Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 17, 2019

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

We are approaching the end of the long sequence of Sundays after Pentecost. Next week brings the celebration of Christ the King as the last Sunday after Pentecost. Then we move into Advent and a new Lectionary year.

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.)

In Sunday’s Track One first reading, we read the concluding verses of the book of Isaiah. The people have endured the loss of Jerusalem and the temple, spent years in exile, and finally returned to the shattered city and must begin the arduous task of rebuilding. Now the prophet celebrates God’s plan for the 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, it is 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 so-called minor prophets, falls at the very end of the Hebrew Bible. The verses in Sunday’s Track Two first reading begin its fourth and final chapter. Malachi, whose name in Hebrew means “Messenger,” speaks of a people newly returned from exile, warning that the great day of the Lord is coming. In language that may remind us of the apocalyptic tone of the day’s Luke passage, the prophet warns that God will separate evildoers from the righteous and destroy them. Those who revere God’s name, though, will have healing and joy, “leaping like calves from the stall.”

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

In place of a Track One Psalm on Sunday we will chant these verses from earlier in Isaiah, a passage that may be familiar as Canticle 9, “The First Song of Isaiah,” that we read in Morning Prayer. Hard times lie ahead for the people at this point as they face exile, but the prophet makes clear that God will remain with them. Even in threatening times, even when we feel frightened and vulnerable, God will be our stronghold and our sure defense.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 98

In harmony with the prophet Malachi’s vision of God as a righteous healer, Sunday’s Track Two Psalm envisions God as fair and just judge of the world and all its people. When God comes to judge the earth 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. God’s righteousness will be known to all the nations.

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.” Too often we hear this harsh judgment echoed in modern times, shorn of its context. In its original sense, this letter – written in Paul’s name in a time of Roman persecution – insists that all the members of the church in Thessalonika get up and pull their fair weight in a 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 negate Christ’s call to give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, or any of the other ways he calls us to show love to our neighbors.

Gospel: Luke 21:5-19

The evangelist we know as 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 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 taught by Jesus to his apostles during the week of his passion and death, just after a series of arguments with Pharisees and Sadducees. The story bears a truth as meaningful for us as for Christians in Luke’s own time of persecution: God is with us. Even when we’re betrayed, scorned, hated and hurt, “By our endurance we will gain our souls.”

What are “Track 1” and “Track 2”?
During the long green season after Pentecost, there are two tracks (or strands) each week for Old Testament readings. Within each track, there is a Psalm chosen to accompany the particular lesson.
The Revised Common Lectionary allows us to make use of either of these tracks, but once a track has been selected, it should be followed through to the end of the Pentecost season, rather than jumping back and forth between the two strands.
For more information from LectionaryPage.net, click here.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 10, 2019

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.

Christ and the Pharisees, painting by Ernst Karl Georg Zimmermann (1852-1901). (Click image to enlarge.)

In the Track One first reading, we hear the minor prophet Haggai (pronounced “Hah-guy”) 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

Our Track Two 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, while he remains unpersuaded by their advice. Job 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 cover a broad range of hope, lament, petition and praise, a diverse anthology that seems appropriate for all the ways that God’s people approach the divine in worship and song. The last group of the Psalms, though, conclude the book with unalloyed praise. As we hear these Psalms, starting with this portion of Psalm 145, we can almost hear resounding chords and choruses as the people raise their voices in awe at God’s wonder. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised!”

Alternative Psalm (Track One): Psalm 98

Psalm 98, available as an alternative to the Psalm 145 passage above for Sunday’s Track One readings, is a song of praise too, this one focused on our joy with 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 chanted in the All Saints readings – the Psalmist calls on all creation to join the chorus: The sea and all that is in it, the rivers clap and the hills ring out 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 as he calls on God to hear his plea of innocence. His prayer comes from lips that do not lie. Inviting God to weigh his heart and melt him down as an assayer judges gold, he 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 sing in Compline at day’s end.

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

This second letter to the Greek community in Thessalonika 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, and following generations were clearly hoping for some kind of reassurance, particularly since Christians 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

Since our last reading from Luke’s Gospel, we have skipped over several major events, including Jesus’ tumultous arrival in Jerusalem to waving palms. Now we find him debating Torah with a group of Sadducees who try to trip him up: When a man who had seven wives dies and goes to heaven, which of the seven women will be his wife? It may seem that Jesus responds by declaring there is no marriage in heaven, but remember that in this and several other parables in this chapter, Jesus is pushing back against trick questions. Those who die are like angels and children of God, he says. In that context, earthly marriage doesn’t matter.

What are “Track 1” and “Track 2”?
During the long green season after Pentecost, there are two tracks (or strands) each week for Old Testament readings. Within each track, there is a Psalm chosen to accompany the particular lesson.
The Revised Common Lectionary allows us to make use of either of these tracks, but once a track has been selected, it should be followed through to the end of the Pentecost season, rather than jumping back and forth between the two strands.
For more information from LectionaryPage.net, click here.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 3, 2019
(All Saints’ Day may also be celebrated on the Sunday following Nov. 1. Those Illuminations are posted separately.)

