The Epiphany

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 6, 2019

On Epiphany, once known as the Feast of Lights, we celebrate the revelation of Jesus as God Incarnate. It begins with the coming of the Magi, and our weekly gospel stories through this season will tell of other events that manifest the divinity of Jesus.

The Three Wise Kings, Atlas Catalàn, 1375, Fol. V. (Click image to enlarge.)

In Sunday’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah calls out a message of hope to Israel as it returns home from exile. Jerusalem may lie in ruins, but, the prophet foretells, God’s light is dawning like a new day. A virtual blanket of camels bearing gifts will cover the nation’s land as earthly kings trek toward the restored Jerusalem laden with gold and frankincense for the new ruler: an image we will see echoed in the Magi bringing similar gifts to the Christ child.

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

Sunday’s Psalm, attributed by tradition to King Solomon, also evokes images of kings of all nations bearing gifts to honor Israel’s time of glory. With God’s blessing, Israel’s king earns the service of all nations, the Psalmist sings. But with great power comes great responsibility: The king must be righteous and just. The king “shall defend the needy among the people; he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor. … He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy.”

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:1-12

Most modern Biblical scholars believe that the letter to the people of Ephesus was not actually written by Paul but by a follower writing in his name a generation after his death. Why point this out? In the effort to discern Paul’s emerging theology as he led the early church, it’s important to isolate his own words from those written by others at a different time. But this does not mean that the message in these verses is not helpful and important. Indeed, it clearly echoes two of Paul’s consistent themes: Gentiles, and thus all humankind, are included among God’s chosen people; and all of us are included in Christ’s body on earth and called to make God’s wisdom known.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

“We three kings of Orient are …” Who doesn’t love this traditional carol of Christmas and Epiphany? The story of the wise men from the East is a familiar and beloved image of the season, although much of it is enshrined more in tradition than in actual scripture. The story appears only in Matthew’s Gospel; and Matthew doesn’t actually tell us that they were kings, or that there were three of them, or even that they rode on camels. This is what we hear: Wise men came, following a star that had led them to pay homage to “the child who has been born king of the Jews.” They did bear gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They knelt and paid homage to the child Jesus as if he were a king. And then they thwarted evil Herod’s plan by heading home by another road.

Christmas 1

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 30, 2018

First Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Christmas has come: Rejoice! Joy to the world: The Word of God that brought the world into being now comes to us in Jesus, the light through which we can see God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and now lives among us.

Announcement to the shepherds (c.1600), painting in the manner of Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651). Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands. Click image to enlarge.)

In our first reading, the Prophet Isaiah sings out the joy and exultation that mark the end of the people’s exile in Babylon and their return to Jerusalem. Furthermore, Isaiah’s song expresses hope that God will restore the city and the temple as a light of the world, a new Zion that will spring up like a garden to show God’s righteousness and justice.

Psalm 147:13-21

The last six of 150 Psalms bring the ancient temple’s hymn book to a close with a triumphant climax of praise and celebration. Psalm 147 echoes Isaiah’s song of triumphant celebration, thanking and praising God for restoring Jerusalem and bringing the exiles home. Using metaphors of grain and wool, warmth and healing, the Psalmist invokes God’s Word of creation and God’s Spirit wind that bring warmth and life and make Earth’s waters flow.

Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7

In this early letter to the Christian community in Galatia, Asia Minor, Paul reminds us that God sent Jesus, born of a woman and fully human, to make us all the children and heirs of God. In its original context, Paul was offering\ advice to a mixed community of Jewish and Gentile Christians who were struggling between accepting God’s free gift of grace through faith, contrasting with the works required by the discipline of the old law. Paul’s arguments here, and in his later letter to the Romans, fueled a great debate over justification by faith or works centuries later in the Reformation.

Gospel: John 1:1-18

“In the beginning … ” The first words of John’s Gospel exactly mirror the first words of Genesis: “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,” God’s Word, “Let there be light,” opened up creation. The Word of God that brought the world into being comes to us now as Jesus, the light through which we can see God. The Word was with God, and now lives among us.

