Author Archives: Robin Garr

Easter 4B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 22, 2018

Good Shepherd

Christ as the Good Shepherd (1750), by an unknown artist from Lower Bavaria. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 4:5-12

This Sunday, coincidentally falling on Earth Day this year, is called “Good Shepherd Sunday” for its focus on God’s protective love. In our first reading from Acts, we see Peter again, brave and bold with the power of the Holy Spirit. He and John have been arrested by the Temple authorities for healing a paralyzed man and preaching that the resurrected Jesus is the Messiah. Unafraid, he reminds them that they are the ones who crucified Jesus, whom God then raised from the dead and – quoting the Psalm 118 verses that we heard on Palm Sunday and Easter – made Jesus, the stone they had rejected, into the cornerstone of salvation.

Psalm: Psalm 23

When Christians read the beloved verses of the 23rd Psalm, we may well imagine the face of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who walks beside us through the valley of the shadow of death. Indeed, John’s Gospel shows us Jesus declaring himself the Good Shepherd in today’s Gospel reading. Originally, of course, the people sang this Psalm in thanksgiving and praise for God, who brought them out of exile and led them home, serving them a lavish banquet while their vanquished enemies could only look on.

Second Reading: 1 John 3:16-24

Jesus loved us so much that he laid down his life for us. This beloved idea from John’s Gospel – which we see reflected here in the first letter in John’s name – is just about as reassuring as the 23rd Psalm. But the rest of this reading becomes challenging when we hear that we are to lay down our lives for one another too. We must not refuse help to a brother or sister in need. In short, we are to be not only sheep, but shepherds, too. Filled with God’s love, we are called to be bold, just as Peter was bold, fired by the Holy Spirit just as Peter was inspired.

Gospel: John 10:11-18

If we step back and read this chapter of John its full context, this seemingly simple narrative intriguingly mirrors today’s reading in Acts. Much like the authorities confronting Peter and John in Acts over their healing and preaching, here the Pharisees are angry and alarmed because Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, prompting people to speak of Jesus as the Messiah. Suddenly we realize that Jesus isn’t gently reassuring us by calling himself the Good Shepherd; he is pushing back hard against the Pharisees. If the people are harmless sheep, the Pharisees are the vicious wolves who prey upon them. Jesus declares that he will lay down his life for the sheep, and that he will live again.

Easter 3B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 15, 2018

The dinner at Emmaus

La cena de Emaús (The dinner at Emmaus, 1620); oil painting by Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) . The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 3:12-19

Christ, the Messiah, has come for all the world. We’ll hear this promise repeated through Sunday’s readings. In the Acts passage, Peter and John have just healed a beggar who could not walk, to the amazement of everyone who saw this once-disabled man walking and praising God. Peter tells the crowd that this man was healed through the power of Jesus, the Messiah, whom they had rejected and had killed, but who will forgive them if they turn to him. It’s best to set aside the ancient echoes of anti-Judaism that we hear now and then in Acts. Hear, rather, God’s gracious promise that forgiveness through the Holy Spirit is available to all humankind.

Psalm: Psalm 4

You may hear the lovely Taizé hymn, “When I call, answer me,” in your head as you read this Psalm. In contrast with the many angry Psalms that call on God to crush and destroy the foe, Psalm 4 raises up a more quiet and trusting confidence that’s echoed in the Taize hymn: “O Lord, hear my prayer … when I call, answer me.” We ask that the light of God’s countenance shine upon us, and we are grateful that we can sleep in peace, knowing that God is watching over us.

Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-7

In a message that resonates with Peter’s speech in Acts, the author of First John assures the people of the early church that we become the children of God through the gift of God’s love as revealed to us through Jesus. Although the world does not seem to know this yet, the writer assures his audience, the world will eventually come to do so. Meanwhile, doing what is right keeps us in relationship with God through Jesus and thus free from sin, for there is surely no sin in Jesus.

Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48

We turn to Luke’s Gospel for one more account of the resurrected Jesus, picking up the narrative just as the two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus have returned to tell the rest. Suddenly Jesus is standing with them, such a shocking apparition that they respond not with joy but surprise and terror, as if a ghost had appeared! Much as he did for Thomas in John’s Gospel, Jesus invites them to examine and touch his wounds. He takes a piece of fish to eat, perhaps to show that he is no ghost but solid flesh and blood. Then he declares himself the Messiah, and declares that repentance and forgiveness of sins will go out in his name to all nations.

