Author Archives: Robin Garr

Lent 4A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 30, 2014

Jesus opens the eyes of the man born blind

Jesus opens the eyes of the man born blind

First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
God is no longer satisfied with King Saul, so Samuel, prophet and judge, gets orders to find the new king that God has chosen. It takes a while for him to work his way down to David, a handsome lad but the youngest of Jesse’s sons, so far down Samuel’s list that he had been left out in the fields to watch the sheep. Christians celebrate this story because prophets foretold that the Messiah would come in David’s line. But it also offers us a simple lesson for our daily lives: “Don’t judge a book by its cover. Look inside and learn.”

Psalm: Psalm 23

Who doesn’t know and love the 23rd Psalm? It brings comfort in time of trouble and trial, reminding us that in our darkest hours and most threatening times, God walks with us, protects us and comforts us. Ancient tradition held that David himself wrote these verses. Most modern scholars doubt that. But kings and commoners alike can take joy from knowing that God’s rod and staff comfort us, and God’s goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives.

Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
This short letter, probably written in Paul’s name a generation or more after his death, contains some problems for modern Christians who take it out of its historical and cultural context. It appears to sanction slavery, for example, and it firmly puts women in their place as “subject” to their husbands. Today’s short reading, however, offers a poetic view of light against darkness, perhaps echoing John’s vision of Jesus as the light shining in the darkness, and pointing us toward today’s Gospel about the man born blind.

Gospel: John 9:1-41
Speaking of harsh ideas that linger from ancient times, the sad notion that blindness and other disabilities reflect God’s punishment for one’s sins or the sins of one’s parents has been hard to overcome, despite Jesus’ emphasis that God does no such thing. Rather, the very words that the man born blind utters upon his healing make the case for grace, not punishment, as we hear them in one of Christianity’s most beloved hymns: “I once was lost, but now am found … Was blind, but now I see.”

Lent 3A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 23, 2014

Jesus and the woman at the well.

Jesus and the woman at the well. Ancient mosaic at Ravenna, Italy.

First Reading: Exodus 17:1-7
This week’s readings focus our thoughts on water and food … and a bit of gratitude. We hunger and thirst for sustenance, and we hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice. When we face basic needs of hunger and thirst, though, it’s all too easy to forget to be grateful for past blessings. In the previous chapter of Exodus, God provided manna for the hungry people. Now they are angry because they have no water, complaining that they were better off in slavery in Egypt than dying in the desert. Moses is about out of patience with them, but God provides.

Psalm: Psalm 95
Today’s Psalm begins with a surprisingly joyous tone for the penitential weeks of Lent, but the joyful noise of praise for God changes key abruptly in Verse 8 when the Psalmist reminds us of the story we heard in today’s Exodus reading. The thirsty, angry people turned their hearts from God and put God to the test; the Psalmist imagines that these actions drove God to “loathe” these ungrateful people and leave them lost 40 years in the desert. We might prefer to envision a more loving and forgiving God, but the Psalmist’s opinion is clear.

Second Reading: Romans 5:1-11
Even though we are sinners, we are justified through faith and saved through Jesus’s death on the cross, Paul writes to the people of Rome. But, in language that hints at the modern notion, “no pain, no gain,” he suggests that just as Jesus suffered and died, we mustn’t expect an easy road as we hunger and thirst for God’s grace.

Gospel: John 4:5-42
Jesus, like the people in the desert, was tired and thirsty after a long journey. He struck up a conversation with a Samaritan woman, asking her for a drink. These actions surprised her, as Jewish men of the era weren’t likely to engage with women or Samaritans. Then his conversation surprised her even more, as he promised her the unending “living water” of God’s spirit, foretold an end to the differences between their people, and declared himself the Messiah.

Lent 2A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 16, 2014

Stained glass showing Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night.

Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night.

First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a
Last week as Lent began we contemplated temptation in our lives. Now in the second week of Lent our lectionary readings turn to faith: Trust in God. Close your eyes, believe, and take that long leap of faith. In our first reading, we hear the ancestral story of Abram – who would become Abraham – the patriarch of the chosen people, who even in the fullness of years trusted God’s call to uproot his home and family and move out toward the people’s eventual arrival in the promised land.

Psalm: Psalm 121
This short Psalm, a “song of ascents” that was probably originally sung in procession as the people and priests moved up toward the Temple, continues the idea of faith and trust in God to watch over us and protect us. We sing our thanks and praise to God, who unfailingly, without pausing to sleep, guards us and protects us from evil, now and forever.

Second Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Paul’s pastoral letter to the people in Rome draws us back to Abraham, turning the ancestral story to a new purpose: While Abraham was the ancestor of the chosen people in the flesh, through generations passed down from parent to child not only to Israel but to many nations, God’s promise of eternal life comes to us, as it came to Abraham, through faith by grace.

