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

Paul preaches at the Areopagus in Athens.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Ancient Greek Orthodox icon of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

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.

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

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

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.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, April 27, 2014

The Incredulity of St. Thomas, Caravaggio, 1602.

Christ is risen, and we move forward with joy into the 50 days of Eastertide. Today’s readings offer us insights into the meaning of resurrection in our lives. Throughout the Easter season, we replace our usual Old Testament reading with selections from Acts, the apostle Luke’s stories of the early church and how it grew. Listen today as Peter, touched by the Holy Spirit, declares the resurrected Christ as Messiah, fulfilling the prophecy attributed to King David in Psalm 16, and assuring us of our hope for eternal life through Jesus.

Psalm: Psalm 16

Here is the full Psalm from which Peter quoted in his sermon to the people of Jerusalem. If you’re paying close attention, you will notice that the words are similar but different here. That’s because Peter was using the Greek bible (called the Septuagint) that was standard in his time; today’s Psalm is translated from the original Hebrew bible. It can be fascinating to explore the similarities and differences, but both versions, of course, convey the same promise: God teaches us, God watches over us; God protects us, and God gives us joy and “pleasures for evermore.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Written in Peter’s name by later followers, the two short epistles of Peter offer us fascinating glimpses into the developing ideas of Christ, resurrection and hope for salvation in the early church in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) around the end of the first century. Perhaps written to reassure a persecuted community suffering “various trials,” the author reminds us that through Christ’s resurrection and life, God offers us the joy of a lasting inheritance and salvation earned through our faith.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

The risen Jesus suddenly appears among the apostles in a locked room! He shows his rejoicing friends his wounds, then sends them into the world in peace, with the breath of the Holy Spirit, to declare the Good News. Then comes Thomas, who doubted that Jesus had truly risen until he could touch the wounds. They are real: He is no ghostly spirit! Jesus blesses those who believe through faith, reminding us that through our belief we have life in his name.