Christmas Day I, II, and III

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on the Lessons for Christmas Day
(Readings for Lectionary Selections I, II, and III)

First Reading, Selection I: Isaiah 9:2-7

Christmas is here! We see a great light and sing a new song as we behold with joy in the city of David the birth of a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Adoration of the shepherds (1622). Oil on canvas by Gerard van Honthorst (1590–1656), Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne, Germany. (Wikimedia Commons)
(Click image to enlarge)

In our first reading, from the early chapters of Isaiah, in words that the composer Handel will borrow for “The Messiah,” the prophet foretells a glorious future when the oppressor’s yoke will broken and a child will be born for us, a son given to us, a Wonderful Counsellor to take the throne of David: Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. .

First Reading, Selection II: Isaiah 62:6-12

In this first reading, the exile is ending. Through the power of God’s strong right hand and mighty arm, the people will return to Jerusalem. Prepare the way, build up the highway toward home and clear it of stones: No longer shall enemies harvest Zion’s grain and drink its wine; a glorious future of redemption and salvation that will last until the end of time.

First Reading, Selection III: Isaiah 52:7-10

Israel’s exile in Babylon is ending, and God’s messenger brings good news of peace and salvation as God leads the people back to Zion, the temple on the mountain, Jerusalem. Even the ruins of the devastated city are called to break into song. Such is the joy of God’s return to the holy city! God reigns, the people are comforted, and all the nations shall see the power of God’s holy arm and the salvation that it brings.

Psalm, Selection I: Psalm 96

All the earth sings a new song, blessing God’s name in this joyous Psalm of praise There is fascinating theology here, ideas that we may see reflected in the New Testament: We are called to proclaim the good news of God’s salvation; we are to go out and declare God’s glory, a great commission to show God’s majesty to all the nations. The whole earth, the heavens, the seas, the forests and all that is in them rejoice before our God.

Psalm, Selection II: Psalm 97

God is king, and all creation rejoices. This Psalm praises God in an image of power and might that echoes the fearsome God who led the Israelites through the desert and protected them there, surrounded by clouds, lightning and fire. This is a God over all other gods, over all other nations, but also a God who loves the righteous, provides light for them, and cares for those who live justly.

Psalm, Selection III: Psalm 98

Again we are called to stand up and rejoice in a Psalm of praise that is full of joyous music, harp, trumpets and horn. We sing a new song of praise for the victory won by God’s mighty right hand and holy arm. All the nations, not only Israel, shout with joy. Even the sea, the land, the rivers and the hills will rejoice when God comes to judge all the world with righteousness and equity. Lift up your voice! Rejoice and sing!

Second Reading, Selection I: Titus 2:11-14

Here’s a Bible Trivia fact! Titus is the only book of the New Testament that does not appear in the regular three-year Lectionary of Sunday service readings. We hear it only on Christmas. Much of Titus’ short letter is spent warning the people of Crete to rein in their sinful behavior, an argument that leads to a worthy conclusion: We should live well and renounce bad actions as we wait for the grace of God through Jesus Christ, who gave himself to redeem us and make us God’s people.

Second Reading, Selection II: Titus 3:4-7

Titus emphasizes that Jesus is God, our savior, the perfect manifestation of goodness and loving-kindness. Jesus saved us not because of any good that we had done, but entirely because he is merciful, giving us God’s grace through baptism by water and the Holy Spirit. Justified by God’s grace, we become heirs to eternal life through Jesus.

Second Reading, Selection III: Hebrews 1:1-4,(5-12)

The letter to the Hebrews begins with a beautifully poetic description of Jesus, chosen as the son of God, the perfect reflection of God’s glory, higher even than the angels. Indeed, when Jesus was born into the world, multitudes of angels appeared in the heavens to worship him. Because Jesus loved righteousness and hated wickedness, his throne is for ever and ever, and God speaks to us no longer through the prophets but through him.

Gospel: Luke 2:1-14(15-20), Selection I; and Luke 2:(1-7)8-20, Selection II

And now we come to the familiar story of Jesus’ birth. Today we read the nativity according to Luke. This is the Gospel that gives us the memorable stories of Mary giving birth, wrapping the child in swaddling clothes and laying him in a manger in Bethlehem – the City of David – because there was no room in the inn. Here we have the beautiful scene of baby Jesus and his parents suddenly surrounded by shepherds and their flocks, while angels sing gloriously overhead while the Lord’s angel tells them that the baby is a Savior and the Messiah.

