Last Epiphany A/Transfiguration

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

First Reading: Exodus 24:12-18

Significant things happen on mountain tops, where earth and heaven come close together.

The Transfiguration of Christ

The Transfiguration of Christ (c.1480), oil painting on panel by Giovanni Bellini (d.1516), Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

On Transfiguration Sunday, roughly midway between Christmas and Easter, we come to the mountain top. As we turn from the incarnate light of Epiphany toward the penitential pathway of Lent, our readings show us the awe and fear of humans encountering the divine. In the first reading we see Moses going up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from a mighty God cloaked in clouds and fire. In the verses that came just before this reading, though, Aaron and the other leaders dined and drank with a much more accessible divine being. Humanity continues to wrestle with the contrasting ideas of an intimate God who knows our deepest thoughts, and a transcendent God who surpasses human understanding.

Psalm: Psalm 2

This Messianic hymn of praise envisions God as a mighty king, and more: King of Kings, to whom earthly kings must submit with fear and trembling. Those who seek to break away from God’s power and that of God’s anointed, the Messiah, will earn only divine derision and terrifying rage, the Psalmist sings. Such actions have consequences. But when God’s anointed is set on the holy hill of Zion, the temple, the psalm concludes, happy are all who take refuge in God.

Alternative Psalm: Psalm 99

This hymn of praise offered as an alternate reading to Psalm 2 also envisions God as a mighty king, at whose appearance the people tremble and the earth shakes. Yet, recalling that Moses and Aaron received God’s law and teaching, it also shows us a forgiving and kind God, a doer of justice, equity and righteousness. It mirrors the Exodus reading in showing a God of both distant might and present love.

Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21

Modern bible scholars generally accept that this letter, perhaps the last written in the New Testament, is not the work of Simon Peter, the apostle. It was almost certainly written in Peter’s name by a leader in the early church a century or more after the Crucifixion. Still, it opens a window into the thinking of the second-century church, when believers were trying to understand why Jesus had not returned as soon as had been expected. Everything they have heard about Jesus is true, the letter reassures them, speaking as if in Peter’s own voice: Peter himself was present at the Transfiguration. Trust in God and wait for the dawn and the morning star.

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

Using images that recall Moses on the mountain, in words that echo God’s approving words at Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan, Matthew’s account shows us Jesus with the ancient prophets Moses and Elijah. Jesus is transfigured, glowing in dazzling light, revealed as both human and divine. It’s no wonder that Peter, James and John were terrified to hear the voice of God, but Jesus reassures them with a loving touch. Then, for the first time in this Gospel, Jesus speaks of his coming resurrection.

Epiphany 6A

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

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20

As we live through the Epiphany season, waning winter’s days are growing longer and the slant of noonday light perceptibly rises. Lent may lie just ahead, but Spring is drawing near.

Moses's Testament and Death

Moses’s Testament and Death (1481-1482), oil painting on fresco by Luca Signorelli (1450-1523). The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. (Click image to enlarge.)

In Sunday’s first reading the people have reached the banks of the Jordan after 40 years wandering in the desert. As they prepare to cross into the promised land, Moses preaches the core of Old Testament teaching: Follow God’s commandments, and you will inherit the land. Defy God’s wishes, and you will lose the land and die. From Sinai to the Jordan, he people have repeatedly heard this covenant: Be righteous, be just. Care for the poor and the weak; the widow, the orphan and the stranger. And when the people fail, the prophets will rise up to remind them of God’s promise, which will play out in the loss of the land, the destruction of the Temple, and exile.

Alternate First Reading: Sirach 15:15-20

We rarely hear readings from Sirach, one of the books known as Apocrypha that come at the end of the Old Testament. Called “The Wisdom of Jesus, ben Sirach” in the original Greek, Sirach was renamed Ecclesiasticus in Latin after the Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity as the state religion. Sirach is in the genre of wisdom literature: brisk, memorable advice akin to the Book of Proverbs. Sunday’s alternate first reading reminds us that we are given free will. God does not force us to keep God’s commandments – we may choose either fire or water – but God is all-knowing and wise and does not wish us to sin.

