Lent 2B

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

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.

Ash Wednesday

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 18, 2015

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12


it is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, a season set aside for acts of devotion and sacrifice as we reflect on the wrongs that we have done and on the simple truth that we will not live forever. Our readings begin with the Prophet Isaiah, who reminds us that public demonstrations of fasting and prayer, sackcloth and ashes are not enough to please God. We should show our righteousness instead in service and love of neighbor. As Jesus would later teach, God calls us to oppose injustice: free the oppressed, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked.

Psalm: Psalm 103:8-14

God, who made us from dust, knows well that we are but dust. We are human: broken and sinful, often wicked. Yet God’s compassion and God’s mercy are far greater than God’s anger. God does not punish us as we might fear that our sins deserve, but rather shows mercy wider than the world itself, forgiving our sins and welcoming us in a parent’s warm embrace.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Paul devotes a lot of energy in his less familiar second letter to the Corinthians to trying to work out an apparent quarrel with the people of this contentious little church. Here he speaks of reconciliation, enumerating the many pains he has endured as a servant of God, and calling on the people to accept God’s grace and work together in Christ, who reconciled us with God by taking human form and dying for us.

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

It is hard to imagine a more appropriate reading for Ash Wednesday than Matthew’s account of Jesus. midway in the Sermon on the Mount, teaching us how best to practice almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and self-denial of worldly pleasures. All of these have become traditional Lenten practices. Simply put, in words that might remind us of today’s Isaiah reading, we are advised to practice humble piety. Shun hypocrisy. Don’t show off. Keep our charity, our prayers and our fasting private. Don’t brag about our fasting. Don’t hoard fragile, transient earthly riches, but store in heaven the treasures that last.

Last Epiphany B/Transfiguration

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 15, 2015

Elijah's fiery ascent. Russian Orthodox icon.

Elijah’s fiery ascent. Russian Orthodox icon.

First Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12


This is Transfiguration Sunday, concluding our short Epiphany journey from Christmastide to Lent. We have followed Mark’s account of Jesus, from the wise men’s homage to his baptism by John and his early ministry. Today Epiphany ends as a glowing Jesus meets the patriarchs Elijah and Moses on a mountain top. Our first reading tells the ancient story of Elijah taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot while Elisha, his young successor, looks on in awe.

Psalm: Psalm 50:1-6

From Elijah’s fiery chariot to the brilliant rising sun and consuming flame of God’s justice in today’s Psalm, our readings glow with the light of God revealed in shining glory. Throughout Epiphany we find the light of God shining in the darkness.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

God brought light into the world, and God shows us the glory of God’s image in Christ, Paul reminds the people in his second letter to the church in Corinth. Because we believe, we see the light that is denied to those who do not believe, says Paul. We are called to proclaim Jesus, not ourselves, while we serve others humbly in service for Jesus’ sake.

Gospel: Mark 9:2-9

On the first Sunday of Epiphany, we watched John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan, and Jesus heard God’s voice saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Now Jesus is transfigured atop a holy mountain with Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah, who was transported into heaven to await the arrival of God’s Kingdom and the Messiah. Jesus’ face and garments glow in a scene that recalls Moses receiving God’s commandments atop another mountain. Jesus is revealed as Messiah as his friends Peter, James, and John look on in awe, and God’s voice rings out again: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Epiphany 5B

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 8, 2015

Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law. Orthodox icon.

Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law. Orthodox icon.

First Reading: Isaiah 40:21-31


God is very large. We are very small. God is very powerful. We are very weak. In striking poetic language that likens us to grasshoppers and our earthly rulers to dandelion puffs blown apart in the wind, Isaiah portrays a transcendent God who is far beyond our imagining. And yet, ultimately, this mighty, eternal and all-powerful God lifts us up on eagle’s wings and gives us the power and the strength to wait for God and to follow God’s ways.

Psalm: Psalm 147:1-12, 21c

Echoing Isaiah’s message in one of the six exultant hymns of praise that conclude the Psalms, the Psalmist celebrates the glory of the powerful, all-knowing God who counts and names even the stars of heaven, and who has guided the people home from exile and bound their wounds. God is unimpressed by the powerful and the strong. but God cares for the weak and lowly; God gently tends the broken and the brokenhearted.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

What is Paul saying here? Be “all things to all people” to proclaim the Gospel? Even in a good cause, it seems hypocritical to pretend to be something that you’re not. But that’s not really Paul’s message. As in last week’s advice not to be a stumbling block to others, Paul urges the people of Corinth to love one another and work together to spread the good news. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Jewish, Gentile, strong or weak: Honor each other in your differences. Then unite to share the good news of the Gospel.

Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

Jesus goes from the synagogue at Capernaum to his friends Simon and Andrew’s home, where he cures Simon’s mother-in-law’s fever. Healed of her weakness, she gets up to serve them. But note well that Mark’s Greek word for “serve” is “διηκόνει,” the same word that describes those who came forward to support the Apostles as they spread the Gospel; the same word from which we get our modern “deacon.” Just as Jesus cared for Simon’s mother-in-law and all who came for exorcism or healing, deacons vow to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.

