Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Nov. 9, 2025 (Pentecost 22C/Proper 27)

Christ among the Pharisees (c.1660-1670), oil painting on canvas by Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678). North Carolina Museum of Art. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Haggai 1:15b-2:9

Sunday’s readings remind us to place our hope and trust in God, even during hard times. In this first reading, we hear the minor prophet Haggai date his prophecy specifically in the second year of the reign of King Darius the Great of Persia, some 500 years before Christ. Darius was a successor to King Cyrus, who had released the people from Babylonian exile and sent them back to Jerusalem about 20 years before. The restoration of the city and the Temple proved to be a big job that couldn’t be done quickly. But Haggai calls the people to hang on to their courage and faith in God: Zion’s wealth and grandeur will be rebuilt in splendor even greater than the first Temple.

First Reading (Track Two): Job 19:23-27a

This first reading drops us into the middle of Job’s long talk with his friends, in which they try to figure out why so many bad things are happening to him. Job remains unpersuaded by their advice. He shouts in frustration, wishing that his words could be written in a book or even engraved on a rock forever. In words that Handel would set to memorable music in The Messiah, Job declares, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.” Whatever happens to him, in the end, Job expects justice and equity when he stands before God who will redeem him.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 145:1-5, 18-22

The 150 Psalms offer a broad range of hope, lament, petition, and praise, a diverse anthology that spreads across many of the ways that God’s people approach the divine in worship and song. The six Psalms that conclude the book utter resounding and unalloyed praise. In this portion of Psalm 145, we can almost hear the chords and choruses as the people raise their voices in awe at God’s wonder: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised!”

Alternate Psalm (Track One): Psalm 98

Psalm 98 is a song of praise too, focused on our joy over God’s faithfulness to the people and the marvelous things that God has done. Singing to the Lord a new song – a phrase that we also heard chanted in Psalm 149 in the All Saints readings last week – the Psalmist calls on all creation to join the chorus: The sea and all that is in it roars, the waters clap their hands, and the hills sing together with joy. God will judge the world with righteousness and its people with equity.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 17:1-9

Confident that he has done no wrong in the face of accusers, the Psalmist echoes the voice of Job, calling on God to hear his plea of innocence. This prayer, he insists, comes from lips that do not lie. Inviting God to weigh his heart and melt him down as an assayer judges gold, the Psalmist is confident that God will be just. “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings,” he prays in the comforting words that we often hear in Compline at day’s end.

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

This second letter to the Greek community in Thessalonica probably came a generation after the first, perhaps around 100 CE, and was surely written in Paul’s name by a later follower. Early Christians had expected that Christ would return very soon. But by this late date, many of them had died. Now the later generations were clearly hoping for some kind of reassurance, particularly since Christians still faced Roman persecution. The author urges them not to be deceived by false teachings of a “lawless one” but to stand firm, remember the Good News, and hold fast to good works and words.

Gospel: Luke 20:27-38

Luke frequently portrays contentious encounters between Jesus and the Temple leaders, Pharisees and Sadducees. In this passage, he is again debating Torah with a group of Sadducees who try to trip him up with a trick question: When a man who had seven wives dies and goes to heaven, they ask, which of the seven women will be his wife? At first impression, it seems that Jesus simply declares there is no marriage in heaven. But just as he does repeatedly in Luke’s Chapter 20, Jesus is simply pushing back against trick questions. God is not God of the dead but of the living, Jesus said; for to God, they are all alive.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Oct. 19, 2025 (Pentecost 19C/Proper 24)

The Bench (1758), oil painting on canvas by William Hogarth (1697-1764). Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 31:27-34

Place your hope in God; and even in the face of challenges, be persistent: Listen for this consistent theme through Sunday’s readings. In this first reading, the Prophet Jeremiah pauses his nearly relentless lamentation over the sins that led Israel and Judah into exile, offering instead a few words of hope and the certainty of God’s love. Using a colorful metaphor about the sharp taste of sour grapes, Jeremiah makes clear that the people fully deserved the hard times that they are suffering. But, the prophet foretells, God will forgive them, offer a new covenant, and return them home, just as their ancestors came out of slavery in Egypt.

