Author Archives: Robin Garr

Pentecost 19A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 11, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 32:1-14



Even when we do terrible things, even when we wallow in sin, God finds a way to forgive us in a banquet of loving grace.

Dancing Around the Golden Calf

Dancing Around the Golden Calf from The Nuremberg Chronicle (1493), illustrative woodcut from the workshop of Michel Wolgemut. (Click image to enlarge.)

This beautiful promise echoes through this week’s readings, beginning with the startling story we hear in Sunday’s Track One first reading: Moses is up on the mountain, talking with the Holy One, but things are going badly wrong below. The people, scared by Sinai’s smoke and thunder, are afraid that Moses won’t come back, don’t take long to break their brand-new covenant by worshipping a golden calf! God, righteously outraged, threatens to destroy the people and start a new nation with Moses. But Moses pleads for the people, and God relents. God’s abundant love flows to a people who may not deserve it, but they will be forgiven over and over again.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 25:6-9



Using the two-line echoing of ideas that, like the Psalms, is typical of ancient Hebrew poetry, Isaiah speaks of the people’s relief from foreign domination after exile. The prophet exalts and praises a warrior God who destroyed the enemy while protecting the poor and needy. Then the narrative turns from warlike phrases to a beautiful song of hope. In verses that we often hear read at the time of burial, the prophet sings of a banquet that God will prepare: “A feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines … of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.” It will be a feast for the people of all nations, united at last in a kingdom where death and tears are no more.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

The Psalmist asks forgiveness for a people who have sinned, remembering God’s mercy even when they built and worshipped the golden calf. They forgot God, their Savior, who had watched over them in Egypt and brought them safely across the Red Sea and through the desert. They deserved destruction, the Psalmist sings, but Moses stood up for them and turned God’s wrath aside, revealing the Holy One who is good and forever merciful.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 23

And now, in the beloved 23rd Psalm, we sing of that very deep and abundant love, of God’s trusted protection. Our Good Shepherd who is always with us, comforting us and protecting us not only in the green pastures and still waters of good times, but even in those frightening times when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Just as Isaiah envisions a banquet table set for the people of God, the Psalmist, too, imagines a table of comfort spread out in the house of the Holy One.

Second Reading: Philippians 4:1-9



Paul now speaks to a specific pastoral issue in the church at Philippi. Two women, Euodia and Syntyche, have been quarreling. Without taking sides, Paul simply urges them to “be of the same mind” in Christ, perhaps suggesting that they ask, “What would Jesus do?” In beautiful language, he shows what that might look like: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Be gentle and kind; true, honorable and just, pure, pleasing, commendable and praiseworthy, he exhorts all the church, and the God of peace will be with us.

Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14



What is Jesus trying to teach us about the kingdom of heaven this week? This parable might remind us of the wicked tenants in last week’s Gospel, who defied the person in charge and casually killed his messengers. Here in Matthews Gospel, as Jesus continues debating an angry group of Pharisees, he tells another strange and challenging parable: The king, angry at those who didn’t show up for his son’s wedding banquet – some of whom even killed the slaves sent to invite them – brings people off the street to take their places. Then, when one of them ungratefully refuses to put on a wedding garment, he’s tossed out into the darkness, too. We’re all invited to the kingdom of heaven, it seems. But even as welcomed guests, we’re expected to don the wedding garment by following Jesus’ way.

Pentecost 18A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 4, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20



When God commands, the people try to obey; but it isn’t always easy. Listen for this theme through Sunday’s readings.

Moses with the Ten Commandments

Moses with the Ten Commandments (18th century); painting by Anton Losenko (1737–1773). University of Kiev, Ukraine. (Click image to enlarge.)

Moses has led Israel out of slavery in Egypt and across the Red Sea in our Track One first readings. Now on Mount Sinai in the desert comes a significant encounter: Establishing their identity and their hope, the people join in covenant with God. They receive the Ten Commandments that will guide their lives and ensure their righteousness in relationship with God and others. In the last lines of the reading, though, Moses reminds them that through the commandments God tests our faith: “God has come to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin,” Moses reminds the people.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 5:1-7