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

If the name Habakkuk doesn’t seem familiar, there’s a reason for that: A reading from the book of this minor prophet happens only twice in the three-year Lectionary cycle of Sunday readings.

Zacchaeus and Jesus. Orthodox icon By the Hand of Nicholas P. Papas. (Click image to enlarge.)

We hear it as the Track One first reading this Sunday, and these same verses were the Track Two first reading four weeks ago. But this short three-chapter book is unusual and fascinating. Unlike most of the prophets who heard God’s word and passed it on to humanity, Habakkuk shouts out his own warnings, then turns to God with frustration because, in his opinion, God isn’t listening. Habakkuk feels left alone without divine assistance. But now God responds, directing Habakkuk to write his vision down so clearly that a runner can read it while racing past.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 1:1, 10-18

Isaiah’s great book of prophecy gets off to a fiery start. It begins with five full chapters filled with God’s angry wrath before we even get to God’s call to the prophet. First we must clearly hear God’s anger at the people’s failure to keep the covenant that their ancestors made through Moses at Mount Sinai. We hear that wrath in today’s reading, as God likens Israel to Sodom and Gomorrah. They are a people so vile that God hates them and their works. But, as always, this angry judgment is not absolute. This is the way to restore God’s love: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow.”

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 119:137-144

We hear verses from Psalm 119 fairly often. The longest of all the Psalms, fully 176 verses long, portions of it appear a dozen times during the three-year lectionary cycle. While it offers different poetry in every section, it remains true throughout its course as a long, loving celebration of God’s teaching and law. Today’s verses may have come as good advice to those who were targeted by Habakkuk’s prophecy: When trouble and distress come on us, God’s law and teaching are our delight.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 32:1-8

Rebounding from the horrific notion of a God too angry to hear the people’s prayers or sacrifices, too outdone to give them even the least attention, our Psalm sings the joy that comes when the separation from God that results from sin is ended, replaced with the utter joy of knowing God’s forgiveness. No longer groaning with pain that feels like withered bones, the repentant sinner is now guarded against trouble and surrounded with shouts of deliverance.

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

This reading begin a three-week visit with the second letter to the church of Thessalonika in Northern Greece. This letter probably came a generation after the first letter to the Thessalonians, perhaps around 100 CE, and it was probably written in Paul’s name by a follower long after his death. These early Christians were facing severe Roman persecution, and the letter opens with hearty thanks and gratitude for their steadfast faith despite all that they have had to endure.

Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

What’s this? Another tax collector? Last week we saw Jesus praising a tax collector for his humble prayer. Jesus even called a tax collector, Matthew, as one of his apostles. The Pharisees often criticized Jesus for hanging around with prostitutes and tax-collectors – the most insulting occupations they could think of. Tax collectors were despised because they traitorously sold their services to the hated Roman occupiers, extracting heavy taxes from the people, and often taking a little extra to enrich themselves. Nevertheless, here is Jesus shouting out to another tax collector – the diminutive Zacchaeus – who had climbed a tree the better to see him. Then Jesus invites himself to dinner at Zacchaeus’ house! Like the praying tax collector in last week’s Gospel, Zacchaeus earns salvation by following Jesus.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 27, 2019

First Reading (Track One): Joel 2:23-32

A persistent message of hope is heard throughout Sunday’s readings.

Pharisäer und Zöllner (The Pharisee and the Publican), baroque fresco in the Basilika Ottobeuren, a Benedictine abbey in Ottobeuren, Germany, near the Bavarian Alps. (Click image to enlarge.)

We hear it in the words of the Prophet Joel, whose short but poetic prophecy offers comfort and hope amid the threat of a locust plague that threatens famine: God is with us. Feast will follow famine. God loves us and the spirit will pour out on us as rich and bountiful harvests. Even Joel’s scary prophecy of blood and fire and columns of smoke, darkened sun and bloody moon – apocalyptic images that later writers would adopt to describe the last days – hold no fear for those who call on the name of the Lord; they will all be saved.

First Reading (Track Two): Sirach 35:12-17

The book of Sirach, The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach – later renamed Ecclesiasticus in the time of the Emperor Constantine – is one of the books known as Apocrypha that come at the end of the Old Testament. It sums up God’s teaching (“Torah”) in the brisk, memorable style of biblical wisdom literature. In Sunday’s verses, it envisions God as judge over all, a judge who is impartial in dispensing justice. Nevertheless God, the judge, pays special attention to the needs of those who have been wronged, to widows and orphans, to the oppressed who come before the judge with complaints.

