Author Archives: Robin Garr

All Saints B

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(The readings for All Saints Day may be moved to the following Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021.)

First Reading: Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9

We are an Easter people. All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”

The Raising of Lazarus

The Raising of Lazarus (1304-1306), fresco by Giotto di Bondone (c.1266-1337). Cappella degli Scrovegni nell’Arena, Padua, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

On All Saints Day, as when we bury our dead, we dress the altar not in the black of mourning but the white of hope and joy. We remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return; yet we celebrate the communion of saints, the living and the dead, all bound together in Christ. These ideas all come together in the Lectionary readings for All Saints Day, beginning with Wisdom’s promise that peace, love and joy with God await God’s faithful people.

Alternate First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9

On All Saints Day we dress our altar not in the black of mourning but the white of hope and joy. We remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. On this day we celebrate the communion of all the saints, the living and the dead, all bound together in Christ. These ideas are all knit together in today’s readings, beginning with the Prophet Isaiah’s vision of a banquet table that will welcome all the people of all the nations, a delicious feast of rich food and aged, clear wines for a people united at last in a kingdom where where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting. It is no coincidence that these verses are also often chosen for our burial liturgy.

Psalm: Psalm 24

The psalm designated for All Saints Day, like the first readings, celebrates the rewards for those who live as God would have us live. Originally it was an ancient liturgy, a responsive chant sung by priests and people as they approached the Temple for worship. The priest calls out, “Who can stand in his holy place?” The crowd roars back, “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts!” The priest responds, “Who is the king of glory?” “The Lord of hosts,” the crowd shouts back with joy.

Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-6a

Our second reading is also frequently read at funerals, as one of the readings used in the liturgy for celebration of a life. Continuing the All Saints Day theme of a glorious life after death for those who love God, it describes a holy city coming down out of heaven, a new Jerusalem. This shining city stands in stark contrast to the dark and demonic earthly city of Rome, portrayed in Revelation as Babylon. We hear that death and pain will be no more in this heavenly city, for God will be with us every day, wiping the tears from our eyes.

Gospel: John 11:32-44

Lazarus has died, and Jesus weeps. Jesus knew his friend was dead, so he took his time getting to Bethany, which angered Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha. Maybe he could have done something, if only he had hurried. So often death in the family brings not only sadness but anger and rage. And then, whispering a quiet prayer to God, Jesus calls out and Lazarus answers. Jesus says “No” to the death of Lazarus, just as God will say “No” to death for Jesus and for us all on Easter Day. Death does not have the last word.

Pentecost 23B

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 31, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Ruth 1:1-18

In the midst of the Hebrew Bible’s books that tell the stories of Israel and its kingdom, tucked in between Joshua and Judges, Samuel and Kings, we find the short, charming book of Ruth.

Christ Among the Scribes

Christ Among the Scribes (1587), triptych by Frans Francken I (1542-1616). Cathedral of our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium. (Click image to enlarge.)

These opening verses tell a love story about Ruth, a young Moabite widow, who follows her beloved mother-in-law, Naomi, back home to Bethlehem after Ruth’s husband’s death. In today’s verses – a passage often chosen for use in weddings – we hear Ruth promise Naomi that she will loyally stay with her: “Where you go, I will go; you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

First Reading (Track Two): Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Foreshadowing Sunday’s Gospel, our Track Two second reading tells of Moses giving the people the Shema, the short prayer that is central to Jewish worship in Jesus’ time and on to today: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” God commanded that the people keep this prayers in their hearts, teach it to their children, bind it to their hands and foreheads, and fix it on their doorposts.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 146

Singing the praise of God who cares for God’s people and loves us deeply, the Psalmist calls us to look beyond earthly rulers, who cannot help us in the long run. Rather, place our hope in God, creator of the earth and all that is in it, who reigns forever. God’s caring justice favors the poor and the oppressed, those most in need: Hungry people, prisoners. those who are blind; the stranger, the widow, the orphan; those weighed down by life’s load. In caring for the least among us, as Jesus would later call on us to do, God cares for us all.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 119:1-8

Psalm 119, the longest of all the Psalms, devotes all its 176 verses to a consistent message: God’s decrees, God’s law and teaching given in the Torah, are wonderful, and following them makes us happy. The ideas that we hear today in the first eight verses of the Psalm continue throughout, and they echo the covenant between God and Moses at Mount Sinai: Those who follow God’s teaching and walk in God’s ways will be rewarded. Keep us steadfast in following this teaching, the Psalmist prays, asking in turn not to be forsaken.

