Author Archives: Robin Garr

Easter 4B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for April 26, 2015

Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees and Sadducees. Medieval print.

First Reading: Acts 4:5-12

Peter has come a long way since having denied Jesus three times on the night of Jesus’ arrest. Peter and John have been arrested by the Temple authorities, who were upset because they healed a paralyzed man and have been preaching the resurrected Christ. This time Peter speaks with bold confidence. He declares that the disciples are healing though Jesus, whom God raised from the dead as the cornerstone of salvation. What changed Peter? Sent forth by the risen Christ to “feed my sheep,” he is filled with the Holy Spirit.

Psalm: Psalm 23

When Christians read these familiar verses, we tend to visualize the loving face of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who walks beside us. After all, Jesus declares himself the Good Shepherd in the verses of John’s Gospel that we hear today. Originally, however, the people sang this Psalm as a hymn of praise to the 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. But wait! “And we ought to lay down our lives for one another”? That makes things a little more complicated! Just as God loves us, we are to love each other, to help our brothers and sisters in need, not just in what we say but in what we do. 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

In its context in John’s Gospel, this seemingly simple “Good Shepherd” narrative looks somewhat like Peter and John in Acts: The Pharisees are angry because Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, and they are alarmed that people are beginning to speak of Jesus as the Messiah. Seen in this light, Jesus is pushing back. He likens the people to helpless sheep, and the Pharisees to wolves who prey on them. In words that the writer of John’s letter will recall, Jesus declares that he will lay down his life for the sheep – all the world’s sheep – and that he will live again.

Easter 3B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for April 19, 2015

Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room.

Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room. Sixth century CE, Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.

First Reading: Acts 3:12-19

Peter and John, filled with the Holy Spirit, have healed a man who could not walk, to the amazement of everyone who saw the once-lame beggar in the Temple, walking and praising God. Peter tells the crowd that the 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. Anti-Jewish language like this, sadly, permeates Acts, which was written a generation after the destruction of the Temple, when Christians and Jews were angrily drawing apart.

Psalm: Psalm 4

The Psalmist sings for a people who face severe persecution from enemies, yet stand strong in confidence in a loving and faithful God. In contrast with more warlike Psalms that call on God to crush and destroy the foe, Psalm 4 exalts a more quiet and trusting confidence. We ask God to have mercy, to hear our prayers. We ask that the light of God’s countenance be shone 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

Echoing the themes of today’s passage from Acts, the author, speaking to the early church, assures us that God’s love (revealed to us through Jesus) makes us the children of God, and that the world will eventually come to know this. Meanwhile, staying in right relationship with God through Jesus keeps us free from sin, for there is surely no sin in Jesus.

Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48

Turning to Luke for another resurrection appearance, we have skipped over the story of two disciples who met Jesus on the Emmaus road but did not recognize him until he broke bread. Now the disciples are together again, and Jesus appears! Their first response, however, is not joy but surprise and terror, as if a ghost had appeared! Much as he had done for Thomas in John’s Gospel, Jesus invited them to examine and touch his wounds, Then he asked for something to eat, and he took a piece of fish, perhaps to show that he is no ghost but flesh and blood. He declares himself the Messiah foretold in the Scriptures, and declares that repentance and forgiveness of sins will go out in his name to all nations.

Easter 2B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for April 12, 2015

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Rembrandt, 1634. Pushkin Museum, Moscow.

First Reading: Acts 4:32-35

Throughout Eastertide, our First Readings will be taken from the Acts of the Apostles, the Evangelist Luke’s story of the life of the early church. In his Gospel, Luke consistently emphasizes Jesus’ command to shun riches and to serve the poor, the weak and the oppressed. It should be no surprise, then, that in Acts Luke presents the practice of sharing all possessions and caring for the poor as the customary lifestyle of the apostles. Is there a message in this for us today?

Psalm: Psalm 133

Sounding a theme that resonates with the sharing lifestyle that Luke presents in the early church, the Psalmist hails the joy of a community that lives in unity like brothers and sisters. The earthy image of anointing oil running down Aaron’s head, beard and robe may sound odd to our modern ears, but perhaps our ancestors heard in it a sense of abundantly sharing our most desirable luxuries.

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

Our Eastertide readings will take us through the First Letter of John in our Second Readings. This letter was probably not written by John the Evangelist, but its emphasis on love, and on Jesus as the Word and the Light, is consistent with the style of John’s Gospel, and hints that it may have come from the same early Christian community. You may recognize its message, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,” as a familiar Lenten Opening Sentence for Morning Prayer.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

Jesus has died. Christ has risen! And now Jesus begins appearing to the disciples, often in mysterious ways that defy imagining. The doors are locked, the apostles are terrified; and suddenly Jesus is there with them in the locked room, and fear is transformed to joy. Thomas, who missed Jesus’ first appearance, remains doubtful, and for this he is remembered forever as “Doubting Thomas.” Who wouldn’t doubt, though? Wouldn’t you? But Jesus surely understands. And Thomas, too, with all the rest, goes on to testify that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that we all have life in his name.