Easter 2B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 8, 2018

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

Incredulità di San Tommaso (The Incredulity of Saint Thomas), oil painting (1601-1602) by Michele Angelo Amerighi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). Sanssouci Palace of Frederick the Great, Potsdam, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 4:32-35

Christ is risen, and we move forward with joy into the 50 days of Eastertide. Sunday’s readings offer us insights into the meaning of resurrection in our lives. Our first readings during the season come from the Acts of the Apostles, the evangelist Luke’s story of the life of the early church. Luke’s Gospel consistently emphasizes Jesus’ command to avoid riches and serve the poor and the oppressed. Now in Acts Luke shows members of the early church following Christ’s example, sharing all possessions and caring for the poor. What can we glean from this to guide life in Christ today?

Psalm: Psalm 133

Sunday’s short Psalm celebrates the joy of a community that lives together in unity like brothers and sisters, a theme that foreshadows the sharing lifestyle that Luke shows us in the early church. The earthy image of anointing oil running down Aaron’s head, beard and robe may sound less than appealing to modern sensibilities, but – perhaps akin to the Gospel accounts of the woman anointing Jesus with very expensive ointment – this reminds us that the most desirable luxuries are not to be hoarded but abundantly shared.

Second Reading: 1 John 1:1-2:2

We will hear parts of the First Letter of John every Sunday during Eastertide. This letter was written in John’s name long after his life, but its overall style is consistent with John’s Gospel, as is the emphasis that it places on love and on Jesus as the Word and the Light. If we walk in the light just as Jesus is in the light, John’s first letter tells us, we have fellowship with one another akin to the fellowship of the early apostles. We only deceive ourselves if we think we are free from sin, it goes on. But when we confess our sins, God will forgive our sins and restore our righteousness through Christ.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples at many times and places, the Gospels tell us, often in mysterious ways. In today’s Gospel, the terrified apostles are hiding. Suddenly Jesus is with them in a locked room! Their fear is turned to joy, but Thomas, who missed Jesus’ first appearance, refuses to believe that Jesus is alive until he sees him and his wounds for himself. Jesus doesn’t show anger but offers Thomas peace; but he also asks Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me?” Then, in words for us all to consider, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Easter Sunday B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 1, 2018

The Resurrection

The Resurrection (1665), oil painting by Luca Giordano (1634-1705). Residenzgalerie, Salzburg, Austria. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading or Alternate Second Reading: Acts 10:34-43

Christ is risen indeed! On Easter we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death through resurrection. In this reading from Acts, Luke’s story of the early church, Peter is visiting the home of the Roman Centurion Cornelius, who is considering becoming a Christian. Peter has just had a vision in which God told him that he should join the Roman family at table. No food is now to be considered unclean, a signal from God that salvation through Jesus’ life, death on the cross and resurrection is meant for everyone, not just Jewish Christians. God’s Good News in the Gospel shows no partiality, Peter tells Cornelius’ family. Forgiveness of sin through God’s saving grace is available to every nation, to Jew and Gentile alike: Jesus is Lord of all.

Alternate First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9

The Prophet Isaiah imagines a sumptuous feast, a table loaded with rich food and fine wine, set out for all God’s people as a celebration of victory over death. Isaiah foresaw this as a national feast in the context of Israel’s dream of return from exile. It echoes through the ages for us as an image of God’s saving grace through Jesus. “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; Therefore let us keep the feast.” Amid the joy of the Resurrection and Easter Day, this affirmation that we repeat at Eucharist resonates for us as we praise God in gladness and rejoice in God’s salvation.

Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

This hymn of exultation in God’s goodness and mercy may have originally served as a processional hymn as the congregation came up the steps surrounding the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, singing out their gladness. Celebrating the people’s triumph as God saved them from slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand at the first Passover, it is filled with both joy and gratitude. We, too, are overjoyed at our salvation. We are delighted at our victory over death. We are grateful for God’s goodness and mercy. As with ancient Israel, God has heard our prayers, laying a new cornerstone for a just world. This is the day that the Lord has made: Let us rejoice and be glad!