Psalm: Psalm 119:1-8


Today we hear only the first eight of the 176 verses that make up this, the longest of the Psalms. This introductory passage introduces us to the long psalm’s message: Torah, God’s teaching, is so wonderful that it inspires us to love it and follow it as law. Those who follow that teaching and walk in God’s ways will be rewarded. In chanting this psalm we pray that God will keep us steadfast in following this teaching, these laws.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Paul continues making his case to the quarreling factions that have formed in his little church at Corinth. Last week’s passage might have given the impression that Paul was praising the Corinthians for a spiritual maturity that enabled them to understand the ways of God. But no! Paul makes it clear in the verses we read Sunday that the Christians of Corinth still have a long way to go. Their quarreling factions, he warns, show that they are like babies not yet weaned from milk, utterly unready for spiritual food. When we work together as God’s servants, he adds, God uses us to build and grow in common purpose.

Gospel: Matthew 5:21-37


The Sermon on the Mount takes up three full chapters in Matthew’s Gospel, and in this, our third Gospel drawn from it, we are still in the first of the three! In last Sunday’s portion we heard Jesus say that he did not come to change the Law and the Prophets (the literal translation for the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible). Now, however, he begins interpreting the law as the Talmudic scholars did, reading it in new, radical, and challenging ways. It’s not just “Do not kill” but do no harm of any kind; we must even respond to our enemies in peace! Do not commit adultery? Not just that, but treat women with respect! Do not bear false witness? No, do more: Be honest, be true, say exactly what you mean!

Epiphany 5A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 9, 2020

First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12

To follow in God’s way, we are called to be righteous, to practice justice; to be light to the world and the salt that flavors and preserves our lives. These themes resonate through Sunday’s readings.

Sermone della Montagna (Sermon on the Mount

Sermone della Montagna (Sermon on the Mount, 1481-1482), fresco by Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507). Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. (Click image to enlarge.)

Righteousness and justice are the essence of God’s call, Isaiah insists to the people returning from exile in the first reading and Jesus, too, will ask in his Sermon on the Mount. Being righteous and just requires us to go beyond mere fasting and ritual practice to stand against oppression, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked. Righteousness heals our souls and lights up our lives, as the light of Epiphany that shines in winter’s darkness will illuminate the way of our God.

Psalm: Psalm 112:1-9, [10]

Take care not to hear the “Prosperity Gospel” in today’s Psalm. Yes this ancient worship hymn imagines God rewarding the righteous with earthly power and riches in exchange for their good acts. But look deeper and it echoes Isaiah’s call in the first reading: The righteousness of those who follow God and delight in God’s commandments will endure forever. Those who are gracious and merciful, who deal with others generously and act with justice, will “rise in the darkness as a light for the upright.” The wealth we gain by living justly is not measured in gold and silver but by the example we set for others, showing the way to God.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

We continue in the opening chapters of 1 Corinthians as Paul makes his pastoral case to the bickering, divided church community at Corinth. We missed the opening of this argument as we marked the Presentation of Our Lord in last Sunday’s readings; it’s worth looking back to 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 to read it in full. But we get the gist of it this week as Paul invites the people to be humble. He reminds them that Christians appear foolish in the eyes of the world because they follow a Messiah who suffered the shame of crucifixion. In reality, though, he declares, we actually share God’s hidden and secret wisdom: The Holy Spirit provides new life through the mind of Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20

We come in to the middle of the Sermon on the Mount this week, just after Jesus has taught the crowd the Beatitudes, promising God’s kingdom to the poor, the hungry, the thirsty; those who mourn, the meek; the humble, and all who are persecuted and oppressed. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, Jesus tells the people. With those gifts comes responsibility, too: We are called to show God to the world through our good works. Jesus says he has not come to change the Torah – “the Law and the Prophets” – which calls us to be just and righteous: We are to love God, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

The Presentation of Our Lord

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

First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

The feast of the Presentation of our Lord falls 40 days after Christmas. When it falls on a Sunday, as it does this year, it takes precedence over the usual liturgy for the season of Epiphany.

Simeon's Song of Praise, Nunc Dimittis

Simeon’s Song of Praise, Nunc Dimittis (c.1700-c.1710). Oil painting on canvas by Aert de Gelder (1645-1727). Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands. (Click image to enlarge.)