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 32:22-31

Ideas about hope in God and persistence in the face of challenges recur in Sunday’s readings. In this strange narrative from Genesis, Jacob wrestles all night with an unknown who doesn’t fight quite fairly. He knocks Jacob’s hip out of joint with a sneaky blow, but Jacob won’t give up. He fights the stranger to a standstill, then refuses to let him go without disclosing his name. This adversary turns out to be God, who thereupon changes Jacob’s name to Israel and blesses him.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 119:97-104

The longest of all the Psalms, Psalm 119 devotes all of its 176 verses to a long, loving celebration of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The ancients understood Torah as God’s “teaching,” but in English Bibles it is usually translated as “Law,” a word that we may read with a different connotation. Think of love for God’s word and get a clearer sense of the people’s patient, persistent efforts to study and learn until God’s teachings are written on their hearts in words as sweet as honey.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 121

This ancient hymn is one of the traditional songs of ascents thought to have been chanted by worshippers as they processed toward the Temple in Jerusalem. Its assurance of God’s protection as we lift up our eyes to the hills, seeking from where our help is to come, makes it one of the most comforting psalms of hope and trust. Always awake, always watchful, God protects us by day and night, watching us come and go, keeping us safe today and forever.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. … convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.” No, this reading does not call us to be Bible thumpers, lecturing unbelievers and rebuking them if they won’t listen. This letter was written in Paul’s name at a time when the young church was fighting persecution. Rather than giving up, the writer advises the troubled flock to learn scripture and be persistent about proclaiming the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus, because proclaiming the kingdom was as important as life and death.

Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

In the patriarchal world of the ancient Near East, widows were helpless, vulnerable, and weak. But now, in Jesus’s parable of the persistent widow, we meet one who is tough as nails and won’t give up. She doesn’t quit pounding this corrupt and shiftless judge with her demands until he finally gives her the justice that she seeks. The message here is clear, as Jesus declares at the beginning and the end of this Gospel story: Pray always and do not lose heart. God will grant justice to the chosen ones who pray by day and night.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Oct. 12, 2025 (Pentecost 18C/Proper 23)

Cleansing of the ten lepers (c. 1035-1040), in the Codex Aureus Epternacensis, an 11th-century illuminated Gospel book now housed at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Trust in God! Whether our lives are going well or whether things are going badly, trust and be thankful for God’s blessings. Hear this consistent theme through Sunday’s readings. We begin with the Prophet Jeremiah, who in recent weeks we have heard weeping in anguish over the loss and destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. He now dries his tears, and, speaking on God’s behalf, offers practical advice to the people in exile: Recognize your new reality. God has sent you here, so live, love, and flourish here. Babylon is your city now, and you have a stake in its condition. But don’t forget God, and don’t forget Jerusalem. Even in exile, don’t forget to pray.

First Reading (Track Two): 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

In this passage from the Second Book of Kings, we meet Naaman, a proud commander of the Aramean army and a mighty warrior. Despite his high status, Naaman had contracted leprosy, a disfiguring disease that would cost him both his military rank and his high status in society. Although Aram was Israel’s enemy, Naaman took an Israelite maid’s advice: Go to Israel and ask the Prophet Elisha for a cure. When Nathan arrived, Elisha wouldn’t even see him, but simply sent a servant to tell him to bathe in the Jordan. This measure sounded too simple to be true. Naaman was beyond angry, but his servants urged him to give it a try. Behold! Naaman was cured! And through his cure, he found faith in Israel’s God.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 66:1-11

This portion of Psalm 66 might appear to be in a familiar genre, a hymn of praise for God’s glory, power, and awesome deeds. It describes God’s mighty works in the Exodus: God led the people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and toward the Promised Land. But then in verses 10 and 11, its narrative takes an unexpected turn: God doesn’t only lead us but tests us, too. We may groan under burdens, as Judah groaned in exile. Yes, even God’s own people may be defeated. They may suffer fire and flood. But after it all, God will bring them out to a place of refreshment.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 111

The Psalms, the hymnal of the ancient Temple, consist of many genres, from lament to complaint to petition to thanksgiving and praise. In Psalm 111, we hear a powerful song of praise and thanksgiving. We applaud God’s many acts of power and majesty, righteousness, and justice; and at the end, we sing our praise and gratitude for God’s gifts. All who practice wisdom have a good understanding of God, the psalm proclaims; all the wise are in awe of what God has done.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-15

The young, growing Christian movement faced frightening persecution by the Romans when this letter was written near the end of the first century in the names of Paul and Timothy. These verses contain a strong call to faith. Recalling Paul’s suffering in chains in prison and facing death, the writer reminds us that God’s word cannot be held in chains. Remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are reminded that, through we die with Jesus, we live in Christ.

Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

Judeans and Samaritans were once united in faith, but centuries of exile, rivalry, and differing religious traditions turned them into rivals and even enemies. The Gospels aren’t shy about showing this prejudice. Jesus, however, often flips the script by portraying specific Samaritans as good neighbors, most notably in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Sunday’s Gospel shows us another: Jesus heals 10 lepers without touching them: He simply tells them to go to the priests; but as they start off, all 10 are suddenly healed! Nine continue happily on their way, but the one who comes back, loudly praising God, is a Samaritan. “Get up and go on your way,” Jesus tells this foreigner. “Your faith has made you well.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Oct. 5, 2025 (Pentecost 17C/Proper 22)

Jesus teaching his disciples, the parable of the mustard seed (1684). From an Arabic manuscript of the Gospels drawn in Egypt by Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib, a Coptic monk. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Lamentations 1:1-6

Cries of suffering and lamentation echo through Sunday’s readings, confronting us with disturbing metaphors and images that we may find difficult to consider, even in words attributed to Jesus. Perhaps our lesson this week is not to bottle up sad, hurt, and angry feelings but to reflect on how we can use them to learn and grow. Our Track One first reading comes from Lamentations, a short book that recalls the exile in Babylon. This passage poetically imagines the ruins of Jerusalem as a weeping woman sadly remembering happier times. Her princes are weak, her children captive. Her foes have won. Her enemies prosper, and she fears that God brought this suffering on the people because of her wrongdoing.

First Reading (Track Two): Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

If the name Habbakuk doesn’t sound familiar, that may be because this week’s Track Two first reading is his only appearance in the entire three-year Lectionary cycle of Sunday readings. Habbakuk lived nearly 700 years before Jesus and, like many of the prophets, warned of the destruction and exile of Jerusalem. But this is a prophet with a difference. Unlike most of the prophets who hear God’s word and carry it on to humanity at God’s command, Habbakuk shouts his own warnings, then complains that even God doesn’t seem to be paying attention. God then instructs the prophet: Write your prophecy down. Make it so plain that a runner passing by can read it without slowing down. Then be patient, be just, and wait.

Psalm (Track One): Lamentations 3:19-26

Perhaps to provide preachers the option of avoiding the horrifying verse of Psalm 137 (see below) in which the Israelites celebrate smashing the enemy’s children on rocks, the Lectionary offers another passage from Lamentations, a reading that resembles a Psalm in the traditional two-line verse form of biblical Hebrew poetry. In these verses from the third chapter, the tone of deep sorrow continues at the beginning. But then the language turns from pain to hope, for God’s steadfast love is unceasing and God’s mercy never ends. God is good to those who wait in quiet patience.

Alternate Psalm (Track One): Psalm 137

This ancient hymn of lamentation over the destruction of Jerusalem places the Psalmist in exile, “by the rivers of Babylon,” weeping over the lost city and temple and, in words that remain a vivid part of the Passover Seder, vowing never to forget Jerusalem. The verses then turn dark and horrifying, though, and we’re likely to react with visceral shock at the idea of Judah’s warriors joyously smashing innocent babies on the rocks. What could we possibly be meant to learn from these awful verses? Perhaps we are meant to see ourselves at humanity’s worst moments, and recognize how badly we can behave when hurt and frustration tempt us to lash out in anger.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 37:1-10

Sunday’s Track Two psalm fits well with God’s response to Habakkuk in the first reading. The Psalmist calls us to trust in God and continue living in hope even when things aren’t going well. When the world appears dark and it seems that evil surrounds us, the Psalmist reminds us that we can put our faith in God and wait with patience and confident trust. Don’t lash back or strike out in anger. These things only lead to evil. But wait patiently, follow God’s ways, and we’ll be rewarded.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Written decades after the death of Paul, this short pastoral letter fondly imagines the evangelist writing from prison to his beloved disciple Timothy. It likely came at a time around the end of the first century, when the young church was suffering persecution. In that context, it is not surprising that its themes remind us of the Lamentations readings and Psalm. Hold onto your faith, even when times are hard; rely on the grace of God given through Jesus.