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Near the end of Paul’s first long letter to the Christians of Corinth, he offers thoughts that serve well for our contemplation on Easter Sunday. Paul points to the central place of the Resurrection in Christian belief: Christ died for our sins, was buried, was raised on the third day and seen by the Apostles and by hundreds of followers. Everyone who saw the risen Christ, he writes – including Paul himself, forgiven despite his unfitness as a former persecutor – now proclaims to the whole world that God’s saving grace comes to us through the crucifixion and the resurrection.

Gospel: John 20:1-18

Like four witnesses discussing a memorable event, each of the four Evangelists tells the story of the first Easter morning in a slightly different way. John’s Gospel gives particular weight to Mary Magdalene, describing her in beautiful, tender verses as the one who discovered the empty tomb and then, after the excited men had come and left, remained there and thus became the first person to witness the risen Christ. In a narrative similar to other Gospel accounts of the risen Christ’s mysterious appearances, Mary did not recognize Jesus until he called her name. Then she became the one sent to proclaim the good news of his resurrection to the rest.

Alternate Gospel: Mark 16:1-8

Mark, the earliest of the Gospels, tells of the events of Easter morning in brisk, concise language, as is the style of Mark. The sun has risen, and three grieving women get up early to take spices to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ beloved body. When they arrive, worrying about who will move the heavy stone that bars the door, they find to their amazement that it has already been rolled away! A young man dressed in white tells them, “He has been raised; he is not here. … he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” It’s not surprising that they were terrified: They ran away and told no one. And there the original version of Mark’s Gospel ends without another word, leaving us to wonder what comes next.

Palm / Passion Sunday B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 25, 2018

Procession: Liturgy of the Palms B

Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem

Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem (1320). Fresco by Pietro Lorenzetti (1280-1348). Lower Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi. (Click image to enlarge.)

Gospel: Mark 11:1-11

Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday were once celebrated on separate Sundays, but the celebrations were brought together in the time of ecumenism that followed Vatican II. As a result, we take a quick and startling turn in the course of one Sunday’s worship. First we hear of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding a donkey and greeted as a King by throngs spreading their cloaks and leafy branches in his way, shouting “Hosanna!” But then, later in the liturgy, we undergo a dramatic change of tone when we hear those same crowds angrily shout “Crucify him!” This contrast sets a tone for Holy Week as we follow Jesus to the cross: God is with us in joy. God is with us in sorrow.

Alternate to the Palm Sunday Gospel: John 12:12-16

All four Gospels tell of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding a modest mount and hearing the acclaim of crowds; as is always the case, each Gospel narrative tells a slightly different story. John’s version, for example, is the only one that explicitly declares Jesus the King of Israel, and the only one that tells us the disciples did not understand what is going on. But all four versions share the triumphantly waving branches – here explicitly described as palms – and the joyous shouts of Hosanna.

Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

As we sing this ancient hymn of celebration and praise, traditionally titled “A Song of Victory,” imagine a joyous crowd approaching, the Temple, clapping hands and singing out as they celebrate the Lord their God, whose steadfast love endures forever. Its words of joyous praise for God’s works and God’s mercy foreshadow the words we sing in the Great Thanksgiving as our Eucharistic Prayer begins: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! … Hosanna in the highest.”

Liturgy of the Passion B

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a

These familiar verses from Isaiah introduce us to “the suffering servant.” Written about the people in exile in Babylon, it prophesies a servant leader who who would receive the enemy’s blows for the people in exile, and, eventually, guide them back home. While we respect the original intent, Christian readers can hardly encounter these verses without seeing parallels with Jesus, our messiah and king, who suffered for us and taught us to give our backs and turn our cheeks to those who strike us.

Psalm: Psalm 31:9-16

Perhaps the Psalmist had Isaiah’s Suffering Servant in mind as he wrote this Psalm of lament, with its litany of sorrow, distress, grief, sighing, misery, scorn, horror, dread and more. He suffers, his neighbors scheme; they plot his death. Have you ever heard a plaint more pitiful than “I am as useless as a broken pot”? Yet amid all this misery, hope glows like the sun breaking through clouds: Trust in God, place our faith in God’s love, and wait to be saved.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

Might Paul have been thinking of the Suffering Servant, too, as he wrote of Jesus’ death on the cross? We understand Jesus as both fully human and fully divine, and all the Gospels show us glimpses of a Jesus who knew his stature and God-sent mission. Yet in this relatively early letter of Paul, perhaps quoting an even older Christian hymn, Paul tells of a Jesus who willingly set aside his divinity, his equality with God – “emptying himself” – to bear the horrific pain of crucifixion as a vulnerable, frightened human. Jesus took on the full weight of all that suffering to show us the true exaltation of God’s love, calling us only to respond with love for God and our neighbor.