When Jesus blessed bread and wine at the Last Supper, he was honoring a Jewish Passover tradition that goes back to ancient times. It’s no wonder, then, that the bible is full of parables involving wine, the fruit of the vine, and the vineyards from which it comes. In Isaiah’s poetic song in our Track Two first reading, God plants a vineyard and cares for it with love. But the harvest yields “wild” grapes – “stinking, worthless, sour” in the original Hebrew. What happened? The vines metaphorically stand for the people, who disappointed God by failing to be just and righteous. Now God will trample down the vines, destroying the vineyard.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 19

God’s commandments are a wonderful gift, a gift that shows God’s glory in such a shining light that all the heavens sing: All the skies reveal the work of God’s hand! So shouts this triumphant Psalm as it begins with mighty praise for the beauty of all God’s creation. Then the theme turns to God’s commandments, God’s law and teaching. True, just and righteous, God’s commandments stand even above the earthly creation that we have just celebrated, the Psalmist sings: They are sweeter than honey, more precious than gold.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 80:7-14

Surely the Psalmist had Isaiah’s book at hand while writing these poetic verses. In our Track Two first reading, Isaiah had warmed that a disappointed, angry God, loathing the sour fruit, would demolish the vineyard, tearing down its wall and hedge and ordering a drought to lay it waste. Now these verses of Psalm 80 imagine a people who brought a vine out of Egypt, made it mighty, but then neglected it and let it wither. Now they beg a compassionate God to regard and restore the bountiful vines. This hint of hope was not found in the dark verses of the Isaiah reading.

Second Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

The verses just preceding this reading provide needed context: Since Paul left Philippi, other Christians preaching a more rigid Jewish Christianity have come in and told the people of this Macedonian church that Paul’s teaching was wrong, They must follow Jewish law – including purity laws and circumcision – in order to be Christians. Just before this passage, Paul has told the Philippians to beware of these teachers, calling them “dogs … evil workers … those who mutilate the flesh!” Paul now reminds them that he is a devout Jew himself, and a Pharisee too, observant and righteous. But now. he says, everything has changed: The old commandments mean nothing without Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-46

In Sunday’s Gospel we find Jesus still arguing with the temple authorities. He tells another difficult parable set in a vineyard: Its owner goes to another country, hiring tenants to tend the vines for him. When he sends slaves for the produce, though, the tenants beat them up and kill them. They do the same to another group of slaves the owner sends after that. Then, incredibly, when the owner sends his own son, the tenants kill him, too! What, Jesus asks, will the owner do? Surely he will kill the evil tenants! the priests and Pharisees respond. But Jesus gives the parable another twist, saying that it is those who work to produce the fruit who will inherit the Kingdom of God. Angered, the temple leaders start plotting to arrest Jesus.

Pentecost 17A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 27, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 17:1-7



The people in their journey through the desert continue their complaints in our Track One first reading. They quarrel with Moses and doubt whether God is really watching over them.

Moses Striking the Rock and Bringing Forth the Water

Moses Striking the Rock and Bringing Forth the Water (late 16th century), painting by Jacopo Bassano (c.1518-1592). Musée du Louvre, Paris. (Click image to enlarge.)

In last week’s reading we saw God respond to their hunger with daily rations of quail and manna. But now they have no water, and even if their whining seems to annoy Moses, it’s hard to blame them for grumbling about their thirst. God instructs Moses to go ahead with some of the elders, where he is to strike a rock with the rod that he had used to part the Red Sea’s waters. Moses complies, and when he hits the rock, water comes gushing out to slake everyone’s thirst.

First Reading (Track Two): Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32



We return to the Prophet Ezekiel, whose prophecy we heard just a month ago, for another lesson from earlier in the book. On Aug. 31 we heard the prophet warning the people that, although God does not want to kill them, they surely must die if they do not repent and turn back from their wicked ways. In Sunday’s Track Two first reading we hear a similar, longer exhortation, another stern warning that contains within it a glimpse of hope. Again Ezekiel sees repentance as the necessary response to a dangerous pattern of behavior: Fail in righteousness, refuse to be just, and you must die. But repent, turn away from wickedness, and enjoy life in the grace of God, who takes no pleasure in your death or that of your children. “Turn, then, and live.”

