Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for July 19. 2015

The Prophet Jeremiah, Greek Orthodox icon.

Before we reach the Good Shepherd in today’s Psalm and Mark’s verses about the “sheep without a shepherd” in the Gospel, the Prophet Jeremiah reminds us that, counter to the image of God as loving shepherd, there are bad shepherds who would destroy the flock and send its sheep running away. God will attend to these evildoers, the prophet says, envisioning the Temple restored on Mount Zion and a successor seated on King David’s throne. Then the sheep will be gathered in when the people return to Jerusalem.

Psalm: Psalm 23

If you think we’ve heard this beloved Psalm recently, you are correct. Our Lectionary readings return to it often – five times in the three-year cycle – perhaps because it is so popular in its assurance that God’s goodness and mercy are always with us. If you’re feeling lost or uneasy, try using the 23rd Psalm in prayer: Sit quietly. Say the verses once or twice. Breathe deeply and relax. Close your eyes, and try to feel the comforting presence of the Shepherd. Sit with it for a while and be thankful for God’s restoring grace.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22

The author of the letter to the Ephesians takes pains to assure both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians that all have become one through Christ Jesus, the cornerstone, who brings near even those who were far away. The context here is that Christianity was actively gathering in Gentile converts when this letter was being written, and it was important to emphasize that all were one in Christ.

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Do you remember Mark’s Gospel, two Sundays past, when Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs to heal and to teach the good news? Now they’re back, full of stories about their mission, and bone-weary, too. They go off in the boat to rest, but the eager crowds follow them, and Jesus can’t help responding, because these sheep needed a shepherd. Then (after we skip over two stories that aren’t read today), they land on the other side. The people there, too, come running like a huge flock of sheep to see Jesus, and he willingly touches and heals all who come.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for July 12, 2015

Feast of Herod with the Beheading of St John the Baptist, Bartholomeus Strobel, 1633; Prado Museum, Madrid.

Amos never expected to be a prophet. He was a humble herder and tender of sycamore trees. But he heard God’s call to tell the people of Israel to expect destruction, because God had measured them and found them wanting. Their holy places would be destroyed and the people sent into exile. Amos knew, as John the Baptist would know centuries later, that this prophecy was dangerous and could get him killed; but he heard God’s call and could not refuse.

Psalm: Psalm 85:8-13

This beautiful Psalm segment gives us a moment of peace between the violence surrounding two anger-provoking prophets. When God speaks, the faithful people hear peace. Heaven and earth meet in truth and righteousness; righteousness and peace share a tender kiss. God grants prosperity and a fruitful harvest, and all manner of things shall be well.

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

We’ll spend the next six Sundays hearing verses from Ephesians, a letter most likely written by a later follower of Paul around the end of the first century. The Christian community was facing persecution. Many of its leaders were struggling to fit in to popular culture, and Ephesians may reflect that, as its pages include some “difficult” passages (which we won’t hear in our readings) that urge wives to submit to their husbands and slaves to obey their owners. In today’s reading, though, Paul’s concept of grace as God’s free gift through Jesus remains at the center. We also see a theology of Christ being present with God before the creation of the Earth.

Gospel: Mark 6:14-29

It did not take evil King Herod long to learn about the healings and miracles that Jesus and his apostles were performing in Galilee, and he didn’t like it. Herod probably had a guilty conscience, as he had just had John the Baptist beheaded – at the insistence of his new wife and her daughter – and Herod wasn’t happy about that. Now Herod wonders if Jesus is John, come back to life. He doesn’t get an answer, but in coming verses we will see crowds gather and grow as Jesus continues his public ministry.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for July 5, 2015

The prophet Ezekiel

What is it like when we want to share something that’s important in our hearts, but people won’t listen … or, worse, make fun of us for expressing our heartfelt opinion? It doesn’t feel good, does it? Each of today’s readings touches in a way on this spiritual challenge. In our first reading, Ezekiel, receiving God’s call to prophesy to a rebellious people, hears that he must speak truth, whether the people listen or not.

