Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Oct. 9, 2016

“Jesus Healing the Leper,” Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864

Whether our lives are going well or whether things are going badly, trust in God. Trust, and be thankful for God’s blessings. This is the theme that runs through all our readings today. We hear it in Jeremiah, as the prophet turns from anguish over Jerusalem’s destruction to quiet acceptance now that the worst has come. Don’t give up hope, he tells Judah in exile. Confront your new reality and try to flourish; bear children and multiply, and pray for your new home, because its welfare is now your welfare.

First Reading (Track Two): 2 Kings 5:1-14

Whether our lives are going well or whether things are going badly, trust in God. Trust, and be thankful for God’s blessings. This is the theme that runs through all our readings today. Naaman, a proud commander of the Aramean army, risks going to Israel, now an enemy nation, to visit a prophet who might cure his disfiguring disease. The Prophet Elisha wouldn’t even see Naaman. He sent a servant with advice that sounded too simple to be true. But when Naaman’s servants urged him give it a try, Naaman was cured; and through his cure he finds faith in Israel’s God.

Psalm 66:1-12

This resounding hymn of praise for God’s power and glory recalls God’s mighty deeds: God led the people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and onward to the Promised Land. But then it takes a turn: God tests us, too, just as a jeweler tests silver with fire to prove its purity. As Judah learned through exile, God’s people may be conquered, but God will eventually restore and refresh us.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 111

The 150 Psalms, the hymnal of the ancient Temple, consist of many genres, from lament to complaint to petition to thanksgiving and praise. Today we hear a powerful song of praise and thanksgiving, applauding God’s many acts of power and majesty, God’s righteousness and justice, and, at the end, our praise and gratitude for God’s gifts to us.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-15

The young, growing Christian movement faced frightening persecution by the Romans at the time of this letter. It was written in the names of Paul and Timothy as a 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 know that through dying with Jesus, we live in Christ.

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

The Gospels give us a sense that Samaritans are bad, yet Jesus keeps showing us good Samaritans: In addition to the memorable parable of the Samaritan who stops to help the injured stranger, we have Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well; and today we read about the single leper out of ten – a Samaritan, again – who returns to thank Jesus for his healing, and whose faith saved him not only from his affliction but opened for him the doors to the kingdom. There are fascinating parallels with the story of Namaan here: Jesus cures the lepers at a distance, without touching them, and his actions bring a despised foreigner to faith in God.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sept. 25, 2016

Illustration of Lazarus at the rich man’s gate by Fyodor Bronnikov, 1886.

Imagine yourself in a terrible situation of war and destruction, with enemies rounding you up with your family and friends. They’re destroying your city and your temple and preparing to transport you all to a distant city where you must live in exile among people who do not even worship as you do. Wouldn’t going down to the real estate agent to buy an agricultural field be just about the last thing you would do? Who would plow it, plant it, guard it, harvest it? But Jeremiah uses just this image as the people face exile, a powerful and visible sign that they will return home some day. Look up the rest of this chapter, and you’ll find beautiful Scriptural assurance that God remains faithful even in the worst of times.

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

Today’s readings hammer home a powerful message: The bible does not go easily on the rich! The Old Testament prophets consistently preached against those who “trample on the needy and bring to ruin the poor of the land.” As we heard from Amos last week, those who broke their covenant with God through failing to be just and righteous would not fare well. Today Amos warns that the idle rich – with emphasis on the “idle” – will be the first to go into exile when their greed comes home to roost. Amos is outraged because the rich don’t care about “the ruin of Joseph,” the ordinary people of Israel. As Jesus will teach in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, we are commanded to love and take care of our neighbors.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

Today’s Psalm seems perfectly suited to today’s Jeremiah reading. It is also a favorite for reading in chaplaincy, 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

Today’s Psalm shouts out praise for God’s desire for justice for the oppressed, just as Amos had scorned Israel’s rich for failing to be just. Don’t trust rulers – the wealthy – who cannot help us and thus do not earn eternal life. Rather, we are called to follow the example of a God who feeds the hungry, sets prisoners free, heals the blind, and loves the righteous who offer justice to their neighbors. We hear all this again in the words of Jesus, who shows us the image of God in human form.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-19

The rich are commanded to care for their neighbors, as the prophets preached and Jesus calls us to do. “You can’t take it with you,” the author of Timothy reminds us, setting out this ancient wisdom: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It’s appropriate for all to want food and clothing, but we get in trouble when we’re tempted by more luxurious pleasures. Don’t count on your riches but on God, the author urges. Do good, be rich in good works, and share, and new life in God’s Kingdom awaits.

Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

This Gospel appears at first to be a simple story with a clear point: The selfish rich man would do nothing to help his neighbor Lazarus; not even offer him table scraps or shoo the dogs who licked at his sores. He ignores Torah’s command and the prophets’ warnings to be just. When he dies, he burns in fiery torment in Hades, while Lazarus enjoys an afterlife of comfort in Abraham’s arms. But as so often happens in the parables, Jesus leaves us questions to ponder. Considering how the rich man treated Lazarus in life, why would he expect Lazarus to help him now? More mysteriously, why can’t the rich man’s brothers be warned of his fate so they can avoid similar punishment? Do today’s readings shed any light on this?

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sept. 18, 2016

The Unjust Steward, etching by Jan Luyken in the Bowyer Bible (1791-1795), Bolton, England.

The prophet Jeremiah grieves, because the people are breaking God’s covenants: They’re not being righteous; they’re not caring for the poor, widows, orphans, or strangers in their land. And Jeremiah knows this will lead them to destruction and exile. In beautifully poetic words of sadness, the prophet mourns deeply, imagining God’s own mourning. “Is there no balm in Gilead?”

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

If any one message resounds loud, clear and consistently through all the prophets, it is this: The people made covenant with God to deal fairly with the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, aliens and and all in need. If we try to cheat on this agreement, trample the needy and ruin the poor in pursuit of profit, Amos warns, God will grow righteously angry, and the people will not like the consequences.

Psalm 79:1-9

Today’s Psalm mourns for desolate and shattered Jerusalem after the Exile, echoing Jeremiah’s weeping prophesy of the destruction that he saw coming. Jerusalem is rubble. The unburied bodies of martyred faithful are food for birds and beasts; their blood runs like water around the city. The people are the objects of scorn, and they feel only God’s fury blazing like fire. The Psalm ends with prayers for God’s mercy and forgiveness, but we don’t hear God’s answer here.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 113

Today’s Psalm of praise for God’s glory seems to answer the question that Amos raised in the First Reading: The Lord looks down from a seat high above the nations, sees humanity and gently reaches down to lift up the needy, the poor and the disappointed. Take care, however, not to read this as reason to leave the weak and the oppressed to God’s efforts. Amos has already told us what God thinks of that!

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

These verses tell us that there are four different ways to pray: Supplications (specific requests of God through Jesus as mediator between God and humankind); prayers (simple conversation with God); intercessions (calls for God’s help in urgent need); and finally, thanksgiving (expressing our gratitude for favors received). We should pray for everyone, family, friends and neighbors, and kings and leaders too, for high and low alike need God’s help, and God desires to bring everyone to the truth and salvation.

Gospel: Luke 16:1-13

Jesus’ parables often seem confusing, and that may be their point: Jesus does not spoon-feed us but rather makes us think; so when we finally get the point, we’ve learned something. In today’s Gospel, it might seem that Jesus is telling us that the dishonest steward’s trickery is a good thing. After all, the rich man rewards him! But remember that Jesus does not admire the rich. He usually holds them up as bad examples. Indeed, he hammers home his simple point: If you’re dishonest about wealth, you can’t be trusted with truly valuable things. We must choose between God and wealth. In Jesus’ mind, we can’t have both.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sept. 11, 2016

Parable of the Lost Coin, oil painting by James J. Tissot (French painter and illustrator, 1836-1902)

Last week’s reading from Jeremiah showed us a cosmic potter breaking an unsatisfactory vessel and starting it over, an image of God’s anguish over a chosen people gone badly wrong. Now we page back in the prophet’s book to find a righteously angry God who might remind us of a loving parent brought to rope’s end by misbehaving children. “My people are foolish … they are stupid children … they have no understanding.” God’s anger, the prophet warns the people, can have deadly consequences.

