Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Nov. 28, 2021

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The wheel of the seasons has come around to Advent. A new liturgical year begins.

While much of the world is already celebrating Christmas with carols, parties, and serious shopping, Advent invites us to move toward the celebration of the Incarnation in a quieter, more meditative way. Sunday’s readings look toward the fulfillment of God’s promise to humanity and our desire for forgiveness as we wait for the coming of the Messiah. Israel in exile understood the prophet Jeremiah’s words in our first reading to be a promise that the people would return safely to Jerusalem, protected by God’s righteous justice. Christians must honor that understanding, while also imagining in the prophet’s words an image of Jesus as our righteous king and savior.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

Just as the Jeremiah reading calls for hope and trust in a time of pain, Sunday’s Psalm portion asks us to put our faith in God’s love. The psalmist, speaking in the imagined voice of King David, repeatedly calls for God’s compassion using the Hebrew word chesed. This, said to be Thomas Merton’s favorite biblical word, represents an emotion-laden idea that may also be translated as “faithfulness,” “kindness,” “mercy” or “grace.” Yes, it is reassuring to place our hope in God’s compassion, faithfulness, kindness, mercy, and grace when things look dark.

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

So many of Paul’s letters are directed to beloved communities from afar. He expresses hope to be reunited with them, and calls for God’s blessing on their lives. This short letter to the people of Thessalonika in Northern Greece is believed to be the earliest authentic letter from Paul. He prays that, with God’s help, they will love each other and love everyone! He prays that God will strengthen their hearts in holiness so they may be blameless before God at the coming of Jesus with all the saints.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36

In this passage from Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is teaching the apostles after they have left the Temple, not long before they gather for the Last Supper and his passion begins. Jesus is giving the disciples dire warnings, in apocalyptic language, of hard times to come. The Temple will be destroyed and Jerusalem fallen to its foes, and people will faint with fear as even the heavens are shaken. These signs will signal that Jesus’s return and the world’s redemption are drawing near, and everyone should pray that they have the strength to escape all the things that will happen. Yes, Luke makes Jesus’s coming sound scary – when I was a little boy, these Advent readings used to scare the bejabbers out of me. That may be the Evangelist’s point: The people of God should live good lives and be ready, so Jesus’ coming won’t be a surprise.

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

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.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Nov. 29, 2015

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The wheel of the seasons has come around to Advent, and a new liturgical year begins. As Advent moves toward the Incarnation, our readings look toward the fulfillment of God’s promise to humanity and our desire for forgiveness as we hope for salvation. Israel in exile understood the prophet Jeremiah’s words to be a promise that the people would return safely to Jerusalem, protected by God’s righteous justice. Christians honor that understanding, while also seeing in the prophet’s words an image of Jesus as our righteous king and savior.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

Echoing the prophet’s promises to Israel, today’s Psalm imagines humanity – personified as King David – facing threats 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; we ask God to remember us instead with all God’s compassion and love.

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

After reading through several New Testament letters during Pentecost, we now take only a one-week peek into Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonika in Northern Greece. It’s an attractive excerpt, though, showing Paul on his caring, pastoral side as he writes to a beloved church community from far away, keeping them in his prayers, thanking God for their love, and hoping that they will be reunited. In the meantime, he urges them to hold one another in love and be strong while awaiting Jesus’ return.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36

In this excerpt from Luke’s version of the Last Supper, we hear Jesus giving the disciples dire warnings, in apocalyptic language, of hard times to come. The Temple will be destroyed and Jerusalem fallen to its foes, but these signs will signal that Jesus’ return and the world’s redemption is drawing near. Luke makes Jesus’ coming sound scary, and perhaps that is his point: The people of God should live good lives and be ready, so Jesus’ coming won’t take us by surprise.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012.

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
It’s Advent now, and we start our journey toward Bethlehem and the Incarnation with a prophecy from Jeremiah. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the Israelites understood its promises of justice, righteousness and living in safety as assurance that they would return from exile to a restored city under God’s protection. For Christians, it becomes a metaphor for the justice and safety that we find in Christ.

Psalm 25:1-9
Just as the Jeremiah reading is a call for hope and trust in a time of pain, so does today’s Psalm ask us to put our faith in God’s love. The psalmist repeatedly calls for God’s compassion, using the Hebrew chesed, an emotion-laden word that may also be translated “faithfulness,” “kindness,” “mercy” or “grace.” It is reassuring to place our hope in God’s compassion when things look dark.

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
In so many of the letters attributed to Paul, he writes to a beloved community from afar, expressing hope that they will be reunited, and calling God’s blessing on their lives. With God’s help, he urges the people of Thessalonika, love each other and love everyone! He prays that God will strengthen their hearts in holiness. This is good advice for us, too: love each other and our neighbors as we await the coming of God’s kingdom.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36
When I was young, growing up in an era when we feared that Russian missiles bearing mass destruction just might come flying over the polar darkness some night, the apocalyptic Gospels of Advent used to scare the daylights out of me; maybe that’s what they were intended to do. As adults, we can smile wisely and say we understand these scary stories as mere first century science fiction and fantasy, meant to underscore a point by exaggeration. But let’s not lose sight of that point: The kingdom of heaven, in cosmic terms, is drawing near. Are we ready? When events like 9/11 or Hurricane Sandy scare us, remember then that Jesus’s words stay with us.