Gospel: John 3:1-17
Poor Nicodemus just couldn’t get his mind around the idea of being “born again,” a term that, confusingly, in the original Greek word “anothen” might mean “anew,” “again,” “from above,” “in the future,” or even all of those. Nicodemus, in an exchange that the author of John might have intended to draw chuckles from believers, couldn’t figure how a grown person could creep back into the mother’s body to be re-born. But Jesus understood that there is no contradiction between being born of the flesh as an infant and being “born again,” or, for that matter, “born from above,” not in the flesh but through faith and the Spirit.

Lent 1A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 9, 2014

The temptation of Jesus as envisioned by an African artist.

The temptation of Jesus as envisioned by an African artist.

First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
This week’s readings open the Lenten season with scriptural views of temptation and sin. In the creation legend, Eve and Adam give in to temptation and eat the fruit that God had told them not to touch. Not even God’s warning that the fruit would bring death was strong enough to block the overpowering temptation that came with the crafty serpent’s promise that they would gain Godlike knowledge of good and evil. Temptation is powerful; and so is the shame that comes with realizing that we have distorted our relationship with God and each other, a loss of loving connection that we know as sin.

Psalm: Psalm 32
Many of the Psalms celebrate the joy of loving God and living in God’s way. This Psalm in particular makes this point with an unusual twist: It exalts the joy, relief and “glad cries of deliverance” that erupt from our souls when we accept God’s sure forgiveness. Indeed God’s steadfast love surrounds all of us who trust enough to acknowledge our wrongdoing, confess our transgressions and accept God’s loving deliverance from the pain and guilt of separating ourselves from God through sin.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19
Offering pastoral guidance to the people of the ancient church in Rome in its struggle with human relationships, Paul sketches a direct connection between the sin of Adam (curiously, he doesn’t mention Eve) and the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of God. If Adam’s yielding to the temptation of the fruit brought death into the world, as the Genesis verses foretell, then Jesus’ incarnation as one of us restores justification and life for all through God’s free gift of grace.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11
These verses come immediately after Jesus’ baptism, where he heard the voice of God declaring him God’s beloved Son. Now Jesus goes into the wilderness. To meditate and pray? Wait! What’s this? The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? That’s not the way most of us remember this Gospel story! The devil – not a scary red horned creature but something more like the “Adversary” who tested Job’s faith in the Old Testament story – tries to test Jesus, tempting him three times to perform miracles to help himself. But Jesus shows that he is Son of God, standing strong against temptation.

Last Epiphany A/Transfiguration

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 2, 2014

Moses receives the Law and the Commandment.

Moses receives the Law and the Commandment.

First Reading: Exodus 24:12-18
Transfiguration Sunday marks the liturgical midway point between Christmas and Easter. Now we turn from the incarnate light of Epiphany toward the penitential pathway of Lent that leads toward the crucifixion and then the joy of the resurrection. Today’s readings show us the awe and fear of humans encountering the divine. Exodus describes Moses going up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from a fearsome God cloaked in clouds and fire. This scene is a surprising contrast with the verses that came just before, in which Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the people apparently dine and drink with a more accessible divine being. In our quest for God, humans have always wrestled with the contrasting ideas of an intimate God who knows our deepest thoughts, and a transcendent God who surpasses human understanding.

Psalm: Psalm 99
This hymn of praise envisions God as a mighty king, at whose appearance the people tremble and the earth shakes. Yet, recalling Moses and Aaron receiving God’s law and teaching, it also shows us God as forgiving and kind, a doer of justice, equity and righteousness. Again the people look for God and find both distant might and present love.

Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Here’s something to know about the New Testament’s Letters of Peter: The Apostle Peter didn’t write either of them, and this one was probably written 100 years or more after the Crucifixion, long after Peter’s death. But that doesn’t matter! This letter may have sought to bridge quarreling factions in the young church as believers wondered why Jesus hadn’t yet kept his promise to return. Recalling Peter’s presence at the Transfiguration, it reminds us to trust in God.

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
Using images that recall Moses on the mountain and in words that precisely echo God’s approving words at Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan, this account shows us Jesus with Old Testament prophets, glowing in dazzling light, revealed as both human and divine. It’s no wonder that Peter, James and John were afraid … until Jesus’ loving touch reassured them. Jesus calls us, too, to follow his way … and not to be afraid.

Epiphany 7A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014

Temple code sacrifices in Leviticus.

Temple code sacrifices in Leviticus. (Woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern.)