Gospel, Selection III: John 1:1-14

No, there is no nativity story in this Christmas Gospel. Luke and Matthew, each in his own way, give us the familiar story of the newborn baby born in Bethlehem. But John introduces us to Jesus in a completely different way: It’s poetic and spiritual instead, celebrating the unimaginable glory of God’s own word becoming flesh and living among us, lighting up the world. The Word that was in the beginning with God, when God said, “Let there be light” and there was light, is now, will be, and in God’s time always has been, incarnate as human flesh, Jesus, Messiah, God with us.

Advent 4C

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 23, 2018

First Reading: Micah 5:2-5a

God’s active, liberating preference for the poor and the oppressed is made manifest in Sunday’s readings. This theme may seem surprising at first, but it is in fact a deeply significant message for the impending birth of Jesus, who will hold up the poor, the hungry, the ill and imprisoned and oppressed as the central focus of his good news.

Madonna del Magnificat (Madonna of the Magnificat), tempera painting on panel (1483) by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510). Uffizi Gallery, Florence. (Click image to enlarge.)

We begin with a reading from Micah, one of the earliest Old Testament prophets. Micah has warned the people of Jerusalem that their injustices against the weak and the poor will bring down God’s wrath. In Sunday’s verses, Micah foretells that a new ruler would come from the village of Bethlehem – the birthplace of King David – to reunite the surviving remnant as a shepherd leads his flock, all under God’s protection in peace.

Psalm: Canticle 15 (Luke 1:46b-55)

The Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise, may either be sung as Sunday’s Psalm or read as the second portion of the Gospel of the day. In this beloved song as told by Luke, the pregnant Mary sings out grateful praise for God. She rejoices in all that God has done for her, celebrating a powerful yet merciful God who loves us and calls us to acts of mercy and justice. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly, she sings. God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. God’s justice is restorative – taking from those who have much and giving to those who have none.

Alternate Psalm: Psalm 80:1-7

This Psalm was likely written during or recalls a time of exile and destruction – the place names in the second verse suggest that it relates to the loss of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, to the Assyrians. In verses of sorrow, it calls on Israel’s God to come and help, to restore the people, who, in a memorable metaphor, have been fed with the bread of tears and given tears to drink. Though they have suffered the derision, laughter and scorn of their enemies, including their own neighbors, God has power to save them through the light of God’s own countenance.

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

The Letter to the Hebrews, modern biblical scholars say, probably originates from the early 100s, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., when Christianity was separating from rabbinical Judaism. Perhaps intended to reach backsliding Christian Jews, it seems to suggest that God abolished the “empty” sacrifices of the Jewish Temple, replacing them with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. In modern times, especially after the Holocaust, we should try to avoid this view of Judaism as “abolished,” hearing instead the hopeful message that God’s promise to Israel at Sinai continues in us, the body of Christ, through Jesus’ incarnation, the Christmas miracle.

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)

This lovely reading from Luke includes the narrative that immediately precedes the Magnificat, the Song of Mary. Here we are told of Mary’s visit to her older cousin Elizabeth. Both women are pregnant – Elizabeth with John, Mary with Jesus – and both conceived in miraculous ways, visited by angels with the news that they would give birth. When the women meet, Elizabeth feels her child leap in her womb with what she perceives as joy. Elizabeth, suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit, declares Mary blessed among women. “Why has this happened to me,” Elizabeth wonders in amazement, “that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” Then, in the following verses, Mary responds with the Magnificat.

Advent 3C

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 16, 2018

San Giovanni Battista (Saint John the Baptist), oil painting on walnut wood (c.1513-c.1516) by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). The Louvre, Paris. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20

This week we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath to mark the third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday or Rose Sunday. A common thread in the day’s readings calls us to be joyful. Zephanaiah, a minor prophet who came before Isaiah and Jeremiah, prophesied of Jerusalem’s coming destruction. But then, here in the third and final chapter of the short book, Zephaniah promises that after the exile a joyous time will follow, when God will gather Israel’s righteous people, restore their fortunes and bring them home.

