Lent 3A

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 19, 2017

Christ And The Samaritan Woman At The Well. Painting by Lorenzo Lippi (1606-1665), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

First Reading: Exodus 17:1-7

We may thirst for righteousness, mercy and justice, but when we are thirsty and need water, this simple human need takes precedence. Sunday’s readings tell of of thirst, from the thirsty Israelites in the desert to Jesus stopping for water and rest in a Samaritan town. In this Exodus reading, the Israelites are no longer hungry – in previous verses, they have just received miraculous manna – but they still have no water, and their thirst makes them so angry that they wish they were back in slavery in Egypt, where at least these basic needs of life were met. Moses is angry and outdone with them, but God provides a miracle to quench their thirst.

Psalm 95

Our Psalm opens with the joyful hymn of praise that we also know as the Venite, a familiar reading in Morning Prayer. We sing and shout with joy to God, our creator, who made the land and sea; we are the people of God’s pasture and the sheep that God made to fill it. But then the tone of the prayer changes as we remember the cranky Israelites, whose ungrateful acts caused God to “loathe” them and, in angry response, to condemn them to 40 years wandering in the desert.

Second Reading: Romans 5:1-11

The infant church in Rome has known suffering. Some of its members were forced into exile, and the entire congregation was at risk for its faith. But Paul reminds them that their suffering gives them the opportunity to learn endurance and build their character through hope in the love that God pours into their hearts through the Spirit. Even though they are sinners, they are justified through faith and saved through Jesus’s death on the cross.

Gospel: John 4:5-42

We see a very human side of Jesus in John’s Gospel today. Jesus, worried that the Pharisees were angry because he was making and baptizing more disciples than his cousin John had done, decided to go back to Galilee, a journey that required him to pass through the country of the Samaritans, who were not on good terms with the Jews. Tired and thirsty, he stopped in a Samaritan village, where he broke protocol by not only asking a Samaritan woman for a drink but striking up a conversation with her. Much to the surprise of his disciples, he stayed in the village for two days and made believers of many of the Samaritans.

Lent 2A

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 12, 2017

Abraham’s Journey from Ur to Canaan (1850). Oil painting by József Molnár (1821-1899), Hungarian National Gallery.

First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a

We began Lent with thoughts of temptation and repentance. Now we turn to faith, the deep trust that God will be with us as we make decisions that shape our lives. In our first reading, we hear God’s promise to Abram – later to be called Abraham – who even in old age chose to take the risk of following God’s direction to uproot his family and begin the people’s long journey toward the promised land. For Abram’s faith, God will bless him and his family; and through him, God will bless all the families of the Earth.

Psalm 121

When I served as a hospital chaplain, I kept one of my bookmarks firmly set on this Psalm. Perhaps as much as the beloved 23rd Psalm, it brought comfort and peace to many people as they and their loved ones faced whatever crisis had brought them in search of urgent care. We lift up our eyes to the hills, seeking help, and that help comes from God who watches over us and protects us. Note well, as Paul will muse in the second reading, that God does not protect us in repayment for our faith or for anything we do. God watches over our going out and our coming in because that is who God is, and that is what God does.

Second Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Paul recalls the foundational story of Abraham in his pastoral letter to the church in Rome, musing on theology that seems consistent with Psalm 121: God’s promise of eternal life comes to us, as it came to Abraham, not in reward for anything that we have done to deserve it, but entirely through our faith by grace. Seeking in this letter to restore Rome’s Jewish Christians and pagan converts to unity, he reminds them that God’s promise depends on faith, not something due to us but a gift. It was given to all the nations, not to Abraham’s descendants alone.

Gospel: John 3:1-17

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes by night to talk with Jesus, but remains bewildered by his mysterious words. What does it mean to be “born from above,” or, in some translations, “born again”? Nicodemus just can’t grasp the distinction between being literally born of flesh as an infant and being born of water and the Spirit in faith. Then we hear the familiar words of John 3:14, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Does this mean that only Christians can be saved? Jesus’ teaching surely rules that out. Even the next line makes clear that Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it: all the world, all the nations that God blessed through Abraham.