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

In Luke’s long account of the journey of Jesus and his disciples toward Jerusalem, Jesus seems to toss out one challenge after another. Sunday’s Gospel is no exception, with its apparently casual assumption that Jesus’s followers would load down a slave with heavy work but never invite the slave to sit down at the table, much less bother to thank the slave. Perhaps we can argue that slavery was routinely accepted in that age, but it still feels uncomfortable at best to hear these ideas from the mouth of Jesus. Perhaps we can only consider the text as another of Jesus’s attention-getting stories meant to show that it is not easy to follow him. Jesus calls us to be humble, vulnerable, and, yes, as obedient as slaves when we are called to follow him.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Sept. 28, 2025 (Pentecost 16C/Proper 21)

Lazarus at the rich man’s gate (1886), illustration by Fyodor Bronnikov (1827-1902). (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Imagine yourself living amid war and destruction. Enemies are rounding you up with your family, friends, and neighbors. They’re tearing down your city and destroying your beloved temple. You are all about to be taken to a distant city where you must live in exile among people who do not know you or worship as you do. Does this seem like a logical time to go buy a field to be planted in crops? Who would plow it? Who would plant it? Who would guard and harvest it? Yet this is the image that Jeremiah chooses as the people face exile. The purchased field is a powerful and visible sign from God that they will eventually return home. Read the rest of this chapter and be comforted with its beautiful assurance that God will remain faithful even in the worst of times.

First Reading (Track Two): Amos 6:1a, 4-7

All through both testaments, Scripture’s message is consistently tough on the rich. The prophets come down hard on wealthy people, and of course, Jesus does too, as we will see in Sunday’s Gospel. In this reading, the prophet Amos warns Israel and Judah that the idle rich – with emphasis on the “idle” – will be the first to go into exile when grief and destruction bring an end to their revelry. Amos isn’t just angry because the rich lead lavish lives of luxury, but because they don’t care about “the ruin of Joseph,” the ordinary people of Israel. Their failure is in community: Like the rich man with Lazarus in Sunday’s Gospel, they do not love their neighbor.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

These verses from Psalm 91 mirror the Jeremiah reading. This passage is also a favorite for reading in eucharistic visits and any time we pray with a sick or suffering family member or friend. It assures us of God’s protection and mercy. God is our refuge and our stronghold, our shield and buckler and protective wings, guarding us by day and by night, delivering us because we are bound to God in love.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 146

Psalm 146 rings with loud shouts of praise. “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!” Now take note of just why God receives these high hosannas: God brings justice to the oppressed and lifts up the depressed. God feeds the hungry. God sets prisoners free, heals the blind, and loves the righteous: those who offer justice and care to their neighbors. We hear all this again in the words of Jesus, who shows us the image of God in fully human form.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

These verses from the first letter of Timothy emphasize again that the wealthy have a moral duty to care for their poorer neighbors. The simple wisdom, “we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it,” could be restated as the more modern saying, “You can’t take it with you!” Then we hear the original source of the familiar wisdom, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It’s fine to want food and clothing, the author assures us. But we get in trouble when we’re tempted to excess by more luxurious delights. Don’t count on your riches but on God, the author urges. Do good, be rich in good works, and share, and you’ll be ready for God’s Kingdom.