Second Reading: Hebrews 9:11-14

We continue reading in the letter to the Hebrews, and the author is sticking with the theme we heard in last week’s passage: In his effort to bring backsliding Jewish converts back to the infant church, the author of Hebrews continues to lift up Jesus as a great high priest superior to the old high priests of defunct Temple. Jesus is as priest in a perfect tent that is not part of this creation, we hear; he entered the Holy Place not through the blood sacrifice of goats and calves but with his own blood. Through this sacrifice, we are told, we all are purified in body and soul.

Gospel: Mark 12:28-34

A lot has happened since we left Jesus with the no longer blind Bartimaeus in Jericho last Sunday. We have skipped over Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem amid waving palms and high hosannas; Jesus has overturned the money changers’ tables and gotten into several arguments with the Scribes and Pharisees, who have started plotting to kill Jesus. But now another kind of scribe emerges. This scribe approaches Jesus kindly and asks him to name the greatest commandment. Jesus replies, as a proper rabbi should, with the Shema; then he adds a second: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The scribe agrees, adding that all this is greater than burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Pentecost 22B

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 24, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Job 42:1-6, 10-17

When God is with us, when God saves us and makes us well, we show our gratitude with shouts of joy and thanksgiving. Hold this theme of gratitude and grace in your thoughts as we reflect on Sunday’s readings.

Jesus healing blind Bartimaeus near Jericho

Jesus healing blind Bartimaeus near Jericho (c.1470-1479), oil painting on panel by the fifteenth century Flemish painter known as Meester van de Inzameling van het Manna. Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, Netherlands. (Click image to enlarge.)

In the Track One first reading, we join Job after God finally responded to his demands for a hearing: In last week’s passage, God spoke from a whirlwind to remind Job of the magnificence of God’s creation, next to which Job is tiny and insignificant. Now we hear Job quietly, faithfully accepting this. And then comes good news: God restores Job’s fortunes, double what they had been before. Job lives out a long life with riches, a big family and the respect of his friends. Job’s story has a happy ending, but it’s good to remember that even when things don’t get better, God remains God and loves us still.

First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 31:7-9

in last week’s Track Two first reading, we heard the Prophet Isaiah’s meditation on Israel’s Suffering Servant, who carried the pain of exile. Now we turn to the Prophet Jeremiah. With loving words and with tears of comfort and joy, Jeremiah tells Israel that God will bring the people out of exile. The weak and the strong, mothers and children, those who can’t see and those who can’t walk, will all come back home together, praising God and giving thanks.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22)

Today’s psalm, described as “Praise for Deliverance from Trouble” in the New Revised Standard Version, resonates harmoniously with the story of Job that we heard in the first reading. Sunday’s selected verses begin with a song of praise that exalts God’s name. Then, in a sudden thematic turn, the psalmist remembers a time of terror, when they prayed to the Holy One for deliverance. God indeed saved them from all their troubles, and the psalmist responds with joy: “Taste and see that God is good is good; happy are they who trust in the Most High!”

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 126

The pain of exile and the joy of return form the base narrative for much of the Hebrew Bible’s psalms and the words of its prophets. We heard that joy in Jeremiah’s happy prophecy in the first reading, and we hear it again in this joyful psalm. It rings in celebration of Israel’s restoration on Mount Zion, Jerusalem, the home of the Temple. Turning to a deeply meaningful image of planting fields and reaping a harvest bounty, these verses ring out in memory of our ancestors sowing with tears, reaping with songs of joy. They went out weeping, carrying the seed; but they brought home ripe sheaves of grain, joyfully shouting out their thanksgiving.

Second Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28

Seeking to bring Jewish converts back to the infant church, the author of Hebrews compares Judaism unfavorably to Christianity in words that sound less than generous to modern ears. These verses, building on those that went before, declare that Jesus is a far greater high priest than the old high priests of the Temple. The Jewish high priests were mere mortal, sinful humans, who had to purify themselves repeatedly through constant sacrifices because they were weak. Perhaps it’s best simply to stand with this reading’s conclusion: Jesus, who has been made perfect forever by God, offers justice for all.