The readings reflect on the presentation of the baby Jesus and the ritual purification of his mother, Mary, in the Jerusalem temple. First we hear the Prophet Malachi speak of purification too, using the metaphor of a refiner tho purifies gold and silver with heat and fire: poetic words that the composer Handel will later adopt for a beautiful aria in The Messiah. For Malachi, the refiner’s cleansing fire stands as a symbol of Israel’s duty to restore the Temple and its priesthood upon the people’s return from exile.

Psalm: Psalm 84

Consider this psalm from two perspectives as we hear it: We may regard it from our own perspective, singing out our joy in knowing that God will provide protection, favor and honor to us when we trust in God. But think, too, about the perspective of creation: God provides nests for the small birds, for sparrows and swallows too. God hears not only our prayers, but provides pools of water for thirsty travelers and for all creatures who thirst as they go through desolate valleys.

Alternate Psalm: Psalm 24:7-10

This passage comes from one of the many psalms that tradition attributes to King David himself. The full psalm is thought to have been a processional chant as the priests and congregation approached the Temple. In the first verses the priest calls out, “Who shall stand in his holy place? Who has the right to come in and worship? “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,” the crowd sings back. Then, in the verses we hear on this Sunday, the joyous chorus celebrates God, the King of Glory, creator of the earth and all that is in it.

Second Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

Christians in some parts of the Roman Empire faced frightening persecution late in the 1st century, a situation that prompted many Jewish Christians to abandon their new faith and return to Judaism, which at the time was not under such severe persecution. The Letter to the Hebrews urges them to stay strong and persevere in faith. It names Jesus as Son of God and great high priest, God who became fully human like us and freed us from death through his sacrifice and resurrection. Because Jesus was so tested, the writer of Hebrews argues, Jesus will help those who are being tested.

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

Now Joseph and Mary come to the temple for her ritual purification and to present the infant Jesus in accord with the practice that a firstborn son be presented to God. They offer two small birds as sacrifice, an option reserved for poor families who couldn’t afford a lamb. Then Simeon enters. An elderly man, Simeon had heard the Holy Spirit’s promise that he would see the Messiah before he died. He joyfully takes the baby, blesses Jesus and his family, and utters the verses that we know as the Nunc Dimittis, the Song of Simeon: “Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see.”

Epiphany 3A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 26, 2020

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

Christ Calling the Apostles Peter and Andrew

Christ Calling the Apostles Peter and Andrew (1308-1311), panel from the Maesta Altarpiece of Sien, by Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-1260 – c.1318-1319). National Gallery, Washington. National Gallery of Art. (Click image to enlarge.)

As we live through the darkest time of year, the short days of winter, we can feel the joy that gracious light brings in the darkness, a joy that the Prophet Isaiah and the Evangelist Matthew share in Sunday’s readings. Isaiah recalls the hard time when Israel’s Northern Kingdom, the lands of Zebulon and Naphtali that Jesus will later know as Galilee, have fallen to the Assyrian Empire, and the nation’s fate is in doubt. Isaiah prophecies that the future holds no gloom for those who are in anguish now: God will bring the people back to a world of bounty and joy.

Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 5-13

In words that mirror both the ideas and the emotions of the Isaiah reading, the Psalmist shouts with triumphant confidence that God is indeed our light, so there is nothing to fear. This is not just a happy-clappy praise song, though: There’s no denying that bad things can happen even to God’s own people. Enemies may surround them. But knowing that God is our light, our stronghold, and our salvation, we need not fear. We call on God to hear us, love us, protect us and keep us safe.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

After Paul’s assurance last week that the people of the church in Corinth had already received gifts that made them strong in faith, we now see that this small, troubled community was breaking into factions and quarreling. Remember to stand steadfast in faith, Paul reminds them, even when their Gentile neighbors consider them foolish for worshiping a crucified criminal. Baptism brings all together in unity in Christ. The cross represents the power of God to us as we are saved by it.

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

Quoting the Greek translation of the Isaiah passage we heard in the first reading, Matthew uses it to recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Then we look on as Jesus, grieving the murder of his cousin John and likely fearing for his own life, leaves his home in Nazareth to go to Capernaum, a larger city on the shore in Galilee, the ancient region of Zebulon and Naphtali, of which we heard Isaiah speak. There Jesus begins his public life, preaching in the same words as John so often used: “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus then calls four fishermen – Peter, Andrew, and James and John, the sons of Zebedee. All four eagerly drop their nets and follow as Jesus preaches, teaches, cures and heals.