Gospel: Mark 14:1-15:47

And now we come to Mark’s account of Jesus’ passion and death. The palm branches and hosannas are only memories now. We hear the dark, painful way of the Cross as we prepare to walk through Holy Week with Jesus. Watch closely as we see first Jesus’ followers, and then even his friends, slip quietly away, deserting him, leaving at the end only those few most close to him – and a Roman centurion, a pagan, a soldier of the hated empire, whose faith showed him the light and thus opens the way to us all. (This Gospel reading may be reduced to Mark 15:1-47 or even to Mark 15:1-39.)

Lent 5B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 18, 2018

Jeremiah on the ruins of Jerusalem

Jeremia op de puinhopen van Jeruzalem (Jeremiah on the ruins of Jerusalem). Painting (1844) by Horace Vernet (1789-1863), Amsterdam Museum. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34

The consistent pattern of our Lenten Lectionary readings continues: In the Gospels we are following the life of Jesus and his disciples from the Jordan to Jerusalem. The Old Testament readings tell us about God’s series of covenants with the people. In Sunday’s first reading, from the Prophet Jeremiah, we hear that the chosen people broke the covenant promise to walk in God’s way that their ancestors made at Mount Sinai. Now Jeremiah tells of a new covenant that is to come. This one will be permanent, for it is not just written on stone tablets but directly on our hearts. Even when we struggle, we will remember the commandment to love God and our neighbor.

Psalm: Psalm 51:1-13

This familiar Psalm’s powerful narrative imagines King David wracked in repentant guilt as he confronts the great sin of sending his general, Uriah, into harm’s way in battle so he could take Uriah’s beautiful wife, Bathsheba, for himself. In poetic words that mirror the promises of the covenants, we hear of David’s shame and grief. He acknowledges inborn wickedness ad makes no excuses for that, but begs for God’s mercy and forgiveness. “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” David begs: A new heart, a clean slate upon which God can write a new covenant of love.

Alternative Psalm: Psalm 119:9-16

Psalm 119, the longest of all the Psalms, carries a message of covenant throughout its many verses: Those who follow God’s laws and teaching, modeling their lives on Torah so as to walk in God’s ways, will reap rewards. Today’s verses follow a Jeremiah reading well. Its verses addressed to God, “With my lips will I recite all the judgments of your mouth,” seem to reflect Jeremiah’s first conversation with God: “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy,” to which God responded, “you shall speak whatever I command you. … Now I have put my words in your mouth.”

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:5-10

Hebrews is not a letter to a specific congregation but a broad appeal to formerly Jewish Christians who had returned to their original faith late in the first century to avoid persecution aimed at Christians by Rome. Its author argues that Jesus, as Christ, follows in the great tradition of Jewish high priests, a line that goes back through millennia to Melchizedek, the ancient king and great high priest who had blessed Abram before God offered the first covenant to Abram and Sarai. As Jesus has become the source of eternal salvation who intercedes on our behalf forever, there is no longer need for priestly sacrifice.

Gospel: John 12:20-33

In the verses just before these, Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem, riding a young donkey while joyous crowds wave palm leaves and shout loud hosannas. Now a group of Greeks, curious to meet Jesus after all this, ask Philip to arrange a meeting, and Philip and Andrew take the request to Jesus. Jesus responds by launching into a message for the world and the ages: Just as Jesus must first die in order to bear the fruit of salvation through his resurrection, we are the seeds of faith and must grow in discipleship like kernels of wheat. Do we lie fallow and die, or do we grow and bloom where we are planted, bearing fruit as we follow and serve Christ?

Lent 4B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 11, 2018

Moses and the Brazen Serpent

Moses and the Brazen Serpent (1640). Oil painting on oak panel by Adriaen van Nieulandt the younger (c,1586–1658). Dayton Art Institute. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9

Our Sunday readings begin with the strange account of poisonous snakes sent by God to punish an ungrateful people, and the bronze serpent that God directs Moses to create to heal the deadly snakebites. We may be tempted to laugh off this ancient legend, but note that the metaphor, and its teaching, continues through the day’s readings, concluding in John’s Gospel where it sets the context for the famous words of Jesus in John 3:16! This makes the serpent story a little more difficult to ignore. Here’s one way to view it: When you think you’re surrounded by snakes, look up. Remember that God is with us.

