Easter 3C

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 1, 2022 (Easter 3C)

First Reading: Acts 9:1-20

Saul was mean, and Saul was scary. A zealous Pharisee angry with the unorthodox new Messianic movement, Saul persecuted the first Christians with all his strength.

Christ's Charge to Peter

Christ’s Charge to Peter (1515-1516), design for a tapestry by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael, 1483-1520). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

But everything changed for Saul in a blinding confrontation with Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus. In words reminiscent of Matthew 25’s “just as you did to the least of these … you did it to me,” Saul hears that when he persecuted those who follow Jesus, he was persecuting Jesus himself. When Saul understands this – with help from a rather wary Ananias – his hatred for Christ and Christians falls away. Saul becomes Paul, who the Acts of the Apostles tell us will go on to take the infant church to the world.

Psalm: Psalm 30

Psalm 30 offers praise and thanksgiving to God in a very specific context: It expresses the Psalmist’s gratitude for having been restored to good health, rescued from an immediate threat to their life. When God’s face is hidden from us, the Psalmist sings, we live in fear. But then God’s restorative mercy turns our wailing into dancing and makes our hearts sing. This Psalm fits neatly into the context of Sunday’s other readings: Paul’s conversion turns his enmity to new life in Christ. In Revelation’s apocalyptic vision, the slaughtered Lamb becomes king. And in the Gospel, Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus is wiped away as Jesus calls Peter three times to love him and to feed Christ’s sheep.

Second Reading: Revelation 5:11-14

All the people of all the world’s nations, and all the animals of land and air and ocean, too, gather around the throne to worship the Lamb in this beautiful, metaphorical vision. In contrast with the bloody, frightening images of dragons and war-horses that fill the pages of Revelation, Christ, the king, is not pictured as a mighty emperor or a roaring lion but as a vulnerable lamb: a symbol of the Passover, a slaughtered victim that is now raised and glorified for us.

Gospel: John 21:1-19

Even after Jesus had appeared twice to the disciples and breathed the Holy Spirit into them, at least seven of them must have been ready for a break. Peter and a half-dozen of the others have gone back home to Galilee and launched their fishing boat. Suddenly a stranger appears on the shore and suggests that they try casting their net on the other side of the boat. They comply, and soon haul in a bulging net. Suddenly John recognizes that the stranger is Jesus! Peter jumps in the water and hurries to shore. The delighted crew all join Jesus, who cooks fish and bread on a charcoal fire and feeds them. Then Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter, apparently forgetting how recently he had denied Jesus three times, seems offended that Jesus has to ask this repeatedly. But this is now past. Jesus tells Peter, “Feed my lambs. … Feed my sheep,” and calls him, just as he had done in a similar setting at the beginning of his ministry: “Follow me.”

Easter 2C

First Reading: Acts 5:27-32

Jesus has died and Christ has risen, but tension continues between the Christ-followers and the Temple establishment.

Doubting Saint Thomas.

Doubting Saint Thomas. Oil painting on canvas by Béla Iványi-Grünwald (1867-1940). Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest. (Click image to enlarge.)

The apostles have been carrying on the work of Jesus. They teach, they preach, and they heal, and all the excitement got the authorities worried that this uproar could cause trouble with the occupying Roman forces. They locked Peter and the apostles in jail, only to have an angel set them free. Now, in Sunday’s reading, they scold them. But the apostles push back, saying that they have a higher mission: God has given them the Holy Spirit and called them to spread the Word, a mission that trumps human authority.

Psalm: Psalm 118:14-29

Do some of these words sound familiar? Sunday we hear again some of the same verses as we sang in Easter Sunday’s psalm, and on Palm Sunday, too! This is no coincidence, as these words are meaningful as we remember the Resurrection: Once again we promise to practice justice in our lives, to serve God, our neighbor, the poor and the stranger, seeking through righteousness to enter the glory of God. Then, in the verses chosen for Sunday’s portion of the Psalm, we go on to address God directly, giving thanks for God’s abundant love, our lives and our salvation.

