Epiphany 4C

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 31, 2016

Jesus ejected from the synagogue. Ancient French painting, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague.

First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10

God had big plans for Jeremiah, but Jeremiah wasn’t so sure. Even before Jeremiah was conceived, God tells the young man, God intended that Jeremiah would hold Israel to account and warn the nation to choose between repentance and destruction. Jeremiah tries to reject this call. “I don’t know how to speak! I’m only a boy!” But God is determined, and assures the youth that God will give him the words and the authority to deliver God’s message.

Psalm 71:1-6

Today’s Psalm seems consistent with Jeremiah’s fear of being God’s prophet. In these verses we call for God’s protection and help. We ask God to offer us a place of refuge and safety. We seek God’s protection from the wicked, the evildoer, and the oppressor. We call on God, who has known us since before our birth, and sustains us throughout our lives. God is our strength and our hope; we shall always praise God.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 

During the past two Sundays we have heard Paul gently reminding the people of the church in Corinth to get along. God gives us all different gifts that contribute to the whole. The people of the church are like the parts of a body, each important, and all necessary. Today he brings it all together in this beloved passage, reminding us that love is the glue that holds the community together. Faith, hope and love abide, but love is the most important of all,

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30

Last Sunday we heard Jesus impressing his neighbors in the synagogue at Nazareth, declaring that he had come to fulfill Isaiah’s call to bring good news to the poor. Today, in Luke’s account, Jesus pushes them a little too far. First, he predicts that they will reject him because they knew him as a child. Then, suggesting that his good news might be for all the poor and not just our friends, he recalls two Bible stories in which God’s grace was given to Gentiles. At this they rise up, drive him out of town and threaten to throw him off a cliff. “No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town,” indeed! But Jesus slips away, and goes back to Capernaum in Galilee to continue his work.

Epiphany 3C

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 24, 2016

Jesus teaching in the synagogue.

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Why would something like “the Law” inspire people to rejoice or weep? “Torah,” the Hebrew word used here, has come down to us as “Law” in translation through Greek to English. But “Torah” originally meant “teaching” or “instruction.” In that context, when we see the people of Jerusalem hearing Torah read in the public square, it is a holy moment, and the people weep when they recognize that they had forgotten and failed to follow God’s teaching.

Psalm 19

Today’s Psalm sings the praises of Torah, not as harsh legislation but nurturing teaching that inspires us. A hymn of worship and praise, this Psalm first celebrates God’s glory and creation, then rejoices in the Torah. God’s teaching revives our souls, turns our innocence into wisdom, makes our hearts leap up and our eyes sparkle. We gain enlightenment from God’s teaching; in following its precepts there is great reward.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Last week, in the verses just before these, we heard Paul declare that every member of the church receives different spiritual gifts. Now Paul continues this theme with a striking metaphor: He likens the church to Christ’s body in the world. Every member of the church – like every bodily part – plays a different but important role. The foot, the ear, the hand, the eye: Each has its role, each is critical to the body’s operation, and all are important. Just as this is true for the body, so it is for the church.

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21
Jesus’ public ministry has begun. Driven by the Spirit that came down at the time of his baptism, he has been tested in the desert, preached and taught in Galilee, and now he returns to the synagogue in his childhood home, Nazareth. Unrolling the Torah scroll to the Prophet Isaiah, he reads verses that will define his mission, ideas that echo his mother’s song and God’s covenant with the people at Sinai. This scripture is fulfilled in him, he declares. He has come to bring good news to the poor and the oppressed, and to declare the year of Jubilee in which slaves are freed and debts are forgiven.

Epiphany 2C

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 17, 2016

The Wedding Feast at Cana. Fresco by Giotto di Bondone 1302-05, Museum of the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy.

First Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5

Isaiah’s book of prophecy nears its end, and the prophet shouts in exultation as Jerusalem – the new Zion – and a new Temple emerge out of the ashes of the old. The people have returned from exile, and God’s glory breaks out like a glorious dawn. The new city will vindicate Jerusalem and its people as the city of God, God’s beloved bride in a marriage of joy and delight. Ideas of love and relationship form a theme that unites today’s readings, culminating in John’s wedding feast at Cana.

Psalm 36:5-10

The Psalmist celebrates God’s love, comparing God’s faithful righteousness to the lasting, immovable strength of the mountains and the deep seas. God’s love is so broad that it extends to all humanity and to all animal life. God gives us shelter, abundant food and drink. God’s priceless love shows us a perfect model that can serve us well as we, in our small, imperfect ways, seek to build good relationships in our lives.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

In a beautiful metaphor for family life – or parish life – Paul reminds the people of Corinth that we all receive gifts through the Holy Spirit. Those spiritual gifts are not all the same, and that is the point: Together the people of God come together in a beautiful chorus, and this is the result when each of us uses our particular gift as best we can, working together through the Spirit for the common good.

