Pentecost 3A

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for June 11, 2023 (Pentecost 2A)

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7)

We are now in the period that the Catholic Church (and some Episcopalians) call “Ordinary Time” because this section of the liturgical year falls outside the major seasons of the church calendar.

Christ Teaching the Disciples, from Das Plenarium (1517), hand-colored woodcut by Hans Schäufelein (1480–c.1540). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (Click image to enlarge)

Our Gospels through this period recall the public ministry of Jesus as told by Matthew, in Galilee and along the long road to Jerusalem and the Cross. These works and words of Jesus, his teachings and healings, may seem “ordinary” in contrast with the Incarnation and the Resurrection, but they merit our attention as we learn to follow in Jesus’s way. Our readings Sunday begin in Genesis with God’s assurance, through three mysterious strangers, that Abraham and Sarah will have a son, and that their offspring will inherit the Promised Land.

First Reading (Track Two): Exodus 19:2-8a

Our Track Two first reading turns to the book of Exodus, where we find Moses in a narrative that reflects God’s covenant with Abraham and from which we hear distant echoes in today’s Gospel. Moses has gone up Mount Sinai to receive God’s instructions while the people are camped in the wilderness below. God speaks from the mountaintop, telling Moses, “If you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. … you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. At God’s instruction, Moses returns to the elders of the people, quickly gaining their agreement to be in lasting covenant with God: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 116:1, 10-17

We also heard this Psalm just two months ago, midway in Eastertide. It is a Psalm of thanksgiving, clearly intended as a grateful prayer thanking God for recovery from illness. The portion that we sing on Sunday gives thanks for the transforming joy that comes with recovery and resurrection. In the joy of restored life, we offer thanks to God, who frees us from the snares of death.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 100

This joyful hymn, which we often hear in Morning Prayer where it is called the Jubilate (“Be Joyful” in Latin, from its opening verse in the Psaltery), draws its joyous theme from the same truth that Moses taught the elders at Sinai: We are God’s creation, God’s own people, and – using a metaphor that we also hear and love in Psalm 23 – the sheep of God’s pasture.

Second Reading: Romans 5:1-8

In our summerlong visit with Paul’s letter to the Romans, we will hear him memorably working out his evolving theology of Christ, the Spirit and salvation. In this passage, which we also heard recently during Lent, Paul encourages the Roman Christians to love each other and heal their differences in spite of their own suffering. He reminds them that even Jesus suffered and died by crucifixion. He urges the Roman Christians to learn endurance in their own suffering, remembering that even though they are sinners, they are justified through faith and saved through the cross.

Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:8(9-23)

As Jesus continued his teaching throughout Galilee, we hear from Matthew in Sunday’s Gospel, he felt compassion for the crowds around him “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” He summoned the 12 apostles, sending them out among “the lost sheep of Israel” like laborers into the harvest. He told them to proclaim the good news, as he had done, that the kingdom of heaven has come near. As they went, facing possible persecution and distrust, Jesus empowered them to do the miraculous things that he himself had been doing: “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.”

Pentecost 2A

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for June 11, 2023 (Pentecost 2A)

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 12:1-9

The church’s vestments and liturgical colors are green again: The six-month-long stretch of Sundays after Pentecost will continue until Advent begins in November. Churches may follow either of two Lectionary tracks, each following a different set of First Readings and Psalms.

La vocación de San Mateo (“The Calling of St. Matthew,” 1661), oil painting on canvas by Mikeal Juan de Pareja (c.1606-1670). Museo del Prado, Madrid. Juan de Pareja, who pictured himself on the far left of this painting, was a Black artist and the senior assistant to the famous artist Velazquez. (Click image to enlarge)

In Track One, the first readings will follow the Hebrew Bible’s story of God’s chosen people, from the patriarch Abraham to Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Joshua. In our first reading, we meet Abram, whom God will later rename Abraham. Even at the advanced age of 75, Abram’s faith empowers him to follow God’s challenging call to uproot his family and begin a long journey from his home in Ur (in present-day Iraq) toward the promised land. In return, God will bless Abram and his family, and through them, all the families of the Earth.