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16

Writing centuries after the ancestral story of the people’s exodus from Egypt and their journey through the wilderness to freedom, the Psalmist joyfully recalls that narrative with no hint of the quarrelsome, complaining times when the people forgot God’s blessings. In this hymn of praise that “declares the mysteries of ancient times,” these verses echo to future generations how God’s power and marvels opened the sea, led the people toward freedom, and, indeed, brought water gushing out of a cliff like a river.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 25:1-8

The five or six Psalms that follow immediately after the beloved 23rd Psalm also sing praise and gratitude to a loving God who cares for us and protects us from our enemies. When we sing this Psalm we echo the ideas that Ezekiel expressed: We remember that, though we may have sinned and transgressed God’s love and hopes for us, we nevertheless trust in our loving, saving God to remember us with compassion, protect us, and guide us toward right paths in spite of our errors.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-13



Now we hear more of Paul’s beautiful letter to his dear friends, the Philippians, written from his prison cell in Rome. Be encouraged and consoled by the life and love of Christ, he exhorts them. Be as humble and unselfish as Jesus, placing the needs of others before our own ambition; and in doing so, live as Jesus lived. Then he turns to the poetic phrases of one of the oldest hymns of the early church, proclaiming that Jesus – although made in the form of God – “emptied himself” in utter humility, taking instead the form of a slave, obediently accepting death by crucifixion; and in so doing became exalted as our anointed Lord and master.

Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32



We have skipped over several chapters and a great deal of activity since last week’s Gospel. Jesus and his disciples have reached Jerusalem, entered the city with palm-waving, cheering crowds, and angrily thrown over the money changers’ tables in the temple. Now it is a new day, Jesus has come back to the temple, and the wary high priests try to trap him by asking with whose authority he teaches, heals and speaks. But Jesus traps them back with his own trick question about John the Baptist that they can’t answer either way without getting into trouble. Then Jesus moves on to a parable that, as parables do, asks a thought-provoking question: Is it better to walk the walk or talk the talk?

Pentecost 16A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 20 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 16:2-15



God showers us with abundant good, even when we have done nothing to deserve it: This is the gift of God’s amazing grace, and we hear about it throughout Sunday’s readings.

Parable of the workers in the vineyard

Parable of the workers in the vineyard (1750s), oil painting on canvas by Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich (1712-1774). Łazienki Palace, Warsaw. (Click image to enlarge.)

In our first reading, the Israelites are in the wilderness. They may have been saved from the Egyptian army by God’s mighty hand at the Red Sea, but they are unhappy now, six weeks later, bitterly complaining because they have nothing to eat. They wish God had just killed them in Egypt, where at least they could eat their fill. But God provides, promising them meat in the evenings and bread in the mornings, which prove to be quail in the evenings and, in the mornings, the miraculous flaky manna that falls to the earth like dew.

First Reading (TrackTwo): Jonah 3:10-4:11



Last week we heard in Matthew’s Gospel about the parable of the king who forgave a slave’s debt – until that slave declined to forgive his debtor in turn. Now in the Hebrew Bible we find more insight into God’s desire to forgive. Jonah had fiercely resisted God’s call to prophesy to Israel’s ancient enemies in Nineveh until God sent him there, despite his refusal, via the famous giant fish. Arrived in the ancient capital of Israel’s Assyrian enemies, Jonah prophesied as ordered. Much to his surprise, the people of Nineveh changed their minds and gained God’s favor. Rather than being joyful, though, Jonah has an extended tantrum because God declined to destroy the city. “Just kill me now,” Jonah shouts. But God stands firm, choosing mercy and forgiveness over revenge on a city of 120,000 innocent people and all their animals.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

We read the first few verses of this same Psalm just three weeks ago. This Sunday, though, after the introductory praise to God’s holy name, we jump ahead to verses that remember Israel in the desert: The cloud and fire that led them; the quail and bread that fed them, and the water that flowed from the rock. All this is placed in the context of the covenant that God made with Moses and the people at Mount Sinai: God will give the people land and wealth. The people will follow God’s teaching and laws, living lives of righteousness and justice.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 145:1-8

Like a great symphony that ends with a mighty coda, the book of Psalms comes to a triumphant close with six joyous hymns of praise for God’s great glory. Psalm 145, which serves as a transition to that finale, reinforces the message that we heard in Jonah: The Psalmist exults in God’s righteousness, grace, generous mercy and steadfast love. We ponder the glorious splendor of God’s majesty and all God’s marvelous works, as the Psalmist exults in God’s righteousness, grace, generous mercy and steadfast love.

