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

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28


Faith can be a source of strength in the face of fear. We hear this twice in Sunday’s readings about Joseph and about Peter.

Saint Peter Attempting to Walk on Water (1766), oil painting on canvas by François Boucher (1703-1770). Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Versailles. (Click image to enlarge.)

Our Track One first readings about the bible’s dysfunctional first family continue into the fourth generation! Israel, formerly known as Jacob, loved Joseph more than any of his other children. This, not surprisingly, makes his brothers jealous. They briefly consider murdering Joseph, but decide to sell him into slavery instead. As it so often does, scripture shows us again that even the patriarchs weren’t noble people but flawed, broken, sometimes downright bad. Yet still God loved them, as God loves us. Joseph will eventually forgive his brothers, as God forgives us.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 19:9-18


In Sunday’s Track Two first reading, the Prophet Elijah is fleeing for his life from an angry Queen Jezebel, and he feels alone and afraid. No one else is on his side. He despairs. But he hears the wish of the Holy One – through an angel, a messenger – inviting him to go stand on a mountain to meet God. Soon a great wind shakes his world. Then an earthquake and finally a fire shatter the scene. But God is not in any of those. It is in the silence which follows the cataclysms that God’s voice is finally heard. God reassures Elijah, promising that he will go on to appoint Israel’s kings and prophets.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b

Holding up Joseph as an example that God remains faithful even in hard times, these verses from Psalm 105 recall Joseph’s life as a slave in Egypt, his feet bruised in fetters and his neck choked in a heavy iron collar. But God was faithful to Joseph. From a beginning as a foreigner and a slave, Joseph gained the Egyptian king’s trust and eventually rose to a place of power in Pharaoh’s court. God has done marvelous things for the people, the Psalmist exults. Sing praises! Glory in God’s holy name!

Psalm (TrackTwo): Psalm 85:8-13

The reassurance that we hear God giving to Elijah amid his lonely fear in the first reading is echoed in this beautiful Psalm portion: God has forgiven our iniquity and blotted out our sins. Heaven and earth meet in truth and righteousness; righteousness and peace share a tender kiss, according to the Psalm’s beautiful poetry. God grants prosperity and a fruitful harvest, and all shall be well.

Second Reading: Romans 10:5-15


Paul continues addressing Rome’s Gentile Christian community and its Jewish Christians who have recently returned from exile, urging all to live in harmony and love one another. Salvation is for all through Jesus, Paul writes. He emphasizes that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile): God is God of all, and is generous to all who recognize Jesus as Lord and call upon God’s name. Don’t judge our neighbors, Paul says, but proclaim the good news of the Gospel so that all may be saved.

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33


The striking image of Jesus walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee makes this one of the most familiar Gospel stories. Jesus had sent the apostles ahead to cross the sea without him so he could take some time to pray alone. His grief at the beheading of his cousin John by Herod had been interrupted by the huge crowd that had to be fed with a few baskets of loaves and fishes, and now he sought solitude again. Meanwhile, the apostles, alone on the boat, are terrified when wind and waves rock the boat. Suddenly Jesus appeared, calmly walking across the stormy sea! Peter, first to believe that it really is Jesus, steps out onto the water to meet Jesus. But Peter’s faith isn’t strong enough to keep him from sinking without Jesus’ hand extended to save him. Then the wind eases, they get into the boat, and the awed disciples now worship Jesus as the Son of God.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 13, 2017

Jesus walking on water (1888). Oil on canvas by Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900). Private collection.

Faith in the face of fear, faith as a source of strength: This idea shows up in Sunday’s readings in the stories of Joseph, threatened with death and then sold into slavery by his own brothers; and loyal Peter, confident that he can walk on Galilee’s choppy waters until his faith falls short and he starts to sink. In the first reading we follow the Old Testament’s dysfunctional first family into its fourth generation. Jacob’s son Joseph’s encounter with his brothers shows us again that even the patriarchs were flawed, broken, sometimes downright bad. Yet still God loved them, as God loves us, and all ends well.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 19:9-18

