Author Archives: Robin Garr

Pentecost 4A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, July 6, 2014

Rebecca at the Well

Rebecca at the Well, 12th century mosaic at the Cappella Palatina di Palermo.

First Reading: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Rebekah’s response to Abraham’s servant reminds us of Abraham’s response to God’s call: Hearing God’s voice, both respond with faithful trust. Abraham uproots his family and moves to a new land. Rebekah leaves home and family to marry Abraham’s son, Isaac, a man she has not yet met, but who will come to love her. Abraham heard God’s promise that his offspring would become “a great and mighty nation”; Rebekah hears that her children will become “thousands of myriads.” Is this woman’s faith any less than that of Abraham?

First Reading (Track Two): Zechariah 9:9-12

The prophet Zechariah, celebrating the people’s return from exile and their hope of restoring the Temple, envisions a humble yet powerful king who will come to reign in peace and restore the nation’s prosperity. Matthew later will find Jesus so clearly foretold in these verses that he adopts the repetition of Hebrew poetry word for word in depicting Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem: “Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Psalm: Psalm 45:11-18

Today’s psalm is a wedding blessing addressed to a princess bride of Tyre, an ancient island kingdom and sometimes rival to Israel. These verses celebrate the pomp and joy in her impending wedding and its hope of lasting remembrance in future generations, a prayer for future blessing that might remind us God’s promise to Isaac and Rebekah.

Second Reading: Romans 7:15-25a

In recent readings, Paul has assured the Romans that as we “die” to our old lives enslaved to sin through baptism, we are “born” to a new life freed from sin through God’s grace. But now Paul admits that it’s not so easy to leave sin behind. Even when his mind wants to do what’s right, Paul confesses, he can’t get rid of the sin that lives within him. He can’t fight sin on his own – and neither can we – without God’s help through Jesus.

Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Jesus seems frustrated. Preaching to crowds around Capernaum in Galilee, he calls them “children.” He may be irritable because some people who considered ascetic John’s call for repentance crazy and judgmental are now criticizing Jesus’ joyous embrace of life as evidence that he is a glutton and a drunk. But then he pauses and thanks God. Suddenly his hope for Israel’s children and infants turns gentle. Can we sense a little foretaste of the Beatitudes in this, the promise of God’s Kingdom coming to the poor, the meek, the hungry and thirsty, and all who bear burdens and labor under a heavy yoke?

Pentecost 3A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, June 29, 2014

Juan de Valdés Leal, “Ecce Homo,” oil on canvase, 1657-59

Juan de Valdés Leal, “Ecce Homo.”

First Reading: Genesis 22:1-14

Last week we heard God order Abraham to send his slave, Hagar, and their son, Ishmael, into the desert where they would surely die. Now the story gets even more shocking, as God commands Abraham to slay his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. What in Heaven’s name is going on here? Perhaps the easy answer is to recognize that these are these are ancient legends, difficult for us to understand in our own context. For the ancients, perhaps the outcome of this story showed that our God does not desire human sacrifice. As Christians, we may also see a God who loves us enough to sacrifice God’s own son … but then to say “no” to death.

Psalm: Psalm 13

At first glance, this Psalm might not seem the best choice to read to someone who is grieving or afraid. The Psalmist speaks from the depths of fear and loss, suffering deep pain. Has God’s face turned away, leaving him alone and defenseless? But even in this dark place, hope remains; for God’s love is steadfast and abiding. God has been just and fair, and the Psalmist trusts that God will remain so.

Second Reading: Romans 6:12-23

Paul takes the idea of slavery and turns it inside out to make his point today. Through Christian baptism we have been spared from the slavery of sin, freeing us to joyously embrace a better kind of slavery, the “enslavement” of willing submission to God through Christ. In this way, Paul writes to the people of Rome, we receive the free gift of grace that brings eternal life.

Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42

As we enter into the long Pentecost season this summer and fall, we will follow Jesus’s footsteps as they are described in the Gospel of Matthew. Today we hear Jesus telling his recently commissioned Apostles about the rewards of following his way. Immediately after his troubling warning that those who follow him must leave friends and family behind, Jesus now echoes the Psalmist’s promise that God will be just and fair. Jesus promises that those who practice justice in his name – even in such small ways as offering water to a child – will receive God’s justice.

