Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 23, 2022 (Epiphany 3C)

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Torah – The body of God’s teaching, so holy and beloved that it is understood as law – informs our Sunday readings.

We begin with a reading from the minor prophet Nehemiah, who tells of the scribe Ezra reading the Torah to the people of Jerusalem, now settled back at home after the exile and regaining familiarity with the written tradition. It is clearly a holy moment when Ezra opens the Torah scroll and spends the entire morning reading and interpreting the text. The people, understanding the text perhaps for the first time, weep with joy at the revelation.

Psalm: Psalm 19

Today’s Psalm sings the praises of Torah, not as harsh legislation but nurturing teaching that inspires us. A hymn of worship and praise, this Psalm first celebrates God’s glory and creation, then rejoices in the Torah. God’s teaching revives our souls, turns our innocence into wisdom, makes our hearts leap up and our eyes sparkle, the Psalmist sings. We gain enlightenment from God’s teaching; in following its precepts there is great reward.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Last Sunday, in the verses just before these, we heard Paul declare that each member of the church receives different spiritual gifts. Now Paul continues this theme with a striking metaphor: He likens the church to Christ’s body in the world. Every member of the church – like every bodily part – plays a different but important role. The foot, the ear, the hand, the eye: Each has its job, each is critical to the body’s operation, and all are important. Just as this is true for the body, Paul says, so it is for the church.

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21

Returning home from his baptism in the Jordan and his time in the desert, Jesus begins his public ministry according to Luke in the synagogue in his childhood home in Nazareth. Unrolling the Torah scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus reads verses that will define his mission, ideas that echo his mother’s song and God’s covenant with the people at Sinai. This scripture is fulfilled in him, he declares. He claims as his own the duty to bring good news to the poor and the oppressed and to declare the year of Jubilee in which slaves are freed and debts are forgiven.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 27, 2019

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

The idea of Torah – God’s teaching so holy and beloved that it is understood as law – runs like a stream through Sunday’s readings.

We hear it from the prophet Nehemiah reading the Torah to the people returned from exile in the first reading, to Jesus opening the Torah to begin his ministry with Isaiah’s call to justice in the Gospel. In the first reading, it is a holy moment when the prophet Ezra opens the Torah and spends the entire morning reading and interpreting the text to a people who weep with joy at this revelation.

Psalm: Psalm 19

First in this Psalm we sing the glory of God. Then we sing the glory of God’s law, which the Psalmist understands as the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament that set out God’s covenant with the people. These are the holy scrolls that the scribe Ezra read to the community in the first reading and that Jesus will read in the synagogue in the Gospel. The heavens and the skies themselves pour out the glory of God and of God’s work in the law.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a


Today’s reading immediately follows and builds on last Sunday’s declaration that every member has individual gifts and is called to specific services in the church using those gifts. Paul now likens the people of Corinth – and every Christian community – to the body of the risen Christ in the world. All the parts of the body are needed. Every part is important, and all of them have to work together. The eye, the hand, the ear, the leg … none can go it alone. What is true of our bodies is true of church: We’re all joined together in the work of the community. We need each other and we must respect one another.

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21

Jesus’ public ministry has begun. Driven by the Spirit that came down at the time of his baptism and sent him to be tested in the desert, he now returns to the synagogue in his childhood home, Nazareth. Unrolling the Torah scroll to the Prophet Isaiah, he reads verses that will define his mission, ideas that echo his mother’s song and God’s covenant with the people at Sinai. This scripture is fulfilled in him, he declares, claiming as his own the duty to bring good news to the poor and the oppressed, and to declare the year of Jubilee in which slaves are freed and debts are forgiven.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 24, 2016

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Why would something like “the Law” inspire people to rejoice or weep? “Torah,” the Hebrew word used here, has come down to us as “Law” in translation through Greek to English. But “Torah” originally meant “teaching” or “instruction.” In that context, when we see the people of Jerusalem hearing Torah read in the public square, it is a holy moment, and the people weep when they recognize that they had forgotten and failed to follow God’s teaching.

Psalm 19

Today’s Psalm sings the praises of Torah, not as harsh legislation but nurturing teaching that inspires us. A hymn of worship and praise, this Psalm first celebrates God’s glory and creation, then rejoices in the Torah. God’s teaching revives our souls, turns our innocence into wisdom, makes our hearts leap up and our eyes sparkle. We gain enlightenment from God’s teaching; in following its precepts there is great reward.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Last week, in the verses just before these, we heard Paul declare that every member of the church receives different spiritual gifts. Now Paul continues this theme with a striking metaphor: He likens the church to Christ’s body in the world. Every member of the church – like every bodily part – plays a different but important role. The foot, the ear, the hand, the eye: Each has its role, each is critical to the body’s operation, and all are important. Just as this is true for the body, so it is for the church.

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21
Jesus’ public ministry has begun. Driven by the Spirit that came down at the time of his baptism, he has been tested in the desert, preached and taught in Galilee, and now he returns to the synagogue in his childhood home, Nazareth. Unrolling the Torah scroll to the Prophet Isaiah, he reads verses that will define his mission, ideas that echo his mother’s song and God’s covenant with the people at Sinai. This scripture is fulfilled in him, he declares. He has come to bring good news to the poor and the oppressed, and to declare the year of Jubilee in which slaves are freed and debts are forgiven.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Jerusalem and the temple are still under reconstruction after the return from exile in Babylon. We hear from the “minor” prophet Nehemiah, who – like the priest and prophet Ezra – is thought to have been sent from Persia to help the Israelites re-settle in Jerusalem. It is fascinating to see echoes of the ancients with our own Sunday liturgy: The people stand, pray, bow, hear the Bible reading and something like a sermon, then joyfully disperse to celebrate their Sabbath.

Psalm 19
First in today’s Psalm, we sing the glory of God. Then we sing the glory of God’s law, which the Psalmist understood as the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament that set out God’s covenant with the people: the holy scrolls that the scribe Ezra read to the community in the first reading. The heavens and the skies themselves pour out the glory of God and of God’s work in the law.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Following last Sunday’s declaration that every member has a role in the church, Paul now likens the people of Corinth – and all of us – to the body of the risen Christ in the world. All the parts of the body are necessary. All have to work together. The eye, the hand, the ear, the leg … none can go it alone. What works for our bodies works for our church: We’re all in this together, and we need and respect one another!

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21
Jesus begins his public ministry in the synagogue, reading from the Prophet Isaiah. The verse he chooses makes a powerful statement: He claims as his own the call to bring good news to the poor … proclaim release to the captives … give sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed. If this sounds familiar, it should! This is the message that Jesus preached, the way that he told his people to bring in God’s kingdom on earth. And it sounds a lot like the Magnificat, the song of joy that his mother, Mary, sang, when she learned of his coming birth. When we act as Jesus’s hands in the body of Christ, this is the work we are called to do.