Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 13, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 14:19-31



With a mysterious God-driven pillar of cloud and fire protecting their flank, the Israelites flee slavery in Egypt, hotly pursued by Pharaoh’s army.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (c.1556), oil painting on panel by Jan Sanders van Hemessen (1500-c.1566). University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor. (Click image to enlarge.)

Now, in this familiar story, Moses – with God’s help – parts the waters of the sea so the Israelites may cross on dry ground. When they reach safety, Moses orders the water back, and Pharaoh’s entire army is drowned. This ancient story may seem violent and warlike, as befits the culture and custom of its time. But the message for Israel goes deeper: God promised to bring the people out of Israel with a mighty hand, and now the people’s history moves on toward Sinai, the Jordan and the Promised Land.

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 50:15-21



A theme of forgiveness runs through today’s readings. Last month, we saw Joseph’s brothers arrive in Egypt, fleeing famine, but terrified that their now-powerful brother might take revenge for the way they had treated him. Many years later, their father Jacob (Israel) has died, and now they are worried again. Without their father’s guarding hand, will Joseph turn on them? But Joseph, weeping, reassures them that just as God returns good for evil, so will Joseph forgive.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 114

The Psalmist looks back at the events of the Exodus and sings out in praise over God’s powerful actions to save the people and bring them out from slavery to the Promised Land. God can make the sea flee and rivers turn back. God makes mountains and hills skip like rams and lambs. The earth trembles indeed at the presence of God.

Alternate to the Psalm (Track One): Exodus 15:1b-11,20-21



Available for optional use in place of the Track One psalm, this ancient song of victory follows immediately after the narrative of the parting of the waters in Exodus. Imagined as a hymn of triumph sung by Moses and all the people, it praises and exalts God as a powerful military leader whose glorious strength shattered the enemy, drowning their threats of vengeance and destruction as quickly as lead sinks in water. Then, in the closing verses, the prophet Miriam leads the women in a triumphant dance of exultation with drums and tambourines.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 103:1-13
Sunday’s Track Two Psalm reflects the idea of forgiveness that we hear in Joseph’s response to his brothers: God forgives us, God heals us, God redeems us, God’s love and mercy for us is steadfast. As a mother loves her children even when they misbehave, so God loves us and forgives us. God offers us compassion, not the punishment that our bad behavior might seem to deserve.

Second Reading: Romans 14:1-12



Last week we heard Paul tell the Christians of Rome that the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, as Jesus had taught, is the greatest commandment: It includes all the other commandments within it. Now, concluding three months of readings from Romans, we hear Paul teach that loving our neighbors obliges us to not judge our neighbors. Don’t be critical of our neighbors because they do things differently than we do. Even if our neighbor makes us angry, he says, we are to forgive, standing together in giving glory to God, leaving judgement to God.

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35



Peter has an important question for Jesus: If someone keeps bothering me, just how many times do I have to forgive that person? Not just seven times, but 77 times, Jesus says, and we can be pretty sure that “77” really means “don’t stop forgiving, period.”Then Jesus tells of a slave who, forgiven a crushing debt, cruelly refuses to forgive another slave’s smaller debt to him. The slave is punished, and we are left to remember how Jesus taught us to pray: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 6, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 12:1-14



God loves us. God is faithful to us. In times of turmoil and of fear, it is good to find this simple, reassuring subtext that runs through Sunday’s readings..

Lamentations over the Death of the First-Born of Egypt (1877), oil painting on canvas by Charles Sprague Pearce (1851-1914). Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. (Click image to enlarge.)

In the Track One first reading, we see the origin of Passover. Having fought hard-hearted Pharaoh through a dozen plagues with God’s help, the people now stand on the brink of escape from slavery in Egypt. This joyous outcome, though, must begin with a horrible, bloody punishment visited not only on the children and animals of Egypt but on their pagan gods, while the chosen people are saved, literally, by the blood of the lamb. This gory sacrifice may belong to a place and time in ancient history, but the underlying grace remains: God has delivered God’s people into freedom.