Pentecost 2A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, June 22, 2014

Christ enthroned as an earthly monarch

Christ enthroned as an earthly monarch, from the Book of Kells, Ireland, around 800 CE.

First Reading: Genesis 21:8-21

Even the greatest Bible heroes are hardly plaster saints. From Adam and Eve’s taste for forbidden fruit down through Joseph, Jacob, Moses and King David to doubting Thomas and denying Peter, the great figures in Scripture are just about all flawed and broken; yet God loves them just the same, as God loves us. Today we hear a particularly troubling story about Abraham. Yes, even the patriarch of the Judeo-Christian family was capable of such disturbing behavior as sending his slave, Hagar, and their son, Ishmael, into the desert to die. But God intervened, and promised them a future as bountiful as that of Abraham and Sarah’s own son, Isaac.

Psalm: Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17

As our Genesis reading reminds us that God loves us even when we aren’t very nice, the Psalmist sings out the prayerful assurance that God loves us even when we aren’t very happy. Poor and needy, fearing death, the Psalmist cries out, trusting in a good and forgiving God to answer our prayers and make our hearts glad.

Second Reading: Romans 6:1b-11

If this short reading from Paul’s letter to the early church in Rome seems like heavy going, that may be because Paul so intensely wants us to hear his message: In baptism, everything changes, and that’s important! Baptism unites us with Christ so that we share in his death and resurrection. In baptism we symbolically “die” to our old life enslaved by sin. In baptism we are born to a new life, freed from sin through God’s abounding grace, dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus.

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39

It’s not easy to follow Jesus. The Prince of Peace is bringing a sword? We have to leave our families behind? Well, context is important here. Remember that Matthew is writing in a time of Roman persecution, the destruction of the Temple, and angry rivalry as Jewish Christians and rabbinic Jews wrangled over Jesus’ status as Messiah. In those days, it could be not merely hard but dangerous to follow Jesus. But even in our times, Jesus calls us to give, not to take. That’s a challenge with great rewards.

Trinity Sunday A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, June 15, 2014

Seventh Day of Creation (from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)

Seventh Day of Creation (from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)

First Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Most Episcopalians probably join the ancient rabbis who edited the Old Testament in recognizing the creation stories of Genesis as the inspiring creation legend of our distant spiritual ancestors, not literal fact. Genesis shows us a monotheistic God as a loving creative force at work in the world. As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, look closely at the opening verses, where we can discern three persons at work in one God: Divine creator; creative Word, and Spirit wind that moves over the waters and makes the world be.

Psalm: Psalm 8

Today’s Psalm beautifully knits together the ideas that we hold up on Trinity Sunday. In it we give praise and thanksgiving for God’s creation. We remember that we hold dominion over God’s earthly creation. We accept that this duty calls us to preserve and protect “the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea.” And finally we worship the majesty of God, our Creator who made it all.

Alternate Psalm: Canticle 13

This week in place of a Psalm we mark Trinity Sunday by singing Canticle 13, “A Song of Praise,” offering praise and exaltation to God as Creator, Son and Holy Spirit. Remember the story of the three young men who danced and sang in defiance of the flames in King Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace? This is what they sang in the Prayer to Azariah, an addition to the book of Daniel in the Apocrypha at the end of the Old Testament.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Paul closes his second letter to the people of Corinth in the formal style dictated for letters in 1st Century Greek culture. In brief but loving words, he urges this small, often squabbling congregation to sort out their conflicts, pay attention to each other, and love one another as God loves them. He asks this in the name of the Holy Trinity, blessing them with hope for the peace of Jesus, the love of God and the Communion of the Holy Spirit.

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

Last week, Pentecost Sunday, we heard of the Holy Spirit coming to the disciples in wind and fire, inspiring them to go out to the world and tell the good news of the resurrection and eternal life. Today, on Trinity Sunday, we hear the last verses of Matthew, his only account of the risen Christ, who met the disciples in Galilee and commissioned them to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Pentecost A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, June 8, 2014

Pentecost - Duccio di Buoninsegna (1308) Tempera on wood. Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena.