Gospel: Luke 16:1-13

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus culminates a series of parables about the dangers of riches that we’ve been hearing in recent weeks as Jesus teaches a growing crowd along his trek toward Jerusalem. At first glance, this appears to be a simple story with a moral: The selfish rich man, ignoring Torah’s command to care for the poor, paid no attention to suffering Lazarus. Now he’s suffering torments in Hades while Lazarus reposes in comfort in Abraham’s arms. Justice appears to be served. But as with all of Jesus’ parables, there is a deeper, richer texture here. Why would the rich man even think that Lazarus would help him? Why won’t Abraham let Lazarus warn the rich man’s brothers of his fate? The sins that wealth encourages, it seems, make repentance hard to come by.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Sept. 21, 2025 (Pentecost 15C/Proper 20)

Parable of the Unjust Steward (c.1540), oil painting by Marinus van Reymerswaele (c.1490-c.1546). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

“You cannot serve God and wealth.” Jesus speaks so often and so consistently about the dangers of riches and our obligation to support the poor that we really need to take this message seriously. This call to use our wealth to care for the poor, widows, orphans, and immigrants is deeply rooted in the Torah, the Law of Judaism that Jesus knew and taught. We hear this call in Sunday’s Track One first reading, as Jeremiah grieves with profound emotion over the people’s failure of righteousness and justice. They hoard riches and ignore the poor. The prophet mourns deeply, imagining God’s own mourning: “Is there no balm in Gilead?”

First Reading (Track Two): Amos 8:4-7

If the ancient prophets in the Hebrew Bible often sound angry, it is likely because they have to keep shouting the same message to the same people over and over again. In Sunday’s Track Two first reading, the Prophet Amos echoes this stern prophetic chorus: The people languish in exile, their city in ruins, and the temple destroyed. When we fail to take care of the poor and the needy, when we lie, cheat, and steal, and act as if we did nothing wrong, God grows angry, Jeremiah shouts. For such acts and omissions, there are consequences!

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 79:1-9

Sunday’s Track One psalm echoes Jeremiah’s weeping prophecy in its mournful lament for desolate and shattered Jerusalem after the Exile. Jerusalem is rubble. The unburied bodies of martyred faithful lie out as food for birds and beasts; their blood runs like water around the city. The people are the objects of scorn; they feel only God’s fury blazing like fire. The Psalm concludes with heartfelt prayers for God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 113

Even if the people won’t help the poor and the needy, the Psalmist sings, God will always do so. God is blessed through all eternity, we sing; God is worthy of praise. The psalm goes on: God sits high above all nations and above the heavens. Yet God also looks down and sees humanity … and reaches down to gently lift up the needy, the poor, and the disappointed, gently placing them in seats at the tables of royalty.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Pray for everyone, and don’t neglect to pray for the kings and leaders of the community, urges the author of the first letter to Timothy. He enumerates four kinds of prayer: supplications, or specific requests; petitionary prayers, asking for help; intercessions, or urgent requests; and thanksgiving, expressing gratitude. Remember that God is one, the author tells us, and that Jesus – who was both divine and also human like us – gave himself for our salvation.

Gospel: Luke 16:1-13

This parable makes us stop and think, as good parables should. On the surface, it may appear to hold up dishonest behavior as a good thing because it gets results. Or does it? Jesus rarely speaks well of the rich, and that’s particularly the case in Luke. Indeed, he hammers home his simple point: If you’re dishonest about wealth, you can’t be trusted with truly valuable things. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much,” Jesus says, concluding the passage with the familiar warning, “You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Sept. 14, 2025 (Pentecost 14C/Proper 19)

Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver (c.1680), oil painting on canvas by Godfried Schalcken (1643-1706). The Leiden Collection, New York. Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Scripture is full of apparent contradictions. One verse might portray God as dealing destruction with righteous, stormy anger. But open your Bible to another page and find an image of overwhelming, steadfast love. Happily, divine love ultimately prevails. This week’s passage from Jeremiah shows us an angry side of God in an image that might remind us of a loving parent brought to rope’s end by misbehaving children. “My people are foolish,” the prophet’s vision of God declares. “They are stupid children … they have no understanding.” The promised land shall be desolated, God warns. Yet even so, God will not fully destroy the people or their land.