First Reading (Track Two): Ezekiel 33:7-11



Sunday’s Track Two first reading turns to the Prophet Ezekiel, who is identified in tradition as a priest exiled to Babylon six centuries before Jesus. During the wars that would eventually lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, Ezekiel warned the people that God would punish them for their wickedness by taking away the covenant that had given them the promised land. In these verses, the prophet hears God’s warning that God does not desire to punish the people, but wishes that they would save their lives by turning back – repenting – from their evil ways.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 149

Sunday’s Track One Psalm, like the first reading, celebrates warlike violence in language that reflects Bronze Age sensibility in the Ancient Near East. Yet we can hear its echoes all too well in the imagery of modern warfare, shock and awe. We sing to the Lord a new song, joyously dancing and shaking tambourines to celebrate God’s gift of victory in battle, while the enemy’s kings are bound in fetters and iron chains. Before we judge too harshly, recall that the Psalms, the bible’s ancient hymnal, offer a full human range of emotion, from this warrior shout to the protective love of the Good Shepherd.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 119:33-40

Here we are again singing a portion of Psalm 119, the longest of the Psalms, which turns up often in our Sunday readings. The Psalms in English often render “Torah” as “laws,” “statutes” or “ordinances,” but the source of the Psalmist’s affection may be more clear when we understand it as God’s “teaching,” a glorious gift to humankind, a way of life. We don’t notice this in English, but the entire Psalm is an “alphabetic acrostic” in Hebrew: Each of its 22 eight-verse stanzas begins with a Hebrew letter in alphabetical order. The lines of today’s reading all begin with the letter “Hey,” or “H.”

Second Reading: Romans 13:8-14



The commandment to love one another incorporates all the commandments, Paul tells the Christians in Rome. Love, he says, in words that remind us of his beloved passage on love in 1 Corinthians, does no wrong to those around us. If we love our neighbors, we won’t hurt our neighbors. We won’t kill them, we won’t steal from them, we won’t be jealous of what they have. Love fulfills the law. Hoping that Christ would soon return – salvation grows nearer every day, he reminds them – Paul urges his flock to live honorably, not behaving badly or gratifying earthly desires, but “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20



This Gospel reminds us of Jesus’ promise that we remember with joy whenever we approach the Communion table: He will be there among us, conscious of our deepest wishes, whenever we gather in his name, in prayer and in the real presence of the Eucharist. We also get a glimpse of the way that early Christians tried to work out disagreements through small group conversations before taking the matter to the full church to be resolved only as a last resort. We’re probably relieved that we don’t sort out one another’s sins this way any more, but let’s take note of a deeper message: When we gather together, in celebration or in conflict, Jesus is with us and shows us the way.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 30, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 3:1-15



The long journey of the people from slavery in Egypt toward freedom in Canaan begins.

The Burning Bush (17th century), oil painting on canvas by Sébastien Bourdon (1616-1671). Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. (Click image to enlarge.)

Moses encounters God in the form of a burning bush on Mount Horeb. This is another name for Mount Sinai, where Moses will later return to receive the Ten Commandments and enter the people into covenant with God. The God of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, too powerful to view face to face, occupying holy ground, tells a somewhat reluctant Moses that he is to lead the people out of Egypt. Then Moses asks a curious question: What is God’s name? “I am who I am,” God replies. “Say to the Israelites, ‘I am’ has sent me to you.” We may have heard an echo of this divine tradition in last week’s Gospel when Jesus asked the apostles, “Who do you say that I am?”

First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 15:15-21



The youthful prophet Jeremiah’s sometimes angry, frequently despondent prophecies have earned him the nickname “Weeping Prophet.” We hear a little of both emotions in Sunday’s Track Two first reading. Jeremiah confronts God and begs him to bring down retribution on those who are persecuting him. He spoke out on God’s behalf, Jeremiah declares, even though it was hard, but those ungrateful people only insulted him. “Why,” he wails, “is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?” God responds with kindness, reassuring him: “they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you.”

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c

Well matched to Sunday’s Track One first reading, this Psalm of thanksgiving and praise remembers the people’s descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their sojourn as aliens and oppressed slaves in Egypt. When we sing praise for Moses’ service in protecting the people so they might “observe God’s laws,” we celebrate the survival of not just dry legislation but of “Torah,” God’s timeless teaching that guides the way we live.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 26:1-8

One might wonder if Jesus had Psalm 26 in mind in the passage in Luke about the Pharisee who boasted loudly of his righteousness when he prayed. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the thieves, rogues, adulterers, and tax collectors he saw around him. It would be easy to read that kind of prideful piety into these verses, too. But try hearing them instead with the perspective of Jeremiah’s call for God’s grace, and envision a God whose lovingkindness inspires us to worship with thanksgiving and songful procession, loving the place where God’s glory abides.