Second Reading: Philippians 1:21-30



After spending the past three months reading Paul’s letter to the Romans, we will now devote four Sundays to getting to know his letter to the people of Philippi. This was a Gentile community in Macedonia, Northern Greece, largely populated by the descendants of Roman soldiers. It was Paul’s first church in Europe, and his affection is apparent throughout the short letter. He is thought to have written this letter from prison in Rome, where his execution was a real possibility; and this may have inspired his reflections on life and death. If he lives, he says, he will take joy in continuing to spread the Gospel; but he is just as willing to die, for he understands death as being with Christ forever.

Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16



The parable of the workers in the field makes us stop and think, as the parables of Jesus are supposed to do. How would we feel if we had worked all day for our pay, only to see some other people who came in late and worked for only an hour getting the same amount as we had? Unfair! If we had stood on a street corner in a day-labor market, though, waiting for someone to offer us work, we’d probably be overjoyed at the unexpected generosity of our wage. God’s ways, as we see so often in Scripture, are not our ways. We all earn God’s grace in equal measure, no matter who we are or what we have done. What God gives to others takes nothing away from God’s gifts to us. We should joyfully celebrate God’s abundance, not jealously grumble about it.

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.

Pentecost 15A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 13, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 14:19-31



With a mysterious God-driven pillar of cloud and fire protecting their flank, the Israelites flee slavery in Egypt, hotly pursued by Pharaoh’s army.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (c.1556), oil painting on panel by Jan Sanders van Hemessen (1500-c.1566). University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor. (Click image to enlarge.)

Now, in this familiar story, Moses – with God’s help – parts the waters of the sea so the Israelites may cross on dry ground. When they reach safety, Moses orders the water back, and Pharaoh’s entire army is drowned. This ancient story may seem violent and warlike, as befits the culture and custom of its time. But the message for Israel goes deeper: God promised to bring the people out of Israel with a mighty hand, and now the people’s history moves on toward Sinai, the Jordan and the Promised Land.

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 50:15-21



A theme of forgiveness runs through today’s readings. Last month, we saw Joseph’s brothers arrive in Egypt, fleeing famine, but terrified that their now-powerful brother might take revenge for the way they had treated him. Many years later, their father Jacob (Israel) has died, and now they are worried again. Without their father’s guarding hand, will Joseph turn on them? But Joseph, weeping, reassures them that just as God returns good for evil, so will Joseph forgive.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 114

The Psalmist looks back at the events of the Exodus and sings out in praise over God’s powerful actions to save the people and bring them out from slavery to the Promised Land. God can make the sea flee and rivers turn back. God makes mountains and hills skip like rams and lambs. The earth trembles indeed at the presence of God.

Alternate to the Psalm (Track One): Exodus 15:1b-11,20-21



Available for optional use in place of the Track One psalm, this ancient song of victory follows immediately after the narrative of the parting of the waters in Exodus. Imagined as a hymn of triumph sung by Moses and all the people, it praises and exalts God as a powerful military leader whose glorious strength shattered the enemy, drowning their threats of vengeance and destruction as quickly as lead sinks in water. Then, in the closing verses, the prophet Miriam leads the women in a triumphant dance of exultation with drums and tambourines.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 103:1-13
Sunday’s Track Two Psalm reflects the idea of forgiveness that we hear in Joseph’s response to his brothers: God forgives us, God heals us, God redeems us, God’s love and mercy for us is steadfast. As a mother loves her children even when they misbehave, so God loves us and forgives us. God offers us compassion, not the punishment that our bad behavior might seem to deserve.

Second Reading: Romans 14:1-12



Last week we heard Paul tell the Christians of Rome that the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, as Jesus had taught, is the greatest commandment: It includes all the other commandments within it. Now, concluding three months of readings from Romans, we hear Paul teach that loving our neighbors obliges us to not judge our neighbors. Don’t be critical of our neighbors because they do things differently than we do. Even if our neighbor makes us angry, he says, we are to forgive, standing together in giving glory to God, leaving judgement to God.

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35



Peter has an important question for Jesus: If someone keeps bothering me, just how many times do I have to forgive that person? Not just seven times, but 77 times, Jesus says, and we can be pretty sure that “77” really means “don’t stop forgiving, period.”Then Jesus tells of a slave who, forgiven a crushing debt, cruelly refuses to forgive another slave’s smaller debt to him. The slave is punished, and we are left to remember how Jesus taught us to pray: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Pentecost 14A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 6, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 12:1-14



God loves us. God is faithful to us. In times of turmoil and of fear, it is good to find this simple, reassuring subtext that runs through Sunday’s readings..