Alternate Psalm: Psalm 150

We chant, sing or read a Psalm just about every time we gather to worship. The 150 Psalms cover a range of emotions, from pleas for help to calls for God’s blessing to anguished songs of lamentation. Psalms beg forgiveness, express hope, even call down God’s wrath. But the most joyful Psalms sing God’s praise, and Psalm 150, the hymn of joy that ends the book, musters a virtual orchestra to proclaim God’s glory with flutes and harp, strings and cymbals. Sing out loud as Eastertide and the celebration of the resurrection goes on.

Second Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

Many Christians find Revelation hard to understand, even weird and scary, with its visions of lakes of fire, dragons, horsemen riding through rivers of blood … the number of the Beast! Revelation was written in the apocalyptic genre, a form of First Century sci-fi and fantasy that used symbolic language and colorful metaphors to reassure the early Christians in seven persecuted cities in Asia Minor that the Reign of Christ was still to come and would set them free. Christ is “the ruler of the kings of the earth,” it promises, and knowing readers understood that Christ would eventually dominate even the Emperor of Rome.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

In John’s version of the resurrection, Mary Magdalene alone saw the risen Christ. But after she ran back to tell the other disciples, it appears that they did not react immediately with celebration. Rather, as Sunday’s Gospel begins, they have locked themselves securely indoors, apparently afraid that the Jewish leaders who had supported Pilate when he condemned Jesus were trying to find them. Suddenly Jesus appears in the locked room with them! He shows them his wounds and offers them peace and breathes the power of the Holy Spirit into them, and their fear turns into joy. Thomas, who wasn’t with the apostles that night, remains doubtful. He insists on proof before he will believe. But Thomas, too, turns from doubt to belief when he sees Jesus.

Easter Sunday C – Principal Service

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 17, 2022 (Easter Sunday C – Principal Service)

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

Alleluia. Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! This Sunday is Easter, the day when we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (c.1499[1502), Raphael oil painting on wood by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Rafael, 1483-1520). São Paulo Museum of Art, Brazil. (Click image to enlarge.)

All of the Lectionary readings for the principal Easter service remind us of resurrection and life. Our first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles, the evangelist Luke’s story about the life of the early church as it grew from Jerusalem across the Mediterranean. In this passage, Peter is giving religious instruction in the household of the centurion Cornelius, a Roman army officer. Peter tells them about the Christian way: Jesus was crucified but raised from the dead, and now God’s saving grace is given through Jesus to Jew and Gentile, to all the nations. Jesus is Lord of all!

Alternate First Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25

In the closing pages of Isaiah’s great book of prophecy, the people have returned home to Jerusalem from their long exile in Babylon. Much work remains to be done to restore the demolished city and its temple, but this is a time for celebration. God promises through the prophet to make Jerusalem a virtual heaven on earth, where everyone will enjoy abundance and happiness, peace and joy; even the wolf and the lamb shall feed peacefully together! As Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, we too imagine a new kingdom where all will be physically and spiritually fed.

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

In this ancient hymn we remember Israel’s joyful thanks to God for its return from exile. While the prophetic words, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” spoke of the temple in Jerusalem, Christians have long borrowed this verse of Psalm 118 as a metaphor for Jesus. The words shout out the hope of an Easter people: “I shall not die, but I shall live … The Lord … did not give me over to death. … you have answered me and have become my salvation.”

Second Reading: I Corinthians 15:19-26

In his pastoral words to the early Christians of Corinth – who were puzzled by the theology of resurrection and probably arguing about it – Paul tries to express the resurrection and its significance in simple terms: Reminding the Corinthians of Adam’s fall and the ancient tradition of offering the first fruits of the harvest to God, Paul tells them that Christ’s resurrection makes him the first fruit of everlasting life, and this changes everything. The resurrection promises the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth and of eternal life. If Christ has risen, Paul says, then all who believe in him will also rise again.

Gospel: John 20:1-18

Each of the four Gospel accounts of the resurrection is slightly different, reflecting the traditions of its community of origin. In John’s Passion we walk this road with Mary Magdalene, seeing her in tender verses as the only one who stayed behind at the empty tomb after the others had left. John portrays her as the first person to meet and speak with the risen Christ, and the one sent to proclaim the good news of his resurrection to the others. As in many other Gospel accounts of the risen Christ encountering his friends in unexpected ways, Mary did not recognize Jesus at first. But when he calls her name, we can feel the joy in her delighted response, “Rabbouni!”