Pentecost – Duccio di Buoninsegna (1308) Tempera on wood. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena.

First Reading (also alternate Second Reading): Acts 2:1-21

Pentecost has come, the apostles are gathered to celebrate Shavuot, the Jewish spring harvest festival, and God’s Holy Spirit comes in a rush of wind and tongues of fire! Suddenly the Apostles are shouting out the Good News in many languages, and we recall the resurrected Christ’s promise that they would soon be “baptized in the Holy Spirit,” receiving power to be his witnesses, not only in Jerusalem but to the ends of the earth. Recalling the words of the Prophet Joel, Peter assures the crowd that the Spirit will be poured out for us all.

First Reading (alternate): Numbers 11:24-30

Seven weeks after Easter we celebrate Pentecost, the third major church holiday of the year. On Christmas we remembered the birth of Jesus. On Easter we recall Jesus’ death and resurrection. Pentecost completes the circle with God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, inspiring us to take the Gospel out to the world in Jesus’ name. Today’s first reading tells of God’s spirit empowering Moses and his followers. But the spirit came to Eldad and Medad, too, even though they weren’t there! We don’t control where the Holy Spirit goes, but wherever God’s spirit comes and moves through us, good things can happen.

Psalm: Psalm 104:25-35

Hold up these prophetic words from the middle of today’s Psalm: “You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth..” Since the first words of Scripture when God’s spirit breath blew over the face of the waters like a mighty wind and all creation came to be, God’s mighty work of creative world-building continues all around us. Sing! Sing praise to God! Rejoice!

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Through the Spirit we all are all as one in baptism. Nationality, economic status, gender: None of that matters. Just as the body is made up of different parts that serve different functions, we bring individual gifts as we work together, guided by the Spirit, for the common good. Through it all, Paul assures us, we are all moved by the Spirit as members of the body of Christ.

Gospel: John 20:19-23

Think about how it must have been for the disciples on the first Easter day. Grieving the loss of their leader, they surely felt both wild hope and fearful uncertainty when Mary Magdalene came running in to tell them that the tomb is empty and she met a man in white. “I have seen the Lord!” But how? Why? What does it all mean? Now darkness falls and Jesus is suddenly with them in the locked room. He wishes them peace, shows them his wounds. Then he breathes on them, signaling the presence of the Holy Spirit that will take them … and the church … out into the world.

Gospel (alternate): John 7:37-39

Pentecost is one of the feast days designated as especially appropriate for baptism. Indeed, its alternative name, “Whitsunday,” or “White Sunday,” alludes to the white garments worn by those being baptized. As we gather in Christian community and welcome new members into Christ’s Body in the church, we remember that through Baptism we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. Through the living water of baptism our hearts join in pouring out the good news of the Gospel to all the world’s nations.

Easter 7A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, June 1, 2014

Ascensione di Cristo (The Ascension of Christ), by Dosso Dossi, 16th century, Padua, Italy.

Ascensione di Cristo (The Ascension of Christ), by Dosso Dossi, 16th century, Padua, Italy.

First Reading: Acts 1:6-14

Our Sunday readings through Eastertide have taken us from the empty tomb of Easter morning through mysterious appearances of the risen Christ; then we sat in on Jesus’ final talk with the apostles in John’s story of the Last Supper. Now we come to Jesus’ ascension into heaven, an event recounted only by Luke, in his Gospel and in Acts. Jesus promises the apostles that God’s Holy Spirit will empower them to take the Gospel to all the world. Next week we’ll hear the rest of that story when the Spirit comes in wind and fire on the first Pentecost.

Psalm: Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36

The Psalm begins with troubling warlike images of fleeing enemies dying amid fire and smoke before a powerful God who rides the clouds. But soon it turns to a kinder, gentler narrative: Those who live righteously – who do right by following God’s command to protect the orphan and the widow, to care for the homeless and the imprisoned – will receive God’s favor and blessing.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

The way of Jesus isn’t always an easy road. At the time of the first letter written in Peter’s name to Gentile Christian communities in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), the people are suffering the “fiery ordeal” of persecution for their faith. The writer can’t stop their suffering, but offers reassurance that in this suffering they share the suffering of Christ and of their Christian brothers and sisters. Resisting evil is hard, but God is with us and gives us the support and strength that we need to endure.