First Reading (Track Two): Hosea 5:15-6:6

Through the long stretch of Sundays after Pentecost that has now begins, churches may choose to follow either of two Lectionary tracks, with separate First Readings and Psalms. The Track Two first readings from the Hebrew Bible show a theme or theological point related in some way to the week’s Gospel. We begin with a reading from the Hosea, who prophesied while Israel’s Northern Kingdom came under threat from the Assyrians in the 8th century BCE. God has turned away in anger from the people, not to return until they repent, acknowledge their guilt and seek God’s face. In beautifully poetic terms, the prophet imagines God’s voice: “What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 33:1-12

Psalm 33 is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving for a just and faithful God who inspires the people’s songful worship and their fearful awe. The Psalmist sings of a God who loves righteousness and justice, who fills the Earth with steadfast love. Through God’s word the heavens and earth and all that fills them were made: “He spoke, and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm.” Happy is the nation, the Psalmist sings, whose God is the Lord. Happy are those who are chosen as God’s heritage.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 50:7-15

Echoing God’s righteous anger against the people as prophesied by Hosea in the Track Two first reading, the portion of Psalm 50 that we read this Sunday warns that God has high expectations of the chosen people and will not hesitate to punish those who stray from the right path. The Psalmist imagines these fearful words: “O Israel, I will bear witness against you, for I am God your God.” How can the people do God’s will? Don’t sacrifice bulls and goats, the Psalmist advices worshipers at the ancient temple. Rather, offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and make good your vows to the Most High.

Second Reading: Romans 4:13-25

Our second readings this summer will offer us a deep dive into Paul’s Letter to the Romans that will continue into September. In this, his last letter, Paul is reaching out pastorally to a Christian community that he had not yet met. He hopes to reconcile tensions within a faith community that included both Jewish and Gentile Christians at a time when the Jewish Christians had been exiled and were just now returning to a Gentile community that had gotten used to worshipping without them. Paul reminds both parties that Abraham’s descendants received God’s promise under the law, while Gentiles who become Christians now receive it through their new faith. We are all children of Abraham and Sarah now, Paul assures them, through faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

After having spent much of Lent and Eastertide hearing selections from John’s Gospel, we now return to Matthew for the remainder of the Lectionary year. Sunday’s Gospel tells of the calling of Matthew. Jesus had a bad reputation for hanging out with sinners, outcasts and people the authorities considered mighty suspicious: Prostitutes, drunks and lepers; women, foreigners, and maybe worst of all, tax collectors, those despised collaborators who extracted the Roman empire’s taxes from their neighbors. People like Matthew, who despite his outcast status as tax collector hurried to follow Jesus … and invited him home for dinner. Jesus shows us how to love our neighbors – all of our neighbors – not just the ones who look and think like us. Then we skip ahead a few verses and hear Matthew’s account of Jesus healing a woman with a hemorrhage and returning a dead girl to life. Both of these women would have been considered unclean under ritual law, but as Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

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.

Trinity Sunday A

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for June 4, 2023 (Trinity Sunday A)

First Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:4a

In recent weeks we have celebrated the resurrected Jesus ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, and the Holy Spirit coming to the followers of Jesus in wind and fire.

Trinity Altarpiece (c.1480), two panels from an oil painting on wood panels depicting Sir Edward Boncle (portrait on the right panel) in adoration of the Trinity (left panel) by Hugo van der Goes (c.1440-1482). Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh. (Click image to enlarge)

Now as we begin the long season after Pentecost we contemplate Father, Son and Holy Spirit in their mysterious dance, three persons in one triune God, the Holy Trinity. Our first reading, the first creation story at the beginning of Genesis, shows a monotheistic God as a loving creative force at work in the world as Creator, Word, and Spirit wind moving over the waters to make a world.

Psalm: Psalm 8

In Psalm 8, beautiful hymn of praise, we exalt the name of our Creator God and sing grateful thanksgiving for all of creation. We remember that, as part of our God-given dominion over “the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,” we have a solemn duty to preserve and protect them all. This duty feels more significant than ever in this time of mass extinction, rising oceans, and chaotic climate change.

Alternate Psalm: Canticle 13

Canticles, “little songs,” are scripture passages provided by the Book of Common Prayer for use in daily prayer and as occasional substitutes for Lectionary Psalms. Canticle 13 is the Song of the Three Young Men from the Apocryphal Prayer to Azariah. The young men, condemned to death in a fiery furnace by an angry king, marched through the flames unharmed thanks to God’s protection, singing this joyous hymn of praise to God and all creation. These verses, added to this old song in modern Christian times, conclude the Canticle with resounding praise and exaltation to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Paul closes his second letter to the people of Corinth in the formal style dictated for letters in 1st Century Greek culture. In brief but loving words, he urges this small, often squabbling congregation to sort out their conflicts, pay attention to each other, and love one another as God loves them. In what may be one of early Christianity’s first explicit references to a divine Trinity, Paul blesses the people with his hope for the grace of Jesus, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit.