Easter Sunday B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for April 5, 2015

The Resurrection of Christ, fresco over the main entrance to the Basilica di San Marco in Venice.

The Resurrection of Christ, fresco over the main entrance to the Basilica di San Marco in Venice.

First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9

“Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; Therefore let us keep the feast.” Amid the joy of the Resurrection and Easter Day, this joyous affirmation that we utter at every Eucharist echoes the Prophet Isaiah, who imagines a sumptuous feast set out for all God’s people as a celebration of victory over death. Isaiah saw the feast in the context of Israel’s return from exile; we understand it as God’s saving grace through Jesus. All together praise God in gladness and rejoice in God’s salvation.

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

We can feel a sense of Easter joy in today’s Psalm (which overlaps substantially with last week’s Palm Sunday Psalm). Christians should take note that this is also a Psalm used to celebrate Passover. It sings of joy blended with gratitude. We are overjoyed at our salvation; we are delighted at our victory over death; and we are grateful for God’s goodness and mercy. God has heard our prayers and responded, laying a new cornerstone for a just world. This is the day that the Lord has made: Let us rejoice and be glad!

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

These verses from Acts, the Evangelist Luke’s account of the life of the early church, tell us that salvation through Jesus’ life, death on the cross and resurrection is meant for everyone. Peter, speaking to the family of the Roman Centurion Cornelius, declares that God’s Good News in the Gospel shows no partiality. Forgiveness of our sins through God’s saving grace is given to every nation, to all the people, to Jew and Gentile alike: Jesus is Lord of all..

Alternate Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

As Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians draws toward its close, he speaks of the centrality of the Resurrection to Christian belief. All who witnessed the risen Christ, he writes – including Paul himself, remembering his vision on the road to Damascus – now proclaim to the whole world that God’s saving grace comes to us through the crucifixion and the Resurrection.

Gospel: Mark 16:1-8

Here is the story of Easter morning as told by Mark, the earliest of the Gospels. It is sunrise, and three grieving women get up early to take spices to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ beloved body. When they get there, they find that the stone has rolled away from the door! 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 just like that, the original version of Mark’s Gospel ends, leaving us to wonder what comes next.

Alternate Gospel: John 20:1-18

Each of the four Gospels’ accounts of the resurrection is slightly different. John’s story gives particular attention to Mary Magdalene. It presents her in beautifully tender verses as the one who remained at the empty tomb after the others had left; the first person to witness the risen Christ, and the one sent to proclaim the good news of his resurrection to the rest. In a narrative similar to other accounts of mysterious appearances, she did not recognize Jesus until he called her name.

Palm / Passion Sunday B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 29, 2015

Procession: Liturgy of the Palms B

Jesus Enters Jerusalem.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem. 18th century icon in the Greek Catholic Cathedral of Hajdúdorog, Hungary.

Gospel: Mark 11:1-11

It’s Palm Sunday, and it is Passion Sunday. In the course of our worship, we hear of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding a donkey and greeted as a King by throngs shouting “Hosanna!” But then, almost before we know it, we hear those same crowds angrily shouting “Crucify him!” How can this sudden and dramatic change occur? Hold this thought as we begin Holy Week, walking with Jesus toward the Cross: God is with us in joy. God is with us in sorrow.

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

This Psalm, thought to be an ancient “song of ascents” chanted in procession as worshippers approached the Temple, is an occasion for hosannas, too. It sings out joyous praise for God’s works and God’s mercy in words that we adopt in our Eucharist in the Great Thanksgiving: “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

It is difficult for Christians to consider Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant” without imagining Jesus, who suffered for us, turned his cheek against attacks, and surely faced the insults and spitting of his foes. It’s important to remember, though, that the Prophet Isaiah had an entirely different image in mind, imagining a servant leader who would take the enemy’s blows for the people in exile, and, eventually, guide them back home.

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 fear of death. And yet, even in the face of this crushing pain, we place our trust in God, We place our faith in God’s love, and we wait for the light of God’s face to shine through like the sun.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

These familiar, poetic verses boast a fascinating background: Scholars believe that they were sung as a hymn in the early church. It may be the most ancient Christian hymn that we have! Moreover, it carries significant theological weight: Although Jesus was truly God as well as truly human, he chose to “empty himself,” taking on the full weight of his suffering, accepting human weakness even as he bore the pain of crucifixion. Then God lifted him up, exalted his name and calls us to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Gospel: Mark 14:1-15:47

And at last we come to Mark’s account of Jesus’ passion and death. The palm branches and hosanna shouts are only a memory now, as we turn to the dark, painful way of the Cross and prepare to be with Jesus through Holy Week. Let us be attentive as we see Jesus’ followers, then his friends, desert him, leaving at the end only those closest to him – and a Roman centurion whose faith showed him the light!

