Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Feb. 12, 2023 (Epiphany 6A)

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Our Lectionary readings for recent Sundays have followed a consistent theme: In the Gospels we are hearing Matthew’s account of Jesus’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

Moses Shown the Promised Land (1801), oil painting on panel by Benjamin West (1738-1820). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (Click image to enlarge)

In our Hebrew Bible readings we have glimpsed the roots of Jesus’s wisdom in God’s firm commandments to be righteous, to care for the poor and the oppressed; the widow, the orphan and the stranger in our land. Our first reading shows Moses instructing the people at the end of their long journey in the desert, as they prepare to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. They hear the core of the covenant at Sinai: Follow God’s commandment to be righteous, and inherit the land. Defy God’s commandments, fail in that covenant, and – as the prophets will foretell – lose the land and die.

Alternate First Reading: Sirach 15:15-20

In this optional alternative for the first reading we hear a passage from Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus), one of the books known as Apocrypha that were originally written Greek, not Hebrew, and that come at the end of editions of the Hebrew Bible that choose to include them. Consistent with the day’s other readings, it sums up God’s teaching in brisk, memorable advice: We are given free will. God does not force us to keep the commandments – we may choose either fire or water – but God, all-knowing and wise, does not wish us to sin.

Psalm: Psalm 119:1-8

Psalm 119, the longest of all the Psalms, devotes its 176 verses to a consistent message: God’s decrees, God’s law and teaching given in the Torah, are wonderful, and following them brings joy. The ideas that the Psalmist expresses in these first eight verses of the Psalm will continue throughout. They echo the covenant between God and Moses at Mount Sinai: Those who follow God’s teaching and walk in God’s ways will be rewarded. The Psalmist calls on God’s help to stay steadfast in following this teaching, and begs in turn not to be forsaken.

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. In last Sunday’s portion Paul might have seemed to be 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 now 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

In the Sermon on the Mount, which occupies three full chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, we learn much about discipleship, the hard work of following Jesus toward the Kingdom of God. Last Sunday we heard Jesus assure the crowd that he did not come to change the Law and the Prophets (that is, the Hebrew Bible). But now he begins interpreting the Law – as rabbis do – in new and challenging ways. Considering the commandment, “Do not kill,” Jesus says to go beyond that. Not only must we do no harm but we must even respond to our enemies in peace. We are not merely bound to not commit adultery, but to treat women with respect. We must do more than simply avoiding false witness: We are called to be honest, be true, say exactly what we mean!

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Feb. 5, 2023 (Epiphany 5A)

First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12

Two important ideas run through Sunday’s Lectionary readings: righteousness and light. “Righteous,” in biblical understanding, may not mean quite what we think it does in modern times.

Sermon on the Mountain (1896), oil painting on canvas by Károly Ferenczy (1862-1917). Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest. (Click image to enlarge)

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 will heal our souls and light up our lives, as the light of Epiphany that shines in the deep winter darkness will illuminate the way of our God.

Psalm: Psalm 112:1-9, [10]

Sunday’s Psalm portion, titled “Blessings of the Righteous,” echoes 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, the Psalmist sings, 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

We continue our journey through the opening chapters of 1 Corinthians, listening in as Paul offers pastoral guidance for the quarreling community. He turns their thoughts toward humility, reiterating the advice that – even if following the crucified Jesus may make us appear foolish to the world – in fact we share God’s secret wisdom. The Holy Spirit gives us new life through Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20

Sunday’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. Now the crowd hears that, as God’s people, they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. 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. We will hear more about that next Sunday in the next verses of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus counts the ways: “You have heard that it was said … but I tell you …” That which was old becomes new again in Jesus.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Jan. 29, 2023 (Epiphany 4A)

First Reading: Micah 6:1-8

How are we called to walk in God’s way, and what does that look like? Listen for wisdom on this question through Sunday’s Lectionary readings, culminating in the Beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Sermone della Montagna (Sermon on the Mount, 1481-1482), Fresco by Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507), Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome. (Click image to enlarge)

In our first reading we hear the prophet Micah, who prophesied to the people of Judea and Samaria as they faxed an existential threat from Babylonia. Micah imagines all humanity standing before God like a defendant in a trial, pleading our case before the almighty Judge. God “has a controversy with us,” the prophet warns, reminding the people that God has done so much for them since bringing them out of Egypt to the promised land. How are the people to respond? Not with burnt offering or sacrifice, but, in Micah’s memorable words, simply by doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God.

Psalm: Psalm 15

Who among us can claim the high honor of living in God’s sanctuary? The Psalmist’s instructions bear a marked resemblance to Micah’s prophecy: Those who do right, speak truth, don’t slander or reproach and do no evil, comes the reply. Those may dwell in God’s tabernacle and abide on God’s holy hill. Honesty, kindness, and love of neighbor all make a difference. The way we live matters.