Lamentations over the Death of the First-Born of Egypt

Lamentations over the Death of the First-Born of Egypt (1877), oil painting on canvas by Charles Sprague Pearce (1851-1914). Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. (Click image to enlarge.)

In the Track One first reading, we see the origin of Passover. Having fought hard-hearted Pharaoh through a dozen plagues with God’s help, the people now stand on the brink of escape from slavery in Egypt. This joyous outcome, though, must begin with a horrible, bloody punishment visited not only on the children and animals of Egypt but on their pagan gods, while the chosen people are saved, literally, by the blood of the lamb. This gory sacrifice may belong to a place and time in ancient history, but the underlying grace remains: God has delivered God’s people into freedom.

First Reading (Track Two): Ezekiel 33:7-11



Sunday’s Track Two first reading turns to the Prophet Ezekiel, who is identified in tradition as a priest exiled to Babylon six centuries before Jesus. During the wars that would eventually lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, Ezekiel warned the people that God would punish them for their wickedness by taking away the covenant that had given them the promised land. In these verses, the prophet hears God’s warning that God does not desire to punish the people, but wishes that they would save their lives by turning back – repenting – from their evil ways.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 149

Sunday’s Track One Psalm, like the first reading, celebrates warlike violence in language that reflects Bronze Age sensibility in the Ancient Near East. Yet we can hear its echoes all too well in the imagery of modern warfare, shock and awe. We sing to the Lord a new song, joyously dancing and shaking tambourines to celebrate God’s gift of victory in battle, while the enemy’s kings are bound in fetters and iron chains. Before we judge too harshly, recall that the Psalms, the bible’s ancient hymnal, offer a full human range of emotion, from this warrior shout to the protective love of the Good Shepherd.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 119:33-40

Here we are again singing a portion of Psalm 119, the longest of the Psalms, which turns up often in our Sunday readings. The Psalms in English often render “Torah” as “laws,” “statutes” or “ordinances,” but the source of the Psalmist’s affection may be more clear when we understand it as God’s “teaching,” a glorious gift to humankind, a way of life. We don’t notice this in English, but the entire Psalm is an “alphabetic acrostic” in Hebrew: Each of its 22 eight-verse stanzas begins with a Hebrew letter in alphabetical order. The lines of today’s reading all begin with the letter “Hey,” or “H.”

Second Reading: Romans 13:8-14



The commandment to love one another incorporates all the commandments, Paul tells the Christians in Rome. Love, he says, in words that remind us of his beloved passage on love in 1 Corinthians, does no wrong to those around us. If we love our neighbors, we won’t hurt our neighbors. We won’t kill them, we won’t steal from them, we won’t be jealous of what they have. Love fulfills the law. Hoping that Christ would soon return – salvation grows nearer every day, he reminds them – Paul urges his flock to live honorably, not behaving badly or gratifying earthly desires, but “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20



This Gospel reminds us of Jesus’ promise that we remember with joy whenever we approach the Communion table: He will be there among us, conscious of our deepest wishes, whenever we gather in his name, in prayer and in the real presence of the Eucharist. We also get a glimpse of the way that early Christians tried to work out disagreements through small group conversations before taking the matter to the full church to be resolved only as a last resort. We’re probably relieved that we don’t sort out one another’s sins this way any more, but let’s take note of a deeper message: When we gather together, in celebration or in conflict, Jesus is with us and shows us the way.

Pentecost 13A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 30, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 3:1-15



The long journey of the people from slavery in Egypt toward freedom in Canaan begins.

The Burning Bush

The Burning Bush (17th century), oil painting on canvas by Sébastien Bourdon (1616-1671). Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. (Click image to enlarge.)

Moses encounters God in the form of a burning bush on Mount Horeb. This is another name for Mount Sinai, where Moses will later return to receive the Ten Commandments and enter the people into covenant with God. The God of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, too powerful to view face to face, occupying holy ground, tells a somewhat reluctant Moses that he is to lead the people out of Egypt. Then Moses asks a curious question: What is God’s name? “I am who I am,” God replies. “Say to the Israelites, ‘I am’ has sent me to you.” We may have heard an echo of this divine tradition in last week’s Gospel when Jesus asked the apostles, “Who do you say that I am?”