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

The message that we hear in Sunday’s Psalm offers soothing balm after the shock of venomous snakes and bronze serpents in the first reading. Now we are invited to repent, to turn, to give thanks for God’s mercy with shouts of joy. Even when we are foolish, when we rebel, when we sin, when we are afraid, as soon as we cry out for God, God will respond to us as beloved children, granting us healing and salvation.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

This letter, likely written to the people of Ephesus and other communities by a later Christian leader writing in Paul’s name, does not actually invoke deadly serpents, but it imagines something just about as frightening and potentially deadly: A shadowy spirit, a “ruler of the power of the air,” stands ready to lure in those who prefer passion and the flesh to a saving life in Christ. Like those healed by gazing at Moses’ bronze serpent, those who follow Christ are saved by God’s mercy and raised up by the gift of grace through Jesus. We are saved by grace only, not by anything that we do to try to earn salvation.

Gospel: John 3:14-21

“… God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” For many Christians, this week’s lessons could start and finish right there. But wait! Did Jesus just begin by comparing himself to Moses’ bronze serpent? This passage is part of Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus, who came to visit him by night. Surely Jesus is teaching from the Torah, with which they are both intimately familiar; Numbers is his text. We cannot yank John 3:16 out of its context without reading the verses that precede, and those that follow and make clear that we all have power to choose between darkness and the light. Just as God provided the Israelites a way to repent and be healed, so God offers us healing grace through Jesus.

Lent 3B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 4, 2018

Mosè (Moses) with the Ten Commandments

Mosè (Moses) with the Ten Commandments, 17th century painting by Pietro Novelli “Il Monrealese” (1603-1647). Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo, Sicily. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17

So far in Lent we have read the ancient stories of God’s covenantal promises to Noah and Abraham. Now we come to the great covenant with Moses and the people in the desert at Mount Sinai. God promises that the people will become a holy nation, living and prospering in the promised land. The people agree to walk in God’s way, living in accord with the familiar commandments that they now hear told for the first time in God’s thunderous voice that shakes the mountain. These ten simple principles sum up the way in which we are to live, loving God and loving each other.

Psalm: Psalm 19

“The heavens declare the glory of God.” This memorable poem of praise and thanksgiving has been arranged as a popular 18th century hymn by Isaac Watts, although it’s regrettably not in our 1982 Hymnal. In beautiful poetic language the Psalm celebrates God’s gifts to all the people of the world and to all the span of the universe. Within that bountiful creation, the Psalm continues, God’s laws and statutes – the great commandments – grant us wisdom and joy and lead us to righteousness.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Paul first great pastoral letter to the people of Corinth opens with a simple but important pastoral issue: The community is splitting into factions, each following a different leader. Stay united by following the Cross, Paul urges the people. Never mind if their Jewish and Gentile neighbors mock Christians as “foolish” for worshiping a man who was brutally executed on the Roman cross. Outsiders may view the cross as a symbol of pain, shame and degradation when they were expecting a powerful warrior Messiah; but their opinion doesn’t matter, says Paul, because we prefer God’s “foolishness” to mere human wisdom; God’s “weakness” far outweighs human strength.

Gospel: John 2:13-22

For the remaining Sundays of Lent we turn to John’s Gospel, beginning with the familiar story of Jesus throwing the money-changers out of the temple. This narrative appears in all four Gospels, but curiously, while Matthew, Mark and John all place it at the beginning of Holy Week, in John we find it near the beginning of the Gospel, during an earlier trip to Jerusalem for Passover that none of the others mention. Moreover, John alone tells of Jesus not merely throwing over the money changers’ tables but fashioning a whip of cords to lash them in his anger at their exploiting the poor in the name of God. Then Jesus foreshadows his own passion and death, likening his own body to the temple and declaring that he will “rise up” three days after his body’s destruction.

Lent 2B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 25, 2018

Abraham's Journey from Ur to Canaan.