Lent 1A

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 5, 2017

The Temptation on the Mount, (1308-1311). Tempera painting on wood, Duccio di Buoninsegna (1260–1318), the Frick Collection, New York City.

First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Sunday’s readings launch the penitential season of Lent with a firm scriptural grounding in the theology of temptation and sin. We begin with the familiar Creation story, as the crafty serpent tempts Eve and Adam with the fruit that God had told them not to touch. When the serpent persuaded them that the fruit would not kill them at all, in spite of God’s warning, but would in fact give them Godlike knowledge of good and evil, they could not resist. Temptation was powerful; but so was the shame that followed when they realized they had broken their relationship with God.

Psalm 32

Yes, deep guilt may follow the knowledge that we have sinned, failed in our trust and separated ourselves from God through sin. Guilt’s heavy hand weighs on us, the Psalmist sings, drying us out, withering our bones, leaving us groaning in pain. So much more is the joy, then, the relief and “glad cries” that burst out when we acknowledge our wrongdoing, confess our transgressions, and receive God’s loving deliverance from the pain and guilt of sin.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19

Paul draws a direct connection between the sin of Adam and the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of God. This would have been an important image for the members of the church in Rome as they struggled to restore relationships between the church’s pagan converts and its Jewish Christians who were returning from exile. Adam, the first of creation, gave in to the temptation of the fruit and brought death into the world. But now, Paul reminds them, Jesus’ incarnation as one of us restores us all – not only a selected few – with justification and life through God’s free gift of grace.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

At the beginning of Epiphany, we heard Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus, when the voice of God declared him God’s beloved Son. Now we learn that the Spirit then led Jesus into the wilderness … to be tempted by the devil? This seems to be a very strange thing for the Holy Spirit to do, but we know that the Spirit works in mysterious ways. The devil – in a role something like the “Adversary” who tested Job’s faith – tries to test Jesus, too, tempting him three times to perform miracles to help himself. But Jesus stands strong, and at the end of 40 days of fasting, he resists temptation and orders the devil away.

Palm / Passion Sunday C

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 20, 2016

Procession: Liturgy of the Palms C

Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday Russian Orthodox icon‎.

Psalm 118

This Psalm is thought to be an ancient anthology of Temple songs of celebration and praise. Just as the crowd in the following Gospel passage shouts out its verses upon Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, it is easy imagine a joyous crowd clapping hands and singing this Psalm loudly, celebrating the Lord their God.

Luke 19:28-40

Jesus gets on a colt to ride into Jerusalem. The Jewish throngs waiting to welcome him would surely have recognized this as an allusion to the prophet Zechariah’s verses about the Messiah’s arrival: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you … riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey!” Then the crowd responds with another joyful Messianic verse, the one that we just sang in Psalm 118 and will sing again at the Great Thanksgiving: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Liturgy of the Passion C

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a

Holy Week draws near, and our readings darken with grief and pain. But even when the world grows dark, the hope that lies in faith and trust remains. The Prophet Isaiah surely meant the “Suffering Servant” figure as a metaphor for Israel under the iron foot of exile, hoping some day to return home with God’s help. Christians should respect this tradition, but we may see it as a symbol for Jesus too, particularly in its clear call to turn the other cheek against our enemies, knowing that God is with us.

Psalm 31:9-16

Have you or a loved one ever suffered from serious depression? It seems likely that the Psalmist deeply understands this stunning anguish that can break down body, mind and spirit. But even in the black depths, the Psalmist sings, hope endures. When the world feels dark and black, trust God and pray: “Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.”

Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

When Paul wrote this letter from a prison cell in Rome, he may have had Isaiah’s Suffering Servant in mind. In poetic verses that historians believe may have been taken from an early Christian hymn, Paul tells us that Jesus “emptied himself,” becoming one with us even in suffering; he took on human frailty as he bore the gruesome pain of crucifixion. We, like Paul, are called to serve God and our neighbor humbly and obediently, becoming “more” through being “less.”

Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:49

In modern liturgy, we celebrate Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday together, watching in shock and surprise as the crowds who cheered for Jesus upon his arrival in Jerusalem quickly turn to mocking him and calling for his crucifixion. And now Jesus, too, calls us to be servants: “The greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. … But I am among you as one who serves.” What might this look like in our lives? How are we called to serve?

Lent 5C

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 13, 2016

Mary Magdalene, Jan van Scorel, c. 1530. Oil on panel, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam‎.

First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21

As Palm Sunday and Holy Week draw near, today’s readings touch on the theme of moving toward a goal with God’s help. Isaiah envisions the people in exile, defeated and hopeless, unable to get up; “extinguished, quenched like a wick.” But in God there is hope for new ways. God will make a path in the wilderness and create rivers in the desert, protecting God’s chosen people and bringing them home.

Psalm 126

Today’s Psalm echoes the hope that we heard in the Isaiah passage, as seen from a future joyous day when all things old have been made new again. God has restored Israel’s fortunes, filling the people with laughter and shouts of joy. Those who left the holy city, weeping under burdens that seemed too great to bear, now return in joy, bringing in a bountiful harvest.

Second Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

Once a proud Pharisee and persecutor of Christians, Paul thought he had a lot to boast about. But now that he knows Christ, everything has changed. That which was old is now rubbish to him; having gained righteousness from God through faith in Jesus, his new hope rests in the resurrection. As Isaiah advised Israel, so Paul urges the Christian converts of Philippi in Greece: Forget what lies behind. Press on toward the goal of resurrection and life through God’s call in Jesus.

Gospel: John 12:1-8

To grasp the powerful context of this familiar narrative, re-read John’s verses just before and just after the story of Mary weeping as she anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead, causing such an uproar that the chief priests and Pharisees decided to kill Jesus to keep the Romans from stepping in. Just after today’s verses, the temple authorities decide to kill Lazarus, too, because his miraculous return from the dead is inspiring people to follow Jesus. Jesus is at risk of death. He warns his friends that they won’t always have him with them. But don’t mistake the meaning of Jesus’ words, “You always have the poor with you.” This is not an argument against helping the poor. On the contrary, it is a direct quote from Torah, God’s explicit commandment that we must always open our hands to the poor and needy neighbors in our land.

Lent 4C

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 6, 2016

The Return of the Prodigal Son, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish, 1617 – 1682. Oil on canvas, The National Gallery

First Reading: Joshua 5:9-12

Themes of fresh starts and new beginnings unite all of today’s readings. From the Israelites’ arrival at the Promised Land to the Prodigal Son’s return home, we hear that God is with us through transition; God stands at our side in time of change. In our first reading, the people share the joy of reaching Canaan at last. After 40 years in the wilderness, their slavery in Egypt is now only a memory, and they will begin to enjoy the fruits of the land’s bountiful harvest.

Psalm 32

We don’t always do the right thing. In our hearts we know this, even as we feel the pain of knowing that we have wronged another, or hurt a loved one. When we step away from the God who loves us and who always stands ready to forgive, our guilt piles up, and we groan in sorrow. When we repent – literally, when we stop being stubborn and turn back from our wrongful ways to trust in God – then we feel the comfort and joy of knowing God’s forgiveness.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Our new direction as Christians, Paul says, comes when we recognize Jesus not only as human but as Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah. In Christ everything old has passed away. Everything has become new! Through Christ God forgives all our trespasses and reconciles the world to God. In making this point to a community that has been quarreling with him and with each other, Paul reminds them to forgive and be reconciled, just as God has done with us through Jesus.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Just about everyone remembers the parable of the Prodigal Son, and it’s easy to grasp its meaning: God forgives us when we stray and then return. Even if we have been prodigally sinful, God welcomes us home with a father’s joy and abundant celebration. But wait! There’s more: Look at both ends of the story. At the close, the older brother, hurt because his good behavior won him no praise, is reminded of his father’s loyal, long-standing love. And at the beginning, we hear that Jesus told this story to remind the scribes and Pharisees that a sinner’s return deserves as much celebration as the recovery of a lost sheep.

