your charity, your prayers, and your fasting to yourself. Don’t brag about your fast. Don’t hoard fragile, transient earthly riches, but store in heaven the treasures that last.

Last Epiphany C/Transfiguration

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 2, 2025 (Last Epiphany C/Transfiguration) 

The Transfiguration of Christ (1605), oil painting on canvas by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Musee de Beaux Arts of Nancy, France. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Exodus 34:29-35

We now reach the end of this year’s Epiphany season with the Feast of the Transfiguration. During these nine weeks, our Gospels have shown Jesus revealed to his followers as the Messiah. Now we conclude with a dramatic revelation on a mountain top: Jesus is bathed in light, joined by the prophets Moses and Elijah as the voice of God rings from the clouds declaring Jesus God’s son and chosen one. In the first reading, we remember Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, his own face transfigured in light by his encounter with the Holy One.

Psalm: Psalm 99

This ancient hymn portrays God as a powerful king before whom the people tremble and the earth shakes. Our God is great and awesome, the Psalmist declares; no petty tyrant but a mighty ruler who speaks out of clouds and fire, expects justice, and provides equity for the righteous. When Moses, Aaron, Samuel, and the leaders of the Temple called on God, God answered them. God punished them for their misdeeds, yet forgave them, for God is the Holy One.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

In his second known letter to the church community in Corinth, Paul recalls the story that we heard in the first reading, when Moses came down the mountain with his shining face hidden by a veil to protect the people from its unearthly glow. Now Paul takes that image and turns it around: Jesus unveils God’s new covenant through Christ in all its shining glory, Paul says, inspiring us through God’s transforming light.

Gospel: Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a]

Peter, John, and James, mouths dropping in awe, see Jesus in conversation with Moses and Elijah. But now it is Jesus, not Moses, who shines: His face and clothing glow in dazzling light as he is transfigured in God’s light and voice. God’s voice declares Jesus his son and chosen one. “Listen to him,” booms the divine voice, echoing the words that God spoke from a cloud in Jesus’s baptism: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” Jesus and the apostles then return down the mountain, and Jesus resumes his ministry, astounding the crowd by casting out an angry demon that had tormented a child with convulsions.