Gospel: John 17:1-11

John’s account of Jesus’ farewell conversation at the Last Supper now approaches its conclusion. In the preceding verses Jesus promised the disciples, “Ask and you will receive,” and warned them that he must soon leave this world and return to the father. Now Jesus turns from his friends at the table and addresses God directly in prayer. He declares that the hour of his death has come. He prays for the disciples, praising them for their faith and trust, and asking God to protect them, to keep them united with each other and with God, and to give them the eternal life that comes through relationship with God in Jesus’ name.

Easter 6A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, May 25, 2014

Paul preaches at the Areopagus in Athens.

Paul preaches at the Areopagus in Athens.

First Reading: Acts 17:22-31

Paul has arrived in Athens, where he enthusiastically debates theology with both Jews and Greek pagans. Now he plays a crafty trick. Pointing out that the Greeks keep an altar “to an unknown God,” Paul proclaims that the God who is unknown to them is in fact our God who made the world and everything in it, who gives to all mortals life and breath. Then Paul expresses a core truth about God that has endured through the ages and that we often hear in the Collect for Guidance in Morning Prayer: “In God we live and move and have our being.”

Psalm: Psalm 66:7-18

Why do bad things happen to good people? The Psalmist ponders this eternal question. Sometimes it seems as if God is testing us when we face burdens that seem too heavy to bear. But God keeps watch over all the people of the Earth and ultimately brings us out to a spacious place of relief. Curiously, the Lectionary omits the final two verses that bring Psalm 66 to its happy conclusion: “… truly God has listened; God has given heed to the words of my prayer.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:13-22

This letter, written in Peter’s name long after the first Easter, offers fascinating glimpses of the early church working out its theology at a time when many faced persecution. Echoing the hope of Psalm 66, these verses assure us that we earn blessing when we suffer for doing the right thing, just as Noah and his family endured the flood so that humanity could survive, and just as Jesus suffered on the cross, died and was resurrected, and now waits for us at the right hand of God.

Gospel: John 14:15-21


As Eastertide turns toward the Ascension and Pentecost, we return to Jesus’ extended farewell at the Last Supper in a new context: Soon Jesus will return to the Creator, but he remains with us in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is sent from God as our “advocate,” a word also used in ancient Greek as “helper” or “intercessor.” When the Spirit moves in our world, when we are inspired by God’s breath on our faces, when our hearts burn with desire to act as Christ’s hands in the world, we know that the Holy Spirit is with us.

Easter 5A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, May 18, 2014

Jesus mosaic at Hagia Sophia church, Istanbul, Turkey (6th century).

Jesus mosaic at Hagia Sophia church, Istanbul, Turkey (6th century).

First Reading: Acts 7:55-60

Today we hear of the death of Stephen, traditionally the first martyr of the church. This reading introduces Saul, a Pharisee who, we learn in the next verse, “approved” of this violent, brutal killing in which every person in an angry crowd took a hand. Later, Saul will undergo a startling conversion to become St. Paul, a great evangelist for Christ. But what did Stephen do to deserve such a horrific death at the hands of his fellow worshippers? According to Acts, written after Jews and Christians had divided amid hard feelings, Stephen stood up in synagogue and declared his fellow Jews “betrayers and murderers” for their role in Jesus’s crucifixion and death.

Psalm: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

“Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Think about this: Both Jesus, dying on the cross, and Stephen, dying under the pounding weight of stones thrown by his community, uttered this same verse from Psalm 31. Even in the painful moment of death by violence, they confessed their faith. The Psalmist, too, seeking refuge and rescue, trusts in God’s fortress-like protection and God’s steadfast love.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:2-10

These verses turn to the Old Testament to find inspiration for the church. Writing for the persecuted church in Asia Minor a few generations after the crucifixion, the author turns to the Psalms and the prophets to find ideas similar to those in today’s reading from John, calling us to proclaim the acts of Jesus and through believing, to try to do the work of Jesus in the world.