Alternate to the Psalm: Canticle 9 (Isaiah 12:2-6)

“Surely it is God who saves us. We will trust in God and not be afraid.” These familiar verses that we often read in Morning Prayer offer joy and comfort in knowing that we are safe under God’s protection. In these psalm-like verses, Isaiah connects salvation with drawing water, a meaningful metaphor for people in arid lands, for in biblical times, drought meant death. Thank God with joy when we draw precious, life-giving water from the springs of salvation, Isaiah tells us. Sing out our joy and sing praises to God.

Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Beginning with this familiar admonition, Paul calls the people of Philippi to respond with joy, for the Lord is near. Even though it is a difficult time, he advises, pray and give thanks, let our gentleness be known to all, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding will fill our hearts and minds. In our world of stress and tension, can we imagine God’s peace, something so wonderful that we can’t even comprehend it?

Gospel: Luke 3:7-18

At first glance, it’s not easy to find the joy in this Gospel passage, concluding Luke’s account of John the Baptist in the desert that started last week. Luke shows us the long-haired, ranting prophet, preaching and baptizing, yelling at the crowds and calling them “a brood of vipers.” John declares that he is not the Messiah but prophesies that one more powerful is coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit, separating the good wheat from the unworthy chaff. The people ask what they should do to be ready, and John tells them to share their clothing and their food with those who have none. Don’t cheat. Don’t be selfish! This is a theme that will carry through Luke’s Gospel. We will hear it again and again from Jesus as he proclaims the Good News, the joy.

Advent 2C

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 9, 2018

Saint John the Baptist Preaching to the Masses in the Wilderness. Oil painting on oak by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638). Galerie de Jonckheere, Paris. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Baruch 5:1-9

In our first reading, the minor prophet Baruch reflects a more familiar Isaiah passage: He tells Israel in exile to stop mourning, for God will lower the mountains and fill up the valleys to make level ground upon which Israel may walk safely home. In Sunday’s Gospel, we will hear Luke quote the Isaiah passage as a prophecy of John the Baptist. (This, by the way, is one of only two times in the three-year lectionary cycle that we’ll hear a reading from Baruch, one of the apocryphal books after the end of the Old Testament. Baruch, whose name is mentioned briefly in Jeremiah, was said to be a friend and scribe of that more famous prophet.)

Alternate First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

In the second week of Advent, we turn from apocalyptic expectations of fear and foreboding to a more hopeful theme: A Messenger is coming to make the way ready for the Messiah. The minor prophet Malachi, whose name actually means “my messenger” in Hebrew, warns that God’s Messenger must cleanse the people with fire, making them pure and pleasing to God. “Who can endure the day of his coming?” the prophet sings (in words that Handel would make unforgettable 2,000 years later in The Messiah). “He is like a refiner’s fire!”

Alternate to the Psalm: Canticle 16 (Luke 1: 68-79)

In place of a Psalm today we sing a Canticle taken from Luke’s Gospel. These verses tell the story of John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, a priest of the Temple. When Zechariah had refused to believe that his elderly wife, Elizabeth, had really become pregnant after an angelic visitation, God struck him mute. But his voice returned when he held the infant and named him John. This child, Zechariah declares, is to be a prophet like Abraham, the Messenger who will “go before the Lord to prepare his way.”

Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

The Christian community at Philippi in Greece, according to Luke’s account in Acts, was the first church formed by Paul in Europe as he traveled west from Asia Minor. This letter, written from a Roman prison several years later, is full of love and gratitude. In these verses near the beginning of the short letter, he offers greetings, love, thanks for their friendship and prayers for their well-being. Recalling how eagerly they had accepted the Gospel, Paul prays for this congregation’s continued spiritual growth and insight, which he hopes will lead them to a harvest of righteousness and justice in God’s love through Christ.