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

Each of the four Gospels ends in a different way, offering us four contrasting views of the resurrected Jesus and his conversations with the disciples who would remain behind as he returns to the Father. In this lectionary year we hear Matthew’s narrative. According to this account, when the women saw Jesus at the tomb, he directed them to tell the remaining eleven disciples to go on to Galilee, where he would meet them. Now they are together again, reunited on a Galilean mountain. Some of them worship him, but others remain doubtful. Then Jesus issues what later Christianity would call The Great Commission, commanding them to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Pentecost A

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 28, 2023 (Pentecost A)

First Reading (or alternate Second Reading): Acts 2:1-21

Fifty days after the first Easter and a week or so after the apostles watched in amazement as the resurrected Jesus was taken up into the clouds, they have gathered to celebrate Shavuot, the Jewish spring harvest festival also known as Pentecost.

Pentecost (ca. 1305). Fresco by Giotto di Bondone (c.1267-1337), Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy.

Suddenly, as we hear in this first reading from Acts, the Holy Spirit arrives like a violent wind and rests on each of them as a tongue of fire! All at once, Jesus’s promise at the Ascension is fulfilled: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth.” The apostles start shouting the Good News in many languages, prompting a startled crowd to wonder if they are drunk. Not so, says Peter. Quoting the Prophet Joel, he assures the crowd that the Spirit will be poured out for all.

First Reading (alternate): Numbers 11:24-30

Seven weeks after Easter we celebrate Pentecost, the third major church holiday of the year. On Christmas we remembered the birth of Jesus. On Easter we recalled Jesus’ death and resurrection. Pentecost completes the circle with God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, inspiring us to take the Gospel out to the world in Jesus’s name. Today’s first reading tells of God’s spirit empowering Moses and his followers. The spirit came to Eldad and Medad, two of Moses’s elders who weren’t there. That didn’t seem fair to Moses’ assistant, Joshua, but Moses reassured him: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”

Psalm: Psalm 104:25-35

This psalm of praise exults in all the works of God’s creation, including the Psalmist’s recognition that God made some creations, like Leviathan, the giant whale, just for fun: “for the sport of it.” Perhaps the message for Pentecost in this passage from Psalm 104, though, comes in these prophetic words in Verse 31: “You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth.” Since the first words of Scripture when God’s spirit breath blew over the face of the waters like a mighty wind and all creation came to be, God’s mighty work of creative world-building continues all around us.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Through the Spirit we all are all as one in baptism, Paul tells the Christian community of Corinth in this much loved passage. Nationality, economic status, gender, enslaved or free: None of these things matter, Paul says. Just as the body is made up of different parts that serve different functions, we each bring our individual gifts as we work together, guided by the Spirit, for the common good. Through it all, Paul assures us, we are all moved by the Spirit as members of the body of Christ.

Gospel: John 20:19-23

If this Gospel passage seems familiar, there’s a good reason: We hear it twice in Eastertide, on the first Sunday after Easter and again on Pentecost Sunday. We return to the locked room where the disciples are hiding in fear on the first Easter. The grieving group was startled when Mary Magdalene ran back to tell them that she met a man in white at the empty tomb. She told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Nevertheless, they don’t know what to believe. And then Jesus suddenly appears among them, mysteriously entering the locked room. In John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes to the apostles not at Pentecost but on the first Easter: Jesus shows them his wounds, wishes them peace, and then breathes on them, empowering them with the Holy Spirit and sending them out into the world.

Gospel (alternate): John 7:37-39

Pentecost is one of the feast days designated as especially appropriate for baptism. Indeed, its alternative name, “Whitsunday,” or “White Sunday,” alludes to the white garments worn by those being baptized. As we gather in Christian community and welcome new members into Christ’s Body in the church, we remember that through baptism we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. Through the living water of baptism our hearts join in pouring out the good news of the Gospel to all the world’s nations.