First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 15:15-21



The youthful prophet Jeremiah’s sometimes angry, frequently despondent prophecies have earned him the nickname “Weeping Prophet.” We hear a little of both emotions in Sunday’s Track Two first reading. Jeremiah confronts God and begs him to bring down retribution on those who are persecuting him. He spoke out on God’s behalf, Jeremiah declares, even though it was hard, but those ungrateful people only insulted him. “Why,” he wails, “is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?” God responds with kindness, reassuring him: “they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you.”

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c

Well matched to Sunday’s Track One first reading, this Psalm of thanksgiving and praise remembers the people’s descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their sojourn as aliens and oppressed slaves in Egypt. When we sing praise for Moses’ service in protecting the people so they might “observe God’s laws,” we celebrate the survival of not just dry legislation but of “Torah,” God’s timeless teaching that guides the way we live.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 26:1-8

One might wonder if Jesus had Psalm 26 in mind in the passage in Luke about the Pharisee who boasted loudly of his righteousness when he prayed. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the thieves, rogues, adulterers, and tax collectors he saw around him. It would be easy to read that kind of prideful piety into these verses, too. But try hearing them instead with the perspective of Jeremiah’s call for God’s grace, and envision a God whose lovingkindness inspires us to worship with thanksgiving and songful procession, loving the place where God’s glory abides.

Second Reading: Romans 12:9-21



We have journeyed with Paul in his letter to the people of Rome through more than two months of the season after Pentecost. We have listened and learned as Paul worked out a new theology, discerning how we receive new life in God’s grace through Christ. Now we are approaching the end. During the next three weeks we will hear him conclude the letter with a beautiful, poetic summary of his call to Rome’s Jewish and Gentile Christians to live together in love. “Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another,” he writes in today’s passage. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28



In last week’s Gospel we heard Jesus praise Peter, calling him the rock upon which he will build the church. Now, in the verses that immediately follow, Jesus tells the apostles that he must suffer, die and be raised again. Peter angrily demurs, prompting Jesus to turn and declare Peter “Satan,” ordering him to get out of his sight. The evangelist we know as Matthew, perhaps reflecting evolving Christian theology a generation or two after the crucifixion, depicts a powerful image of Jesus as Messiah, predicting his own death and resurrection as necessary steps toward the universal justice that will come with God’s kingdom.

Pentecost 12A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 23, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 1:8-2:10



Joseph and his family came to Egypt to escape famine, but over the generations things changed. The Hebrew people increased in numbers, but now they must toil as Pharaoh’s slaves.

Christ’s Charge to Peter

Christ’s Charge to Peter (1515-1516), painting by Raphael (1483-1520). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

Evil Pharaoh, fearing this community because it has grown to threatening numbers, decides to kill all the Hebrew baby boys, a threat that scripture will later echo in Herod’s decision to kill Bethlehem’s babies after the birth of Jesus. But the baby Moses escapes in a floating basket. Moses will go on to become the next great figure in the bible’s ancestral legends, who will lead the people out of Egypt on a long trek toward the Promised Land.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 51:1-6



Using a metaphor that might remind us of Jesus’ response to Peter in Sunday’s Gospel, Isaiah tells the people that they were hewn from rock and dug from a quarry in their descent from Abraham and Sarah and their children. God promised to bless Abraham and make his offspring as numerous as the stars, and that promise has been fulfilled. Even though they remain in exile now, God will deliver them; God’s justice will be a light to the people, and their deliverance will come soon. Earth may eventually wear out like a used garment and the heavens will vanish like smoke, but God’s deliverance and salvation last forever.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 124

The Psalmist remembers the people’s deliverance from slavery in this hymn of thanksgiving to the God who carried them through the frightening exodus from Egypt. As we sing it we remember the people’s passage through the Red Sea. Then, in striking poetic imagery, the Psalm likens the people to a bird pursued by a hunter, escaping from a broken snare. The hymn concludes with joyous thanksgiving: “Our help is in the name of the Lord.”

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 138

Echoing the hope for return from exile and eventual salvation that we heard in the Isaiah reading, Psalm 138 thanks and praises God’s love and faithfulness. When we called, the Psalmist sings, God answered us and gave us strength. The litany of praise goes on: Although God is high, God cares for the lowly; God keeps us safe when we walk in the midst of trouble. The love of the Lord endures forever and will not abandon the works of God’s hands.