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

Blind people in ancient times were desperate and ashamed. They had to beg for food, and their neighbors often assumed that their blindness was punishment for some grievous sin. Sadly, physical blindness has also been an enduring metaphor for willful refusal to “see” or believe. Mark’s Gospel uses this image often: He told of such a healing near the beginning of his Gospel, and now again toward the end, repeatedly standing for the apostles’ inability to comprehend Jesus’ message. But blindness is not really the central point of this Gospel. Rather, we see God most clearly in Bartimaeus’ gratitude … and in his decision not to go away but to stay and follow Jesus.

Pentecost 21B

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 17, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Job 38:1-7,34-41

If you want to be in charge of everything, be careful. This theme recurs in various forms in Sunday’s readings.

James and John stand on either side of Jesus

James and John stand on either side of Jesus in this Orthodox icon of Jesus and the apostles. (Click image to enlarge.)

In our Track One first reading, Job has been loudly lamenting his condition and looking everywhere for God, angrily demanding that God come out of hiding and hear him. Now Job gets his wish. God speaks to him out of a whirlwind in power and might, and quickly sets Job in his place. God hurls poetic words at Job like thunderbolts: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” There is no promise that chaos and disaster will not occur in wind and flood and starvation; but nothing in creation is greater than its Creator.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 53:4-12

Throughout Sunday’s readings we hear of servant leadership, sacrifice, and walking humbly with our God. Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant,” whom we meet often in our readings (most recently just one month ago), may make us think of Jesus in his willing sacrifice to bear the sins of many. In its original context, though, Isaiah writes of the servant’s suffering in the past tense, remembering Israel itself as the servant, the sacrificial pain of its sad exile now finally come to an end.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 104:1-9,35, 37c

Echoing God’s extended response to Job, this hymn of exaltation worships God as creator of the universe and as ruler of all creation, whose mighty works fill us with awe. The Psalmist portrays God clothed in majesty and splendor. God rides across the world on the wings of clouds, spreading out mountains and valleys, oceans and rivers; setting the earth immovably on its foundations and separating the land from the water.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 91:9-16

We hear only the second half of Psalm 91 today. Take a moment, though, to look up the preceding verses in the Psalter (Pages 719-20, BCP). There we learn of another servant who suffered, yet who received God’s protection against illness and enemies. In the verses we read on Sunday, the Psalmist assures us that we gain protection by seeking refuge in God. Then, in a form quite unusual for the Psalms, God speaks directly in the first person, assuring the servant of God’s protection, honor and salvation.

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10

Hebrews, more akin to a published sermon than a traditional letter, is historically understood as an effort to persuade first century Jewish Christians who had returned to Judaism under persecution to come back to the way of Christ. To that end, it presents Jesus as the new high priest, one who brings a new covenant and new sacrifice in the aftermath of the destruction of the Temple. Jesus, fully human, suffered “with loud cries and tears,” it tells us. Learning obedience through suffering, Jesus became the greatest of the line of priests that began with King Melchizedek, the first high priest named in Genesis. As the perfect image of God, Christ earned salvation for us all.

Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

In the verses just before these, Jesus told the apostles for the third time, in more detail than ever, that when they reach Jerusalem he will be arrested, flogged, killed, and will rise again. And now, also for the third time, some of them respond with remarkable cluelessness. Showing how little they have learned, James and John (“the Sons of Thunder”) don’t ask but tell Jesus that they want to sit at his side in God’s kingdom. Jesus has news for them: To follow Jesus we must be servants, not those served; if we wish to be first, we must be the slave of all.

Pentecost 20B

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 10, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Job has been tormented beyond imagination and has lost everything: all of his possessions and much of his family are gone. His friends, seeking to console him, have done a very poor job of showing compassion. He must have done something wrong, they scolded him in the verses before this reading.

Christ and the Rich Young Man

Christ and the Rich Young Man (1485-1491), woodcut manuscript illumination printed on paper by the anonymous Master of Antwerp in a 15th century bible translation. (Click image to enlarge.)