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

When Moses was high up on the cloudy top of Mount Sinai, the people below were afraid, so they created and worshiped an idol, a golden calf. As today’s reading begins, we see a righteously angry God, who is prepared to kill all the people and start over again, making a new nation not from the descendants of Abraham but those who will descend from Moses. But when Moses pushes back, recalling God’s covenant with Abraham’s family and their long journey out of Egypt, God shows mercy and relents.

Psalm 14

Today’s Psalm clearly echoes Jeremiah’s vision of God’s impatient anger with a troublesome people. Jeremiah’s angry words about 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 gives hope: God will ultimately restore their fortunes amid gladness and rejoicing.

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

Today’s Psalm imagines the guilt and shame of King David, who 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 after the prophet Nathan shocked the king into recognizing his great sin.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

The two short letters to Timothy near the end of the New Testament are understood as letters of pastoral advice. Scholars nowadays recognize them as having been written in Paul’s name generations later, in a second-century time when the early church was becoming more institutionalized and conservative. Nevertheless, today’s reading seems fully consistent with the original Paul’s love of Jesus as our savior who offers us eternal life.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-10

Luke’s gospel makes us think, with two short parables that liken God’s care for “sinners” to people who lose important things – a sheep from a flock, and a silver coin. The search for each lost item is intent and fierce. When the objects are found, the abundant joy of thanksgiving seems almost over the top considering the size of the loss … until we measure it in love. Turn the page at the end of this reading and we find yet another familiar story of loss, recovery and celebration: The Prodigal Son.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sept. 4, 2016

Orthodox icon of St. Onesimus, the subject of Paul’s letter to Philemon. Onesimus is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic and many Orthodox traditions.

Our first reading and Gospel today might seem to turn our ideas of a protective God and a peaceful Jesus upside down. Here, God shows Jeremiah an artisan, a creator, who fashions pots from clay and who is not reluctant to smash and re-make an unsatisfactory creation. If the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem do not turn back from their evil ways, God, like a cosmic potter, will shape evil against the people and bring disaster upon them.

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

The chosen people, looking back on 40 years wandering in the wilderness, have finally reached the banks of the Jordan. Before they make their fateful crossing into the promised land, Moses gathers them all and reminds them of the covenant they made with God when they received the Ten Commandments at Sinai: If you love God, walk in God’s ways, and follow God’s laws, you will prosper. But turn away from God and you will lose the land and God’s blessings.

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

God knows us as intimately as the potter knows his clay. God knows our every thought, whatever we are doing, wherever we are, the Psalmist sings; God knows every word that we speak and every idea that we imagine. Even before we were born, God knew us. This Psalm neither gives explicit thanks for God’s deep knowledge of our every moment nor imagines how this knowledge affects our daily lives. No, the mere fact of God’s knowing us is sufficient in itself.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 1

The first of the 150 ancient hymns that make up the glorious book of Psalms sets forth a premise that will continue throughout: Those who choose to follow God’s laws, God’s teaching, will be as strong and prosperous as trees growing by rivers, fruitful and long-lived. Those who follow wicked ways will perish, blown away like dead leaves and the chaff of wheat. This is a simple restatement of the covenant of Sinai that the people heard on the banks of Jordan in our first reading.

Second Reading: Philemon 1-21

Today we hear almost all of Paul’s brief letter to Philemon. This may be the shortest epistle in the New Testament, but it has borne heavy historic weight, as it was sadly misunderstood for centuries as giving biblical approval to slavery. We might wish that Paul had given a more powerful argument against slavery; but he does what he can in the cultural context of his times, gently guiding the slave holder Philemon to a deeper truth as his runaway slave Onesimus, Paul’s friend, returns to his master: Among Christians, even slaves are more than slaves; they are beloved brothers and sisters in the flesh and in the Lord, and should be greeted with love.

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, and we’ll soon learn that the Romans and Temple leaders are nervous about this uproar headed toward the capital at Passover. Jesus wants the crowd to know that it will not be easy to follow him on this journey. Do we really have to “hate” our families and give up everything we have to follow Jesus? Don’t start a job that we can’t finish, Jesus warns. We have to follow him with our whole hearts, not just halfway.