Second Reading: Romans 12:1-8



Having made his case to the Christians of Rome to live and worship together in love, Paul enters the closing chapters of this, his last letter. He urges the people to devote their minds and bodies as a living sacrifice in spiritual worship: Do not live according to the customs of this world but discern and follow what is good in the will of God. Working out a beautiful metaphor that we also hear in 1 Corinthians, he imagines the church – like our bodies – as an organism made of many parts. Every part has its purpose, and they all must function well together to make the body work. Some lead, some teach, some give, some learn, some listen; some offer compassion. All together we make up one body in Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20




This key Gospel passage appears in similar form in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is a major turning point in all the Gospels, an important moment in which Jesus first acknowledges that he is the Messiah, the son of the living God. Perhaps the disciples have already begun wondering if Jesus is the Son of God. They worshipped him after he walked on the water and stilled the storm, for instance. But this is the first place in the three Gospels, just as Jesus and his followers begin their journey toward Jerusalem, when Jesus responds and agrees with Peter’s assertion that God has revealed him as the Messiah. Jesus then declares Peter “the rock” upon which he will build the church, and sternly commands the disciples not to tell anyone about this. His time has not yet come.

Pentecost 11A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 16, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 45:1-15


Now in mid-August we approach the midpoint of the long season after Pentecost, and we see our lectionary narratives begin to turn.

Christ and the Canaanite Woman (c.1500), oil painting on panel by Juan de Flandes (1450-1519). Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain. (Click image to enlarge.)

Christ and the Canaanite Woman (c.1500), oil painting on panel by Juan de Flandes (1450-1519). Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain. (Click image to enlarge.)

Sunday’s first reading marks the last in a series of ancestral stories about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph; and Sunday’s Gospel shows us Jesus and the apostles leaving Galilee for the last time as they begin their journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. In our Track One first reading, Joseph has been through a lot since last week’s reading, when his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. He went to Egypt, did well, fell from grace, was sent to prison on a false charge, but bounced back to become Pharaoh’s chief governor. Now his brothers have come to Egypt fleeing famine, and they meet Joseph. As you can imagine, they fear his revenge! But Joseph forgives them in a tearful reunion, and the ancestral line of the Bible’s patriarchs will live on.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 56:1,6-8


Sunday’s Track Two first reading turns to the closing chapters of Isaiah’s long book of prophecy. The people have returned home to Jerusalem, and now they face the arduous task of rebuilding the city and the temple. Isaiah reminds the people that, just as they lost the land for their failure to be righteous and just, they may no longer keep the holy city for themselves alone, even though they “maintain justice and doing what is right.” The covenant that God made with Moses is now for all people, for all the nations. Even foreigners and aliens who hold fast to the covenant principles will be gathered in, welcomed in the temple and made joyful. Hear Jesus echo this principle in Sunday’s Gospel when he recognizes the Canaanite woman’s faith.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 133

Mirroring the joy of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers, the Psalmist celebrates the blessed state of brothers and sisters abiding together in unity. Just as Joseph’s family came back together in love, and as Paul will urge the Jewish and Pagan Christian communities in Rome to rejoin in friendship, we hear again how good and pleasant it is when families and friends live together in blessed unity.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 67

In one of those small mysteries of the Lectionary cycle, we hear again a Psalm that we sang just three months ago during Eastertide. It fits in neatly with Sunday’s readings, though: In its joyous call to all the nations of Earth to sing together in peace and praise, it reinforces what we heard in the Isaiah reading and foreshadows Paul’s words from Romans. Let all the nations praise God and pray for God’s blessing, the Psalmist sings, for through God the earth gives forth its bounty, and all the earth sings out its praise.

Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32


Paul continues his exhortation to Rome’s Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian communities to restore the unity that they enjoyed before the Jewish portion was sent away on a short exile. Paul points up his own Jewish heritage, placing himself in Abraham’s direct line as a descendant of Benjamin, the youngest of Joseph’s brothers, whom Joseph loved. Paul assures us that God’s promises to Israel and to the Gentiles are equally irrevocable, regardless of our disobedience. We all earn God’s love, regardless of our sins, regardless of our ancestry. God is merciful to all.

