Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 24, 2019
First Reading (both Lectionary tracks): Jeremiah 23:1-6
The Lectionary year of Luke comes to an end on Sunday, and Jesus’ long journey from Galilee to Jerusalem culminates with Christ on the cross.
Jesus Crucified Between Two Thieves (c.1430), painting on softwood by Hans von Tübingen (1380-1462). Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna. (Click image to enlarge.)
Hanging under a sign that sneeringly declares him “King of the Jews,” Jesus is flanked by two criminals and mocked by Roman soldiers. Before we reach this Gospel, though, we hear readings that envision the reign of God through King David and Christ as supreme Messiah. In our first reading, The prophet Jeremiah speaks fierce words of woe to the kings of Judah, whose poor leadership and moral guidance brought Jerusalem and its leaders into exile. A mighty Messiah, a stronger shepherd, will come and reign in glory for Israel and Judah, the prophet foretells.
Psalm (Track One): Canticle 16 (Luke 1:68-79)
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was a priest in the Temple whom God had struck mute for refusing to believe that his elderly wife, Elizabeth, had become pregnant after an angelic visitation. In this canticle (replacing the usual Psalm), we look on as his voice returns while he holds and names the infant John. The child, he declares, will be a prophet in the tradition of Abraham and Sarah, who also were blessed with a child through God’s action in their old age. The child, Zecheriah proclaims, will be the prophet who will go before Jesus, the Messiah and king, to declare his way.
Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 46
Even when terrible things happen, God is with us, promises this psalm of simple hope and praise. When terrible things happen, even when earthly kingdoms and nations are shaken by frightening events, when mountains rock and the oceans roar and foam, God remains with us. God doesn’t promise us a world where horrors can’t happen and no one ever suffers. But even in the worst of times, the Psalmist reminds us, God abides, inviting us to take refuge in God’s strength. Our Prayer for Quiet Confidence (BCP p.832), draws from Psalm 46 as it reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Second Reading: Colossians 1:11-20
The author of the letter to the Colossians, too, speaks to a people facing trouble and fear, the persecuted Christian community of Colossae in what is now Western Turkey, across the Aegean from Greece. These verses urge the Colossians to endure their difficulties with patience and the strength that comes from God’s glorious power. Jesus, through his incarnation as God in human flesh, rescues us from the power of darkness and transfers us into the kingdom of Christ. Christ is the first of all creation and the head of the body of the church.
Gospel: Luke 23:33-43
It may seem surprising to hear a Gospel about Christ on the cross at this time of year. But this passage shows us Christ as a completely different kind of king! Jesus is crucified, a horrible form of execution reserved for Rome’s most despised evildoers. He hangs bleeding and in unimaginable pain, while above him is placed a sign meant to mock him by declaring him King of the Jews. Soldiers and a criminal on a nearby cross torment him as a Messiah who can’t save himself. Yet while all this is going on, Jesus shows his love and his true power, quietly inviting a repentant criminal on another cross into a different kind of kingdom, one given for all humanity and for all time.