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

Roman Fresco of a dinner, excavated from Pompeii.

Young Jeremiah has now put on the prophet’s cloak. He stands up to announce God’s words in an anguished reverie that we might imagine from a loving but disappointed parent of a child gone terribly wrong. What did God do wrong, that these once chosen people have become worthless? Did they forget that God led them from slavery through the wilderness to a fruitful land that they now have spoiled? They have forsaken God’s living water and built cracked cisterns that can no longer slake their spiritual thirst.

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

Pick up your bible some time and skim through the book of Proverbs. You’ll be amazed at the sometimes very modern nuggets of wisdom that emerge. Tradition attributes Proverbs to King Solomon, but modern theologians understand it as a broad collection of some 500 small gems of ancient wisdom about life, love and morals. Today’s very brief reading foreshadows Jesus’ parable in today’s Gospel from Luke: “… all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Psalm 81:1,10-16

This resounding hymn of praise seems to reflect Jeremiah’s words: We sing with joy to God who is our strength, and we remember God bringing the people out of slavery and feeding them abundantly. But the people were stubborn, did not listen, and God allowed them to go their own way. Now we hear a grieving God, who would feed and nurture the people again, if only they would return.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 112

Today’s Psalm harmonizes with our First Reading and Gospel in its reflection on God’s covenants with Abraham and Moses. We are called to follow God’s commandments to be just, to serve our neighbors, share our wealth and provide for the poor. By living generously in this way, with right hearts and trust in God, we can be secure and live without fear.

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

Our four-week visit with Hebrews concludes with beautiful, poetic words describing the generosity of a Christian life rooted in the hospitality that the patriarch Abraham showed his angelic visitors in the desert: Love one another as God loves us, and remember to do good, to share with one another, to live simply and shun riches, and to hold hospitality as a virtue.

Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Like so many of Jesus’ parables, this one seems to have an obvious, simple, message … and then a sudden turn challenges us. Its simple message makes common sense: Don’t assume that the host is saving the seat of honor for you, or you might face public humiliation when you are told to move down. Choose a humble place, and be honored if the host encourages you to take a better seat. And then we hear the rest of the story: Jesus would have us invite not the wealthy but the “least of these.” Poor, disabled and oppressed guests might not be able to repay us with wealth and trinkets, but we’ll earn a greater reward at the end.

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

Jesus healing the bent woman. On the “Two Brothers Sarcophagus,” mid-4th century, Vatican Museum.

Does this reading seem familiar? We heard it last Epiphany, hardly six months ago. When God called Jeremiah, the young man doubted his ability to do this important job. “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy!” But God reassures him: Even before Jeremiah was born, God knew him, and knew that he would be a prophet to nations and kingdoms, with power “to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 58:9b-14

The book of Isaiah actually contains the work of three ancient writers, according to modern bible scholars. Now we hear from the third Isaiah, who prophesies soon after the nation’s return from exile: The temple and the city must be rebuilt; and that will be hard work. But Isaiah promises that all will be well if they follow God’s covenant: Be just, share with the needy, and care for the afflicted. Do all this, and honor the Sabbath, and Judah’s ancient glory will be restored.

Psalm 71:1-6

We sang this Psalm portion, too, in Epiphany, and this makes sense since it fits well with the reading from Jeremiah. In these verses the Psalmist speaks for us from a place of weakness and fear, seeking refuge in God as we ask for protection and help. God knows us, like Jeremiah, since before our birth; God sustains us throughout our lives as our strength and our hope.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 103:1-8

This familiar hymn of thanksgiving is beloved for its assurances that God loves us, has mercy on us and takes care of us. It is easy to imagine the people of Isaiah’s time singing verses like these as they traveled home from exile. In its hopeful verses we remember that God forgives us, heals us and redeems us. We count on God’s mercy and grace, gentle spirit and abundant love.