Psalm: Psalm 123

This Psalm is taken by tradition to be a “song of ascent” as the priests and people go up the hill toward the Temple in formal procession. It calls on a merciful God to hear the prayer of a people whose voices have gone unheard by Israel’s “1 percent,” the contemptuous and scornful rich and proud.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

This passage is full of mysteries! Even bible historians and theologians aren’t sure what Paul means about the “third heaven” or the “thorn” that troubles him but that he does not describe. Perhaps the third heaven describes his own spiritual experience, and the thorn an unnamed illness or disability, or even a sexual temptation. In any case, there is no ambiguity in his point: Through prayer and reliance on God’s grace through Christ, he can endure hardships that come from within and without … and so can we.

Gospel: Mark 6:1-13


Jesus’ neighbors aren’t impressed. Who is this, the carpenter’s son, to be so high and mighty? Then Jesus sends out his followers, two by two, to tell the good news, but he warns them to expect more of the same. Don’t dress up, he says. Don’t act special. If people won’t welcome you for the word you bring, move on down the road until you find people who will. This may sound harsh, but it contains an important message to them and to us: Not everyone will listen when we tell Jesus’ story, but we’re still called to work in community with others, urging all to love God and our neighbors as Jesus taught.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for June 28, 2015

Jesus healing the bleeding woman, ancient drawing in the Roman catacombs.

The Wisdom of Solomon, often called simply “Wisdom,” comes near the end of the Old Testament among the “Deuterocanonical” (apocryphal) books. Did you notice that it seems to start in the middle of a thought? The previous verses are given as advice to an earthly ruler, culminating in a warning to the king not to invite death or destruction by behaving badly. The two snippets from Wisdom that we read today move on to remind the ruler – and us – that God’s creation celebrates our life, not our death. God’s creation is a thing of beauty, and righteousness lives forever. Death and destruction are not God’s desire for us.

Psalm: Psalm 30

Like the Wisdom passage, today’s Psalm – traditionally understood as a hymn of thanksgiving upon recovery from illness – contrasts the joy of life in God’s favor against the grief of death under God’s wrath. Happily, God’s anger endures only for seconds, while God’s favor lasts a lifetime. “Weeping may spend the night,” the Psalmist memorably exults, “but joy comes in the morning.” We praise God, who turns our weeping into dancing and clothes us with joy.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

To understand Paul, it is often helpful to recognize him as a pastor who loved the people of his little church, but who often found them cranky and difficult to persuade. Knowing that his congregation in Corinth included both hungry poor people and comfortable rich members who sometimes didn’t want to share, he urges them all to live by the generous example of the churches in Macedonia (mentioned in the verses just before this): Do your work, earn what you deserve, but give according to your means so all may have enough.

Gospel: Mark 5:21-43

Jesus and the apostles have come back home from their trip across the Sea of Galilee. Now Jesus performs two surprising healings, encountering one on his way to attend to another. The woman with the 12-year hemorrhage was ritually unclean, poor and rejected by her neighbors, but she had great faith in Jesus. The 12-year-old child was the daughter of a leader of the synagogue, an important person; when Jesus said he could waken their seemingly dead child, they laughed at him. Jesus did not care about status. He healed both without question.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for June 21, 2015

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633.

It isn’t difficult to find a common theme in this week’s readings: In times of chaos and fear, God is with us. In beautifully poetic language, God reminds Job that God created all things and remains in control of nature’s most powerful forces, including the winds, the waves and the sea.

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32

This hymn of praise gives us vivid images of a loving God who protects us from peril and delivers us from distress. It stands in striking parallel with today’s Gospel reading from Mark. Sailors on their ships stagger in stormy winds and huge waves that leave them afraid and helpless, until God comes in to still the storm and calm the waves. Their song of thanksgiving for God’s mercy must have been heartfelt indeed, reminding us of the apostles’ relief when Jesus stilled the storm.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

There’s been trouble and anger in the church in Corinth, and Paul aches to restore good relations. Following Jesus’ way has taken Paul and the church through chaotic events from beatings and prison to hunger and sleeplessness. If he doesn’t mention storm and shipwreck, we know that Paul endured those trials, too. Through all difficulties, he urges the people to remember that God is with us; open wide our hearts and accept God’s love.