Lent 5B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 22, 2015

Abel and Melchizedek Sacrificing. Mosaic, 521-547, Basilica di S. Vitale (Ravenna, Italy)

Abel and Melchizedek Sacrificing. Mosaic, 521-547, Basilica di S. Vitale (Ravenna, Italy)

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34

Have you noticed a pattern in our Sunday readings during Lent? The Gospels are taking us on a quick journey through Jesus’ life from the Jordan to Jerusalem; the Old Testament readings showcase God’s continuing covenants with the people. Today, the Prophet Jeremiah, recognizing that the people in exile have broken the covenant their ancestors made at Mount Sinai, announces a new covenant, not written on mere stone but directly on our hearts. Having God’s love indelibly marked on our hearts offers us a way to remember, even when we’re struggling, that we are meant to love God and our neighbor.

Psalm: Psalm 51:1-13

Legend tells us that King David himself wrote this psalm. In a powerful narrative, the prophet Nathan had confronted David after David sent his general, Uriah, to die in battle so he could take Uriah’s beautiful wife Bathsheba for himself. In poetic words that reflect covenantal ideas, the Psalmist pours out David’s shame and grief. He admits to wickedness, makes no excuses, but begs for God’s mercy and forgiveness to restore in him a clean heart. A heart on which God, perhaps, can write God’s covenant of love.

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:5-10

The letter to the Hebrews is thought to be an appeal to Jewish Christians who had returned to their older faith to avoid persecution. Its unknown author makes the case that Jesus, as Christ, stands in the great tradition of Jewish high priests that extends all the way back to Melchizedek, the king and great high priest, who blessed Abram just before God made the first covenant with Abram and Sarai.

Gospel: John 12:20-33

Oddly, it is not clear from John’s Gospel whether Jesus actually did consent to meet with his Greek visitors. John places them in this passage, perhaps, to emphasize that Jesus will draw in all people: Jew and Greek, men and women, slave and free; everyone. Now, as John’s narrative moves toward jesus’ last Passover, his passion and death, Jesus has words for the world and the ages to hear: Just as Jesus must die to bear the fruit of salvation through his resurrection, we are the seeds of faith, called to grow in discipleship. 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

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 15, 2015

Moses and the Brazen Serpent.

Moses and the Brazen Serpent. Anthony Van Dyck, 1620; Museo del Prado, Madrid.

First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9

This strange account of poisonous snakes sent by God to punish an ungrateful people – and a curative bronze serpent that seems suspiciously like an idol – might strike us as an ancient legend, easily ignored. But then John’s Gospel shows Jesus citing those very verses to set the context for his famous words in John 3:16! This makes the serpent story a little more difficult to ignore. Perhaps it’s as simple as this: When we feel that we’re surrounded by serpents, look up and remember that God is with us.

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

In the context of that frightening reading from Numbers, it becomes easy to hear the message that the Psalmist offers us today: Give thanks for God’s mercy. Even when we are foolish, even when we rebel; even when we sin, and even when we are afraid, when we cry out for God, God hears our prayers and showers us, God’s children, with healing and salvation.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

We find no actual serpents in Ephesians, a letter likely written by a later follower of Paul. But there’s still plenty to fear in the image of a shadowy spirit, a “ruler of the power of the air,” who lures those who prefer passion and the flesh to life in Christ. Like those healed by gazing at Moses’ bronze serpent, we are saved by God’s mercy and raised up by God’s gift of grace through Jesus; not by anything that we can 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! What is that serpent doing here? We might consider that Jesus is preaching from the Torah, with which he and his followers would have been intimately familiar, and Numbers is his text. Can we fully comprehend John 3:16 without the context of John 3:14-15? Perhaps we could read it this way: Just as God gave the Israelites a way to repent of their sins and be healed, God gives us healing grace through Jesus.

Lent 3B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 8, 2015

Jesus' cleansing of the Temple.

Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple, Cathedrale d’Amiens.

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17

In the first three weeks of Lent, we read of God’s great covenants with the people: God’s promises to the ages through Noah, Abraham and now Moses. God’s thunderous voice shakes the mountain as the awed people hear the Ten Commandments that sum up the principles by which we live with love for God and each other. Hear God’s voice and follow these commandments, God tells Moses in the verses just before these bedrock principles; and you will be God’s treasured possession among all the people.