First Reading (Track Two): Exodus 32:7-14

When Moses traveled up to the cloudy top of Mount Sinai, the people left below were afraid. In their fear, they created a golden calf and worshiped it as an idol. At the beginning of Sunday’s reading, God is righteously angry, wrathfully deciding to kill all these ungrateful people and start over again. This new nation, God declares, will no longer descend from Abraham but from the offspring of Moses. But Moses pushes back against this idea. When Moses reminds God of the covenant made at Sinai with Abraham’s family, followed by their long journey out of Egypt, God shows mercy and relents.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 14

Psalm 14 resonates with Jeremiah’s vision of God’s impatient anger with a troublesome people. Jeremiah’s angry words about the people’s stupidity and foolishness are repeated in the Psalmist’s scorn for fools, corrupt people, and doers of abominable deeds. Yet at the end, the Psalm offers hope: God will ultimately restore the people’s fortunes amid gladness and rejoicing.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 51: 1-10

This portion of Psalm 10 imagines the guilt and shame felt by King David after he had sent his loyal soldier Uriah to certain death in battle in order to cover up David’s adulterous affair with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. This Psalm imagines David’s repentant cry when the prophet Nathan shocked the king into recognizing his great sin.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

During the rest of September, we’ll read from the two short letters of Timothy. Although they are framed as letters of pastoral advice written by Paul to his associate Timothy, modern scholars have concluded they were actually written by a later Christian leader in Paul’s name. Composed in a time when the early church was becoming institutionalized and cautious, they tend to be more strict and dogmatic than Paul’s early letters. We don’t hear that in this passage, though. The writer gives thanks that God forgave Paul’s blasphemy, persecution, and violence, and showered him with Christ’s faith and love.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-10

The Pharisees and the scribes grumbled and complained that Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” This complaint prompts Jesus to respond with two brief parables that liken God’s care for “sinners” to people who lose important things: a sheep from a flock and a silver coin. When the lost objects are found after an intense search, the people exult with abundant joy and thanksgiving. “Just so, I tell you,” Jesus concludes, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Sept. 7, 2025 (Pentecost 13C/Proper 18)

Christ Before the People (1837-1857), oil painting on canvas by Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858). Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sunday’s readings prompt us to reflect on our assumptions about God’s role in the universe and Jesus’s image as the gentle Good Shepherd. In the Track One first reading, God sends Jeremiah to watch an artisan – a creator who fashions pots from clay – who does not hesitate to smash and re-make an unsatisfactory creation over and over again. If the people of Judah do not turn from their evil ways, Jeremiah hears, then God, like a cosmic potter, will create disaster for them. However, that God – the cosmic potter – tries creation over and over again. Even when humanity goes wrong, the possibility of repentance and restoration remains.

First Reading (Track Two): Deuteronomy 30:15-20

After wandering 40 years in the desert, the Israelites reach the River Jordan at last and are preparing to cross into the Promised Land. Before they make this long-awaited crossing, they pause while Moses reminds them of the covenant they made at Mount Sinai: Love God and walk in God’s ways, follow God’s laws, and you will thrive and prosper. But turn away from God, and you will lose the land and God’s blessings. This simple call to follow God’s way lies at the center of Scripture, and it shapes Jesus’ message to us as well.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

God knows us as intimately as Jeremiah’s potter knows his clay. Whatever we do, wherever we go, God knows our every thought, the Psalmist sings. God knows every word that we speak and every idea that we imagine. Even before we were born, God knew us. The Psalmist, however, does not explicitly thank God for knowing our every moment, nor do these verses ask how this knowledge affects our daily lives. No, the simple fact that God knows us so deeply is enough.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 1

Psalm 1, the first of the 150 ancient hymns that make up the Psalms, echoes Moses’ theme at the banks of Jordan: The world is made up of two kinds of people, those who follow God’s laws and those who do not. Follow God’s laws and be happy and prosper; follow the way of the wicked and perish. Scripture is far more nuanced than this black-and-white understanding, of course. Still, “follow God’s ways and win, follow evil ways and lose,” concisely sums up the Covenant that Moses made with God for the people at Mount Sinai.

Second Reading: Philemon 1-21

Paul, having befriended young Onesimus, a slave, in prison, writes a letter about the youth to the slave’s master, Philemon. We might wish that Paul had taken a strong stand against slavery, offering clear guidance on this evil practice that would ring through the ages. But read it closely, and we see that Paul is gently guiding Philemon to a deeper truth: Christians should love each other as brothers and sisters. There is no space for slavery in that!