Easter 7A

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 21, 2023 (Easter 7A)

First Reading: Acts 1:6-14

The fifty days of Eastertide are nearing their end: Pentecost Sunday is next week. In the Sunday readings since Easter we have seen the empty tomb and heard of mysterious appearances of the risen Christ, then listened as Jesus tells the apostles of God’s love and our salvation.

The Ascension (1303), a portion of the Cycle of the Life of the Christ fresco by Giotto di Bondone (1266-1337), Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy. (Click image to enlarge)

Now we arrive at the story of Jesus’ ascension into heaven as told in the Acts of the Apostles. In this first reading we hear Jesus tell the apostles that the Holy Spirit is coming to send them out to the world with the Gospel. We will hear this promise fulfilled in wind and fire next Sunday.

Psalm: Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36

Hearing the first few verses of Psalm 68, many modern Christians would be troubled by the angry images of enemies fleeing in fear and perishing in fire and smoke at the hands of an angry God. But then the Psalm abruptly changes in tone, becoming a gentler hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Those who live righteously and praise our God will receive favor and blessing, the Psalmist sings, just as did God’s people traveling through the desert to the Promised Land.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

The Christian community in Asia Minor (now Turkey) was suffering under a “fiery ordeal” of persecution for their faith when they received this letter in Peter’s name. The writer cannot make their suffering cease, but reminds them that in this suffering they share not only the suffering of their Christian brothers and sisters but even of Christ himself. Stay the course and resist evil, the letter goes on, and know that God is with us and will provide support and strength.

Gospel: John 17:1-11

John’s account of Jesus’ farewell conversation at the Last Supper now reaches its conclusion. In the preceding verses Jesus had promised the disciples, “Ask and you will receive.” Then he told them that he must soon leave this world and return to the father. Now in these final verses Jesus turns from his friends at the table and addresses God directly in prayer: He declares that the hour of his death has come. He prays for the disciples, praising them for their faith and trust, and asking God to protect them, to keep them united with each other and with God, and to give them the eternal life that comes through relationship with God in Jesus’ name.

Easter 6A

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 14, 2023 (Easter 6A)

First Reading: Acts 17:22-31

Here is the reassuring message of Sunday’s readings: The God who made us all is with us always, watches over us and hears our prayers.

Paul preaching at the Areopagus in Athens (1877), wall painting by Anton Dietrich (1833-1904), in the auditorium of the Christian-Weise-Gymnasium in Zittau, Saxony, Germany. (Click image to enlarge)

Even after the resurrected Jesus has gone back to the Creator, God remains in the world through the Holy Spirit. As today’s Collect sums up, God’s promises exceed all that we can desire. Our first reading from Acts tells us about Paul in Athens. He tells a crowd of skeptical Greeks that their altar to an unknown God actually celebrates our God, who made the world and is the One in whom we live and move and have our being.

Psalm: Psalm 66:7-18

Sometimes when bad things happen, it may feel as if even God’s presence has failed to protect us. This portion of Psalm 66 at first seems to suggest that God tests us with heavy burdens, standing aside when enemies ride over us and we must go through fire and water. This is a theological idea that we would rather not hear. But then the verses turn back to hope and faith: God hears our prayers and does not reject them. God keeps watch over all the people and, at the last, brings us out to a place of refreshment, a spacious place of relief.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:13-22

This passage from the first letter written in the name of Peter offers fascinating glimpses of the early church working out its theology at a time when many Christians faced persecution. Echoing the hope of Psalm 66, these verses assure us that we earn blessing when we suffer for doing the right thing: Just as Noah and his family endured the flood so that humanity could survive, our baptism – which Noah’s flood prefigured with salvation through water – now saves us.

Gospel: John 14:15-21

Jesus’s Farewell Discourse continues. In this week’s passage Jesus continues to assure the apostles that, while he is leaving soon to return to the Creator, he will not leave them orphaned. Even if the world no longer sees Jesus, the apostles will see him. Jesus promises that God will send an Advocate – the Holy Spirit – to remain with them forever. And, in memorable words that remain a favorite quote from John’s Gospel, Jesus concludes this passage: “If you love me, keep my commandments … They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Easter 5A

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 7, 2023 (Easter 5A)

First Reading: Acts 7:55-60

The resurrected Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life, we hear in John’s Gospel on Sunday. No one comes to the Father except through him.