Alternate First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 14:7-10,19-22

From Moses to Jonah, Job and beyond, the bible’s prophets are rarely reluctant to argue with God. The notion of mere mortals pushing back against God Almighty might seem strange or even disturbing, but it is a powerful way for a prophet to emphasize that the subject is important. Setting the tone of hope amid pain in Sunday’s readings, Jeremiah acknowledges that the people have done wrong, but then he mounts a powerful argument that the loving God who made covenant with the people at Sinai would surely not fail to bring them back home, even if they had wandered and sinned.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 65

This psalm of thanksgiving for earth’s bounty – one of the 73 of the 150 psalms that tradition attributes to King David – serves us doubly in this autumn season: First, it echoes Joel’s assurances that God will provide us nature’s rich harvests even after times of trouble and sin. Then it also paints a lovely word picture of God’s great outpouring, valleys and hills cloaked with crops and grain and shouting and singing for joy. Let’s hold these images in our thoughts as Thanksgiving and Christmastide draw near.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 84:1-6

Mustering poetic metaphors about birds finding safety in their nests, the Psalmist writes a hymn of trust and praise in a loving God who will protect the people and lead them home. God will watch over, favor and honor those who trust in God. As God provides nests for the small birds, so will God provide for us. As God makes pools of water available for thirsty travelers, so will God hear our prayers.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

The author of Timothy concludes his letter by imagining Paul’s last testament in beautiful, poetic words that ring through the ages. The assurance that Paul had fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith while undergoing trials and imprisonment would have been a source of strength to the people of a young church facing Roman persecution. Although some believers were deserting the cause in fear, this letter called on Christians to stand strong, proclaim the good news to all the nations, and count on God’s strength and God’s protection.

Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

This parable follows immediately after last week’s story about the corrupt judge and the persistent widow. It is helpful to think about these parables together to understand what Jesus wants us to know about prayer. Like the powerful but corrupt judge who fails to prevail against the fierce widow, the Pharisee tripped over his pride. Take note that he was not exaggerating his virtues. He truly did follow the law, pray, fast, and tithe. But the despised tax collector who stood aside, looked down, beat his breast and begged for mercy as a sinner was the one who went home justified, Jesus said, because he brought humility to his prayer.

What are “Track 1” and “Track 2”?
During the long green season after Pentecost, there are two tracks (or strands) each week for Old Testament readings. Within each track, there is a Psalm chosen to accompany the particular lesson.
The Revised Common Lectionary allows us to make use of either of these tracks, but once a track has been selected, it should be followed through to the end of the Pentecost season, rather than jumping back and forth between the two strands.
For more information from LectionaryPage.net, click here.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 20, 2019

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

A theme of patient persistence recurs in Sunday’s readings: Place your hope in God; and even in the face of challenges, be persistent.

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

In our Track One first reading, Jeremiah pauses in his nearly relentless lamentation over the sins that led Israel and Judah into exile, offering words of hope and the certainty of God’s love. Using a colorful metaphor about sour grapes, he makes clear that the people fully deserved hard times. But, the prophet foretells, God will forgive them, offer them a new covenant, and return them home, just their ancestors came out of slavery in Egypt.

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

The theme of hope in God and persistence, even in the face of challenges, continues in Sunday’s Track Two first reading. In this strange narrative from Genesis, Jacob wrestles all night with an angel! Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, son of Isaac, and father to Joseph, is a key figure in the Hebrew Bible’s ancestral genealogy. Perhaps the lesson in this strange story is about persistence, as Jacob won’t surrender to this powerful stranger who injures his hip but can’t take him down: Stay the course, even when it’s hard, and you may earn God’s blessing.

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

Does this reading call us to be bible-thumpers, lecturing unbelievers and rebuking them if they won’t listen? Of course we don’t read it that way. This late New Testament document was written when the young church was fighting persecution. Rather than giving up, the writer advises the troubled flock, learn scripture and be persistent about proclaiming the kingdom of God. In good times and hard times alike, they are to “convince, rebuke, and encourage” in the name of Jesus, because proclaiming the kingdom was so important.

Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

In the patriarchal world of the ancient Near East, widows were helpless, vulnerable and weak. This widow in Jesus’s parable, though, is tough in spite of it all. She won’t quit pounding the corrupt and shiftless judge with her demands until he finally gives her the justice that she seeks. What does this mean for us? Jesus tells us at the beginning and the end of today’s Gospel: Pray always and do not lose heart. God will grant justice to the chosen ones who pray by day and night.

What are “Track 1” and “Track 2”?
During the long green season after Pentecost, there are two tracks (or strands) each week for Old Testament readings. Within each track, there is a Psalm chosen to accompany the particular lesson.
The Revised Common Lectionary allows us to make use of either of these tracks, but once a track has been selected, it should be followed through to the end of the Pentecost season, rather than jumping back and forth between the two strands.
For more information from LectionaryPage.net, click here.