First Reading: Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18
Torah, the ancestral stories of God’s chosen people, is best translated as “teaching.” Torah tells of God’s covenant with the people, given at Mount Sinai. It teaches in detail how we are to practice righteousness and justice as we try to walk in God’s ways. Today’s reading commands us to deal justly with our neighbors. Surely this is the Torah that Jesus taught when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan: Everyone is our neighbor. We are to share our bounty with all who are poor and hungry; the foreigner, those who labor and those who struggle with disability.

Psalm: Psalm 119:33-40
We return to Psalm 119, the longest of the Psalms, for another excerpt that celebrates love for God’s teaching. Listen as the Psalmist lifts up humility and generosity, calling us to turn from selfish gain and avoid “vanities” as we follow God’s ways through life-giving righteousness. This is what Torah teaches; it is the way that Jesus urges us to live.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11,16-23
Continuing his pastoral advice to the church at Corinth, Paul uses metaphors to make his point. In last week’s reading he first likened the Corinthians to children who need milk before they are ready for solid food, then as a field to be planted and watere​d. He now describes the church as a building set on the strong foundation that is Jesus: We are God’s temple, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Repeating key themes from earlier verses, he reminds us that we accept​ that the world calls us “fools” when we accept the scandal of the Cross, and that we all belong to God, not to factions led by mere humans.

Gospel: Matthew 5:38-48
Our Gospel reading again comes from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus urges us to go beyond the old teaching to a new way, hearing God’s commandments not only as rules to live by but as new ways to understand our relationship with God and our neighbors. “An eye for an eye” was a humane practice in ancient times when “death for an eye” was the usual response. Jesus now calls us not merely to equity in justice but to radical forgiveness. Love all our neighbors, no matter what, Jesus insists, calling us to the lofty if impossible goal of emulating God’s perfection.

Epiphany 6A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014

Moses, in old age, sees the Promised Land from Mount Pisgah.

Moses, in old age, sees the Promised Land from Mount Pisgah.

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
On the banks of the Jordan as the people prepare to cross into the promised land, Moses preaches the core of Old Testament teaching: Follow God’s commandments, and you will inherit the land. Defy God’s wishes, and you will lose the land and die. From Sinai to the Jordan, he people have repeatedly heard this covenant: Be righteous, be just. Care for the poor and the weak; the widow, the orphan and the stranger. And when the people fail, the prophets will rise up to remind them of God’s promise, which will play out in the loss of the land, the destruction of the Temple, and exile.

Alternate First Reading: Sirach 15:15-20
We rarely hear readings from Sirach, one of the “deuterocanonical” books (also known as Apocrypha) that come at the end of the Old Testament. Called “The Wisdom of Jesus, ben (Son of) Sirach” in the original Greek, Sirach took the Latin name “Ecclesiasticus” after the Emperor Constantine. It sums up God’s teaching (“Torah”) in the genre of wisdom literature: brisk, memorable advice akin to the Book of Proverbs. Today’s reading reminds us that we are given free will. God does not force us to keep God’s commandments – we may choose either fire or water – but God is all-knowing and wise and does not wish us to sin.

Psalm: Psalm 119:1-8

Today we hear only the first eight verses of this, the longest of the Psalms. But its central message, reinforcing the covenantal agreement that we heard in Deuteronomy, remains consistent through all 176 verses: God’s laws are wonderful, and those who follow that teaching and walk in God’s ways will be rewarded. The Psalmist calls on God to keep him steadfast in following God’s teaching.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
We continue working through the opening chapters of First Corinthians this week, listening in as Paul writes pastorally to a bickering church that has split into factions. Last week it might have sounded as if Paul was praising the Corinthians for a spiritual maturity that enabled them to understand the ways of God that aren’t so clear to those less mature. But no! Paul makes it clear that the Christians of Corinth have a long way to go. Their quarreling factions show that they aren’t ready for spiritual food, Paul warns, adding that we are all God’s servants. When we work together, God uses us to build and grow.

Gospel: Matthew 5:21-37

The Sermon on the Mount, which takes up three full chapters in Matthew’s Gospel, is all about discipleship, the hard work of following Jesus. In today’s passage, Jesus takes three commandments that we think we know, and reinterprets them in radical new ways. It’s not just “Do not kill” but do no harm; even respond to your enemies in peace! Do not commit adultery? No, treat women with respect! Do not bear false witness? No, do more: Be honest, be true, say exactly what you mean!

Epiphany 5A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014

Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount window in Shrewsbury Cathedral, England.

First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12
Two important ideas run through today’s readings: Righteousness and light. “Righteous,” in biblical understanding, may not mean quite what we think it does in modern times. It speaks of God’s call to God’s people to practice justice, as Isaiah insists and as Jesus, too, asks of us, by going beyond mere fasting and ritual practice to stand against oppression, feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked. Righteousness heals our souls and lights up our lives, as the light of Epiphany that shines in the deep winter darkness will illuminate the way of our God.

