Category Archives: Epiphany

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 …”

Epiphany 3A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014

The Calling of Peter And Andrew

The Calling of Peter And Andrew, Caravaggio, 1590.

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4
Swirling snow and bitter chill remind us that this is January, the darkest month of the year. Yet Epiphany draws us to the light of hope that calls us to join Jesus in “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.” That gracious light shines through today’s readings. In this first reading, the Prophet Isaiah still promises, despite hard times when the northern lands of Zebulon and Naphtali have fallen to the Assyrians and the nation’s fate is in doubt, that God’s light will banish the darkness. In word’s familiar from Handel’s Messiah, he foretells a world of bounty and joy.

Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 5-13
God indeed is our light, the Psalmist exults, and 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, armies of enemies; sometimes it even feels as if their own parents have turned against them. But we pray that God will hear us, love us, protect us and keep us safe.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Last week we heard Paul greeting the church at Corinth with fondness. Now he gets to the point: He has learned that this small church is falling into disunity, quarreling over doctrinal issues and leadership. Remember that baptism brings us together in unity in Christ, Paul reminds them. Our belief in the Resurrection and salvation through Christ may sound like “foolishness” to those who haven’t found Christ, but it saves us through God’s power.

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23
Quoting Isaiah to name Jesus as fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, Matthew presents a fascinating narrative of Jesus, grieving the murder of his cousin John, moving from his home in Nazareth to Capernaum, a larger city on the shore in Galilee, the old Northern Kingdom of Zebulon and Naphtali. There Jesus begins his public life, preaching in the same words as John: “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus calls four fishermen who eagerly drop their nets and follow as he preaches, teaches, cures and heals. But how do we think James’ and John’s father Zebedee felt about being left behind with the nets? The gospels often warn us that following Jesus may require leaving everything else behind.

Epiphany 2A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014

Russian icon of the Prophet Isaiah, 18th century (iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia)

Russian icon of the Prophet Isaiah.

First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7
On the second Sunday after the Epiphany, the Gospel gives us another perspective on the baptism of Jesus, this one from the Gospel according to John. First, though, our Old Testament reading tells us more about Isaiah’s vision 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. But Christians can’t help imagining Jesus in the prophet’s words, a servant, once despised, who rises up and extends God’s saving power to all the nations, to the ends of the Earth.

Psalm: Psalm 40
Like the people waiting in ancient 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.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
In these opening verses of his first letter to the people of Corinth, a major Greek trading and seafaring city. Paul’s friendly greetings give us insight into the letter that follows. The congregation in Corinth probably wasn’t large, but it was divided into quarreling factions, each with its own ideas about Christian practice. Faith in Christ has already given them gifts that have made them strong, Paul reminds the people of the church, urging them to stay strong and to remain blameless as they await the day of Christ’s coming.

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. Today, John’s gospel takes another approach to this sticky question: why would Jesus need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins? John’s answer is simple: John, baptizing in hope that the Lamb of God would be revealed, saw the Spirit coming down to Jesus, showing that Jesus is the Son of God. Then the first disciples recognize Jesus as the Messiah and start to follow him.

Epiphany 1A/Baptism of Our Lord

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014

The baptism of Jesus, Russian icon, 1430-1440; the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

The baptism of Jesus, Russian icon, 1430-1440

First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9
The book of Isaiah actually incorporates the work of three separate prophets, modern Bible scholars tell us. The First Isaiah warned of the loss of Jerusalem and the Temple and exile in Babylon if the people didn’t follow their covenant and walk in God’s ways. In today’s reading we come to Second Isaiah. The dire predictions of First Isaiah have come to pass, and the prophet reminds the exiled community of God’s call for justice and righteousness. There is still hope – God is always with us and will send God’s servant to lead us – but God’s covenant must be fulfilled with all the nations.

Psalm: Psalm 29
Whether we huddle in the basement, listening to the radio for news, or venture out onto the porch to watch in fearful awe, we all surely know how it feels to live through a powerful thunderstorm. Lightning flames like fire. Thunder shakes everything. Giant oak trees seem to whirl, and large limbs come crashing down. We may sense God’s power in the frightening storm, but we also feel the comfort that comes with knowing God’s protection and peace.