Gospel: John 14:1-14

So many of the collects that we recite in church conclude with similar words: “through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.” This is where that doxology begins: As told by John in his version of Jesus’ last talk with the apostles at the Last Supper, no one comes to God except through Jesus. Jesus is the Way. To know Jesus is to know God. This is not just a dream of a heavenly life beyond the Pearly Gates; it is a promise that God is with us in God’s Kingdom on Earth.

Easter 4A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, May 11, 2014

Ancient Greek Orthodox icon of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Ancient Greek Orthodox icon of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

The fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally called “Good Shepherd Sunday” for its lectionary focus on sheep and shepherds as metaphors for God’s protective love. Our first reading, continuing the Acts narrative of the spirit-filled church after the first Pentecost, tells us how that infant flock lived in loving, sharing community as they recognized the joy and challenge of taking the good news of the Gospel to the world.

Psalm: Psalm 23

Who doesn’t love the 23rd Psalm? In time of trouble and of fear, the 23rd offers comfort. It gains even more power when we read it in context with Psalm 22, one of the most desperate psalms of lament. In the 22nd Psalm the poet utters the hopeless words that Jesus will later repeat on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Still, he calls on God in trust and hope. Then we turn the page and find comfort in the 23rd’s assurance that our loving Shepherd will watch over us and protect us all the days of our lives.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

Why does this reading seem to begin in the middle of a sentence? It may be a bit troubling to look back and see what came just before: The writer is offering this guidance to slaves, even those who toil for harsh masters. Perhaps it’s more useful for us to take this as general advice to all who suffer, remembering that Jesus suffered and died unfairly, having done no wrong. Like lost sheep, we suffer, but we know joy when we return to Christ, our shepherd and guardian.

Gospel: John 10:1-10

John the Evangelist expands on the shepherd image here, picturing Jesus not only as the good shepherd but also as the gatekeeper for the sheepfold, the protective guardian whose familiar voice reassures the sheep. Jesus is further portrayed as the knowing sheepfold gate that opens to allow those protected to enter, while closing to keep out those who would steal, kill and destroy his beloved sheep.

Easter 3A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, May 4, 2014

The Journey to Emmaus.

The Journey to Emmaus. Ivory plaque from a reliquary, Léon, ca.1115-20. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

First Reading: Acts 2:14a,36-41

These verses call for careful reading, as they stem from a time of tension between Judaism and early Christians who were hurt and angry over being expelled from the synagogues for their belief in Jesus as Messiah. But hearing Peter blame “the entire house of Israel” for Jesus’ crucifixion could lead Christians down the hate-filled path of anti-Judaism. It’s better to hear this reading as God’s gracious promise that the gift of the Holy Spirit is open to everyone.

Psalm: Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17

This Psalm of thanksgiving is understood as a hymn of gratitude for recovery from illness. It is vivid in its description of the anguish of illness and the fear of death, but also of the transforming joy that comes with recovery. We hear a theme of resurrection here, too, the joy that comes with escaping the darkness of the underworld to win the bounty of salvation. In the joy of restored life, we thank God for loosing us from the snares of death.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

In another brief glimpse at the first letter written in Peter’s name by a later follower, we again see the early church trying to work out what Jesus’ death and resurrection means in our lives. This search for understanding would go on for centuries and arguably continues today, but the basics stand through the millennia: Through Christ we trust in God; through Christ we love one another, and through Christ we gain life in the enduring word of God.

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

What a confusing time the first Easter must have been for those who loved Jesus! Today’s Gospel, like last Sunday’s reading about Jesus entering the locked room where the disciples were hiding, suggests that they remained uncertain, uneasy, even scared. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel,” two of them told the stranger on the road to Emmaus, their phraseology suggesting that this hope, once alive, now was gone. Nor does it seem that they believed the women, any more than Thomas had believed the others, until they saw for themselves. But the traveler, Jesus, revealed himself in the breaking of the bread, just as we discover Jesus when we gather at the Eucharistic table today.