Psalm: Psalm 112
Today’s Psalm, titled “Blessings of the Righteous,” echoes the Prophet Isaiah’s call: The righteousness of those who follow God and delight in God’s commandments will endure forever. Those who are gracious and merciful, who deal with others generously and act with justice, will “rise in the darkness as a light for the upright.” By living justly, we become an example for others and show the way to God.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Paul continues his pastoral guidance for the quarreling community at Corinth, turning their thoughts toward humility as he reminds them that, although following the crucified Jesus in weakness and fear may make us appear “foolish” in the eyes of the world, we actually share God’s hidden and secret wisdom; the Holy Spirit will give us new life through the mind of Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20
Today’s Gospel picks up in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, just after Jesus has given the crowd the Beatitudes, promising God’s kingdom to the poor, the hungry, the thirsty; those who mourn, the meek; the humble, and all who are persecuted and oppressed. You, God’s people, are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, Jesus tells the crowd; and with that comes the responsibility to let the world see God through your good works. Jesus says he has not come to change God’s law that calls us to righteousness: Love God, and love our neighbors as ourselves. But in fulfilling the law, Jesus will show us new ways, as he goes on to do on the next pages of this great Sermon: “You have heard that it was said … but I tell you …” That which was old becomes new again in Jesus.

Epiphany 4A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014

Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount, from L’histoire dv Vieux et dv Nouveau Testament, Nicolas Fontaine, 1625-1709.

First Reading: Micah 6:1-8
The prophet Micah imagines humanity standing before God as a defendant in a trial, pleading our case before the almighty Judge. God “has a controversy with us,” the prophet warns. God has done so much for us since bringing the people out of Egypt to the promised land. How are we to respond? Not with burnt offering or sacrifice, but, in Micah’s memorable terms, simply by doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God.

Psalm: Psalm 15
Historically, bible scholars believe, this short Psalm may depict ancient Temple liturgy and practice, questions to be asked and answered as the priests led the people in procession up to the doors. Who may enter? those who do right, speak truth, don’t slander or reproach and do no evil. These are rules to live by in any age. Surely there are echoes of Micah in, “Walk blamelessly, do what is right, and speak the truth from [your] heart.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Paul, continuing his lecture to the quarreling factions in the church at Corinth, repeats the verse that concluded last Sunday’s reading: Jesus’ death on the cross – a horrific form of execution reserved by Rome for the worst criminals – “is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Yet God chose this way to celebrate the weak, the poor and the despised and to shame the powerful and the strong through Jesus, who gives us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12
Ah, the Beatitudes! Jesus’s loving verses in the Sermon on the Mount are central to Christian thinking, so much so that it is easy to hear them with more affection than deep reflection. But beatitudes – a Scriptural genre found also in Psalms and Proverbs – reward deeper thought. In eight quick phrases, Jesus turns the world upside down: The poor are blessed, not the rich. Mourners, the meek, the hungry; the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the oppressed win God’s blessing. This should come as no surprise to those who follow Jesus: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.”

The Presentation of our Lord

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Master of the Cini Madonna, Rimini, 14th century.

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Master of the Cini Madonna, Rimini, 14th century.

First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4
“Who can endure the day of his coming?” “He is like a refiner’s fire!” If you love Handel’s “Messiah,” you may feel like singing along with the Prophet Malachi. The prophet, writing after the people’s return from exile, isn’t happy. He calls on God to cleanse the rebuilt temple with fire and to send a messenger to keep it clean. Christians, seeing an image of Christ in the ancient prophecy, imagine a more generous Messenger, who purifies us and makes us pleasing to God.

Psalm: Psalm 84
When we read this Psalm during Christmastide, we heard it as a hymn of joy in knowing that God will provide protection, favor and honor to those who trust in God. Now reflect on the details: As God provides nests for the small birds, so will God provide for us. As God provides pools of water for thirsty travelers, so will God hear our prayers.

Second Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18
Hebrews was written for Jewish Christians who were undergoing frightening persecution, causing many to abandon their new faith. Hebrews stands strong in its call for perseverance. It names Jesus as Son of God and great high priest, God who became fully human like us and overcame death through his sacrifice. The early church, scholars believe, did not understand this sacrifice as tribute demanded by an angry God. That idea came only centuries later. Rather, it joyfully saw Jesus’s sacrifice as freeing us from death, so the old Temple’s sacrificial rites were no longer needed.

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
Today’s readings celebrate Joseph and Mary presenting baby Jesus in the Temple, sacrificing a pair of birds to fulfill the Jewish practice that the author of Hebrews would later declare superseded. Simeon, a very old man who had heard God’s promise that he would meet the Messiah before he died, joyfully takes the baby, blesses Jesus and his family, and utters the verses that we know as the Nunc Dimittis, the Song of Simeon: “Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see …”