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, Paul goes on, God chose this way to celebrate the weak, the poor and the despised and to shame the powerful and the strong. This comes to us through Jesus, who gives us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

Ah, the Beatitudes! Jesus’ 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 and remember the words of his mother’s song: “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.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Jan. 15, 2023 (Epiphany 2A)

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4

Swirling snow and bitter chill remind us that this is January, the depth of winter for us. Yet Epiphany draws us to the light of hope that calls us to join Jesus in “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.”

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew ( 1602-1604), oil painting on canvas by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1573-1610). Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London. (Click image to enlarge)

Gracious light shines through Sunday’s Lectionary readings. In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of hard times as Israel’s northern lands of Zebulon and Naphtali have fallen to the powerful Assyrians. The nation’s fate is in doubt, but the prophet foretells that God’s light will banish the darkness. In words familiar from Handel’s Messiah, he foretells a world of bounty and joy as the people who walked in darkness will have seen a great light.

Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 5-13

God indeed is our light, the Psalmist exults. God is our stronghold and our salvation, so there is nothing to fear. This is not just a happy-clappy song, though. The verses remind us that bad things can happen even in the lives of God’s people. The people face adversaries. They are threatened by armies of enemies. Sometimes it even feels as if their own parents have turned against them. But we pray with them that God will hear us, love us, protect us and keep us safe.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Last week in the opening lines of Paul’s first letter to the people of Corinth in Greece, we heard Paul greeting this beloved community fondly. With that out of the way, he now gets to right to the point: He has heard that this small church is falling into disunity. Its members are quarreling over both doctrinal issues and leadership. Paul counsels them to remember that baptism brings the community together in unity in Christ. The very ideas of God resurrecting a crucified criminal and offering salvation to all through Christ might sound like foolishness to those who haven’t found Christ, he says. But this is what saves us through the power of God.

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

The public ministry of Jesus begins. Grieving the murder of his cousin John, Jesus steps up. He leaves his home in Nazareth to go to Capernaum, a larger city on the shore in Galilee (the ancient region of Zebulon and Naphtali that Isaiah invoked in the first reading). Jesus is starting to gather crowds and preach as John had done; he repeats John’s words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew, who often reaches back to the Old Testament to find texts that can be interpreted to show Jesus fulfilling Messianic prophecy, lifts up the Isaiah passage that we hear in Sunday’s first reading. Then Jesus calls four fishermen to follow him. They eagerly drop their nets and follow as he preaches, teaches, cures and heals, leaving old Zebedee behind to mend his departed sons’ nets and tend the abandoned boat.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Jan. 15, 2023 (Epiphany 2A)

First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7

On the second Sunday after the Epiphany, the Gospel appointed for the day offers us another perspective on the baptism of Jesus, a very different approach from the Gospel according to Matthew that we heard last week.

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (1607)m , oil painting on canvas by Ludovico Cardi, known as Cigoli (1559-1613). Palatine Gallery, Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy. (Click image to enlarge)

Before we get to the Gospel, though, the first three readings present other approaches to the notion of waiting for God with faith and hope. Our first reading gives us another of Isaiah’s four visions of the Suffering Servant, a figure that the prophet understood as God’s savior coming to lead the the people back to Jerusalem from their Babylonian exile. This once despised figure, the prophet foretells, will rise up and extends God’s saving power to all the nations, to the ends of the Earth.

Psalm: Psalm 40:1-12

Like the people in Isaiah’s time who waited in exile for their servant savior, the Psalmist waits with patience and faith for God to act. Although surrounded by too many evils to count and blinded by iniquities until his heart fails, the Psalmist remains firm in the hope that God’s faithful, steadfast love will eventually bring mercy, deliverance and safety. We mustn’t trust in evil spirits or false gods, the Psalmist reminds us, but find our joy in trusting God, against whom none other can be compared. God requires no sacrifices or burnt offerings, but responds to our faith with compassion and love.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Paul sets the tone for his first letter to the church at Corinth in these introductory verses, a friendly greeting that offers insight into all that follows. The congregation in Corinth was a small and troubled community, divided into quarreling factions, each with its own ideas about Christian practice and which leader to follow. Paul begins by reminding them that they are joined with all Christians who call on the name of Jesus as Lord. Through this faith they have already received gifts that have made them strong, Paul says. He urges them to hold on to those gifts and be steadfast as they wait for Christ’s coming, an event that many in those days hoped would happen within their lifetimes.

Gospel: John 1:29-42

Last week in Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus, we heard John the Baptist ask why Jesus shouldn’t be baptizing him rather than the other way around. Now in John’s gospel we hear another approach to this sticky question: Why would a sin-free Jesus need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins at all? The answer comes not from Jesus but from John: He has been baptizing others in hope that the Lamb of God would be revealed. Now he has seen the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and remaining on Jesus, showing that this is the Son of God. Then the first disciples, seeing all this, recognize Jesus as the Messiah and start to follow him.