Epiphany 2A

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 19, 2020

First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7

On Sunday we follow up on last week’s account of the baptism of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, this time hearing the intriguingly different version in the Gospel according to John.

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (c.1603-1606). Oil painting on canvas by
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). Hampton Court Palace, The Royal Collection,
London, England. (Click image to enlarge.)

We build toward it in our first three readings, each offering us a different perspective on the idea of waiting with faith and hope for God. The first reading echoes last week’s Isaiah passage, presenting the second of the prophet’s four descriptions of the servant, the suffering savior who would lead the people back to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon. Once despised, the servant will rise up, bringing God’s saving power not to Israel and Judah alone but to all the nations, to the ends of the Earth.

Psalm: Psalm 40:1-12

In verses reminiscent of Isaiah’s people waiting in exile for their suffering servant savior to come, we hear the Psalmist waiting patiently and with deep trust and faith for God to act. Though they were once left desolate in mire and clay, alone in a pit, the Psalmist sings, God will place them on a new, secure footing and given them a new song of praise. Although surrounded by too many evils to count and blinded by iniquities until his heart fails, the Psalmist remains firm in hope that God’s faithful, steadfast love will eventually bring mercy, deliverance and safety.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

During the remaining Sundays after Epiphany we will read from Paul’s first letter to the people of Corinth – a major Greek trading and seafaring city. In these opening verses, Paul’s friendly greetings give us insight into the letter that follows. The congregation in Corinth probably wasn’t large, but it was splitting into bickering factions, each with its own ideas about Christian practice. Faith in Christ has already given them gifts that have made them strong, Paul reminds the people of the church. He urges them to hold on to those gifts and be steadfast as they wait for Christ’s coming, an event that many in those days thought would happen soon.

Gospel: John 1:29-42

Listen closely as we hear John’s perspective on Jesus’ baptism, a very different scene than we heard from Matthew last week. This time, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming, immediately declares him “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” and tells the crowd that Jesus came before him and ranks ahead of him. Then it is John the Baptist, not Jesus or the crowd, who tells of seeing the Spirit coming down like a dove and remaining on Jesus, revealing him as the one who would baptize not with water but with the Spirit: The Son of God. Did John actually baptize Jesus in the midst of all this? The Gospel doesn’t say. But Jesus’ first disciples, seeing this encounter, recognize Jesus as Messiah and start to follow him.

Epiphany 1A/Baptism of our Lord

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 12, 2020

First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9

Listen through Sunday’s readings as John baptizes Jesus on the banks of the Jordan: God’s spirit comes down to the people. Justice and righteousness are served, the oppressed are set free, and all is made new again.

Bautismo de Cristo (The Baptism of Christ

Bautismo de Cristo (The Baptism of Christ, c.1567), medium oil painting on panel by Juan Fernández Navarrete (1526-1579). Museo del Prado, Madrid. (Click image to enlarge.)

In the prophet Isaiah’s call to Israel in exile, we hear an idea that will be reflected in the baptism of Jesus: God who created all things will choose a servant to lead them. God will send the people out as we are sent out in baptism, living a covenant to be a light to the world and to bring righteousness to all the nations.

Psalm: Psalm 29

Visualize this as we chant Sunday’s Psalm: Whether we huddle in the basement, listening to the radio for news, or venture out onto the porch to watch in fearful awe, we know how it feels to live through a powerful thunderstorm. Lightning flashes like fire. Thunder shakes everything. Giant oak trees seem to whirl, and large limbs come crashing down. We may sense God’s power in the frightening storm, but we also feel the comfort that comes with knowing God’s protection and peace.

Second Reading: Acts 10:34-43

In the verses of Acts leading up to this reading, God has showed Peter in a dream that Gentiles, too, are to be included in Jesus’ way. Now Peter, alive with the Holy Spirit, tells the Roman centurion Cornelius, an early Gentile Christian, that God’s message through Jesus is for everyone and every nation. God’s generous gift of grace to all without partiality surely reflects God’s righteousness to all the nations as we heard in the reading from Isaiah.

Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

All four Gospels tell of Jesus coming to John the Baptist, who was baptizing crowds in the Jordan River “for repentance and the forgiveness of sins.” Only in Matthew, however, do we hear what seems an obvious question: Why would Jesus need to repent or be baptized? Jesus should be baptizing John, not the other way around, John says. But Jesus insists, asking John to baptize him “to fulfill all righteousness,” echoing Isaiah’s call to go out in righteousness to be a light to the world and bring justice to all the nations. John agrees, and then we experience a vision of the Trinity on Jordan’s bank as Jesus, the Son, comes up from the water to see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, while Jesus hears the Creator God declare Jesus the beloved son.

The Epiphany

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Thoughts on the Lessons for The Epiphany (Jan. 6, 2020)
(The readings may be moved to Sunday.)

First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6

On Sunday, the Twelfth Day of Christmas this year, we turn toward Epiphany, the liturgical season in which we celebrate the revelation of Jesus as God Incarnate.

Adoration of the Magi

Adoration of the Magi (c.1495-c.1505), distemper (water-based paint) on linen by Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506). The Getty Center, Los Angeles. (Click image to enlarge.)

We begin with the coming of the Magi, then through the next seven Sundays of this season we will recall other events that manifest the divinity of Jesus. In Sunday’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah calls out a message of hope to Israel as its people return home from exile. God’s light dawns like a new day as a virtual blanket of camels bearing gifts of gold and frankincense covers the nation’s earth. Rulers from surrounding kingdoms trek toward Jerusalem with bounty, an image that we see reflected when Matthew’s Gospel tells us of the Magi bringing gifts to the Christ child.

Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7,10-14

Echoing the theme of the Isaiah reading, Sunday’s Psalm celebrates Israel’s time of glory with the images of kings of all nations bearing gifts. With God’s blessing, the Psalmist exults, Israel’s king earns the service of all nations. But with this glory comes the king’s overarching duty to be righteous and just to all the people. The king “delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.” The king “shall defend the needy among the people; he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.”

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:1-12

Modern biblical scholarship assumes that the letter to the people of Ephesus in Asia Minor was actually written in Paul’s name by a later follower. This kind of nuance matters as scholars seek to understand the evolution of Christian theology during the first decades after the crucifixion and the resurrection. These verses, in any case, are certainly consistent with one of Paul’s major themes as the young church reached out to Gentiles from its Jewish roots: God’s chosen people comprise all humankind; we are all included in Christ’s body on earth and called to make God’s wisdom known.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew tells the fascinating tale of astrologers (“Magi,” meaning “magicians,” in the original Greek) summoned to the infant Messiah by a shining star. Matthew, the only evangelist to tell of the wise men’s visit, does not record that they were kings, or that there were three of them, or even that they rode camels; all that comes from tradition but not the Gospel. We do hear that they came to pay homage to “the child who has been born king of the Jews.” They offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, echoing the prophet Micah’s words about similar gifts for Israel’s King. They knelt and paid homage to the child Jesus as if he were a king. And then, realizing that evil King Herod’s wanted to kill the child, they avoided Herod by returning home on another road.

Christmas 2

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 5, 2020

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sunday is the Twelfth Day of Christmas! Wish your friends a Merry Christmas one more time as we turn toward Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week and Easter.

Rest on the Flight into Egypt

Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1518-1520). Oil painting on panel by Joachim Patinir (1480-1524). Museo del Prado, Madrid. (Click image to enlarge.)

Our readings for the Second Sunday after Christmas speak of thanksgiving, hope, and joy. Even our reading from Jeremiah – whose prophecy is usually filled with warnings of destruction and despair – resounds with shouts of praise and joy this day. The prophet offers hope for all of God’s people, even those weeping in sorrow and pain. God will comfort all, turn our sorrow into gladness, our mourning into joy.

Psalm: Psalm 84

Psalm 84 echoes our Jeremiah reading in its joy. Specifically, it sings the delight of worshipping in the rebuilt temple whose destruction and restoration the Prophet Jeremiah had foretold. Even amid the celebration of having the building restored, though, the Psalm makes clear, real exultation is not bound by bricks and mortar but rests on the grace and glory found in encountering God.