Second Reading: Romans 12:9-21



We have journeyed with Paul in his letter to the people of Rome through more than two months of the season after Pentecost. We have listened and learned as Paul worked out a new theology, discerning how we receive new life in God’s grace through Christ. Now we are approaching the end. During the next three weeks we will hear him conclude the letter with a beautiful, poetic summary of his call to Rome’s Jewish and Gentile Christians to live together in love. “Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another,” he writes in today’s passage. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28



In last week’s Gospel we heard Jesus praise Peter, calling him the rock upon which he will build the church. Now, in the verses that immediately follow, Jesus tells the apostles that he must suffer, die and be raised again. Peter angrily demurs, prompting Jesus to turn and declare Peter “Satan,” ordering him to get out of his sight. The evangelist we know as Matthew, perhaps reflecting evolving Christian theology a generation or two after the crucifixion, depicts a powerful image of Jesus as Messiah, predicting his own death and resurrection as necessary steps toward the universal justice that will come with God’s kingdom.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 23, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Exodus 1:8-2:10



Joseph and his family came to Egypt to escape famine, but over the generations things changed. The Hebrew people increased in numbers, but now they must toil as Pharaoh’s slaves.

Christ’s Charge to Peter (1515-1516), painting by Raphael (1483-1520). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

Evil Pharaoh, fearing this community because it has grown to threatening numbers, decides to kill all the Hebrew baby boys, a threat that scripture will later echo in Herod’s decision to kill Bethlehem’s babies after the birth of Jesus. But the baby Moses escapes in a floating basket. Moses will go on to become the next great figure in the bible’s ancestral legends, who will lead the people out of Egypt on a long trek toward the Promised Land.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 51:1-6



Using a metaphor that might remind us of Jesus’ response to Peter in Sunday’s Gospel, Isaiah tells the people that they were hewn from rock and dug from a quarry in their descent from Abraham and Sarah and their children. God promised to bless Abraham and make his offspring as numerous as the stars, and that promise has been fulfilled. Even though they remain in exile now, God will deliver them; God’s justice will be a light to the people, and their deliverance will come soon. Earth may eventually wear out like a used garment and the heavens will vanish like smoke, but God’s deliverance and salvation last forever.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 124

The Psalmist remembers the people’s deliverance from slavery in this hymn of thanksgiving to the God who carried them through the frightening exodus from Egypt. As we sing it we remember the people’s passage through the Red Sea. Then, in striking poetic imagery, the Psalm likens the people to a bird pursued by a hunter, escaping from a broken snare. The hymn concludes with joyous thanksgiving: “Our help is in the name of the Lord.”

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 138

Echoing the hope for return from exile and eventual salvation that we heard in the Isaiah reading, Psalm 138 thanks and praises God’s love and faithfulness. When we called, the Psalmist sings, God answered us and gave us strength. The litany of praise goes on: Although God is high, God cares for the lowly; God keeps us safe when we walk in the midst of trouble. The love of the Lord endures forever and will not abandon the works of God’s hands.

Second Reading: Romans 12:1-8



Having made his case to the Christians of Rome to live and worship together in love, Paul enters the closing chapters of this, his last letter. He urges the people to devote their minds and bodies as a living sacrifice in spiritual worship: Do not live according to the customs of this world but discern and follow what is good in the will of God. Working out a beautiful metaphor that we also hear in 1 Corinthians, he imagines the church – like our bodies – as an organism made of many parts. Every part has its purpose, and they all must function well together to make the body work. Some lead, some teach, some give, some learn, some listen; some offer compassion. All together we make up one body in Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20




This key Gospel passage appears in similar form in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is a major turning point in all the Gospels, an important moment in which Jesus first acknowledges that he is the Messiah, the son of the living God. Perhaps the disciples have already begun wondering if Jesus is the Son of God. They worshipped him after he walked on the water and stilled the storm, for instance. But this is the first place in the three Gospels, just as Jesus and his followers begin their journey toward Jerusalem, when Jesus responds and agrees with Peter’s assertion that God has revealed him as the Messiah. Jesus then declares Peter “the rock” upon which he will build the church, and sternly commands the disciples not to tell anyone about this. His time has not yet come.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 16, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 45:1-15


Now in mid-August we approach the midpoint of the long season after Pentecost, and we see our lectionary narratives begin to turn.