Lent 3C

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 28, 2016

Moses before the Burning Bush, Domenico Fetti, 1613-14.

First Reading: Exodus 3:1-15

God is beyond our imagining. Scripture tells us this over and over. Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts, and our ways are not God’s ways, says Isaiah. It’s no surprise, then, that Scripture stretches our imagination with images that try to capture some sense of God’s power. One such image is fire. God led the Israelites in the wilderness as a pillar of fire and column of smoke. There’s fire, too, as God speaking to Moses from a burning bush. God, who is and always will be, calls Moses to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Psalm 63:1-8

We hear a voice crying out in the wilderness, alone and thirsty yet nevertheless trusting in God. Even in a barren and dry and probably scary place where there is no water, the Psalmist’s soul thirsts not for mere liquid refreshment but for God, whose loving-kindness is better than life itself. Even in hard times we trust in God, finding comfort under the shadow of God’s wings, held in God’s strong right hand.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

In verses that link our First Reading, Psalm and Gospel, Paul recalls that many of the Israelites died in the wilderness, arguing that this happened because God was not pleased with them. Recalling lessons from Exodus, Paul urges us not to practice idolatry or immorality; don’t put Christ to the test; don’t complain. These things happened to our ancestors to serve as an example to us, reminding us to be faithful when hard times test us, knowing that God will provide us strength through our faith.

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Pilate killed a group of Galileans, and more people died unexpectedly when a tower fell. Sometimes bad things happen. Were these people punished because of their sins? Jesus, responding to the crowd’s questions, tells us that God does not punish sin with suffering. But repentance – turning away from bad behavior – brings forgiveness and eternal life. Just as the gardener gives the barren fig tree one more year of nurturing in hope of fruit, we hope for God’s forgiveness … and another chance.

Lent 2C

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 21, 2016

Christ Lamenting over Jerusalem 1846 Sir Charles Lock Eastlake 1793-1865 Presented by Robert Vernon 1847

First Reading: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18

Today’s readings speak to us of hope in God, even in times of darkness. In our first reading, Abram is worried because he and his wife Sarai remain childless in old age. Will they have to adopt a slave child to receive the inheritance that God has promised? But God guides Abram through a dark and terrifying night and, in the new day, assures him that he and Sarai – who we will know as Abraham and Sarah – will begin a family that will inherit the promised land; a family as countless as the stars.

Psalm 27

As we listen to this Psalm, notice its pattern of trust, hope and petition. First it simply declares our trust in God, our light and salvation, whose strength is so great that nothing can stand against it to make us afraid. But then it takes a darker turn as we hear an earthly king – King David, according to tradition – imagining frightening possibilities, from flesh-eating evildoers to camps full of enemy warriors. Yes, terrible things might threaten us, but the Psalm carries on, trusting God, calling on God to have mercy and keep us safe.

Second Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1 

Is Paul telling the Philippians to imitate him, as though he were a stand-in for Christ? Not at all. Rather, hear in these verses a pastor reassuring a congregation that has endured much to embrace the Christian way, and now fears persecution. ‘Do as I do,” he suggests, calling them to follow his example and try to live in Jesus’ way, anticipating salvation through Christ.

  Gospel: Luke 13:31-35

As we move into Lent, Jesus has turned his face fully toward Jerusalem, the Passion and the Cross. King Herod is angry, and Jesus’ life is in danger. Even some Pharisees, who often argue and scorn Jesus, seem concerned and warn him to protect himself. But Jesus – perhaps echoing his responses to the tempter in the desert in last week’s Gospel – won’t alter his chosen course, even if it will lead to death in the “city that kills the prophets.” Jerusalem may threaten his life, yet he speaks his love for the city in the nurturing, motherly image of a hen and her chicks.

Lent 1C

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 14, 2016

Temptation of Christ:, 12th-century Tympanum, Church of Errondo, Spain.

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Now we enter Lent, a season that many consider a time for sacrificial contemplation of sin and repentance. Look closely at today’s readings, though, for they offer a different narrative, speaking not of punishment and penitence but of God’s love and protection and of our call to follow God’s way. Our first reading recalls an ancient harvest liturgy, when the people would tithe the land’s bounty in thanksgiving to God who led them out of slavery in Egypt and brought them to a rich and fruitful land.