Second Reading: Acts 10:34-43
Peter, alive with the Holy Spirit, tells the Roman centurion Cornelius, an early Gentile Christian, that God’s message through Jesus is for everyone and every nation. God’s generous gift of grace to all, without partiality, surely reflects God’s righteousness to all the nations expressed in today’s Isaiah reading. As Peter so firmly states, “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
All four Gospels tell of Jesus coming to John the Baptist, who was baptizing crowds in the Jordan River for “repentance and the forgiveness of sins.” But then we have to wonder: Why would Jesus need to repent or be baptized? The Gospels show John pointing out that Jesus should be baptizing him, not the other way around. But Jesus insists, and John agrees. And then we see a vision of the Trinity on Jordan’s bank as Jesus, the Son, comes up from the water to see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, while the Creator God’s booming voice declares Jesus as the beloved son.

Last Epiphany C/Transfiguration

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.

The Transfiguration of Jesus

The Transfiguration

First Reading: Exodus 34:29-35
Radiant light shines through today’s readings, and Moses appears in all of them. But look deeper, and we find a consistent emphasis on God’s covenant, which since Moses’ time has called the people to love God and follow God’s commandments. But here’s a twist: This was their second chance! The first time Moses brought the commandments down the mountain, his face shining with the reflected glory of God, he found them worshipping a golden calf, and he smashed the tablets in anger. Then the people repented, God forgave them and gave them another chance. God gives us another chance every time we sin and turn back, again and again and again.

Psalm 99
This mighty ancient hymn envisions God as a powerful king receiving loud chants of praise. In the temple in Jerusalem, two cherubim – scary angels depicted as lions with wings and human faces – were placed atop the Ark of the Covenant to serve as God’s throne. The Psalmist understands God as no petty tyrant but a mighty ruler who demands justice. Throughout the bible, the Israelites got in trouble every time they forgot their covenant call to love their neighbors and care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
In this letter to his congregation at Corinth, Paul recalls the reading about Moses with his shining face, but he takes the image of the veil that Moses used to conceal his Godly glow, and turns it around to express the idea that Jesus “unveils” God’s covenant in all its shining glory. God’s light can transform us. It inspires us to take the message of the Gospels to the world.

Gospel: Luke 9:28-36, 37-43a
As we come to the Gospel through the prior readings, suddenly we see it anew. Peter, John and James, mouths dropping in awe, see Jesus with Moses and Elijah, but now Jesus, not Moses, is the shining one, his face and clothing aglow as he is transfigured in God’s light and voice. God’s voice declares Jesus his son and chosen One. “Listen to him,” booms the divine voice, a command that rings down the ages to all generations. How do we listen for Jesus’ voice? What do we hear?

Epiphany 4C

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013.

The Prophet Jeremiah, Roman School Fresco, c 1120.

The Prophet Jeremiah, Roman School Fresco, c 1120.

First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10
If not us, then who? If not now, when? This call to mission goes back to Rabbi Hillel, not long before Jesus’s time. We hear it echoed in today’s readings, beginning with Jeremiah, another Old Testament prophet who foresaw destruction and exile coming for Israel because the people had forgotten their covenant to follow God’s way. Jeremiah thought he was too young for such a chore, and feared his message would anger his hearers. But God put words in his mouth and strength in his spine and sent him out. How do we listen for God’s call? Do we act in fear or trust?

Psalm 71:1-6
The full psalm from which today’s verses are taken is thought to represent the view of a poet-elder, looking back over life and singing thanks for God’s constant presence and protection. We hear cries for God’s help: “Deliver me! Rescue me! Listen! Save me!” And then, trust in God’s strength gives us hope. Sturdy rock and refuge and fortress; trustworthy rescuer and protector. Praise God, the Psalmist sings, for God has been there since the beginning.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Here is Paul’s familiar celebration of love! Many of us think of this as a wedding reading, but it might surprise you to know that Paul is not speaking of romantic love but another emotion, translated from a different Greek word (“agape”). This is the gentle but powerful love that binds us all as worshipers in Christian community, giving us the strength to carry out God’s work together. Look around in church today. Think about the challenges we face. Then think about this reading again.