Abraham’s Journey from Ur to Canaan. Oil on canvas (1850), by József Molnár (1821-1899). Hungarian National Gallery. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Our first reading this week turns to another great Old Testament covenant: God’s promise to Abram and Sarai, whom God calls to go to a new land at a great age. They are given new names – Abraham and Sarah – and receive God’s promise that they and their offspring will yield a great multitude of nations and that God will be with their offspring forever. This seems surprising, considering that Abram is 99 and they have had no children yet. Unlike God’s unconditional covenant with Noah that we heard last week, this covenant is reciprocal: In order for their offspring to gain the Promised Land (a promise made in the verses that our Sunday reading skips over), they and their descendants must “walk before God and be blameless.”

Psalm: Psalm 22:22-30

The theme of God’s covenant with Abraham and Sarah, through their grandson Jacob, the son of their son Isaac, echoes in Sunday’s Psalm portion. The Psalmist exults in the eternal nature of that covenant with Jacob (whom God later renamed Israel), and calls on all of Israel’s offspring to serve God, because as a result of Abraham’s covenant they will be known as God’s own forever. Even now the priest repeats those words in every baptism, while those being welcomed into the household of God are anointed with blessed oil, sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own for ever.

Second Reading: Romans 4:13-25

Paul, too, evokes the eternal nature of God’s promise to Abraham’s descendants, but he adds something new: Paul reaches out to include Gentile Christians within God’s promise, too. While Abraham’s descendants received God’s covenant through the law, Gentiles who become Christians now receive it through their new faith. Seeking to reconcile a faith community in Rome that included both Jewish and Gentile Christians, Paul assures them that all are now children of Abraham and Sarah, too, through our faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Gospel: Mark 8:31-38

Our Lenten Gospels are bouncing around in Mark, taking us to important points on Jesus’ journey to the Cross rather than following strict chronological order. Here Jesus is telling the disciples things that they do not want to hear. In the verses just preceding these, Jesus asked them who they think he is, and bold Peter blurted out, “You are the Messiah!” Now, Jesus warns, the road ahead will not be easy. He will face rejection, punishment and death before rising again after three days. Now Peter argues with Jesus, taking him aside to challenge that approach. Jesus’ quick response to Peter is startling: “Get behind me, Satan!” If you want to follow me, Jesus tells them, you must deny yourself. Take up your cross. You will have to give your life if you wish to save it.

Lent 1B

Posted on by
Reply

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 18, 2018

Landschaft mit dem Dankopfer Noahs (“Landscape with Noah’s Thank Offering”)

Landschaft mit dem Dankopfer Noahs (“Landscape with Noah’s Thank Offering”), c. 1803. Oil painting by Joseph Anton Koch (1768-1839). Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Genesis 9:8-17

During Lent, all Christians are invited “to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” Our readings throughout the 40 days of Lent will often focus on these practices. Our First Readings through the season will recall God’s covenants, binding agreements between God and God’s people that call us to love God and our neighbors. We begin with God’s covenant with Noah after the Flood, hearing God’s promise never again to send a flood to destroy all living creatures, a promise marked by a rainbow in the clouds.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

This Psalm of praise, one of many that tradition attributes to King David himself, asks for deliverance and protection from enemies and scheming foes, a plea that may reflect Israel’s and Judah’s hard-won status as a tiny nation. As we sing this Psalm, we expresse the joy of holding up our hearts and souls with willing trust in God’s compassion and love. Even in the face of triumphant enemies, it sings of praise, not fear, and the hope of God’s faithfulness to those who have made covenant to follow God’s ways.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22

Building on the themes of today’s Genesis reading and Psalm, the author of the first letter of Peter reminds us that we are now saved in the water of baptism, just as Noah and his family were saved in a world covered by water. Both saving acts are the work of God, but baptism is no mere bath that washes away dirt. It is rather an appeal to God, like a covenant, that gives us a new beginning through the resurrection of Jesus, who now sits at God’s right hand as lord of all creation.

Gospel: Mark 1:9-15

Yes, we did hear part of this same Gospel just a few weeks ago, on the first Sunday after Epiphany: Jesus is baptized, and then he sees the Holy Spirit coming down as a dove and he hears a voice from heaven declaring him God’s beloved son. Today we move quickly onward to hear much more in two quick paragraphs: First, the Spirit immediately drove Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days, where he was tempted by Satan and served by angels. Then we learn that John was arrested, so Jesus came to Galilee to proclaim the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent, and believe in the good news.” The time is now. The kingdom is here.