The Stoning of St Stephen (1520), tempera painting on canvas by Vittore Carpaccio (c.1460-c.1525). Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany. (Click image to enlarge)

These deeply held ideas make it all too easy for Christians to imagine that we are the chosen ones, who alone reap the benefits of salvation. Whenever Scripture makes us feel this way, it’s time to dig into the details for a clearer understanding. In Sunday’s first reading we hear of the death of Stephen, traditionally the first martyr of the church. Stephen, one of the first Christian deacons, argued with fellow worshipers in the synagogue. They regarded his talk of Jesus as the Messiah foretold by the prophets as blasphemy. When Stephen declared his fellow Jews “betrayers and murderers” for their role in Jesus’s crucifixion and death, their anger overcame them and they stoned him to death. Stephen’s last words echo the hopeful cry of Psalm 31 that Jesus repeated on the Cross: “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Psalm: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

“Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Think about this: Both Jesus, dying on the cross, and Stephen, dying under the pounding weight of stones thrown by his community, uttered this same verse from Psalm 31. Even in the painful moment of death by violence, they confessed their faith. The Psalmist, too, seeking refuge and rescue, trusts in God’s fortress-like protection and steadfast love. He asks God for safety from enemies and persecutors; he begs God to listen, to be his stronghold, his rock and castle. He asks God to listen and to save him.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:2-10

Writing for the persecuted church in Asia Minor a few generations after the crucifixion, the writer of the first letter of Peter turns to the Psalms and the prophets to find ideas similar to those in Sunday’s Gospel reading from John. These verses recall the words that the Prophet Isaiah had used to promise that the Temple in Jerusalem would be rebuilt on a mighty cornerstone, a living stone that the builders had at first rejected. He calls on Christians not to stumble and fall on this stone as Isaiah’s people had done, but to grow into salvation like infants nourished on pure, spiritual milk, to proclaim the mighty acts of Jesus, who called us out of darkness into his light.

Gospel: John 14:1-14

For the last three weeks of Eastertide we will hear excerpts from John’s long account of Jesus’ last talk with the disciples before he is betrayed, arrested and crucified. In Sunday’s passage, Jesus tells them that he is going to go ahead to prepare a place for them. He tries to reassure them, telling them not to let their hearts be troubled; but they worry all the same, fearful because he is leaving and confused about what he means. Thomas asks how they will know the way, and Jesus responds with these familiar words: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is Jesus’s comforting word to his fearful disciples. Jesus himself is all they need; there is no need to be afraid. To know Jesus is to know God, right now and right here as we seek God’s kingdom on earth.

Easter 4A

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 30, 2023 (Easter 4A)

First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

Every year, the Fourth Sunday of the Easter season comforts us with the image of God as our Good Shepherd, gathering up all humanity in protective divine love.

El Buen Pastor, The Young Christ as the Good Shepherd (1660-1665), oil painting on canvas by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Click image to enlarge)

That metaphor is implicit without being named in Sunday’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the story of the early church as told by the Evangelist we know as Luke. We hear of the evolution of the young church as a caring flock, inspired by the Holy Spirit to become a loving, sharing community, taking care of each other as they pool their resources while sharing the good news of the Gospel with the world.

Psalm: Psalm 23

Our Good Shepherd is always with us, comforting us and protecting us not only in the green pastures and still waters of good times, but also when we are fearful and afraid, walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Did you notice that we sang this Psalm just a few weeks ago, on the Fourth Sunday of Lent? Our Lectionary readings return to it often: Five times in every three years we hear its assurance that God’s goodness and mercy are always with us. When you’re feeling lonely and afraid, try sitting quietly with these verses. Breathe deeply and feel the Shepherd’s comforting presence.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

The Lectionary spares us a disturbing surprise by passing over the verses that precede this reading, but in these times we might do well to face that reality: The writer advises readers to honor the Roman emperor; then issues a startling directive to those who are slaves: “Accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.” The passage we read today goes on to evoke Isaiah’s Suffering Servant, reminding the early Christians suffering persecution that Jesus suffered and died unfairly, having done no wrong. Like lost sheep, we go astray and suffer, the writer says; but we know joy when we return to Christ, our shepherd and guardian.

Gospel: John 10:1-10

John the Evangelist expands on the shepherd image here as Jesus continues his argument with a group of Pharisees. Jesus calls himself the gatekeeper for the sheepfold, the protective guardian whose familiar voice reassures the sheep. Jesus is further portrayed as the knowing sheepfold gate that opens to allow those protected to enter, while closing to keep out those who would steal, kill and destroy his beloved sheep. Then, in the following verse that we do not read this Sunday, Jesus declares, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Easter 3A

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Robin Garr

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 23, 2023 (Easter 3A)

First Reading: Acts 2:14a,36-41

“O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work.” These words in Sunday’s Collect highlight ideas of resurrection and redemption that carry through our Lectionary readings for the day.