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
We pick up right where we left off last week in Luke’s Gospel, with Jesus in his home-town synagogue. At first he wins the people’s applause, but then he gets himself in trouble right away, reminding them that Scripture’s call is to care for widows, lepers, outsiders. Jesus will go to “the least of these,” not just hang out comfortably with his friends and neighbors. Echoing Jeremiah’s plight, Jesus gets an angry, threatening response. But this doesn’t turn him from God’s call.

Epiphany 3C

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.

Jesus in the Synagogue

Jesus in the Synagogue

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Jerusalem and the temple are still under reconstruction after the return from exile in Babylon. We hear from the “minor” prophet Nehemiah, who – like the priest and prophet Ezra – is thought to have been sent from Persia to help the Israelites re-settle in Jerusalem. It is fascinating to see echoes of the ancients with our own Sunday liturgy: The people stand, pray, bow, hear the Bible reading and something like a sermon, then joyfully disperse to celebrate their Sabbath.

Psalm 19
First in today’s Psalm, we sing the glory of God. Then we sing the glory of God’s law, which the Psalmist understood as the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament that set out God’s covenant with the people: the holy scrolls that the scribe Ezra read to the community in the first reading. The heavens and the skies themselves pour out the glory of God and of God’s work in the law.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Following last Sunday’s declaration that every member has a role in the church, Paul now likens the people of Corinth – and all of us – to the body of the risen Christ in the world. All the parts of the body are necessary. All have to work together. The eye, the hand, the ear, the leg … none can go it alone. What works for our bodies works for our church: We’re all in this together, and we need and respect one another!

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21
Jesus begins his public ministry in the synagogue, reading from the Prophet Isaiah. The verse he chooses makes a powerful statement: He claims as his own the call to bring good news to the poor … proclaim release to the captives … give sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed. If this sounds familiar, it should! This is the message that Jesus preached, the way that he told his people to bring in God’s kingdom on earth. And it sounds a lot like the Magnificat, the song of joy that his mother, Mary, sang, when she learned of his coming birth. When we act as Jesus’s hands in the body of Christ, this is the work we are called to do.

Epiphany 2C

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013.

The wedding feast at Cana

The wedding feast at Cana

First Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5
Israel has returned from exile to Jerusalem, to Mount Zion, site of the temple. But the joyous celebration of return is over now, and the people recognize that a long, hard time of rebuilding lies ahead. “I will not keep silent … I will not rest,” pledges the prophet, promising to continue calling on God’s help until the temple and the city are rebuilt. God delights in the people and the land like a bridegroom and will bring the people joy. Listen for another story of God blessing a new marriage in today’s Gospel.

Psalm 36:5-10
The Psalm picks up in the middle of a song, and to this point its narrative has been discouraging. Just before today’s verses, the Psalmist – perhaps like Isaiah looking at the hard work to be done on Mount Zion – has sung of being surrounded by wicked and deceitful people who fear neither God nor evil. But now the song turns to chords of hope. In contrast to human wickedness, God showers us with amazing grace and abundant love. God’s protection and faithfulness come to us all, in that day and in this day.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
The Christian community at Corinth, in Greece, probably consisted of fewer than 100 people, about the size of an average Episcopal church; but it had plenty of issues with differences of opinion, arguments and even cliques. In this pastoral letter sent to them from far away, Paul reminds the congregation that every member is blessed with God’s grace; every member has a role in bringing the good news of Jesus to the world.

Gospel: John 2:1-11
John paints a lovely picture of Jesus at a wedding feast, where the wine is flowing so freely that the host’s supplies soon run dry. When his mother calls him to save the situation, he complies, revealing new wine that’s even better than the old. There’s plenty of symbolism to work with here, but I like the underlying story: Jesus’s first miracle, according to John, occurs at a social event of table fellowship, enjoying good food and good drink with family and friends.