Christ and the Canaanite Woman (c.1500), oil painting on panel by Juan de Flandes (1450-1519). Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain. (Click image to enlarge.)

Sunday’s first reading marks the last in a series of ancestral stories about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph; and Sunday’s Gospel shows us Jesus and the apostles leaving Galilee for the last time as they begin their journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. In our Track One first reading, Joseph has been through a lot since last week’s reading, when his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. He went to Egypt, did well, fell from grace, was sent to prison on a false charge, but bounced back to become Pharaoh’s chief governor. Now his brothers have come to Egypt fleeing famine, and they meet Joseph. As you can imagine, they fear his revenge! But Joseph forgives them in a tearful reunion, and the ancestral line of the Bible’s patriarchs will live on.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 56:1,6-8


Sunday’s Track Two first reading turns to the closing chapters of Isaiah’s long book of prophecy. The people have returned home to Jerusalem, and now they face the arduous task of rebuilding the city and the temple. Isaiah reminds the people that, just as they lost the land for their failure to be righteous and just, they may no longer keep the holy city for themselves alone, even though they “maintain justice and doing what is right.” The covenant that God made with Moses is now for all people, for all the nations. Even foreigners and aliens who hold fast to the covenant principles will be gathered in, welcomed in the temple and made joyful. Hear Jesus echo this principle in Sunday’s Gospel when he recognizes the Canaanite woman’s faith.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 133

Mirroring the joy of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers, the Psalmist celebrates the blessed state of brothers and sisters abiding together in unity. Just as Joseph’s family came back together in love, and as Paul will urge the Jewish and Pagan Christian communities in Rome to rejoin in friendship, we hear again how good and pleasant it is when families and friends live together in blessed unity.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 67

In one of those small mysteries of the Lectionary cycle, we hear again a Psalm that we sang just three months ago during Eastertide. It fits in neatly with Sunday’s readings, though: In its joyous call to all the nations of Earth to sing together in peace and praise, it reinforces what we heard in the Isaiah reading and foreshadows Paul’s words from Romans. Let all the nations praise God and pray for God’s blessing, the Psalmist sings, for through God the earth gives forth its bounty, and all the earth sings out its praise.

Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32


Paul continues his exhortation to Rome’s Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian communities to restore the unity that they enjoyed before the Jewish portion was sent away on a short exile. Paul points up his own Jewish heritage, placing himself in Abraham’s direct line as a descendant of Benjamin, the youngest of Joseph’s brothers, whom Joseph loved. Paul assures us that God’s promises to Israel and to the Gentiles are equally irrevocable, regardless of our disobedience. We all earn God’s love, regardless of our sins, regardless of our ancestry. God is merciful to all.

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-28


Sunday’s Gospel offers us two separate short stories. Their placement joining Jesus’ last encounter in Galilee and his first in Gentile territory as he and the apostles begin their journey to Jerusalem may be more than just a coincidence. It seems to express that for the first time that Jesus’ way is not only for Jews but Gentiles as well. First, Jesus mocks a group of Pharisees who had challenged his disciples for ignoring ritual traditions. He speaks a blunt and rather earthy criticism: Neglecting to wash our hands before eating doesn’t defile us, but the words that come out of our mouths may do so. Then, Jesus shocks us with a fiercely unkind insult, likening a Canaanite woman who sought help for her daughter to stray dogs scrounging for crumbs. Really, Jesus? Really? But the words from the mother’s mouth clearly come from her heart. The encounter seems to change Jesus. He praises her faith and heals her child.

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 Aug. 9, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28


Faith can be a source of strength in the face of fear. We hear this twice in Sunday’s readings about Joseph and about Peter.