They wondered if his lack of piety or his great wickedness might have angered God. In Sunday’s Track One first reading, Job responds with bitter, angry words: He deserves a chance to lay out the facts. He has a right to argue his case before God. If only he could get a hearing before God, he is sure that he would  prevail. But although he looks in every direction, he can’t find God anywhere. He is terrified, and he wants to vanish into darkness. Stay tuned: Next week we’ll hear how God responds.

First Reading (Track Two): Amos 5:6-7, 10-15

A powerful theme flows through Sunday’s readings, reminding us how important it is to subject ourselves to God. We must behave justly and treat the poor generously, never stealing from those less fortunate; and, we hear in the Gospel, we are to give everything that we have to the poor. In the Track Two first reading, the Prophet Amos warns Israel’s Northern Kingdom that its habit of living well while “trampling” on the poor will lead to disaster. “Seek good and not evil,” urges the prophet who, a few verses after this passage, will exhort the people of God to “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 22:1-15

When Jesus was dying on the cross, in his last agony he cried out the words that begin Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” So begins this reading, which the New Revised Standard Version titles “Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility.” It echoes Job’s lament in the cry of one who is strung out, knocked down, worn out, feeling the depth of despair and no place to turn … except to God, who knew them as an infant and who, they pray, will be there for them now.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 90:12-17

In the portion of this Psalm that precedes the verses we hear in this reading, the author – held by tradition to be Moses himself – has warned of God’s anger with a sinful people. Now in this passage he calls on God to return, to show loving-kindness, to teach the people to be wise, and to replace adversity with gladness. Through God’s works, grace and splendor, the Psalmist prays, may the people  be wise, turn the work of our hands to God’s purposes, and enjoy the prosperity that our handiwork may yield.

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

The writer of Hebrews musters surprisingly warlike images of Jesus in this short passage, presenting him as a frighteningly sharp two-edged sword that pierces, divides, cuts soul apart from spirit and our body’s joints from our bones’ marrow. We are laid bare, called to account before God! Yes, God expects much of us. But we also hear that Jesus knows and understands us. Although Jesus is our great high priest who has passed through the heavens, he also can sympathize with our weakness, having been tested in every way as we are tested. We may approach the throne of grace boldly, seeking mercy and receiving grace.


Gospel: Mark 10:17-31

“Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor … then come, follow me.” Really? This parable appears, with slightly different details about the man, in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke.  Luckily for us, this parable is obviously not to be taken literally. We’re not expected to give everything we own to the poor. Uh, are we? Perhaps these verses, like the Sermon on the Mount, challenge us by setting Jesus as a standard of perfection that we can aim for but won’t likely reach. Or perhaps we are meant to squirm a little as we recognize just how rich we are, and ask ourselves if our possessions stand between us and real love of God and neighbor, just as Jesus, in Mark’s version, looked at the man and loved him.

Pentecost 19B

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 3, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Job 1:1; 2:1-10

“Oh, no, a month of Job!” A lot of people find the story of Job and his troubles disheartening. A careless reading might leave the impression that God sent terrible suffering on Job because, well, Satan talked him into it.

Job on the Ash Heap

Job on the Ash Heap (c.1630), oil painting on canvas by Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652).. Sotheby’s, New York. (Click image to enlarge.)

But let’s be positive: The Book of Job is a fascinating short story and an important part of the Bible’s “wisdom literature,” the books that teach us about life and God. Why do bad things happen to good people? Known as theodicy, this is one of theology’s most difficult question. Listen and ponder as we go through Job in our Track One first readings during the next four weeks. We hear the beginning of Job today, and it starts like an ancient folk tale. Bear in mind, though, that Satan here was not a red devil with horns, but a sort of prosecutor, an advisor to God within the heavenly order.