Alternate Gospel: Luke 24:1-12

Eyewitness accounts of any great account often differ on the details, and the Gospels’ resurrection narratives are certainly no exception.​ ​​Only Luke, for example, tells us that the women​ who had come with Jesus from Galilee were the first to learn that Jesus was risen; and he even tells us the names of three of them: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. When they ran back to tell the men this wonderful news, though, the men thought they were only telling “an idle tale,” until Peter ran to the empty tomb to see for himself.

Easter Sunday – Evening Service

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 17, 2022 (Easter Sunday – Evening Service)

The Disciples at Emmaus

The Disciples at Emmaus (1622), oil painting on panel by Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651).
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. (Click image to enlarge.)

Isaiah 25:6-9 [Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces]

Psalm 114 [Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord]

1 Corinthians 5:6b-8 [A little yeast leavens the whole batch]

Luke 24:13-49 [He showed them his hands and his feet]

The Great Vigil of Easter

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 16, 2022 (The Great Vigil of Easter)

At The Liturgy of the Word

At least two of the following Lessons are read, of which one is always the Lesson from Exodus. After each Lesson, the Psalm or Canticle listed, or some other suitable psalm, canticle, or hymn, may be sung. A period of silence may be kept; and the Collects provided on pages 288-91, or some other suitable Collect, may be said. It is recommended that the first Collect on page 290 be used after the Lesson from Baruch or Proverbs. (pp 893, BCP)

The Holy Women at Christ' s Tomb

The Holy Women at Christ’ s Tomb (1590s), oil painting on canvas by Annibale Carracci (1560-1609). Hermitage Museum. St. Petersburg, Russia. (Click image to enlarge.)

Genesis 1:1-2:4a [The Story of Creation]

Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 [The Flood]

Genesis 22:1-18 [Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac]

Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel’s deliverance at the Red Sea]

Isaiah 55:1-11 [Salvation offered freely to all]

Baruch 3:9-15, 3:32-4:4 [Learn wisdom and live]

or 

Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6 [Does not wisdom call]

Ezekiel 36:24-28 [A new heart and a new spirit]

Ezekiel 37:1-14 [The valley of dry bones]

Zephaniah 3:14-20 [The gathering of God’s people]

At The Eucharist

Romans 6:3-11 [Death no longer has dominion over him.]

Psalm 114 [Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord]

Luke 24:1-12 [He is not here, but has risen]

Easter 7B

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for May 16, 2021

First Reading: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

The Seventh Sunday after Easter marks a pause in time, a moment when the world is about to turn.

Altarpiece of Saints Thomas and Matthias

Altarpiece of Saints Thomas and Matthias (1510-1520), altarpiece by Bernard van Orley (c.1492-1542). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. (Click image to enlarge.)

In the verses just before this first reading, we hear that Jesus was taken into heaven, lifted up into a cloud. In the verses that follow, which we’ll hear next Sunday, the Holy Spirit comes down upon the people on the first Pentecost with a rush of wind and tongues of fire. This event will inspire them to take the Gospel out to the world. But now there is business to be taken care of: Judas, the traitor, must be replaced. First the disciples discern two worthy candidates: Barsabbas and Matthias. Then, asking God to guide them, they cast lots; and Matthias joins the Twelve.

Psalm: Psalm 1

The book of Psalms opens with a promise of happiness for those who walk in the way of God. The Psalter runs an emotional gamut from praise to fear to anger, to sadness, to thanksgiving; but the joy of following God resonates throughout. Psalm 1 begins the genre that celebrates delight in God’s law, another recurring theme. Take care, however, not to weigh down this word with modern English context. The original sense of the Hebrew word “Torah” is not ‘law” but “teaching,” God showing us how to live in love of God and neighbor.

Second Reading: 1 John 5:9-13

We now conclude our six-week tour through the first Letter of John, a document thought to have been written in the spirit of John’s Gospel by later members of the John community. Its consistent, uplifting theme continues in Sunday’s reading from its final chapter. The author assures us that we gain eternal life through God’s love given us in Jesus. We give testimony to the world through our faith in this amazing gift.