Gospel: John 2:1-11

The miracle of water turned into wine at the wedding feast at Cana is surely one of the most beloved of the Gospel stories. But why do we hear it during Epiphany? As we go through the season, we will hear a series of “epiphanies” in which Jesus is revealed to the people of the world. Here, called on to sustain the joy of the wedding party by providing new wine, Jesus objects at first that it is not yet “his time.” But his mother won’t take no for an answer, and his newly gathered disciples are amazed at his glory and believe in him.

Epiphany 1C/Baptism of Our Lord

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 10, 2016

Francesco Albani’s 17th century Baptism of Christ.

First Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7

When we baptize new members into the church community, we bless the water, giving thanks for this gift. We remember the Spirit wind breathing over the water at creation; we remember he Israelites crossing the Red Sea to escape bondage in Egypt; and we remember Jesus receiving baptism from John. Water, living water, flows through all today’s readings, along with the fire of the Spirit. Isaiah assures us that God, who calls us by name and watches over us, is with us as we pass safely through waters, rivers, and fire. “Do not fear, for I am with you.”

Psalm 29

This majestic hymn envisions the power of God through the metaphor of a great storm over mighty waters, full of thunder and lightning and powerful winds that shake and break the tallest trees. Even in these fearful events, God stays with us, enthroned above the storm, giving us strength, and, when the storm has passed at last, the blessing of peace.

Second Reading: Acts 8:14-17

The Acts of the Apostles is a fascinating story about the early church. It is the Evangelist Luke’s interpretation of how Christianity spread from its infant beginning in Jerusalem to much of the then-known world in the Mediterranean. Though rooted in Judaism, the church soon opened its doors to Gentiles as well. These verses mark this significant change, as Peter and John travel to Samaria to welcome and embrace the once-hated Samaritans, baptized in water and the Spirit, as new brothers and sisters in the church.

Gospel: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Was John the Baptist the Messiah? Many of his followers apparently wondered if he might be, but Luke proclaims the contrary, showing John himself declaring that he is not so much as worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals. Jesus, not John, will baptize not only with water but also with the Holy Spirit and fire, John says. Using the language of harvesting wheat as metaphor, John imagines Jesus presiding over a strict and final judgement, separating the wheat from the chaff. Then we hear a brief version of the familiar story of Jesus’ baptism: The Spirit comes down as a dove, and God’s voice proclaims that Jesus is God’s son, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.

Christmas 2

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 3, 2016

Greek Orthodox icon depicts the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt.

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14

The Gospel story of Joseph, Mary and Jesus seeking refuge in a strange land offers us rich food for thought in our own troubled times, when refugees look for safe places around the world. Sunday’s readings offer comfort for those who put their faith in God as they face fear, poverty and oppression. Hear the prophet Jeremiah, speaking to Israel in exile. A people forced to migrate to the enemy’s capital, leaving behind the ruins of Jerusalem and the Temple, trust that God will lead them back home, turning their sorrow into gladness, their mourning into joy.

Psalm 84

In poetic themes and metaphors that closely echo Jeremiah’s verses, the Psalmist writes a hymn of trust and praise in a loving God who will protect the people and lead them back home. God will provide clear water in desolate places, protect them in the heights and serve as their shield against burning sun and raging enemy. And, home at last, they will know the joy of worshiping in God’s temple, lavished with God’s grace and glory.

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a

Paul offers the people of Ephesus a promise similar to the one we heard in last week’s reading from Galatians: They – and all of us – are adopted as God’s children through Jesus, and in this way we are freely given God’s grace. Like migrants received with a loving embrace in their new land, we receive a glorious inheritance of great spiritual riches that gives us hope.

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

Surely we all remember the horrifying picture of the baby Syrian boy whose drowned body washed up on the Turkish coast. Now think about Joseph and Mary, terrified, running away to a foreign land to escape the threat of their own baby’s death at the hands of an angry King Herod. What parents would not go to such an extreme to protect their precious child? And what child, living through such an experience, would not forever remember to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger?

Christmas 1

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 27, 2015

Icon showing Jesus as the Word of God

First Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Christmas has come, joy fills the world, and the Word that was present at the beginning now brings us the light of God and dwells among us. These verses from Isaiah ring out the joy and exultation that mark the end of the people’s exile in Babylon and their return to Jerusalem. They go beyond triumphant celebration, though, to expressing hope that God will restore the city and the temple as a light of the world, a new Zion that will spring up like a garden to show God’s righteousness and justice.