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 2:18-24

Sunday’s Track Two readings aren’t easy. We begin in the first reading with a portion of the creation narrative that some have interpreted to diminish the status of women. Mark’s Gospel reflects those words in a rejection of divorce so strict that it has been invoked to hold people in abusive relationships. How can we hear these reading faithfully yet generously? Perhaps they speak more broadly of creation and the universal call to men and women to take responsibility for our relationships with plants, animals and each other. This is a good thought to hold as many congregations celebrate St. Francis’ feast day this week with a blessing of companion animals.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 26

Just as Job, we are told, was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil,” Psalm 26 declares before God that the Psalmist has lived with integrity and trusted in God without faltering. Considering the trials of Job, we might wonder if the author of this psalm is tempting fate when he invites God to “test me … and try me.” We may also hear a hint of Pharisaical self-satisfaction in the writer’s desire not to be counted among the evildoers or to suffer their punishment. But in the end this plea is humble. It promises integrity and asks only for God’s pity and redemption.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 8

This beautiful psalm begins as a hymn of praise, then becomes a praiseful catalog of the glories of God’s creation. In lyrical poetry it celebrates the beauty of the universe and all that populates it as testimony to God’s majesty: The heavens, the moon, the stars, all the work of God’s hands, are so great that mere humanity seems small in comparison. Yet we are given charge of all the wild and domestic animals and creatures of the sea. Surely we are called to exercise the same careful and loving stewardship over creation as we count on God to provide for us.

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Why does God care for mere mortals so much that he sent a son and savior, the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s being, to become “lower than the angels” to live and die among us? This letter is thought to have been written to coax back Jewish Christians who had returned to Judaism in the face of persecution late in the first century. While it is fervently pro-Christian, we should take care not to see it through modern eyes as anti-Jewish. In this passage we hear that Jesus tasted death for all humankind, raising us all up through his suffering as his brothers and sisters.

Gospel: Mark 10:2-16

This is one of those difficult gospels that makes it hard to find the love. In our modern society divorce has become acceptable, if unhappy; a difficult end to a relationship. In the patriarchal culture of Jesus’ time, though, it was even worse: A man could set aside his marriage for any reason, in a world where a woman alone had no option but to beg, risking homelessness and starvation. Of course Jesus came down hard on that. We find him arguing with the Pharisees again, outwitting their plan to trap him! He turns the argument back on them by pointing out that their “hardness of heart” should earn them a stricter rule. It’s no coincidence, then, that Jesus smiles and turns to the innocent children.

Feast of St. Francis

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Thoughts on the readings for the Feast of St. Francis (Oct. 4, 2021)

First Reading: Jeremiah 22:13-16

We hear two important pieces of advice in the readings for the Feast of Francis of Assisi:

The Peaceable Kingdom

The Peaceable Kingdom (c.1833), oil painting on canvas by Edward Hicks (1780-1849), Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Mass. (Click image to enlarge.)

First, as this short Jeremiah passage tells us, we must not choose to live as the exiled kings of Israel did, wallowing in riches achieved by forcing their neighbors to work without wages; and second, we should try to live as we would later see Francis live: humbly doing justice and caring for the poor and needy.

Psalm: Psalm 148:7-14

In this portion of Psalm 148 we sing praise of God’s creation in words that likely inspired Daniel’s Song of the Three Young Men (Canticle 16): Fire and hail, snow and fog; all the domestic animals and wild animals that Francis loved – even sea monsters praise the Lord! All humanity praises the Lord too: old and young, kings and their subjects, men and women. God’s glory is universal, and God gives us all strength.

Second Reading: Galatians 6:14-18

Throughout his letter to the Galatians, Paul proclaims that the message of Christ is universal, addressing all humankind, thus standing against opponents who argued for a more limited way. In these verses that conclude the letter, Paul repeats this conclusion: Jew and Gentile, man and woman, slave and free, none of this matters in God’s new creation, which is everything. Those who follow this way will live in God’s peace and mercy.

Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

In the verses just before this passage, Jesus spoke with seeming frustration and anger about people who didn’t understand what he was doing. Now in these verses Jesus takes a breath, pauses, and gives thanks. Suddenly his hope for the coming generation of children and infants turns gentle. Listen for am echo of the Beatitudes in this. Imagine, too, how this passage might have inspired Francis with their promise of God’s Kingdom coming to the poor, the meek, the hungry and thirsty, to all who bear burdens and who labor under a heavy yoke.

Pentecost 18B

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 26, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

Take note of this reading, as this is the only time during the three year Lectionary period that we hear a reading from the book of Esther … and even this is only for those following Track One!