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

Zechariah’s son John is a grown man now, and he has begun his public life as John the Baptist, a prophet crying in the wilderness along the Jordan river. Luke begins his account of John (which we’ll continue next week) with a detailed roster of Roman and Jewish leaders of the time, perhaps as a way to place the prophet in this historical setting for his readers decades later, after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the fall of the Temple. John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, Luke tells us, quoting a prophecy of Isaiah as John’s call to “Prepare the way of the Lord … make his paths straight,” filling every valley and making every mountain and hill low so that all humanity may see God’s salvation.

Advent 1C

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 2, 2018

The Great Last Judgement (1617), oil painting, altarpiece, by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Advent has come! The commercial celebration of Christmas may already be in full swing, but the quieter, gentler celebration of Advent comes to us as a blessing. Advent is a time to prepare, to wait for the celebration of Jesus’ birth – the Incarnation – and for the final coming of Christ’s kingdom in power and glory. Sunday’s readings begin with a prophecy from Jeremiah to Israel in exile. Jerusalem and the temple have been destroyed, and King David’s dynasty has ended after 400 years. But there is hope, Jeremiah foretells. A new branch – a messiah – will spring up and grow in David’s line, and will restore justice and righteousness in a new Israel.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

Echoing the prophet’s promises to Israel, today’s Psalm, traditionally understood to represent the voice of King David, speaks of a people facing the threat of humiliation and defeat. Trusting fully in God for our salvation, relying on God’s everlasting compassion and love, we ask God to forgive our youthful errors and wrong turnings while showing us the right path. The Psalmist asks God to remember us not for our sins but with all God’s compassion and steadfast love, using the Hebrew “chesed,” an emotion-laden word that may also be translated “faithfulness,” “kindness,” “mercy” or “grace.”

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

In this short passage from the earliest of Paul’s letters, he calls on the people of this beloved community to strengthen their hearts in holiness so as to remain blameless before God when Jesus and his saints return, an outcome that in those days was still expected to happen at any time. Writing from afar, Paul calls God’s blessings on their lives and hopes that they may soon be reunited. Meanwhile, he prays that the people will love one another and everyone, just as he loves them.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36

Advent, the turn of the church year, brings us to a new lectionary year. Having spent the past year reading through the Gospel according to Mark, we now turn to Luke’s gospel for the next 12 months. Sunday’s Gospel passage from Luke shows us Jesus giving another apocalyptic warning of hard times to come, reflecting the Gospel from Mark that we heard the Sunday before last. There will be frightening signs in the earth and heavens and the seas. But these signs will tell us that Jesus is returning and the world’s redemption is drawing near. Live good lives and be ready, so Jesus’ coming won’t take us by surprise.

Christ the King B

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 25, 2018

Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), Christ before Pilate (c. 1860-c. 1880), oil painting by Antonio Ciseri (1821-1891). Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): 2 Samuel 23:1-7

We conclude the long string of Sundays after Pentecost with the feast of Christ the King – sometimes called the less patriarchal “Reign of Christ” – with a poetic passage called “The Last Words of David.” This hymn of praise, likely written in David’s memory long after his death, declares David as God’s favorite, a just ruler, the one through whom the God of Israel speaks. God has made an everlasting covenant with David, one that will bring prosperity to his reign and success to all his descendants.

First Reading (Track Two): Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

It might seem awkward for Americans, who tossed out the British king in 1776 in favor of a Republic governed by its people, to declare God a traditional monarch and Jesus a warrior king. But Christ as King or Lord stands in opposition to earthly kings. In contrast with the emperor of Rome, Christ was a new, different kind of king, bringing a new and just kind of kingdom where all receive their daily bread. Our first reading from Daniel imagines an Ancient One, a mighty God of flame, coming in clouds on a fiery throne, an all-powerful God giving dominion over all peoples, nations, and languages.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 132:1-13 (14-19)

Sunday’s Psalm continues in the spirit of this week’s first reading about David and God’s covenant to bless and bring prosperity to him and to his descendants. Remembering the hardships that David endured in keeping his oath to God, the Psalmist vows not to rest until Israel builds a temple on Mount Zion, a dwelling place on earth where God can rest. If Israel’s children keep the covenant that their kingly ancestor made with God, then Israel will sit on David’s throne forever.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 93

God is king! God is majestic! God is powerful! How this mighty hymn must have thundered through the ancient temple, celebrating the power and the kingship of God in metaphors of sound and fury: Roaring floods and massive ocean waves thundering, calling out the glory of God our king. Unlike earthly kings, the Psalmist sings, God’s world is certain, immovable and mighty. God’s kingdom will endure, sure and holy, for ever and evermore.