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

Today’s Psalm, too, offers grateful thanksgiving to God as our protector and provider. In a striking catalogue of many bad things that can happen to good people – evil events, plague, injury, even attacks by lions and venomous serpents – we remember that we live in God’s shadow. We recognize God as our refuge and our stronghold. God will help us because we are bound to God in love. When we call on God, God will answer.

Second Reading: Romans 10:8b-13 

Paul’s verses here are often read as a call for sinful humans to gain individual salvation by accepting the resurrected Christ as personal savior. In the context of Paul’s letter to the Romans, though, this is not an individual altar call but a message calling on an entire community – the mixed Jewish and pagan Christian congregation in Rome – to come together in Jesus’ name. God makes no distinction between Jew and Greek. God through Jesus is Lord of all and gives generously to all who call on God’s name.

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

We have spent five weeks of Epiphany walking with Jesus as the people of Galilee discover him through a series of epiphanies that gradually reveal him as son of God, Messiah. Now, as Lent begins, we go back to the beginning of his public life, as the Spirit leads him out to fast in the desert and to wrestle with the temptations of a Satan who, you’ll notice, quotes today’s Psalm! Jesus stands strong, good wins over evil, and our Gospel narrative in Lent will now move on to Jerusalem and toward the Cross.

Palm / Passion Sunday B

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 29, 2015

Procession: Liturgy of the Palms B

Jesus Enters Jerusalem. 18th century icon in the Greek Catholic Cathedral of Hajdúdorog, Hungary.

Gospel: Mark 11:1-11

It’s Palm Sunday, and it is Passion Sunday. In the course of our worship, we hear of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding a donkey and greeted as a King by throngs shouting “Hosanna!” But then, almost before we know it, we hear those same crowds angrily shouting “Crucify him!” How can this sudden and dramatic change occur? Hold this thought as we begin Holy Week, walking with Jesus toward the Cross: God is with us in joy. God is with us in sorrow.

Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

This Psalm, thought to be an ancient “song of ascents” chanted in procession as worshippers approached the Temple, is an occasion for hosannas, too. It sings out joyous praise for God’s works and God’s mercy in words that we adopt in our Eucharist in the Great Thanksgiving: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! … Hosanna in the highest …”

Liturgy of the Passion B

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a

It is difficult for Christians to consider Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant” without imagining Jesus, who suffered for us, turned his cheek against attacks, and surely faced the insults and spitting of his foes. It’s important to remember, though, that the Prophet Isaiah had an entirely different image in mind, imagining a servant leader who would take the enemy’s blows for the people in exile, and, eventually, guide them back home.

Psalm: Psalm 31:9-16

Perhaps the Psalmist had Isaiah’s Suffering Servant in mind as he wrote this Psalm of lament, with its litany of sorrow, distress, grief, sighing, misery, scorn, horror, dread and fear of death. And yet, even in the face of this crushing pain, we place our trust in God, We place our faith in God’s love, and we wait for the light of God’s face to shine through like the sun.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

These familiar, poetic verses boast a fascinating background: Scholars believe that they were sung as a hymn in the early church. It may be the most ancient Christian hymn that we have! Moreover, it carries significant theological weight: Although Jesus was truly God as well as truly human, he chose to “empty himself,” taking on the full weight of his suffering, accepting human weakness even as he bore the pain of crucifixion. Then God lifted him up, exalted his name and calls us to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Gospel: Mark 14:1-15:47

And at last we come to Mark’s account of Jesus’ passion and death. The palm branches and hosanna shouts are only a memory now, as we turn to the dark, painful way of the Cross and prepare to be with Jesus through Holy Week. Let us be attentive as we see Jesus’ followers, then his friends, desert him, leaving at the end only those closest to him – and a Roman centurion whose faith showed him the light!

Illuminations

Welcome to Illuminations. We hope these brief reflections on Sunday's readings will help you prepare thoughtfully for worship.

Category Archives: Lent