Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for March 5, 2023 (Lent 2A)

First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a

We began Lent last week by pondering readings about temptation, sin, and repentance. This week our thoughts turn to faith: our deep conviction that God waits with us when we make decisions that shape our lives.

In our first reading, we meet Abram, whom God will later rename Abraham. Even at the advanced age of 75, Abram’s faith gave him the strength to risk of following God’s call to uproot his family and begin the people’s long journey from his home in Ur (in present-day Iraq) toward the promised land. In response to Abram’s faith and trust, God will bless him and his family; and through him, God will bless all the families of the Earth.

Psalm: Psalm 121

When I served as a hospital chaplain, I kept a bookmark set on Psalm 121. Its verses, I found, brought comfort and peace to many as they faced whatever crisis had brought them for urgent care. We lift up our eyes to the hills seeking help, the Psalmist sings; and that help comes from God watching over us and protecting us. As Paul will observe in the second reading, God’s help is not meted out to reward us for our faith or for anything else we do. God watches over our going out and our coming in because that is who God is, and that is what God does.

Second Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Paul recalls the foundational story of Abraham in this passage from his pastoral letter to the church in Rome. His theological reflection seems consistent with Psalm 121: God’s promise of eternal life comes to us, as it came to Abraham, not in reward for anything that we have done to deserve it, but entirely through our faith by grace. Seeking in this letter to restore Rome’s Jewish Christians and pagan converts to unity, he reminds them that God’s promise depends on faith, not something due to us, but a gift. It was given to all the nations, not to Abraham’s descendants alone.

Gospel: John 3:1-17

Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to see Jesus in the dark of night, couldn’t figure how a grown person could creep back into the mother’s body to be “born again.” But Jesus saw no contradiction between being born of the flesh as an infant and being “born again,” or, as it can also be translated, “born from above,” not in the flesh but through faith and the Spirit. Then we hear the familiar words of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Does this mean that only Christians can be saved? Jesus’s teaching surely rules that out. The next verse makes clear that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save the world and all its nations.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 12, 2017

First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a

We began Lent with thoughts of temptation and repentance. Now we turn to faith, the deep trust that God will be with us as we make decisions that shape our lives. In our first reading, we hear God’s promise to Abram – later to be called Abraham – who even in old age chose to take the risk of following God’s direction to uproot his family and begin the people’s long journey toward the promised land. For Abram’s faith, God will bless him and his family; and through him, God will bless all the families of the Earth.

Psalm 121

When I served as a hospital chaplain, I kept one of my bookmarks firmly set on this Psalm. Perhaps as much as the beloved 23rd Psalm, it brought comfort and peace to many people as they and their loved ones faced whatever crisis had brought them in search of urgent care. We lift up our eyes to the hills, seeking help, and that help comes from God who watches over us and protects us. Note well, as Paul will muse in the second reading, that God does not protect us in repayment for our faith or for anything we do. God watches over our going out and our coming in because that is who God is, and that is what God does.

Second Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Paul recalls the foundational story of Abraham in his pastoral letter to the church in Rome, musing on theology that seems consistent with Psalm 121: God’s promise of eternal life comes to us, as it came to Abraham, not in reward for anything that we have done to deserve it, but entirely through our faith by grace. Seeking in this letter to restore Rome’s Jewish Christians and pagan converts to unity, he reminds them that God’s promise depends on faith, not something due to us but a gift. It was given to all the nations, not to Abraham’s descendants alone.

Gospel: John 3:1-17

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes by night to talk with Jesus, but remains bewildered by his mysterious words. What does it mean to be “born from above,” or, in some translations, “born again”? Nicodemus just can’t grasp the distinction between being literally born of flesh as an infant and being born of water and the Spirit in faith. Then we hear the familiar words of John 3:14, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Does this mean that only Christians can be saved? Jesus’ teaching surely rules that out. Even the next line makes clear that Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it: all the world, all the nations that God blessed through Abraham.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 16, 2014

First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a
Last week as Lent began we contemplated temptation in our lives. Now in the second week of Lent our lectionary readings turn to faith: Trust in God. Close your eyes, believe, and take that long leap of faith. In our first reading, we hear the ancestral story of Abram – who would become Abraham – the patriarch of the chosen people, who even in the fullness of years trusted God’s call to uproot his home and family and move out toward the people’s eventual arrival in the promised land.

Psalm: Psalm 121
This short Psalm, a “song of ascents” that was probably originally sung in procession as the people and priests moved up toward the Temple, continues the idea of faith and trust in God to watch over us and protect us. We sing our thanks and praise to God, who unfailingly, without pausing to sleep, guards us and protects us from evil, now and forever.

Second Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Paul’s pastoral letter to the people in Rome draws us back to Abraham, turning the ancestral story to a new purpose: While Abraham was the ancestor of the chosen people in the flesh, through generations passed down from parent to child not only to Israel but to many nations, God’s promise of eternal life comes to us, as it came to Abraham, through faith by grace.

Gospel: John 3:1-17
Poor Nicodemus just couldn’t get his mind around the idea of being “born again,” a term that, confusingly, in the original Greek word “anothen” might mean “anew,” “again,” “from above,” “in the future,” or even all of those. Nicodemus, in an exchange that the author of John might have intended to draw chuckles from believers, couldn’t figure how a grown person could creep back into the mother’s body to be re-born. But Jesus understood that there is no contradiction between being born of the flesh as an infant and being “born again,” or, for that matter, “born from above,” not in the flesh but through faith and the Spirit.