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-28


Sunday’s Gospel offers us two separate short stories. Their placement joining Jesus’ last encounter in Galilee and his first in Gentile territory as he and the apostles begin their journey to Jerusalem may be more than just a coincidence. It seems to express that for the first time that Jesus’ way is not only for Jews but Gentiles as well. First, Jesus mocks a group of Pharisees who had challenged his disciples for ignoring ritual traditions. He speaks a blunt and rather earthy criticism: Neglecting to wash our hands before eating doesn’t defile us, but the words that come out of our mouths may do so. Then, Jesus shocks us with a fiercely unkind insult, likening a Canaanite woman who sought help for her daughter to stray dogs scrounging for crumbs. Really, Jesus? Really? But the words from the mother’s mouth clearly come from her heart. The encounter seems to change Jesus. He praises her faith and heals her child.

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.

Pentecost 10A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 9, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28


Faith can be a source of strength in the face of fear. We hear this twice in Sunday’s readings about Joseph and about Peter.

Saint Peter Attempting to Walk on Water

Saint Peter Attempting to Walk on Water (1766), oil painting on canvas by François Boucher (1703-1770). Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Versailles. (Click image to enlarge.)

Our Track One first readings about the bible’s dysfunctional first family continue into the fourth generation! Israel, formerly known as Jacob, loved Joseph more than any of his other children. This, not surprisingly, makes his brothers jealous. They briefly consider murdering Joseph, but decide to sell him into slavery instead. As it so often does, scripture shows us again that even the patriarchs weren’t noble people but flawed, broken, sometimes downright bad. Yet still God loved them, as God loves us. Joseph will eventually forgive his brothers, as God forgives us.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 19:9-18


In Sunday’s Track Two first reading, the Prophet Elijah is fleeing for his life from an angry Queen Jezebel, and he feels alone and afraid. No one else is on his side. He despairs. But he hears the wish of the Holy One – through an angel, a messenger – inviting him to go stand on a mountain to meet God. Soon a great wind shakes his world. Then an earthquake and finally a fire shatter the scene. But God is not in any of those. It is in the silence which follows the cataclysms that God’s voice is finally heard. God reassures Elijah, promising that he will go on to appoint Israel’s kings and prophets.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b

Holding up Joseph as an example that God remains faithful even in hard times, these verses from Psalm 105 recall Joseph’s life as a slave in Egypt, his feet bruised in fetters and his neck choked in a heavy iron collar. But God was faithful to Joseph. From a beginning as a foreigner and a slave, Joseph gained the Egyptian king’s trust and eventually rose to a place of power in Pharaoh’s court. God has done marvelous things for the people, the Psalmist exults. Sing praises! Glory in God’s holy name!

Psalm (TrackTwo): Psalm 85:8-13

The reassurance that we hear God giving to Elijah amid his lonely fear in the first reading is echoed in this beautiful Psalm portion: God has forgiven our iniquity and blotted out our sins. Heaven and earth meet in truth and righteousness; righteousness and peace share a tender kiss, according to the Psalm’s beautiful poetry. God grants prosperity and a fruitful harvest, and all shall be well.

Second Reading: Romans 10:5-15


Paul continues addressing Rome’s Gentile Christian community and its Jewish Christians who have recently returned from exile, urging all to live in harmony and love one another. Salvation is for all through Jesus, Paul writes. He emphasizes that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile): God is God of all, and is generous to all who recognize Jesus as Lord and call upon God’s name. Don’t judge our neighbors, Paul says, but proclaim the good news of the Gospel so that all may be saved.

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33


The striking image of Jesus walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee makes this one of the most familiar Gospel stories. Jesus had sent the apostles ahead to cross the sea without him so he could take some time to pray alone. His grief at the beheading of his cousin John by Herod had been interrupted by the huge crowd that had to be fed with a few baskets of loaves and fishes, and now he sought solitude again. Meanwhile, the apostles, alone on the boat, are terrified when wind and waves rock the boat. Suddenly Jesus appeared, calmly walking across the stormy sea! Peter, first to believe that it really is Jesus, steps out onto the water to meet Jesus. But Peter’s faith isn’t strong enough to keep him from sinking without Jesus’ hand extended to save him. Then the wind eases, they get into the boat, and the awed disciples now worship Jesus as the Son of God.