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a

Mirroring the reassuring theme that we heard in last Sunday’s reading from Galatians, the author of the letter to the Ephesians emphasizes that we are all adopted as God’s children through Jesus. Through this adoption, the letter assures us, we are freely given God’s grace, a glorious inheritance of great spiritual riches that offers hope.

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

Think about the sad and sometimes terrifying images of refugees that fill the news these days: Children separated from their parents and kept in cage-like cells. African immigrants drowned as their ships capsize on the Mediterranean. Refugee status is a hard, frightening and sometimes fatal situation. Now think about Joseph and Mary in Matthew’s Gospel: They are terrified, running away to a foreign land to escape the threat of their own baby’s death at the hands of an angry King Herod. What parents would not go to such an extreme to protect their precious child? And what child, living through such an experience, would not forever remember to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger?

Gospel (Alternate Reading): Luke 2:41-52

The gospels tell us almost nothing about Jesus’s childhood and youth. This intriguing gap is filled by this short, fascinating story that appears only in Luke’s Gospel. Twelve-year-old Jesus disappears while the family is in Jerusalem, to the horror of Joseph and Mary, who find him three days later in the Temple, impressing the elders with his intelligent discussion. The child reassures his frantic parents, declaring that his place is in his “Father’s house,” the Temple. In the next chapter, in Luke’s account of the baptism of the 30-year-old Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan, we will hear the voice of God announce that Jesus is God’s beloved Son.

Gospel (Alternate Reading): Matthew 2:1-12

This Gospel reading offers a preview of the feast of the Epiphany, as we hear Matthew’s account of the wise men from the East (“Magi,” or literally “magicians” in the original Greek). Matthew tells the fascinating tale of astrologers summoned to the infant Messiah by a shining star; verses from the prophet Micah that seemed to foretell the future king’s birthplace in Bethlehem, and a suspicious, sneaky King Herod who plots to use the Magi to track down the baby. (You’ll notice that the Magi found the holy family in a house, not a manger … it is only Luke’s Nativity story that places them with the shepherds, cattle and sheep.)

Christmas 1

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Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 15, 2019

First Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3
The Twelve Days of Christmas continue through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6.

Saint John the Evangelist

Saint John the Evangelist (c.1624-1629), oil painting on canvas by Domenico Zampieri (“Domenichino,” 1581-1641). National Gallery, Washington. (Click image to enlarge.)

It’s hard to resist the feeling that Christmas was over on December 26, though. We’ll return to work Monday, if we didn’t have to go back already; soon we’ll pack the colorful lights, the Christmas gift boxes and the holiday music. Sunday’s reading, from near the end of the book of Isaiah, finds the people getting back to work too. Returned to Jerusalem after years in exile, they rejoice in God’s righteousness as they face the hard work of rebuilding.

Psalm: Psalm 147
One of the half-dozen resounding songs of joy that conclude the book of Psalms, this memorable hymn begins with a mighty “Praise the Lord,” a shout of exultation that the ancient Hebrews sang as “Hallelu-Yah!” We praise the Lord who is near, who heals our hearts and binds our wounds. We praise the mighty far-off God of all creation, too: The Lord of stars and clouds, winds and waters, rain and the growing grass, all the animals and all of us, too. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-25;4:4-7
In his short letter to the Christians of Galatia, a Gentile Christian community in central Turkey, Paul argues in fierce conflict against some in the early church who demanded that gentile converts follow the strict requirements of Jewish law. We should be careful, though, not to interpret these words as anti-Jewish or as suggesting that the new covenant abolishes the old. There is no controversy in his ringing conclusion to this passage, though, celebrating our joy in being adopted without restriction as God’s heirs and children through Christ.

Gospel: John 1:1-18
These spiritual and poetic words that begin the Gospel of John are so familiar that we may hear them without deep thought. But let’s stop to pay attention: Surely John had the creation story from Genesis in mind when he began with the very same words, “In the beginning.” Then he goes on to place Jesus, the Word, at the moment of creation, when God uttered the creative word, “Let there be light.” John names John the Baptist as the witness to Jesus’ divinity, and he echoes Paul’s point about Moses giving the Law while Jesus gives grace.