Psalm: Psalm 19

This familiar hymn of praise and thanksgiving sings in exultation at the beauty and wonder of all God’s creation. In beautiful poetic language it shouts with joy about God’s gift to all the people of the world and to all the span of the universe. And within that creation, the hymn rings on, God’s laws and statutes – the great commandments – give us wisdom and joy and lead us to righteousness.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Paul’s great pastoral letter to the people of Corinth begins with a simple sermon to a community that seems to be splitting into factions: The Cross unites us as one! We may look foolish to both Jews and Gentiles for worshiping as God a man executed on the brutal Roman cross, a symbol of pain, shame and degradation. But their opinion doesn’t matter, because we prefer God’s “foolishness” to mere human wisdom; God’s weakness to the limited power that humans consider strength.

Gospel: John 2:13-22

During the first weeks of Lent we quickly touched on Mark’s narrative of Jesus’ public ministry, from his baptism and prophetic teaching to Peter’s recognition that Jesus is the Son of Man, the Messiah. Now we turn to John’s Gospel for the rest of the season, beginning with John’s colorful account of Jesus throwing the money-changers out of the temple. Then John sets us on the path toward Jesus’ passion and death as Jesus likens his own body to the temple, declaring that he will “rise up” three days after his body’s destruction.

Lent 2B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 1, 2015

Abraham's dream

Abraham’s dream, 17th century etching by the Bohemian artist Wenceslas Hollar.

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

Our Lenten readings continue recalling God’s covenants with the people. This week our attention turns to Abraham and Sarah, called by God to go to a new land at a great age. They are given new names and a promise that they and their offspring will yield a great multitude of nations. God will be with them and their children forever. Note well, however, that unlike God’s unconditional covenant with Noah, this covenant requires something more: In order to gain the Promised Land (a promise made in verses that our reading skips over today), Abraham and his people are to “walk before God and be blameless.”

Psalm: Psalm 22:22-30

Today’s Psalm repeats the theme of God’s covenant. The Psalmist exults in the eternal nature of that covenant with Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, who was later named Israel by God. The Psalm shouts thanks and praise that Jacob’s descendants will serve God and will be known as God’s own forever. To this day we remember those words in baptism, when 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

Reaching out to the people of the church in Rome before his first visit there, Paul is trying to reconcile a faith community that included both Jewish and Gentile Christians. Paul reminds them that Abraham’s descendants received God’s promise under the law, while Gentiles now receive it through their new faith. We are now children of Abraham and Sarah, too, through our faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Gospel: Mark 8:31-38

In the verses just before this, asked who he thinks Jesus is, bold Peter declared, “You are the Messiah!” Now Jesus warns the disciples that the road ahead will not be easy. He will face rejection, punishment and death before rising again after three days. This is not what Peter wants to hear, but his protests earn him a strong response from Jesus: “Get behind me, Satan!” If you want to follow Jesus, he says, deny yourself. Take up your cross. Prepare to give your life in order to save it.

Lent 1B

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 22, 2015

Noah and his sons view God's rainbow ...

Noah and his sons view God’s rainbow in awe and wonder. From the Hebrew 6th century Vienna Genesis.

First Reading: Genesis 9:8-17


God makes a covenant with Noah, promising never again to destroy all human and animal life in a vast flood. This is the first in a series of covenants that God will make with Abraham and Moses: binding agreements that the prophets will hold up as the standard by which the people must live in order to inherit the Kingdom. Jesus, too, teaches God’s covenant as he calls us to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, building God’s Kingdom on earth by forgiving each other as God forgives us.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

Attributed by tradition to King David, this Psalm of praise expresses the joy of holding up our hearts and souls with willing trust in God’s everlasting compassion and love. Some of the Psalm’s language, calling for protection against humiliation by enemies and scheming foes, may reflect the hard-won status of a tiny nation. But its tone rings of praise, not fear; and at the end it recalls the people’s covenant to follow God’s ways.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22

The author of the first letter of Peter neatly ties together today’s First Reading and Gospel. Just as Noah and his family were saved in a world covered by water, we are now saved in the water of baptism. Both saving acts are the work of God. We are saved through the resurrection of Jesus, who now sits at God’s right hand as lord of all creation.

Gospel: Mark 1:9-15

Does this reading seem familiar? Yes, we have heard the first verses of this Gospel recently, on the first Sunday of Epiphany: Jesus emerges from Jordan’s waters to see a dove and hear a voice declaring him God’s beloved son. Now we are told of Jesus’ temptation in the desert as Mark moves quickly to the main event: Jesus proclaims the good news that will take him to the Cross: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.” The time is now. The kingdom is here. Repent – turn our lives toward Jesus’ way – and be ready.