Sketch for Christ Rebuking His Disciples

Sketch for Christ Rebuking His Disciples (c.1858), oil painting on canvas by Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859). Tate Gallery, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

We come in just in time to hear the end of this story that, in Jewish tradition, is read in its entirety on the feast of Purim. Esther is the only book in the entire Bible that doesn’t mention God, but it tells a stirring legend of the Jewish people. In these verses Queen Esther of Persia reveals at a banquet feast that she is Jewish and would herself be killed with her people if the wicked Haman carried out his plan to kill or enslave all of Persia’s Jews. The angry king orders Haman hanged on a giant gallows, and justice is served. This event is remembered in Jewish tradition with feasting, joy, and gifts of food for each other and the poor.

First Reading (Track Two): Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

Sometimes the story of the Israelites wandering with Moses in the desert seems like an ancient reality show. Freed from slavery in Egypt by God’s mighty hand, the people complain because they miss the good food that they used to enjoy. This gets an angry response from God that prompts Moses to bark back. Then, two men who had remained in the camp start prophesying without supervision! A young man runs to tell on them, and Moses’ assistant Joshua wants them punished. But Moses says no: He only wishes that all the people could prophesy and share God’s spirit! A few moments after this reading, we hear a similar story in the Gospel from Mark.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 124

Recalling a time when Israel feared death at the hands of enemies, Psalm 124 sings joyous thanksgiving for God’s protection in parting the waters of the Red Sea so the people could escape Pharaoh’s bondage in Egypt. If God had not been on their side when the enemies rose up against them, the Psalmist exults, the waters would have overwhelmed them! The torrent would have gone over them! But God did not give them up. They escaped, singing, “Our help is in the Name of the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.”

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 19:7-14

These verses from Psalm 19 urge us to pray, and tells us why we should: God’s commandments are good, and it is good for us to follow them. The Psalm ends with a familiar exhortation that preachers often offer at the beginning of a sermon, and that we might all do well to ponder when we begin to pray: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Second Reading: James 5:13-20

As we reach the end of our month-long visit with the letter of James, this powerful epistle has called on us to care for our neighbors, to protect the weak, and to do the work that God has given us to do. Now the letter ends with a call to prayer: Are we suffering? Pray! Are we happy? Sing hymns of praise! Are we sick? Ask our friends to pray for us! Prayer works. When we bring our brothers and sisters back to God’s way, we save them from death, the author of James says; for God works through us as God worked through the prophet Elijah when he prayed for an end to a killing drought and famine.

Gospel: Mark 9:38-50

The Apostle John seems angry and perhaps a little possessive. “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us,” he yells. We can imagine him running up to Jesus and demanding, “Make them stop! They’re not authorized!” But Jesus isn’t bothered. “Do not stop him,” he tells the apostles, adding, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Jesus, perhaps using an old rabbinic tradition of contrasting an act with an extreme alternative, goes on with some pretty scary language about staying on the right path or else. But his point is clear: If people are with us, don’t throw them out.

Pentecost 17B

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 19, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Proverbs 31:10-31

This reading, our third and last in a brief series from the Book of Proverbs, seems to express an ancient, patriarchal view of woman’s subsidiary role in the household.

Christ Blessing the Little Children

Christ Blessing the Little Children (1839), oil painting on canvas by Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865). Manchester Art Gallery, England. (Click image to enlarge.)

Needless to say, we should understand the patriarchal language in both testaments as a signal of ancient time and culture, not as guidance for the modern world. Pay attention to these verses, though, and you’ll discover that this capable wife is no shrinking, helpless figure. She has her husband’s trust; she supervises the household servants as she buys goods and food for the family and even purchases farm and vineyard fields. She is strong, brave, wise and kind. Her husband and her children praise her. “Let her works praise her in the city gates,” indeed!

First Reading (Track Two): Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22

Both good behavior and bad behavior have consequences. Righteousness is pleasing to God; evil deeds lead to death. We hear this theme in Sunday’s readings. First up is this passage from the book of Wisdom, which is traditionally attributed to King Solomon but was actually written in Greek in the last centuries before Christ. These verses present the ungodly, arguing why they choose to persecute the righteous people who look down on them. They are wrong, of course, as the verses at the beginning and end of the passage make clear: They don’t understand God’s purpose, nor do they recognize the rewards of a blameless life.