Gospel: John 17:6-19

In the Gospel four weeks ago, John wrote about Jesus declaring himself the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. In this Sunday’s Gospel, as we approach the end of Jesus’ extended farewell conversation with his disciples at the Last Supper, those themes return. Having protected and guarded the apostles – losing only Judas from the flock – Jesus now asks God to protect them. Jesus sends his apostles out into the world, as God had sent Jesus out into the world.

Easter 6B

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for May 9, 2021

First Reading: Acts 10:44-48

Sunday’s Lectionary readings continue building on the theme that we heard last Sunday: God’s love pours out on all the world, and we are called to love each other as God loves us.

The Exhortation to the Apostles

The Exhortation to the Apostles (1886-1894), opaque watercolor on graphite over gray wove paper by James Tissot (1836-1902). Brooklyn Museum. (Click image to enlarge.)

The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, marks a key turning point in Luke’s account of the early church: The joyful reaction of a Gentile crowd to Peter’s teaching reveals to the apostles that the Holy Spirit comes to everyone: not only to Jewish Christians but to Gentiles too. Peter asks, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The answer is clear: Baptism is for all. As we heard in last week’s reading about the Ethiopian eunuch, “Here is water. What is to prevent it?”

Psalm: Psalm 98

Psalm 98 – perhaps originally a song of praise for God’s support after a battle – abounds with triumphant spirit. Its verses ring out resounding faith in God’s power to win victory for Israel over all the earth. This is an occasion for rejoicing. Not only the people but all earth – the seas, the rivers and the hills – lift up their voices and sing. Consistent with the theme that runs through the readings for the day, it declares that God’s victory is not for Israel alone. God will judge not only Israel but all Earth’s people with mercy and equity.

Second Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

Both this reading and the Gospel assigned for Sunday continue where last week’s readings left off, and both continue with similar themes. Last week we were told to love one another as Jesus loves us. This week we are told in the First Letter of John that the way to love God – to become a child of God – is by obeying God’s commandments, a direction that follows the Jewish tradition of love for God’s law and teaching. In words that echo the triumphant sentiment of Psalm 98, we hear that our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God brings God’s victory into the world.

Gospel: John 15:9-17

The Gospels according to Mark, Matthew and Luke all tell us that Jesus taught – in the spirit of the essential Jewish prayer, the Shema – that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul and strength and mind. Now in John’s Gospel Jesus shows us how to do that: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Through our faith, the Gospel tells us, we go out and bear fruit, like the branches of the vine that were pruned so they would bear more. Through our faith we love one another as God loves us.

Easter 5B

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for May 2, 2021

First Reading: Acts 8:26-40

The sweet, funny story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts carried a powerful message to the young church a few generations after Jesus: This church is open to all, no matter who you are. Joining the community through baptism is as easy as asking for it.

The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by the Deacon Philip

The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by the Deacon Philip (c.1545-1550), oil painting on canvas by Lambert Sustris (1515-1584). The Louvre, Paris. (Click image to enlarge.)

This assuring message carries through all of Sunday’s readings: God’s abiding love is open to all humankind. It showers on us as a free gift. In the Acts reading we see that even an Ethiopian – a foreigner from a strange land and a eunuch as well, barred from Judaism because his physical condition renders him biblically unclean – is welcome as an equal. So with joy, just like that, Philip baptizes him as one of us.

Psalm: Psalm 22:24-30

Sunday’s Psalm portion, the ending verses of the Psalm that immediately precedes the beloved 23rd, rings out as a traditional hymn of praise. Its clear message resonates with Philip’s warm welcome to the Ethiopian eunuch: God is the ruler of all nations, all the world, those already born and all those yet to come. We live for God, the Psalmist sings. We serve God, we praise God, and we fulfill our vow to God by making sure that the poor are cared for and the hungry are fed.

Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-21

These verses selected for Sunday’s second reading echo and expand upon John the Evangelist’s memorable words, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you … love one another as I have loved you.” Indeed, we will hear that passage in next week’s Gospel, showing the interconnected nature of the readings for Eastertide. It is tempting to bask in the warm assurance that God loves us, but bear in mind that we are called to action too: “Love one another” is not just a suggestion: It is a covenant. If we can’t love our brothers and sisters, how can we make room in our hearts for God?

