Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 5, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67


Rebekah’s response to Abraham’s servant in Sunday’s Track One first reading reminds us of Abraham’s response to God’s call: Hearing God’s voice, both respond with faithful trust.

Portrait of a Couple as Isaac and Rebecca, “The Jewish bride” (c.1662-1666), oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. (Click image to enlarge.)

Abraham uproots his family and moves to a new land. Rebekah leaves home and family to marry Abraham’s son, Isaac, a man she has not yet met but who will come to love her. Abraham heard God’s promise that his offspring would become “a great and mighty nation.” Rebekah hears that her children will become “thousands of myriads.” Rebekah’s faith, it appears, is no less strong than Abraham’s.

First Reading (Track Two): Zechariah 9:9-12


Zechariah, one of the last of the dozen so-called minor prophets, celebrates the people’s return from exile and their hope of restoring the Temple. In this Track Two first reading, he envisions a humble yet powerful king who will come to reign in peace and restore the nation’s prosperity. Matthew later will find Jesus so vividly foretold in these verses that he adopts the wording precisely, including the poetic repetition of Hebrew verse, “riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey,” in his portrayal of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on two animals on Palm Sunday.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 45:11-18

Psalm 45 is a wedding blessing, a love song addressed to a princess bride of Tyre (an ancient island kingdom and occasional rival to Israel), who has come to Israel to be joined in a royal marriage. These verses chosen for the first of two options for Sunday’s Track One psalm celebrate the pomp and joy of her coming wedding. They also highlight the Psalmist’s hope that the bride will be remembered and praised in future generations, a wish that reminds us of God’s promises of myriad descendants to Abraham and Rebekah.

Alternate to the Psalm (Track One): Song of Solomon 2:8-13

The Song of Solomon, also known as the Song of Songs, is a lyrical collection of ancient Hebrew love poetry. Curiously, this book and the book of Esther are the only books in the Bible that do not explicitly mention God. Rather, we are invited to find the image of God in the joy of giving and caring love. These verses are understood as a rhapsodic song of springtime, but their metaphorical evocation of love in the midst of an awakening springtime Earth speaks to our hearts even during summer’s heat.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 145:8-15

Like many of the psalms, this hymn of praise is traditionally if not historically attributed to the hand of King David. It serves well to echo today’s Track Two first reading from Zechariah in its vision of a humble, powerful king who reigns in peace and prosperity. This kingdom of glorious splendor is clearly understood not only as a kingdom for here and now, but one that is known in glory to all people, an everlasting kingdom that endures through all the ages.

Second Reading: Romans 6:12-23


We have recently heard Paul’s assurances to the ancient Christians of Rome that through baptism we “die” to our old lives enslaved to sin only to be “born” to a new life freed from sin through the free gift of grace from God. In today’s reading, though, using himself as a bad example of a “wretched man,” Paul points out that it’s not necessarily easy to leave sin behind, even when we want to do the right thing. He tries, but he can’t get rid of the sin that lives within him. He can’t fight sin on his own – and neither can we – without God’s help through Jesus, who frees him from the slavery of sin.

Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30


Jesus seems frustrated and even angry in the beginning verses of Sunday’s Gospel. Preaching to crowds around Capernaum in Galilee, he calls them “children.” He may be irritable because some of the same people who considered ascetic John’s call for repentance crazy and judgmental are now criticizing Jesus’ joyous embrace of life as evidence that he is a glutton and a drunk. But then, after we skip over five additional angry verses not included in Sunday’s reading, Jesus pauses and thanks God. His words of hope for Israel’s children and infants turn gentle as he invites all who carry heavy burdens to come to him and find rest for their souls.