Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Nov. 16, 2025 (Pentecost 23C/Proper 28)

Zerstörung Jerusalems durch Titus (The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, 1846), oil painting on canvas by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1805-1874). Neue Pinakothek, Munich. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Isaiah 65:17-25

We are approaching the end of the long season after Pentecost. Next week we’ll celebrate the feast of Christ the King, and then we’ll move into Advent and a new Lectionary year. This first reading is taken from the closing verses of the book of Isaiah. The people have endured the loss of Jerusalem and the temple, spent years in exile, and have finally returned to the shattered city to begin the arduous task of rebuilding. Now the prophet celebrates God’s plan for a new Jerusalem, a joy and a delight. It will be a city with no weeping, no distress … no death in childbirth, no pain … joyous lives of 100 years of youthful strength! And, at the end, the prophet proclaims, it will be a holy place of peace, where the lion and the lamb rest together and none shall hurt or destroy.

First Reading (Track Two): Malachi 4:1-2a

The short book of Malachi, the last of the twelve minor prophets, occupies the final pages of the Hebrew Bible. The prophet, whose name in Hebrew means “Messenger,” speaks of a people newly returned from exile, foretelling that the great day of the Lord is coming. In language similar in tone to the apocalyptic language of the day’s Gospel, the prophet warns that God will separate evildoers from the righteous and destroy them. But those who revere God’s name will have healing and joy, “leaping like calves from the stall.”

Psalm (Track One): Isaiah 12:2-6 (Canticle 9)

In place of a traditional Psalm, we have these verses from Isaiah that are repeated as Canticle 9 in the Book of Common Prayer, “The First Song of Isaiah.” In this passage, which we also read in Morning Prayer, the prophet warns that hard times lie ahead for the people of Israel. They face exile in Babylon, but the prophet assures them that God will remain with them. Even in threatening times, even when they feel frightened and vulnerable, God will be their stronghold and sure defense.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 98

In harmony with the prophet Malachi’s vision of God as a righteous healer, this Psalm alternative envisions God as a fair and just judge of the world and all its people. When God comes to judge the earth, the Psalmist foretells, we will sing a new song, lift up our voices, and express our joy so abundantly that even the sea, the lands, the rivers, and the hills will jump up and join the celebration. Then God’s righteousness will be known to all the nations.

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

“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.” This harsh judgment is too often echoed in modern times, shorn of its context. We hear it even now amid the government shutdown and loss of SNAP benefits. The original context of this letter, though – written in Paul’s name in a time of Roman persecution – insists that all the Christians in Thessalonica get up and do their share in an existential battle against an immediate challenge. Slacking would have been unfair and corrosive to a group that lived in community. But in no way does this late letter negate Jesus’s command to give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, or any of the other ways in which we are called to show love to our neighbors.

Gospel: Luke 21:5-19

Luke wrote this scary forecast of war and destruction for a primarily Gentile audience some 70 years after the Crucifixion and 30 years after the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. He is telling the searing story of an actual event – the fall of the Temple – framing it as a lesson that Jesus taught his apostles during the week of his passion and death. This passage follows a series of arguments with Pharisees and Sadducees that we have heard on recent Sundays. It bears a truth as meaningful for us as it was for persecuted Christians in Luke’s own time: God is with us. Even when we’re betrayed, scorned, hated, and hurt, “By our endurance we will gain our souls.”

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.