Psalm 147:13-21

This is one of the last of the 150 Psalms, bringing the bible’s hymn book to a close in a triumphant climax of praise and celebration. The Psalmist echoes Isaiah’s song of triumphant celebration, thanking and praising God for restoring Jerusalem and bringing the exiles home. Using metaphors of grain and wool, warmth and healing, the Psalmist invokes God’s Word of creation and God’s Spirit wind that bring warmth and life and make Earth’s waters flow.

Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7

This early letter to the Christian community in Galatia, Asia Minor, reminds us that God sent Jesus, born of a woman and fully human, to make us all the children and heirs of God. In its broader context, Paul is giving advice to a community of Jewish and Gentile Christians torn between God’s free gift of grace through faith as opposed to the old law’s “discipline.” His arguments here, and in his later letter to the Romans, would ignite a great debate over justification by faith or works many centuries later in the Reformation.

Gospel: John 1:1-18

“In the beginning … ” Have you noticed that the first words of John’s Gospel are exactly the same as the first words of Genesis? “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,” God’s Word, “Let there be light” opened up creation. The Word of God that brought the world into being now comes to us as Jesus, the light through which we can see God: The Word was with God, and now lives among us.

Advent 4C

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 20, 2015

“Visitation”, from Altarpiece of the Virgin (St Vaast Altarpiece) by Jacques Daret, c. 1435 (Staatliche Museen, Berlin)

First Reading: Micah 5:2-5a

Micah, one of the early prophets, wrote this beautiful short book in poetic form some 700 years before Christ. Recalling the defeat of the northern Kingdom, Israel, by the Assyrians, Micah writes to the people of Jerusalem in Judah. foretelling that a new ruler who will come from the village of Bethlehem – which had given birth to King David. In words that we may recognize from their use in Handel’s Messiah, we hear that the new ruler will unite them as a shepherd leads his flock, all under God’s protection in peace.

Canticle 15 (Luke 1:46-55)

In place of a Psalm today we have a Canticle, the verses of Luke’s Gospel that Mary sang when she visited her sister Elizabeth while the two women were both pregnant with Jesus and John. (We will hear the verses that come just before this song in today’s Gospel.) This song, called the Song of Mary or the Magnificat, celebrates a powerful and merciful God who protects the weak and the oppressed: A God who practices the righteous justice that brings good news to the poor. Now, for a fascinating bible study experience, turn to 1 Samuel 2:1-10 to read a similar response from another woman, Hannah, who gave birth to a God-given son, Samuel, who prepared the way for Israel’s first kings.

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Here’s another snippet from Hebrews, the letter that we went through for several weeks in our Second Readings this past autumn. Consistent with its theme of contrasting Jewish Christianity against Temple Judaism, it echoes prophecies of Isaiah and Amos, who warned of a God who “takes no pleasure” in temple sacrifices. Instead, it proposes that God’s promise to Israel at Sinai has been fulfilled in Jesus’ Incarnation and sacrifice.

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
 
Here is the first part of Luke’s account of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Both women are pregnant – Elizabeth with John, Mary with Jesus – both visited by angels with the news that they would give birth in spite of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles of Elizabeth’s old age and Mary’s status as a virgin. When the women meet, Elizabeth feels John leap in her womb, and Mary bursts into the Magnificat, the song we hear in today’s Canticle.

Advent 3C

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 13, 2015

Good Shepherd, mosaic, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c.425-426 CE.

First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20

On this, the Third Sunday of Advent, traditionally known as Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday, our readings call us to rejoice. Much of the short book of Zephaniah prophesies Israel’s violent destruction, amid scornful threats of Israel’s enemies’ destruction. These verses, though, anticipate a joyous time when God will restore Israel, rejoicing with its people in gladness and love. It declares God’s favor for the oppressed, a theme of liberation that John the Baptist will echo.

Canticle 9 (Isaiah 12:2-6)

“Surely it is God who saves us. We will trust in God and not be afraid.” These familiar verses offer us joy and comfort in knowing that we are safe under God’s protection. The prophet Isaiah likens salvation to drawing water, a meaningful metaphor for people in arid lands. Isaiah calls the people to raise their voices in joy and praise. Make God’s deeds known among all the people. Cry aloud! Ring out your joy! Rejoice!

Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7

Last Sunday in the opening verses of Philippians we heard Paul express his love. Now, near the end of this affectionate letter from prison in Rome to this little church in Greece that he had founded years before, he urges them to be gentle and kind: Rejoice in God’s love and trust in God’s mercy and peace. We often repeat his words, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” as a blessing at the end of our Eucharist.

Gospel: Luke 3:7-18

The long-haired, ranting prophet yells at the crowds. He calls them “a brood of vipers” and warns that God might chop them down and burn them up if they don’t repent. This does not sound like rejoicing! But John’s message is urgent: Prepare the way for Jesus, whose sandals John is not worthy to untie. Prepare for Jesus’ coming: Share your clothing and your food with those who have none. Don’t cheat. Don’t be selfish! Jesus’ mother, Mary, also sang of filling up the hungry with good things; and Jesus himself will remind us, “When I was hungry, you gave me food …” This is Jesus’ way. We are called to make it our way.

Advent 2C

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 6, 2015

Saint John The Baptist Preaching In The Wilderness

First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

As we move into Advent, today’s readings tell of a Messenger who makes the way ready for the Messiah’s coming. Malachi, whose name in Hebrew actually means “my messenger,” warns that God’s Messenger will cleanse the rebuilt Temple with fire. The people must be made pure and pleasing to God. If you love Handel’s “Messiah,” you may feel like singing along with Malachi: “Who can endure the day of his coming?” he asks. “He is like a refiner’s fire!”

Canticle 16 (Luke 1: 68-79)

In place of a Psalm today we sing a Canticle taken from Luke’s Gospel. These verses tell the story of John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, a priest of the Temple. When Zechariah had refused to believe that his elderly wife, Elizabeth, had really become pregnant after an angelic visitation, God struck him mute. But his voice returned when he held the infant and named him John. This child, Zechariah declares, is to be a prophet like Abraham, the Messenger who will “go before the Lord to prepare his way.”

Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

Paul begins his letter to the people of Philippi in Greece in formal “epistolary” fashion, offering greetings, love and thanks for their friendship and prayers for their well-being. Paul remembers with gladness how eagerly they had accepted and shared the message of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus. He prays for this little congregation’s continued spiritual growth and insight, which he hopes will yield them a harvest of righteousness in God’s love through Christ.

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

A bit later in Luke’s Gospel, John is grown up now, beginning his public life as a prophet “crying out in the wilderness.” Notice how much detail Luke gives to naming the Roman and Jewish leaders of the time, including Zechariah, John’s father. Perhaps this is Luke’s way of emphasizing that John was a real person, a real prophet who existed at a specific time. Then the narrative shifts as John utters the words of Isaiah, naming himself as the Messenger who will “Prepare the way of the Lord … make his paths straight.”

Advent 1C

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Nov. 29, 2015

Christ Pantocrator Mosaic, Duomo, Cefalu, Sicily. (12th Century)

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The wheel of the seasons has come around to Advent, and a new liturgical year begins. As Advent moves toward the Incarnation, our readings look toward the fulfillment of God’s promise to humanity and our desire for forgiveness as we hope for salvation. Israel in exile understood the prophet Jeremiah’s words to be a promise that the people would return safely to Jerusalem, protected by God’s righteous justice. Christians honor that understanding, while also seeing in the prophet’s words an image of Jesus as our righteous king and savior.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

Echoing the prophet’s promises to Israel, today’s Psalm imagines humanity – personified as King David – facing threats of humiliation and defeat. Trusting fully in God for our salvation, relying on God’s everlasting compassion and love, we ask God to forgive our youthful errors and wrong turnings while showing us the right path; we ask God to remember us instead with all God’s compassion and love.

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

After reading through several New Testament letters during Pentecost, we now take only a one-week peek into Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonika in Northern Greece. It’s an attractive excerpt, though, showing Paul on his caring, pastoral side as he writes to a beloved church community from far away, keeping them in his prayers, thanking God for their love, and hoping that they will be reunited. In the meantime, he urges them to hold one another in love and be strong while awaiting Jesus’ return.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36

In this excerpt from Luke’s version of the Last Supper, we hear Jesus giving the disciples dire warnings, in apocalyptic language, of hard times to come. The Temple will be destroyed and Jerusalem fallen to its foes, but these signs will signal that Jesus’ return and the world’s redemption is drawing near. Luke makes Jesus’ coming sound scary, and perhaps that is his point: The people of God should live good lives and be ready, so Jesus’ coming won’t take us by surprise.

Illuminations

Welcome to Illuminations. We hope these brief reflections on Sunday's readings will help you prepare thoughtfully for worship.

Author Archives: Robin Garr