Saint Peter Attempting to Walk on Water (1766), oil painting on canvas by François Boucher (1703-1770). Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Versailles. (Click image to enlarge.)

Our Track One first readings about the bible’s dysfunctional first family continue into the fourth generation! Israel, formerly known as Jacob, loved Joseph more than any of his other children. This, not surprisingly, makes his brothers jealous. They briefly consider murdering Joseph, but decide to sell him into slavery instead. As it so often does, scripture shows us again that even the patriarchs weren’t noble people but flawed, broken, sometimes downright bad. Yet still God loved them, as God loves us. Joseph will eventually forgive his brothers, as God forgives us.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 19:9-18


In Sunday’s Track Two first reading, the Prophet Elijah is fleeing for his life from an angry Queen Jezebel, and he feels alone and afraid. No one else is on his side. He despairs. But he hears the wish of the Holy One – through an angel, a messenger – inviting him to go stand on a mountain to meet God. Soon a great wind shakes his world. Then an earthquake and finally a fire shatter the scene. But God is not in any of those. It is in the silence which follows the cataclysms that God’s voice is finally heard. God reassures Elijah, promising that he will go on to appoint Israel’s kings and prophets.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b

Holding up Joseph as an example that God remains faithful even in hard times, these verses from Psalm 105 recall Joseph’s life as a slave in Egypt, his feet bruised in fetters and his neck choked in a heavy iron collar. But God was faithful to Joseph. From a beginning as a foreigner and a slave, Joseph gained the Egyptian king’s trust and eventually rose to a place of power in Pharaoh’s court. God has done marvelous things for the people, the Psalmist exults. Sing praises! Glory in God’s holy name!

Psalm (TrackTwo): Psalm 85:8-13

The reassurance that we hear God giving to Elijah amid his lonely fear in the first reading is echoed in this beautiful Psalm portion: God has forgiven our iniquity and blotted out our sins. Heaven and earth meet in truth and righteousness; righteousness and peace share a tender kiss, according to the Psalm’s beautiful poetry. God grants prosperity and a fruitful harvest, and all shall be well.

Second Reading: Romans 10:5-15


Paul continues addressing Rome’s Gentile Christian community and its Jewish Christians who have recently returned from exile, urging all to live in harmony and love one another. Salvation is for all through Jesus, Paul writes. He emphasizes that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile): God is God of all, and is generous to all who recognize Jesus as Lord and call upon God’s name. Don’t judge our neighbors, Paul says, but proclaim the good news of the Gospel so that all may be saved.

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33


The striking image of Jesus walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee makes this one of the most familiar Gospel stories. Jesus had sent the apostles ahead to cross the sea without him so he could take some time to pray alone. His grief at the beheading of his cousin John by Herod had been interrupted by the huge crowd that had to be fed with a few baskets of loaves and fishes, and now he sought solitude again. Meanwhile, the apostles, alone on the boat, are terrified when wind and waves rock the boat. Suddenly Jesus appeared, calmly walking across the stormy sea! Peter, first to believe that it really is Jesus, steps out onto the water to meet Jesus. But Peter’s faith isn’t strong enough to keep him from sinking without Jesus’ hand extended to save him. Then the wind eases, they get into the boat, and the awed disciples now worship Jesus as the Son of God.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 2, 2020

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


We catch up with Jacob one more time in the continuing series of Track One first readings that we’ve been following for several weeks.

The Miracle of the Five Loaves and Two Fishes (early 1600s); painting by Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644). Private collection. (Click image to enlarge.)

Again the trickster confronts a force that proves stronger than he is, and yet, he wins. Or does he? Jacob, who saw God in a dream of angels going up and down a heavenly ladder at Bethel, now meets God’s angel in another dream. He struggles mightily against this mysterious foe, and earns a new name, Israel – “who struggles with God.” Jacob, now Israel, comes of age in the understanding that God is not just somewhere out there in a distant universe but can be found right here with us in our daily lives, where we ask hard questions and even struggle with God.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 55:10-13