Christ on the Road to Emmaus (c.1725-1730), American 18th Century oil painting on canvas by an anonymous artist. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (Click image to enlarge)

Let’s approach the first reading from Acts with careful attention, though. Peter’s words as told by Luke stem from a time of tension between post-Temple Judaism and early Christians who were hurt and angry over being expelled from the synagogues for their belief in Jesus as Messiah. But hearing Peter blame “the entire house of Israel” for Jesus’ crucifixion could lead Christians down the hate-filled path of anti-Judaism. It’s better to hear this reading as God’s gracious promise that the gift of the Holy Spirit is open to everyone.

Psalm: Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17

Sunday’s Psalm is heard as a hymn of gratitude for recovery. It vividly describes the anguish of illness and the fear of death. But then through prayer the Psalmist’s thoughts quickly turn from grief and sorrow to exultation and thanksgiving, reflecting the transforming joy that recovery brings. Listen closely and you’ll hear an undercurrent of resurrection as the Psalm tells us of escaping the cords of death and the grip of the grave to win the joy of new life.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

Our second readings in Eastertide feature passages from this letter written in Peter’s name. This week’s excerpt gives us some insight into the efforts of the early church to discern the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection in our lives, working in these verses on its significance as ransom for our sins. This theological quest has continued from the early church through the Middle Ages and even to our times. One point remains clear throughout: Through Christ we trust in God; through Christ we love one another, and through Christ we gain life in the enduring word of God.

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus who we meet in Luke’s narrative this week seem uncertain and worried, much like the apostles fearfully hiding in a locked room who we heard about in John’s Gospel last Sunday. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel,” the two regretfully told the stranger on the road to Emmaus. They don’t seem to have been convinced by the women’s report about Jesus’s rising, either. But then they stopped to eat, and the mysterious traveler revealed himself as Jesus when he broke the bread. We remember this every Sunday in the Eucharist when the celebrant holds up and breaks the bread with an audible snap as we conclude the Eucharistic Prayer.

Easter 2A

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Robin Garr

\Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 16, 2023 (Easter 2A)

First Reading: Acts 2:14a,22-32

The Great Fifty Days of Eastertide have now begun, and our readings for the next six Sundays will direct our thoughts toward the meaning of resurrection.

The incredulity of St. Thomas (c.1622), oil painting by Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588–1629). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.(Click image to enlarge)

We’ll hear of the apostles in the early church following Jesus’ way; mysterious appearances of the resurrected Christ, and Jesus’ own words about God’s promise of eternal life. Our first readings through the period will draw from the Acts of the Apostles. That begins on Sunday as we hear Peter on the day of the first Pentecost, addressing an amazed crowd. In a fluent sermon Peter declares Jesus the resurrected Messiah promised by the prophets. Then he baptizes 3,000 new Christians made believers by the amazing events of the day.

Psalm: Psalm 16

In his talk to the people of Jerusalem in the first reading from Acts, Peter quoted verses 8 through 11 of Psalm 16. Now we chant the full Psalm, and it conveys the same broad promise in slightly different words that may be summarized as: God teaches us, God watches over us; God protects us, and God gives us joy forever.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9

The two short epistles of Peter offer us fascinating glimpses into the developing ideas of Christ, resurrection and hope for salvation in the early church. They were probably written in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) around the end of the first century. Perhaps writing to reassure a persecuted community suffering “various trials,” the author reminds them that through Christ’s resurrection and life, God offers us the joy of a lasting inheritance and salvation earned through our faith.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

What do the disciples do in response to Mary Magdalene’s joyous announcement that Jesus has risen from the dead? They hide in fear in a locked room, doubting the woman’s declaration. Then Jesus suddenly appears among them! He shows his rejoicing friends his wounds, then sends them into the world in peace, with the breath of the Holy Spirit, to declare the Good News. Then comes Thomas, who wanted to see and touch Jesus’s wounds before believing that he had truly risen. Yes, the wounds are real. This is no ghostly spirit! “Have you believed because you have seen me,” John tells us that Jesus asks. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”