Gospel: Mark 4:35-41

Jesus has been preaching to Jewish crowds on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and now he is leading the apostles across the broad lake to Gentile territory. Along the way we encounter one of those beloved Gospel stories that most of us remember from childhood Sunday school. As children, though, we might not have focused on the apostles’ reactions. First they fear that Jesus doesn’t know – or doesn’t care – that they are in deadly danger, scared out of their wits. Then, catching their breath when all is calm again, they seem shocked to discover that Jesus actually has the power that they had just called on him to use.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for June 14, 2015

Parable of the Sower (Biserica Ortodoxă din Deal, Cluj-Napoca), Romania)

First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24

Can it be only a coincidence that today’s readings all point us toward planting, growing, new life from old, just as summer comes near? The prophet Ezekiel celebrates the noble cedar, a lofty tree that provides a nesting place for the birds and shade for all manner of creatures. Ezekiel is speaking of Israel, reminding the people that God may bring down the mighty nations and raise high the lowly. But the prophet’s words can serve us, too, as an inspiring reminder that with God’s help, a mighty tree can grow from a mere sprig. See God’s beautiful creation, and know that God is good.

Psalm: Psalm 92:1-4,11-14

This Psalm of praise and thanksgiving shows us mighty trees, too, cedars of Lebanon and tall palm trees, as metaphors for the people who grow and flourish under God’s nurturing care. Through righteousness – the practice of justice – and faith in God’s loving kindness, we may remain ripe and fruitful our whole lives long.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-17

The notion of growing things and fruitful harvests may not be as obvious in this passage from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, but we can find it in the closing verses. When we choose to live in Christ, everything in our life changes. Just as the leaves fall in autumn and our flowers and gardens die, only to return full of life in the spring, everything that is old passes away in Christ’s creation. Everything becomes new for us in the life we gain through Jesus.

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

Here are two more of Jesus’ parables about planting seeds that yield food from the earth. But there’s something else going on: This is Mark’s first account of Jesus using parables to unveil the nature of the Kingdom of God. Mark will recount 16 more “Kingdom-is-like” stories before the book’s end. Mark also has another recurring theme: Jesus intentionally disguises his mission through mysterious parables, and he tells his followers to keep his healings secret. Theologians call this “The Messianic Secret,” and wonder why it is so important in Mark’s Gospel. Might the evangelist have feared that Jesus’ call for the Kingdom of God, presuming that it would overthrow Roman rule, is too dangerous to talk about in public?

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for June 7, 2015

Adam und Eva, Pavement mosaic, 1163, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata, Otranto.

Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God forbade. Then they realized that they were naked, and they probably figured out a lot more, too. Adam and Eve were scared. They covered their bodies, and hid. When God found them, there was plenty of blaming going on, starting with the snake. But what if Eve had simply told the serpent, “No”? Would the bible have ended right there? No. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and they lost their home in the garden. But God stayed with them, opening up the biblical narrative of free will and belief that leads down through all the prophets to Jesus … and us.

Psalm: Psalm 138

Even in the world outside Eden, a world of work and pain and hunger, we know that God remains with us. Speaking out of that broken world, the Psalmist praises God and thanks God for being with us when we are in trouble, for answering us when we call. In words that surely remind us of the beloved 23rd Psalm, we remember that God keeps us safe even when we walk in the midst of trouble; God’s strong hand protects us from our enemies.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

We may feel as if we live a life of affliction and wasting away in our fallen world, but that anguish is only momentary in the greater scheme of things, Paul assures the people of Corinth. Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, God will raise us, too. The pain that we feel now is only temporary; through God’s grace we will live forever in God’s glory beyond all measure.

Gospel: Mark 3:20-35

We return to Mark’s Gospel to find Jesus in his early ministry in Galilee, and he’s in trouble with his neighbors and his family. All this preaching! Touching lepers! Casting out demons! The neighbors think Jesus has gone crazy, or is possessed by a demon. His family comes out to try to calm him down. His responses probably did not make his mother and brothers happy, as he tells them that his followers are his family now, with work that takes him out into a broken world full of serpents and sinners.