Alternate First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 11:18-20

Jeremiah is often called “the Weeping Prophet” for his loud lamentations. He shouts out to warn the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah that their failure of righteousness and justice is going to bring down God’s wrath in the form of defeat, destruction and exile. In this brief passage, though, his weeping becomes more personal: He has learned that those leaders, angered by his prophecies, are scheming to kill him. He feels like a gentle lamb led to slaughter, he laments; but even in the face of enemies he remains committed to God.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 1

We sang Psalm 1, the first of the 150 Psalms, not long after Easter. Now we return to it again as summer turns to autumn. In its verses we celebrate those who follow in the way of God, who delight in God’s teaching and meditate on it. These faithful souls will be happy, the Psalmist tells us. They will become as firmly rooted in faith as are trees deeply rooted by running water, gaining strength and bearing fruit. The wicked, in contrast, can count on no such happy end. Those who do not follow in God’s way will be blown away like chaff in the wind.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 54

This Psalm, attributed by tradition to King David, recalls a time when the young David had to flee in terror from an angry Saul who sought to kill him. This narrative resonates with the reading from Wisdom: When insolent and ruthless enemies seek our lives, God’s laws will not hold them back. This is a time to pray, the Psalmist says. Now is the time to call on God, who delivers us from trouble and upholds our lives.

Second Reading: James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Picking up where last week’s reading from James left off, the author expands on the theme of using our tongues – tiny yet powerful instruments that they are – to praise and bless, not to poison. These verses contrast the wisdom that comes from above against the envy and ambition in our hearts. The writer calls us to show our gentle, wise works in the form of good lives, rather than engaging in earthly, unspiritual ambition and boasting. Resist evil, we are told. Draw near to God, and God will draw near to us.

Gospel: Mark 9:30-37

Sometimes the Apostles seem almost ridiculous in their cluelessness. Today Jesus tells them for a second time that he must suffer, be rejected, killed and then rise again. Not only do they still not get it, but they are afraid to ask. Did they think long and hard about this? Apparently not. Rather, they got off to themselves and argued about which of them was the greatest. Jesus, who must have been thoroughly exasperated, showed them a small child. Following Jesus is not about greatness and power, he said. It is about welcoming the smallest and weakest among us.

Feast of St. Matthew

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Illuminations on the readings for the Feast of St. Matthew

First Reading: Proverbs 3:1-6

The feast of a church’s patron may be transferred from its usual date to the closest Sunday, so we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew, which normally falls on September 21, this Sunday in place of the 17th Sunday of Pentecost.

St. Matthew and the Angel

St. Matthew and the Angel (1661), oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669). Louvre-Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France. (Click image to enlarge.)

The readings chosen for this day reflect the tradition of Matthew as a tax collector elevated to apostle and evangelist. In our first reading, the Book of Proverbs advises us to keep God’s commandments and use them to guide our lives, If we do so, Proverbs assures us, we will be amply rewarded with a good life and good reputation.

Psalm: Psalm 119:33-40

The Psalmist’s message, a brief snippet drawn from the longest of all the psalms, echoes the Proverbs reading: Learn God’s laws and commandments and follow them faithfully. God’s way turns us away from what is worthless, we sing: God’s way gives life.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

The second letter of Timothy, one of several short pastoral epistles written by later followers in Paul’s name, offers guidance to a growing church. It mirrors the Psalmist’s call for unity in tradition, guided by Scripture. As you read or hear it, though, bear in mind that when it was written in the late first century or early second, the New Testament was not yet assembled into a book, and the Gospels had only recently been written down. “Scripture” meant the Old Testament, summarized in Torah’s command to love God, love our neighbor, and care for the poor and the alien.

Gospel: Matthew 9:9-19

Matthew’s Gospel portrays him as a tax collector, a position that would have made him roundly despised in ancient Israel. The tax collector preyed on his neighbors on behalf of the hated Roman empire. Nevertheless, when Jesus called him, Matthew followed … and then they sat down to dinner in Matthew’s house. Having mercy and calling sinners is Jesus’s way, not self-righteously looking down on those we consider beneath us.