Epiphany 4B

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 1, 2015

Jesus casts out a man's unclean spirit

Jesus casts out a man’s unclean spirit

First Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Hearing God’s voice. Hearing God’s call. This theme echoes in many of our readings through the season of Epiphany. Now the fifth and final book of the Torah, the story of God’s covenant with Israel, is drawing to its close. Moses is dying. The people worry how they will know God’s wishes once their prophet is gone. Moses reassures them that God will raise up another prophet from among them, and that God will expect them to pay attention when this prophet utters God’s words.

Psalm: Psalm 111

The Psalms, the Old Testament’s hymns and worship poetry, take many forms. Some ask God’s favor. Some weep in lament. Some offer thanks for past blessings. And some of the most joyous, like today’s familiar verses, exultantly sing God’s praise. All of God’s work, all of God’s majesty and splendor, all of God’s justice last forever. God feeds us. God’s covenant redeems us. The people shout “Hallelujah!” “Praise God!”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

These verses offer us a fascinating insight into understanding Paul. This pastoral question about eating meat that had been sacrificed in pagan temples might not seem to say much to us. Paul accepts the Corinthian Christians’ notion that pagan gods aren’t God at all, so sharing temple food – their primary source of meat – could be morally neutral to believers who are strong in their faith. But the rest of Paul’s conclusion transcends time: Even if we do nothing wrong, our actions may influence others, and Christ calls us to be mindful of that.

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

We are still in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus goes to Sabbath services in Capernaum, a small town near the Sea of Galilee where he was active. Two remarkable things happen: First, this young man amazes the congregation with his teaching that revealed him as one “having authority.” Then Jesus exorcizes a man possessed by an “unclean spirit,” further astounding the people. Note, too, that while the spirit may be unclean, it shrieks wisdom, declaring Jesus “the Holy One of God.”

Epiphany 3B

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 25, 2015

Jesus Calling the Apostles Peter and Andrew.

Jesus Calling the Apostles Peter and Andrew. Maesta Altarpiece of Siena, 1308-1311, Duccio de Buoninsegna. National Gallery of Art.

First Reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Today we hear the ancient story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet, who ran from God’s call to prophesy to the people of Nineveh, Jonah has just been spewed out on the beach by the giant fish that God sent to bring him back. Now he is a little more cooperative, and his prophecy has great effect: All the people of this great city accept Jonah’s words, fast and repent! And then God shows God’s forgiving mercy, and decides not to destroy the people after all. (In following verses that end the short book, Jonah is quite angry about this, but God’s mercy abides.)

Psalm: Psalm 62: 6-14

Wait for God, hope in God, trust God above all else. When all others fail, God, our strong rock and our refuge, will reward our trust in God’s power and steadfast love. Others cannot be trusted, the Psalmist tells us over and over again. “On the scales they are lighter than a breath.” But God can always be trusted to repay us all according to our good deeds.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31

No marriage, no mourning, no joy? No things? What in the world is Paul going on about this time? Paul’s letters can sound very confusing to modern ears, but we can usually hear the voice of the Spirit when we understand them in the context of their time and place. Paul was convinced that Christ was coming back very soon, bringing God’s kingdom and a new way of life. Nothing was more important than that, Paul preached. Not husbands and wives, not mourning or joy. All that is passing away, but God still abides.  

Gospel: Mark 1:14-20

The ministry of Jesus begins! On Epiphany we heard Mark tell of John baptizing Jesus, and a dove from heaven declaring Jesus the son of God. Now events are moving fast. John has been arrested, and Jesus, it seems, has taken over John’s call to prophesy repentance and declare the good news of God’s kingdom. Then Jesus calls his first disciples, and the journey begins.

Epiphany 2B

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 18, 2015

The Call of Nathanael

The Call of Nathanael, orthodox icon

First Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Today’s readings speak to us about listening for God’s voice in the world … and about taking care to discern just what we hear. In our first reading, the boy Samuel – who will grow up to be a prophet as Israel becomes a kingdom under Saul – hears a mysterious voice calling him in the night. He thinks that it his guardian Eli, the high priest and judge, as the Israelites then called their leader. But Eli, who was sleeping, eventually realizes that Samuel is hearing the voice of God. Eli advises the boy to respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Psalm: Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

Even if it is not easy for us to discern what God asks of us, we can rely on God’s full and complete knowledge of our every thought, the Psalmist sings. God knows us, God knows when we move forward and when we sit down; God knows every word that we speak and every word that we think. “How deep I find your thoughts, O God! How great is the sum of them!” We can never know all that God wills for us, but there is joy and hope in listening for God’s voice.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

“Oh, my, Paul is ranting about sexuality again,” this reading might make us groan. Warnings about immorality and sleeping around? Listen closely, though: as happens often in Paul’s letters, he is giving pastoral counsel to a loving, but sometimes troublesome, church community in Corinth. They’ve been arguing. They’re split into factions. Some haven’t been behaving well. Some even believe that their baptism makes it okay for them to behave immorally! Paul’s advice is simple: Listen for God’s voice through the Holy Spirit. Remember that our bodies are parts of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, and honor God by doing the right thing.