Second Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8

This greeting from the first page of Revelation gives away the simple secret of this mysterious book: It is not a strange and frightening prediction of the End Times, nor does it conceal coded information about our times, or any other time or place. It was a subversive sermon for persecuted Christians in Asia Minor, carrying this simple message: God our King, who was with us at the beginning and will be with us at the end, loves us and frees us from our sins through Christ. In words that echo the Daniel reading, we hear that Jesus our Savior, God, ruler of all the kings of the earth, will come back with the clouds to deliver justice.

Gospel: John 18:33-37

Finally, in John’s Gospel, Jesus makes his kingship clear as he stands before Pilate. Or does he? Accused of declaring himself king of the Jews, an act of treason against the powerful Roman Empire, Jesus answers, clearly and firmly, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate remains puzzled. Jesus stakes his claim to a kingdom and claims his kingship, but it’s “not from here,” adding that he came into the world to testify to the truth. Is he a king? “You say so,” Jesus replies to Pilate. But when and how will this kingdom come? Will it come in the future with trumpet blasts and fire and brimstone? Or do we build it every day when we act as Christ’s hands in the world?

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.

Pentecost 26B

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 18, 2018

The Last Judgment (1487-1564), fresco by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): 1 Samuel 1:4-20

At the beginning of the season after Pentecost this year, we heard several readings about the Prophet Samuel, who followed God’s commands to find the young shepherd David, who would become Israel’s king. Now, as the Pentecost season nears its end, we step back in time to hear the story of Hannah, who is anguished and suffers verbal abuse because she can’t bear a child. She opens her heart in prayer, and finds that God is with us in times of trouble and pain. Her prayers are answered. She finds joy, and later gives birth to Samuel, who will become the last of the great judges who governed Israel before the time of its kings.

First Reading (Track Two): Daniel 12:1-3

The long season of Sundays after Pentecost season is nearing its end for this year. Advent will begin in two weeks, and with it a new lectionary year, as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day. Sunday’s readings foreshadow a central theme of Advent: our hope of resurrection and new life. Daniel is one of the last books written in the Old Testament. It reflects Israel’s falling under Greek rule some two hundred years before Christ, a period that’s also remembered in the Jewish Hanukkah feast. Sunday’s reading begins with an apocalyptic vision – similar in style to the book of Revelation – that prophecies Israel’s ultimate triumph with the help of the Archangel Michael. It also introduces the idea of bodily resurrection of the dead, the first time that this concept is raised in the Old Testament.

Alternative to the Psalm (Track One): 1 Samuel 2:1-10

In place of a Psalm we sing the prayer of Hannah, mother of the newborn Samuel, who celebrates her joy at the birth of her child. Listen closely to these words of hope and strength and hear how they foreshadow the Magnificat, the song that Mary will sing about God’s gift in Jesus. Both Hannah and Mary sing out praise of God who lifts up the lowly and the poor while casting down the rich and powerful. Mary, however, bearing the child who will become the Prince of Peace, will not repeat the words of vengeance, battle, and judgment of enemies that we hear in Hannah’s song.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 16

Just as the reading from Daniel promises a heavenly reward to those who remain faithful, the Psalmist reassures the people that God will not abandon those who always follow God. A different fate awaits the unfaithful, those who follow other gods: They may see their troubles multiplied, and God will not so much as speak the names of their gods. But God will never abandon those who remain faithful. The hearts of the faithful will be glad and their spirits will rejoice.

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25

We reach the end of our seven-week journey through the letter to the Hebrews. Two chapters remain in the full letter, but this passage concludes its extended narrative about Jesus as the great high priest who offered for all times a single sacrifice superior to those of the old priests in the Temple of Jerusalem. In line with Sunday’s other readings, this passage calls on its readers to hold fast without wavering, provoking each another to love and good deeds, encouraging one another all the more as they see the Day approaching.