Gospel: Luke 14:25-33

Tension is rising as Jesus continues his journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. The crowds that have been following him since he set his face toward Jerusalem are growing larger and more excited. Meanwhile, the Romans and the Temple authorities are growing nervous about this unruly crowd descending on the capital at Passover. Jesus needs the crowd to know that it will not be easy to follow him on this journey, just as he had warned them earlier that he came not to bring peace but division. Does he really mean that we have to hate our families and give up everything we have to follow him? Is Jesus just exaggerating to make his point? This much is sure: Jesus is warning his followers not to start a task that they can’t finish. They must follow him not halfheartedly but with whole hearts.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Aug. 31, 2025 (Pentecost 12C/Proper 17)

Parable of the Great Banquet (c.1525-1545), oil painting on panel by the Brunswick Monogrammist, an anonymous 16th-century Dutch painter. National Museum in Warsaw, Poland. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 2:4-13

When we place our own interest first, we lose sight of God’s way. Listen for this theme through Sunday’s readings. In our Track One first reading, we see Jeremiah, reassured that his youth is no bar to being a prophet, stepping into the role. Speaking God’s words aloud to humanity, he cries out in an anguished reverie, lamenting how the chosen people could have gone astray. Did they find some wrong in God that led them to waste their lives on worthless things? More in sorrow than in anger, it seems, God reflects that the people have forsaken the living water that they were given, building cracked cisterns instead that won’t hold what the people need to slake their spiritual thirst.

First Reading (Track Two): Sirach 10:12-18

Sirach, or The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach to give its full name, is one of the group of books known as Apocrypha that come at the end of the Hebrew Bible. It sums up Torah, God’s teaching, in the genre of wisdom literature: brisk, memorable suggestions of spiritual advice. Sunday’s Track Two first reading from Sirach follows the theme of the day’s readings: Pride leads to sin, and sin leads to no good end. In language that may remind us of the Song of Mary, the Magnificat, it warns that proud rulers will be overthrown, to be replaced by the lowly.

Alternate First Reading (Track Two): Proverbs 25:6-7

When Jesus offered his simple wisdom to banquet-goers that we hear in Sunday’s Gospel, perhaps he remembered this simple, ancient wisdom in Sunday’s alternate first reading from Proverbs: “It is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” Both Luke and Matthew sum up this idea in almost identical words, “… all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 81:1,10-16

The theme of this hymn seems to flow naturally from today’s Jeremiah reading. The Psalmist shouts in joy for God’s strength, and like Jeremiah, imagines God speaking of having brought the people out of slavery in Egypt. God saw to it that they were fed and protected, only to see their stubborn hearts turn to their own ways and ignore God’s commands. Imagining God’s voice, the Psalmist laments, “O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!”

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 112

Understood in the context of today’s lessons, the point in this Psalm is clear, and it clearly restates God’s covenant with the people: Follow God’s commandments and be blessed, and remember that the sum of that commandment is to be righteous and just, serve your neighbor, share your wealth, and provide for the poor. Secure in God, there is no need to live in fear.

Second Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Our four-week visit with the letter to the Hebrews concludes Sunday in beautiful poetic words urging us to love one another as God loves us. We must remember to do good, to share with one another, and to show hospitality, remembering that the patriarch Abraham once hospitably yet unknowingly received visiting angels. These verses offer simple advice on living as God would have us live. Keep our lives free from the love of money, and be content with what we have, for God will never leave us or forsake us.

Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Like so many of Jesus’s parables, this one seems to have an obvious, simple message … and then a sudden turn makes us stop and think. Don’t assume that the seat of honor is saved for you, Jesus tells the Pharisees at a banquet table, or you’ll be embarrassed when the host directs you to move down. It’s more prudent to take a humble place, then bask in a happy glow as the host escorts you to a better place. But then we find, as we so often do with Jesus’ teachings, that there’s a deeper meaning: Next time, don’t host a banquet for wealthy, influential people at all. Rather, host one for hungry, thirsty, ill, and oppressed people. They can’t repay you as rich friends might, but your reward will be plentiful when God’s kingdom comes.