The Prophet Elijah is not in a happy place in Sunday’s reading. He is fleeing for his life from an angry Queen Jezebel, and he feels alone and angry. No one else is on his side. He despairs. But he hears the word of the Lord – an angel, a messenger – inviting him to go stand on the mountain to meet God. Soon a great wind shakes his world; then an earthquake and finally a fire shatter the scene; but God is not in any of those. It is in the silence which follows that God’s voice is finally heard. God reassures him, promising that Elijah will go on to appoint Israel’s kings and prophets.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b

Holding up Joseph as an example that God remains faithful even in hard times, the Psalm reminds us of Joseph’s life as a slave in Egypt, his feet bruised in fetters and his neck choked in a heavy iron collar. But God was faithful to Joseph, and through Joseph God saved the people. Joseph won Pharaoh’s trust and eventually rose to a place of power in the Egyptian court, master of the royal household and ruler of its possessions. God indeed does marvels that make our hearts rejoice.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 85:8-13

The reassurance that God gives to Elijah in his lonely fear is echoed in this beautiful Psalm segment: God has forgiven our iniquity and blotted out our sins. Heaven and earth meet in truth and righteousness; righteousness and peace share a tender kiss. God grants prosperity and a fruitful harvest, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.

Second Reading: Romans 10:5-15

We return to Romans after a week’s break for the Transfiguration, and find Paul continuing to try to persuade Rome’s Gentile Christian community and its Jewish Christians to live in harmony and love one another. Salvation comes to us all through Jesus, he writes, and there is nothing we can do to earn it; Christ has done this all for us, with no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile). God is God of all. The word of faith is in us, and we are called to proclaim the good news of the Gospel so all may be saved.

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

The striking mental image of Jesus walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee makes this one of the most familiar Gospel stories. To try seeing it in a new way, imagine the scene as the apostles might have experienced it. Jesus had sent the apostles ahead to cross the sea without him so he could take some time to pray alone. Later, when they then saw Jesus walking calmly across the water toward them, they were afraid, until Jesus assured them. Then Peter tried to run across the water to meet Jesus. He managed a few steps … until his doubt started him sinking, reaching for Jesus’ saving hand. Do you think you would have trusted Jesus enough to step out of the boat?

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.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014

The Canaanite woman asks for healing for her daughter. Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib, a Coptic monk, Egypt. 1684.

Joseph has been through a lot since last week’s reading, when we saw his jealous brothers sell him into slavery. He went to Egypt, did well, fell from grace, was sent to prison on a false charge, but bounced back to become Pharaoh’s chief governor. Now his brothers have come to Egypt fleeing famine, and they’ve encountered Joseph. As you can imagine, they fear his revenge! But Joseph forgives them, just as God has forgiven the wrongs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and the ancestral line of the Bible’s patriarchs will live on.

Psalm (Page 787, BCP): Psalm 133

The Psalmist exults in the blessedness of unity in this short, ancient hymn of praise. As Joseph’s family came back together in love, and as Paul will urge the Christian community of Rome to come together in friendship, it is good and pleasant when families and friends live together in blessed unity.

Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Continuing his exhortation to Rome’s Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian communities to get along, Paul points up his own Jewish heritage, placing himself in Abraham’s direct line as a descendant of Benjamin, the youngest of Joseph’s brothers, whom Joseph loved. Paul assures us that God’s promises to Israel and to the Gentiles are equally irrevocable, regardless of our disobedience. We all earn God’s love, regardless of our sins, regardless of our ancestry. God is merciful to all.

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-28

We get not just one but two Gospel stories this week, perhaps told by Matthew as a way to emphasize that Jesus’ way is not only for Jews but Gentiles as well. First, Jesus mocks a group of Pharisees who had challenged his disciples for ignoring ritual traditions. He speaks a blunt and rather earthy criticism: Neglecting to wash our hands before eating doesn’t defile us, but the words that come out of our mouths may do so. Then, Jesus surprises us again with a burning insult for a Canaanite woman who sought help for her daughter, likening them to stray dogs scrounging for crumbs. Really, Jesus? Really? But the words from the mother’s mouth clearly come out of her heart. Jesus is changed by the encounter. He praises her faith and heals her child.