Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 2, 2017

Sacrifice of Isaac (c. 1603), oil painting on canvas by Caravaggio (1571–1610). Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

We reflect on sacrifices as small as the gift of water to a child and as serious as the death of a child in Sunday’s readings. Having sent his son, Ishmael, into the desert with his mother to die, Abraham now hears an even more shocking command: God tells him to slay his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. It’s hard to imagine a God who would order such a thing, but we rejoice with Abraham when God then forbids him to kill Isaac, offering a ram to sacrifice instead. As an ancestral legend, this established in law that the people would not sacrifice humans; and it showed a compassionate God, once Abraham’s faith was tested: a God who would say “no” to death in the resurrection of his own son, Jesus Christ.

First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 28:5-9

To place this short reading in context, go back and read the verses just before it. Jeremiah had warned the priests and people that their exile in Babylon had a long way to go, and that any prophets who say otherwise are liars. Then the young prophet Hananiah stood up and challenged that, prophesying that God had in fact broken the yoke of the Babylonian king and would bring all the exiles home within two years. Now Jeremiah responds, agreeing that God will indeed end the exile some day, but only when peace prevails and war, pestilence and famine come to an end.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 13
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The opening verses of this short Psalm might not be well suited to bring comfort to a person who is grieving or afraid, but it gives us deep insight into the profound pain that exists at the depths of fear and loss. It would be only too human to be afraid that we have been forgotten, God’s face is turned away and hidden, leaving us defenseless and alone, victim to our enemies. But even in utter darkness, hope remains when we trust in God’s mercy. God has dealt with us fairly, and we can take joy in God’s saving help.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 89:1-4,15-18

In these two brief passages taken from a longer Psalm, we celebrate God’s covenant with King David, a royal lineage that God established to last forever as a sign of God’s righteousness and never-ending rule. Those who walk in God’s way and rejoice in the divine name will be full of joy, knowing that God is their ruler; the Holy One of Israel is everlasting king.

Second Reading: Romans 6:12-23

Who wants to be a slave? It is hard to imagine anyone who would willingly embrace this state, as Paul makes clear by using the idea of slavery to make a telling point: Baptism spared us from the slavery of sin, freeing us to embrace a better kind of slavery, the joyful “enslavement” of willing submission to God through Christ. In this way, Paul says, we receive the free gift of grace that brings eternal life.

Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42

This is the third and final passage from Matthew’s account of Jesus teaching his recently commissioned apostles about the challenges and rewards of discipleship. We have heard Jesus’ troubling warnings about bringing a sword and leaving friends and family behind in order to follow him. But now, turning to the rewards of following his way, Jesus – mirroring the Psalmist’s assurance that God is loving, just and fair – promises that those who practice justice in God’s name, even in such small ways as offering water to a child, will receive God’s justice.

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What are “Track 1” and “Track 2”?
During the long green season after Pentecost, there are two tracks (or strands) each week for Old Testament readings. Within each track, there is a Psalm chosen to accompany the particular lesson.
The Revised Common Lectionary allows us to make use of either of these tracks, but once a track has been selected, it should be followed through to the end of the Pentecost season, rather than jumping back and forth between the two strands.
For more information from LectionaryPage.net, click here.