Gospel: Mark 13:1-8

Jesus’s words about wars, earthquakes and famines in Sunday’s Gospel give us a taste of the apocalyptic prophecies that will draw our attention through Advent. These verses follow immediately after last week’s account of Jesus watching the poor woman giving her last two coins to the Temple treasury. Jesus, still angered by the hypocrisy of the scribes, utters his own version of an apocalypse, declaring that the Temple will be destroyed, thrown down, not one stone left upon another. As Mark’s Gospel now turns toward the cross, these words will soon be held against Jesus before the Temple’s high priest. As we prepare to celebrate Christ’s incarnation, we remember his death and resurrection.

Pentecost 25B

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 11, 2018

Le denier de la veuve (The Widow’s Mite). Watercolor painting on graphite (1886-1894) by James Tissot (1836-1892). The Brooklyn Museum.(Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

In the midst of the Old Testament books that tell the story of Israel and its kingdom – tucked in between Joshua and Judges, Samuel and Kings – we find the short, charming book of Ruth. This is a love story about Ruth, a young Moabite widow, who follows her beloved mother-in-law, Naomi, back home to Bethlehem after Ruth’s husband’s death. Through a bit of trickery suggested by Naomi, Ruth persuades her kinsman Moab to marry her, and they have a child named Obed. Why is this little story placed in context with the books about Israel’s kings? The final verses reveal the rest of the story: Obed will be the grandfather of King David, and thus he and his parents are in the genealogical line of Israel’s Messiah.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 17:8-16

Sunday’s readings begin with the story of a poor widow who answers a difficult call from Elijah; and they end with Mark’s story about a poor but generous widow who gives all that she has to the Temple treasury. God cares for widows, the weak, the stranger and the oppressed, and we are called to do the same. In our first reading, we hear of a widow who trusted God’s promise and fed Elijah out of her meager fare, even though she had so little to eat that she believed she and her son would soon die of starvation. God provides, and her bit of oil and meal prove enough to feed everyone and to last until the drought ends.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 127

Psalm 127 delves into ideas of maintaining home and family consistent with the story of Ruth. In the ancient Near East, it was difficult for a family to survive without strong sons to build the home, grow crops, and protect the family from invaders. Sons like these are gifts that can come only as a blessing from God, says the Psalmist. God builds the house, watches over the city like a watchman keeping vigil, and provides children as a gift to God’s people, a quiver full of God-given arrows to help protect against enemies.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 146

“Praise God, O my soul!” This ringing hymn of praise begins the first of the final five Psalms, concluding the book with powerful songs of exultation in God’s greatness. But after the first joyous verse its tone shifts to a theme of caution: Take care, for while God can always be trusted, earthly rulers cannot. We can count on God, our creator, to give hope to widows and orphans; help for the poor, justice for the oppressed, freedom for the prisoner, and help for those who are disabled, to those who are alone, and to strangers in strange lands. This is the pledge of God’s covenant with the people through Abraham, Noah and Moses, and they remain the priorities that Jesus taught about the Kingdom of Heaven.

Second Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28

Hebrews continues in its extended discussion of the differences between the eternal sacrifice of Jesus against the more transient sacrifices of the old Temple’s earthly high priests. The earthly high priest was required to return to the sanctuary annually to atone for his sins, repeating an animal sacrifice over and over again “with blood that is not his own.” But Jesus, having borne the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin – that has already been done in Jesus’s sacrifice once and for all – but to save his faithful people.

Gospel: Mark 12:38-44

Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem on his final journey, and he is challenging the religious and political establishment in ways that will turn them angrily against him. First he scorns the scribes for their arrogance and hypocrisy, mocking them for flaunting their wealth and power with ostentatious dress and prayer while they “devour widows’ houses.” Then, as Jesus sits near the Temple treasury, watching believers make their donations, a poor widow appears. She has little, but in contrast with the scribes, she gives two small coins: all that she has. Jesus praises her, not for giving all that she had, but because she gave it from her heart. It was not the quantity but the quality of her giving that matters.

Illuminations

Welcome to Illuminations. We hope these brief reflections on Sunday's readings will help you prepare thoughtfully for worship.