Gospel: John 15:1-8

In a noteworthy aspect of John’s Gospel, he attributes seven “I am” quotes to Jesus in which, according to John, Jesus offers striking metaphors to explain his identity and mission: I am the bread of life, the light of the world, the door to salvation, the good shepherd, the resurrection and life, the way, the truth and the life, and now in Sunday’s Gospel, the true vine. Here we begin a series of Gospels from John’s account of Jesus’ long farewell to his disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus uses the vine and the vineyard as an extended metaphor. Describing vineyard practices that continues to this day, Jesus imagines God cutting out weak branches in order to make the vine strong and productive. If we do not abide in God as God abides in us, we risk being pruned and discarded like the weak vines. Abide in God through Jesus, though – live in God like a sturdy branch on a nurturing vine – and we will be strong and fruitful.

Easter 4B

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 25, 2021

First Reading: Acts 4:5-12

The Fourth Sunday after Easter is often called “Good Shepherd Sunday” because its readings focus on God’s protective love in the metaphor of shepherd.

The Good Shepherd Lays Down H

The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for the Sheep (1616), oil painting on canvas by Pieter Breughel the Younger (1564-1638). Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium. (Click image to enlarge.)

In our first reading, 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 alarmed because they healed a paralyzed man and took advantage of the attention to preach about the resurrected Christ. Peter responds to the authorities with bold confidence. He declares that the disciples are healing through Jesus – adding pointedly, “whom you crucified” – and 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 in the time of the Second Temple as a hymn of praise to the God who brought them out of exile and led them home. We enjoy with the original listeners its comforting hope of a shepherd who keeps us from want and guides us to rest comfortably, fearing no evil. There’s a hint of repressed anger at the one-time oppressors, too, as the Psalmist imagines reclining at a lavish banquet while their vanquished enemies can only look on.

Second Reading: 1 John 3:16-24

Jesus loved us so much that he laid down his life for us. This beloved idea from John’s Gospel – which we see reflected here in the first letter in John’s name – is just about as reassuring as the 23rd Psalm. But the rest of this reading becomes challenging when we hear that we are to lay down our lives for one another too. 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 with the verses that came just before it in John’s Gospel, this seemingly simple “Good Shepherd” narrative resonates unexpectedly with Peter and John in Acts: The Pharisees are angry because Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, and they are alarmed that many people, seeing these miraculous healings, are beginning to speak of Jesus as the Messiah. Seen in this light, it appears that 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 the later first letter of John will invoke, Jesus declares that he will lay down his life for the sheep – all the world’s sheep, “one flock, one shepherd” – and that he will live again.

Easter 3B

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 18, 2021

First Reading: Acts 3:12-19

Christ, the Messiah, has come for all the world: This promise resonates through Sunday’s readings.

Christ Appears to the Disciples

Christ Appears to the Disciples at the Table after the Resurrection (1308-1311), panel from the Maesta Altarpiece of Siena by Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319). Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

In the first reading from Acts of the Apostles, Peter and John, filled with the Holy Spirit, have healed a man who could not walk. This astounded all those who saw the once-lame beggar walking and praising God in the temple. In words that startle us now with their harsh anti-Judaism, 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. 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 holds up 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 shine 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

In a message that resonates with Peter’s speech in Acts, the author of First John assures the people of the early church that we become the children of God through the gift of God’s love as revealed to us through Jesus. Although the world does not seem to know this yet, the writer assures his audience, the world will eventually come to do so. Meanwhile, doing what is right keeps us in right relationship with God through Jesus. Thus we are free from sin, this passage concludes, for there is surely no sin in Jesus.

Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48

This week we turn to Luke’s Gospel for another story about the resurrected Christ, having heard John’s account last Sunday. The disciples are together again, and Jesus is suddenly among them. Surprisingly, their first response 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 invites them all to examine and touch his wounds, Then he asks for something to eat, and takes a piece of fish, perhaps to show that he is no ghost but flesh and blood. He then announces that he is the Messiah foretold in the Scriptures, and declares that repentance and forgiveness of sins will go out in his name to all nations.