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-29

Last week’s Hebrews reading celebrated the Old Testament heroes who made up the “cloud of witnesses” that now stands with us as we follow in Jesus’ way. Today we remember Moses receiving the Ten Commandments: The people were terrified as the the sky went dark, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the earth shook with God’s power. But now we have a new covenant under Jesus. God gives us through Christ a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Gospel: Luke 13:10-17

As a teacher and rabbi in Judaism’s ancient tradition, Jesus knew and followed Torah, God’s law and teaching. He faithfully kept the Sabbath. But even when he was teaching in the synagogue, out of compassion he stopped what he was doing to heal a woman’s painful disability. The woman was overjoyed, but the leaders of the synagogue were outraged. How dare Jesus work on the Sabbath? But Jesus called out their hypocrisy, reminding them that they would not hesitate to work to protect their own property on a Sabbath. Why should a woman in pain for 18 years have to wait another hour?

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

First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7

In the opening verses of today’s reading, Isaiah sings praise for God’s beautiful vineyard. But the prophet’s words soon take a darker turn. The vineyard was planned and planted thoughtfully and tended with care, but at harvest time it produced sour, unusable grapes. The vineyard’s failure angers God, who will tend it no more. Isaiah spells out the truths behind the metaphor: The vineyard is the house of Israel, the people of Judah. God planted them to reap righteousness and justice, but they’ve failed in this mission, and they will harvest bloodshed.

First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 23:23-29

Jeremiah is often nicknamed “the weeping prophet” because he spoke such anguished prophecy of warning and doom before the Temple was destroyed and the people sent into exile in Babylon. In these verses he describes a God who exists in every corner of earth and space, as far away as the stars, and as near as our beating hearts. Can we see a parallel between Jesus’ stark words in today’s Gospel and Isaiah’s description of a God who loves us yet has power to wield fire and destruction?

Psalm 80

Isaiah’s vineyard metaphor finds an echo in the Psalmist’s song: Israel, the beloved vine that God brought out of Egypt, tended and nurtured, once grew so mighty that it filled all the land. But now everything has changed. The vine is ravaged, eaten by animals, burned like rubbish. Calling for God’s protection, the Psalmist asks God to tend the vine again, restoring the people and showing us the light of God’s countenance.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 82

The idea of God in a divine council of other gods seems strange to our modern ears. Isn’t our faith tradition firmly monotheistic? These verses may reflect an ancient understanding of our God as supreme over the lesser gods of other nations. But the deep message of this Psalm remains relevant through the ages. It reminds us that God insists on justice, and calls us to stand up for the weak, the orphan, the lowly, the destitute and the needy.

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Following last week’s praise for Abraham as our ancestor in faith, we now hear more vignettes about Old Testament heroes who achieved greatness through their faith and now form a “cloud of witnesses” that surrounds and inspires us. Those witnesses should inspire us to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” as we follow Jesus, who endured the shame of crucifixion and now sits at the right hand of God.

Gospel: Luke 12:49-56

This is one of those Gospels that makes us stop and think. Isn’t Jesus kind and caring – the Prince of Peace? Doesn’t Jesus love his enemies? He always turns his other cheek to those who would strike him! So what’s all this angry talk about not bringing peace but fire and division? Remember that we are following Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and the cross in this Pentecost season. Walking this hard journey with him is not an easy path. The Kingdom is coming soon, and it may divide us even from friends and family.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Aug. 7, 2016

Jesus gently assures his little flock of followers not to fear, for God’s kingdom is coming.

The opening verses of the great Prophet Isaiah echo the prophecies that we’ve heard in recent weeks from Amos and Hosea: God is angry because the people have failed to keep the covenant that they made with Moses at Mount Sinai. Once safe in the Promised Land, they failed to walk in God’s way as they had promised to do. Now, speaking through Isaiah, God makes clear what they must do to restore themselves in God’s love: “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow.”

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 15:1-6

In recent weeks we’ve heard about Abraham, the patriarch of the chosen people: God promising that Abraham and Sarah would have a son; Abraham bargaining with God over Sodom and Gomorrah’s fate. Now we turn back to an earlier time. We meet Abram, not yet named Abraham, who is surely frustrated that he and his wife, Sarai, are still waiting for the heir that God has repeatedly promised them. Abram hopes for God’s reassurance, and God responds, reiterating the promise that their descendants will be as numerous as the stars.

Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

In a way, this Psalm expands on the prophecy we heard in Isaiah. God is not tired and angry about the people’s offerings of thanksgiving and sacrifice, but God expects us to keep our covenant of faith. God calls us to be thankful, to practice righteousness and justice in our lives. God’s expectations of the people are clear and firm: Those who forget God literally risk being torn apart, but those who keep God’s way and remember Israel’s covenant will know salvation.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 33:12-22

Think of how grateful Abram must have been after he heard God’s reassurance that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars. In similar feelings of gratitude the Psalmist sings of relief, joy and thankfulness for God’s love and care. As the prophets consistently shout, the nations and people whom God chooses will be happy; God’s eye remains on those who wait for the Lord. Those who trust in the Lord’s name will know God’s loving-kindness.

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

As we begin a four-week lectionary visit with Hebrews, let’s hold it in historical context. It was probably written late in the first century, directed toward new Christians who were considering a return to Judaism in the face of severe persecution. To that end, Hebrews will lay out an extended argument that Christianity is the better way. In today’s verses, the author speaks well of the faith of Abraham, pointing out that the patriarchs were faithful even before God’s promises were revealed through Christ. Watch this theme in coming weeks, appreciating the letter’s faith while taking care not to read it as modern anti-Judaism.

Gospel: Luke 12:32-40

On first hearing, this passage and parable may feel troubling. Jesus gently assures his little flock of followers not to fear, for God’s kingdom is coming; but the instructions that follow seem daunting. Sell what you have, make sturdy purses, and, like a master’s slaves staying awake to guard against thieves, be ready when Jesus calls, day or night. The kingdom may come when we least expect it, but it will bring us “unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for July 31, 2016

The Parable of the Rich Fool. Oil on oak panel by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1627, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.

We started in Hosea last Sunday with the prophet’s fierce and startling charge from God about Israel’s path to destruction; but its last verse offered hope for the future. Today’s following verses envision God poetically as a loving, albeit somewhat exasperated parent, looking on Israel as a beloved but troublesome child. Misbehaving offspring may deserve punishment, but no caring parent will give up entirely on a child. God’s heart recoils when Israel turns away, but God’s compassion grows warm and tender; God’s fierce anger is constrained.

First Reading (Track Two): Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” ​In reflecting on this familiar passage in the mysterious wisdom book of Ecclesiastes,​ ​think of “vanity” in the original Hebrew sense of this word, “breath” or “vapor,” something barely visible that veils the light. We spend our lives futilely toiling under the scorching sun in pursuit of something that we can’t grasp, the poet sings: “chasing after wind.”

Psalm 107:1-9, 43

The Israelites hearing Hosea’s prophecy were not spared exile; the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians and their leaders went into exile a century before Judah and the Jerusalem Temple met a similar fate at the hands of Babylon. But those coming home from exile surely felt the emotions expressed in this Psalm, celebrating and offering thanksgiving for the steadfast love of God who gathered them out of exile and brought them home, satisfying their hunger and thirst.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 49:1-11

Foreshadowing the parable of the foolish rich man in today’s Gospel, we hear a Psalm that shouts out the foolishness of trust in riches. Biblical ideas like this surely formed Jesus and his mother, Mary, who spoke often about the hope that the hungry would be filled up and the rich sent away empty. “We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life,” the Psalmist sings to high and low, to rich and poor alike.

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-11

In the last of our four readings from Colossians this season, the author continues his instruction to the new believers in the ancient church at Colossae, reminding them that once Christ is revealed in our lives, we are called to put away evil ways and clothe ourselves in a new life in Christ. In words resembling Paul’s invitation to the Galatians to put away all differences among humankind, we are reminded that “there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!”

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

“You can’t take it with you.” Jesus’ parable of the foolish rich man shares this simple homespun folk wisdom. The rich man’s land produced such a large crop that he wants to build larger barns to store it in. With all this wealth in hand, he plans to “relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God responds with grim, unexpected news: The man will die that very night, having no use for all the cherished goods. Jesus, who reminded us that what we do for the poor, we do also for him, has little patience with those who think only of themselves.