Gospel: John 1:43-51

Jesus is calling his disciples, in John’s account, one and two at a time. Andrew, Simon Peter and now Philip have heard Jesus’s call. Philip wants to get his friend Nathanael into the growing band. But Nathanael is wary at first. This Jesus comes from Nazareth? That’s not where the Messiah is supposed to come from! But when Jesus speaks to Nathanael in words that seem to echo the Psalm’s “Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb,” Nathanael hears Jesus’ call and accepts him as the Son of God and King of Israel.

Epiphany 1B/Baptism of Our Lord

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 11, 2015

Fra Angelico. Baptism of Christ.

Fra Angelico. Baptism of Christ. c.1441. Fresco, Museo di San Marco, Florence.

First Reading: Genesis 1:1-5

We remember the Baptism of Jesus today, and all our readings speak of creation and new life through God in Word and Spirit. First, in the familiar opening verses of the ancient creation story in Genesis, we can see the idea of God in three persons taking shape: God the Creator is present. God’s Word makes the light shine in the darkness. God’s spirit breath sweeps over the water. In the beginning God creates heaven and earth. In the beginning was the Word.

Psalm: Psalm 29

This striking, poetic psalm portrays God’s powerful spirit wind as a majestic storm. Such a storm might scare us into running for shelter. But it is also the kind of awesome storm symphony that might lead us out on the porch to feel the rain and the wind touch our faces as the mighty storm rolls by. And then we cry out in worship, thanking the God who gives us strength and peace.

Second Reading: Acts 19:1-7

Remember last week’s New Testament reading, in which Paul prayed that God would give God’s Spirit of wisdom and revelation to the Ephesians, enlightening their hearts? Now, in the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about Paul introducing 12 Ephesians to the Holy Spirit. Baptized in John’s baptism of repentance, now Paul baptizes them in the Spirit in Jesus’ name. They joyfully speak in tongues and prophesy as the Holy Spirit comes to them.

Gospel: Mark 1:4-11

Now God’s Spirit moves over the waters again, this time as a dove coming down while Jesus emerges, dripping, from Jordan’s water, baptized by the prophet John, who quickly defers to Jesus’ greater power to baptize with the Holy Spirit. As Jesus begins his public ministry in the opening book of Mark, we hear God’s voice, God’s Word from above, declaring that Jesus is God’s Son, God’s Beloved, in whom God is pleased. When we are all baptized into the Body of Christ, we too become God’s sons and daughters, and our loving God is pleased.

Christmas 2

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 4, 2015

Adoration of the Magi

“Adoration of the Magi,” Andrea Mantegna, c. 1500. Collection: The J. Paul Getty Museum.

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14

We are still in Christmastide: The 12 days of Christmas continue through Epiphany, January 6, and our readings speak of thanksgiving, hope, and joy. Even Jeremiah, often called “the weeping prophet” for the dire warnings of destruction that fill his prophecy, resounds with shouts of praise and joy today. The prophet offers hope for all of God’s people, even those weeping in sorrow and pain. God will comfort all, turn our sorrow into gladness, our mourning into joy.

Psalm: Psalm 84

The Psalmist, too, sings a hymn of joy, and specifically, the joy of worshipping in the rebuilt temple whose destruction and restoration the Prophet Jeremiah had foretold. Even amid the joy of having the building restored, though, the real exultation is not bound by bricks and mortar but rests on the grace and glory found in encountering God.

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

Echoing in Ephesians the reassuring theme that we heard in last week’s reading from Galatians, Paul emphasizes that we are all adopted as God’s children through Jesus. Through this adoption we are freely given God’s grace, a glorious inheritance of great spiritual riches that gives us hope.

Gospel: Luke 2:41-52

The gospels tell us almost nothing about Jesus’s childhood and youth. This intriguing gap is filled only by this short, fascinating story that appears only in Luke’s Gospel. Twelve-year-old Jesus disappears while the family is in Jerusalem, to the horror of Joseph and Mary, who find him three days later in the Temple, impressing the elders with his intelligent discussion. The child reassures his frantic parents, declaring that his place is in his “Father’s house,” the Temple. In the next chapter, in Luke’s account of the baptism of the 30-year-old Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan, we will hear the voice of God announce that Jesus is God’s beloved Son.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

One of the most memorable Christmas stories tells of the wise men from the East who followed a shining star to Bethlehem, the village that the prophets foretold as the birthplace of the Messiah. It might surprise us, though, to remember that Matthew doesn’t actually say there were three of them, or that they were kings. They came, following the star. They bore gifts. They knelt and paid homage to baby Jesus as if he were a king … and then they thwarted evil Herod’s plan by heading home by another road. How do we hear God’s voice? What leads us to Jesus?