In Sunday’s Track Two first reading we hear some of the final verses written by the second of the three ancient prophets whose work bible scholars believe is consolidated in this memorable book of prophecy. The overall narrative of Isaiah tells of the chosen people’s loss of Jerusalem and the Temple, their exile to Babylon, and their eventual return home to Jerusalem, where they build a restored temple. In these verses, having assured the people that God has forgiven their failures of justice, Isaiah in these verses paints a beautiful image of God as the giver of life and sustenance and all that is good.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 17: 1-7, 16

God remains faithful to the people of Israel, even when they struggle, even when they fail; so the Psalmist celebrates God’s faithful, steadfast love. This special kind of love is so sure and certain that there’s a specific Hebrew word for it, “chesed,” a word rich with connotations of faith, loyalty, care and grace. The Psalmist reminds us that God loves us and will protect us when we seek refuge.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 145:11-18

The Psalms incorporate a wide variety of genres: 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 Psalms, though, conclude the book with songs and shouts of praise..The two segments chosen for Sunday’s Track Two reading celebrate the graciousness and compassion of God, who satisfies every living creature’s needs and stands near to all who call.

Second Reading: Romans 9:1-5


Having emphasized in last week’s reading that nothing can separate us all from God’s love through Jesus, Paul now looks back to God’s faithfulness to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-become-Israel. Paul, like all Israel, inherits God’s covenant and commandments “through the flesh” of family heritage. But, in this letter calling on Rome’s Gentile and Jewish Christians to love and accept one another, he reminds us that we, too, become children of God through the Spirit.

Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21


The story of Jesus feeding the multitude is so beloved that it’s repeated in varying forms in all four Gospels: The multiplying loaves and fishes. How did Jesus do that? The notion that many dug into their own supplies to supplement the feast rings true to anyone who’s ever indulged in a church potluck. So does the simple symbolism of God’s faithful abundance … and of Jesus taking bread and feeding the community. But look closely at these words: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” Can we hear an echo of Jesus saying, “I was hungry and you gave me food … just as you do it to one of the least of these, you do it to me”?

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 26, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 29:15-28


The concept of “biblical marriage” gets complicated in Sunday’s Track One first reading.

Parable of the hidden treasure (c.1630), painting, possibly by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) or by Gerrit Dou (1613-1675). Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. (Click image to enlarge.)

First, tricky Jacob gets tricked in his turn by Laban, who puts him to work for seven years to earn Laban’s daughter Rachel as his bride. But then, much to Jacob’s consternation, Laban switches his older daughter, Leah, for Rachel on their wedding night. Only after working for Laban another seven years does Jacob eventually marry Rachel, too. When we consider scripture’s seemingly casual acceptance of arranged, polygamous marriages, with the women given no opportunity to participate or object, it makes little sense to hold up Scripture as the example of a marital ideal. What remains timeless is the celebration of God’s faithfulness, shown in the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants who will go on to populate all nations.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 3:5-12


Known in tradition for his great wisdom, King Solomon may be most often remembered by the story – just a few verses after this one – of how he revealed the real mother in two women’s dispute over a baby by proposing to cut the infant in half. Here in Sunday’s Track Two first reading we meet Solomon – the son of King David and Bathsheba – as the young, new king, uncertain and uneasy. Dreaming of God asking what he would like to be given, Solomon chose not long life, riches or power, but only wisdom to govern the people well. Pleased by this choice, God grants Solomon a wise and discerning mind greater than any earlier or later king.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105:1-11, 45b

This Track One Psalm, a ringing hymn of praise to God and God’s works, offers thanksgiving for just the reward that the story of Laban’s daughters foretells: God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God promises that their children would inherit the Promised Land for a thousand generations, in return for their covenant to follow God’s teaching and obey God’s laws.

Alternate Psalm (Track One): Psalm 128

Available as an alternate to the Track One Psalm, this reflects similar ideas without specifically expressing the ancestral covenant. Still, its poetic cadences celebrate the joy and the rewards that come to those who follow in God’s way, the fruits of their labor, the happiness and prosperity that they will inherit. Thanks to God’s blessings from Zion, the Psalmist sings, they will be rewarded with secure homes and long and prosperous lives.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 119:129-136

The longest of all the Psalms, Psalm 119’s celebration of love for God’s law and teaching – Torah, the first five books of the Bible – is repeated often in brief selections through the Lectionary year. A different passage was used in Track One just two weeks ago. These verses celebrate the love of Torah in almost sensuous terms of open-mouthed, breathless longing. God’s statutes are so wonderful that the Psalmist sheds streams of tears at the recognition that some people do not follow the law.

Second Reading: Romans 8:26-39


Our extended journey through Paul’s letter to the people of Rome reaches a high point in this passage, as his long discussion contrasting life in the flesh against life in the spirit now comes to its conclusion in a burst of poetic words: If God is for us, who is against us? God’s abiding faithfulness was made manifest through God’s gift of God’s own son. If God gave him up for all of us, nothing in all creation – not hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword – can separate us from the love of God through Jesus.

Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52


What is the kingdom of heaven like? Jesus offers us quick, thought-provoking glimpses in a quick series of short parables this week. The kingdom is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a mighty tree! Or yeast that leavens bread! Or wait, is it like buried treasure? A merchant with an expensive pearl? Fishers with a full net? And there’s that scary threat of the fiery furnace again, with the weeping and gnashing of teeth that awaits evildoers. Parables don’t tell us the whole story – they only offer ideas that flash through our consciousness – but every one of them sparks our imagination about God’s kingdom.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 19, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 28:10-19a


Signs of God’s abundant love and the gift of grace shine through Sunday’s readings.

Jacob’s Dream (1639), oil painting on canvas by Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652). Museo del Prado, Madrid. (Click image to enlarge.)

In our Track One first reading, Jacob, a conniving trickster, got himself in trouble and now is on the run. He fears the murderous wrath of his angry older twin Esau, whom Jacob tricked out of his inheritance and their father’s blessing. Now Jacob stops to rest. Sleeping in the desert on a stone pillow, Jacob has a remarkable dream of angels going up and down a celestial ladder. Then he hears God’s voice repeating the promise that God gave to his grandfather Abraham and to his father Isaac: God is with him, and his offspring will fill the Earth. Why would God reward such a sneaky cheater? God knows that no human is perfect, but God still loves and protects even broken, troubled people.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 44:6-8


Isiah’s short, poetic prayer of praise in our Track Two first reading assures the people that their exile in Babylon will eventually end and that they will return home to Jerusalem. The prophet imagines God speaking in the first person, declaring God’s own power and majesty. Whatever beliefs their captors may hold in other gods and other prophecies, Isaiah makes clear that Israel need not fear or be afraid. As they have known since days of old, God is the nation’s rock, redeemer and leader, the first and last of all creation, beside whom there is no other god.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 139:1-11, 22-23

When Jacob ran from angry Esau, he might have prayed something like this Track One Psalm. God loves us and knows everything about us, the Psalmist sings. We may run from God, but we can’t hide. In heaven or in the grave, in darkness or in light, up in the sunrise sky or down in the deepest part of the sea, no matter where we go or how we try to hide, God knows where we are and what we are thinking, God will lead us, hold us and keep us. Even when we are wicked, God will lead us in right paths.

Alternative to the Psalm (Track One): Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19

The Wisdom of Solomon is a short book in the Apocrypha. It was written in the name of King Solomon not long before, or even possibly during or after, the time of Jesus and the evangelists. These verses harmonize with the faith expressed in Psalm 139 above in their ringing praise for a powerful, righteous God who reigns over all creation, yet judges the people mildly and with forbearance, teaching us that to be righteous requires us to be kind.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 86:11-17

The Psalmist expresses gratitude for God’s abundant love shown in protection against the violence and threats of enemies. Like the people in exile in today’s Track Two first reading from Isaiah, he faces difficulties – even being trapped in the “nethermost Pit” and pursued by a band of violent men. Nevertheless he turns to God with faith and trust, calling on God to respond out of grace and compassion, kindness and truth, to turn to him and have mercy, shaming his foes with a sign of God’s favor.

Second Reading: Romans 8:12-25


We are following Paul through his letter to the Romans for three full months in this season after Pentecost as he talks about what life in the Spirit of Christ looks like. Summing up his argument in today’s passage, he reiterates: If we live by our own selfish desires, we die. But if we live in the Spirit through Christ, loving God and our neighbor even as we suffer with Christ – as the Roman Christians had suffered through persecution – we are glorified with him and become adopted children and heirs of God. Hope for what we do not yet see and wait for it with patience, he concludes.

Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43


Jesus was a carpenter, not a farmer, but he sure did tell a lot of parables about farming, planting, and growing things. Continuing in the spirit of last Sunday’s parable about the sower, he moves on to a discussion of weeds in the wheat field. In this parable the soil is good, and so is the seed. The sower is planting wheat in the rich soil of his own field, only to have an enemy sneak in at night and plant weeds among the good wheat. Now the sower can’t uproot the weeds without disturbing the wheat, so it all has to grow together until harvest, when the weeds can finally be torn out and discarded. Jesus’ explanation to the apostles may seem disturbing with its talk of hellfire and damnation for the weeds; but it’s clear that those who live righteously will enjoy God’s kingdom.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 12, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 25:19-34


God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. But the ancestral legends of the chosen people show us that this outcome won’t be easy.

Landscape with the Parable of the Sower (1552), oil painting on panel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1526/1530-1569). Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, Calif. (Click image to enlarge.)

Abraham and Sarah had to wait until she was 90 years old before the miracle of Isaac’s birth. In Sunday’s Track One first reading we recall that Isaac and Rebekah, too, prayed for 20 barren years before their twins, Esau and Jacob, were born. Jacob, a notorious trickster, talks his moments-older sibling, in a moment of hunger, into giving up his rights as firstborn in trade for a bit of bread and a pot of lentil stew. Jacob’s tricks reveal once more that God does not choose unbelievably perfect people, but works through flawed and sinful humans.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 55:10-13


In Sunday’s Track Two first reading we hear the concluding verses of second Isaiah. This is the second of the three ancient prophets who bible scholars believe participated in writing this memorable book. Overall, the three writers tell of the chosen people’s exile to Babylon and their eventual return home to Jerusalem, where they build a restored temple. In these verses, having assured the people that God has forgiven their failures of justice, Isaiah in these verses paints a beautiful image of God as the giver of life and sustenance and all that is good. His image of seeds and the sower and Earth’s bounty sets the stage for Jesus’ parable of the sower that we hear in Sunday’s Gospel.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 119:105-112

We hear parts of Psalm 119 a dozen times during the three-year cycle of Lectionary readings, so it will probably come as no surprise to hear that its 176 verses make it the longest of all the Psalms. All of those verses are devoted to a long, loving celebration of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. “Torah” is usually translated in this context as “law,” “ordnance” or “decree” throughout the psalms, but it might be better expressed as “teaching,” a point of view that reveals God’s loving desire for us to live in good relationship with God and each other. Following God’s decrees – God’s teaching – brings joy even in darkness and time of trouble, the Psalmist sings.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 65: (1-8), 9-14

This psalm of praise and thanksgiving beautifully reflects Isaiah’s portrayal of God as the generous creator who made the world and all that is in it, and who provides bountiful water and grain, pastures and flocks. Perhaps originally sung as a harvest thanksgiving, it chants praise for the overflowing richness of God’s abundance and for the joy it provides to those who receive it. This abundant seed has fallen on good soil and yielded a hundredfold.

Second Reading: Romans 8:1-11


Paul, a proud Pharisee who considered himself righteous and blameless under the law, the teaching of Torah, now tells the Romans that Christ’s resurrection has freed us from the law of sin and death. If we follow the ways of the world, he warns, we are subject to sin and death. But when we accept God’s Spirit through Jesus, we gain life and peace. Our mortal bodies gain life because the Spirit dwells in us.

Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23


For the rest of the season after Pentecost we will follow Matthew’s account of Jesus’ final journey with the apostles from Galilee to Jerusalem. In many of these Gospels Jesus will teach by using parables, colorful, attention-getting metaphors. Sunday we hear the parable of the sower, the first parable that Jesus tells in Matthew’s Gospel and the only parable that Jesus explains. It is tempting to look for specific instruction in the fates of the seeds that fall on the path, on rocks, among thorns, and on fertile ground. Perhaps the message is this simple: Sow God’s word extravagantly, everywhere, and rejoice when it falls on good soil and the harvest is rich. Or are we being told to decide what kind of soil we will choose to be when we hear God’s word? The parables of Jesus don’t come straight at us. They make us think.