Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 16, 2020

First Reading (Track One): Genesis 45:1-15


Now in mid-August we approach the midpoint of the long season after Pentecost, and we see our lectionary narratives begin to turn.

Christ and the Canaanite Woman (c.1500), oil painting on panel by Juan de Flandes (1450-1519). Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain. (Click image to enlarge.)

Sunday’s first reading marks the last in a series of ancestral stories about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph; and Sunday’s Gospel shows us Jesus and the apostles leaving Galilee for the last time as they begin their journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. In our Track One first reading, Joseph has been through a lot since last week’s reading, when his jealous brothers sold 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 meet Joseph. As you can imagine, they fear his revenge! But Joseph forgives them in a tearful reunion, and the ancestral line of the Bible’s patriarchs will live on.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 56:1,6-8


Sunday’s Track Two first reading turns to the closing chapters of Isaiah’s long book of prophecy. The people have returned home to Jerusalem, and now they face the arduous task of rebuilding the city and the temple. Isaiah reminds the people that, just as they lost the land for their failure to be righteous and just, they may no longer keep the holy city for themselves alone, even though they “maintain justice and doing what is right.” The covenant that God made with Moses is now for all people, for all the nations. Even foreigners and aliens who hold fast to the covenant principles will be gathered in, welcomed in the temple and made joyful. Hear Jesus echo this principle in Sunday’s Gospel when he recognizes the Canaanite woman’s faith.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 133

Mirroring the joy of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers, the Psalmist celebrates the blessed state of brothers and sisters abiding together in unity. Just as Joseph’s family came back together in love, and as Paul will urge the Jewish and Pagan Christian communities in Rome to rejoin in friendship, we hear again how good and pleasant it is when families and friends live together in blessed unity.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 67

In one of those small mysteries of the Lectionary cycle, we hear again a Psalm that we sang just three months ago during Eastertide. It fits in neatly with Sunday’s readings, though: In its joyous call to all the nations of Earth to sing together in peace and praise, it reinforces what we heard in the Isaiah reading and foreshadows Paul’s words from Romans. Let all the nations praise God and pray for God’s blessing, the Psalmist sings, for through God the earth gives forth its bounty, and all the earth sings out its praise.

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


Paul continues his exhortation to Rome’s Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian communities to restore the unity that they enjoyed before the Jewish portion was sent away on a short exile. 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


Sunday’s Gospel offers us two separate short stories. Their placement joining Jesus’ last encounter in Galilee and his first in Gentile territory as he and the apostles begin their journey to Jerusalem may be more than just a coincidence. It seems to express that for the first time 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 shocks us with a fiercely unkind insult, likening a Canaanite woman who sought help for her daughter to stray dogs scrounging for crumbs. Really, Jesus? Really? But the words from the mother’s mouth clearly come from her heart. The encounter seems to change Jesus. He praises her faith and heals her child.

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 Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 20, 2017

La Cananéenne aux pieds de Jésus-Christ (The Woman of Canaan at the Feet of Christ, 1784), oil painting by Jean Germain Drouais (1763–1788). The Louvre, Paris.

We are approaching the midpoint of the six-month-long season of green vestments that follows Pentecost, and we see our lectionary narratives begin to turn. Our first reading marks the end of the ancestral stories of the chosen people, and our Gospel shows us Jesus and his apostles leaving Galilee on a long journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. First, Joseph: He has been through a lot since his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. He has become a chief advisor to Pharaoh, with great power over his brothers who have come to Egypt in a time of famine. In a tearful reunion, Joseph forgives them. The ancestral line that leads to the Messiah is unbroken.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 56:1,6-8

Writing near the end of his long book of prophecy, when the people have returned home to Jerusalem and face the arduous task of rebuilding the city and its temple, Isaiah reminds the people that, just as they lost the land for their failure to be righteous and just, they may not keep the holy city by “maintaining justice and doing what is right.” The covenant is now for all people, for all the nations; foreigners and aliens who hold fast to the covenant will be gathered in, welcomed in the temple and made joyful.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 133

Mirroring the joy of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers, the Psalmist celebrates the blessed state of brothers and sisters abiding together in unity. Just as Joseph’s family came back together in love, and as Paul will urge the Jewish and Pagan Christian communities in Rome to rejoin in friendship, we hear again how good and pleasant it is when families and friends live together in blessed unity.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 67

We hear again a Psalm that we sang this year toward the end of Eastertide, just before Pentecost. It reinforces the Isaiah reading and foreshadows Paul’s verses from Romans in its joyous call to all the nations of Earth and all their people to sing together in peace and praise. Let all the nations praise God and pray for God’s blessing, the Psalmist sings, for through God the earth gives forth its bounty, and all the earth sings out its praise.

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

Paul expands on his invitation to Rome’s Jewish and Gentile Christians to resume close relationship after the Jewish Christian community returned to Rome from exile. Here Paul emphasizes his own Jewish heritage, pointing out his status as an Israelite and a direct descendant of Abraham through Benjamin, the youngest brother whom Joseph loved. God’s promises to Israel will never be revoked, Paul declares, and God’s new promises to the Gentiles just as irrevocable. Regardless of our disobedience, our sins, and our ancestry. God is merciful to us all and loves us all.

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-28

First in today’s Gospel we encounter Jesus mocking a group of Pharisees who in previous verses had criticized his disciples for ignoring the ritual requirement to wash their hands before eating. Jesus offers an earthy response: What goes into our mouths – even food from unwashed hands – does not defile us. It’s the words that come out of our mouths that show our true character. Then, in the land of Canaan, Israel’s traditional enemy, Jesus shocks us again. When a Canaanite woman seeks help for her demon-tormented daughter, Jesus first ignores her, then replies with a startling insult, likening her children to stray dogs scrounging for crumbs under the table. But the words that then come from the mother’s mouth come from her heart. Jesus is changed by the encounter. He praises her faith and heals her child.

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 Aug. 24, 2014

Moses found by Pharaoh’s daughter. Fresco at the ancient synagogue of Dura Europos in Syria, circa 200 CE.



Joseph and his family came to Egypt to escape famine; but over the generations things changed. The Hebrew people increased in numbers, but now toil as Pharaoh’s slaves. Evil Pharaoh, fearing this growing community, decides to kill all the Hebrew baby boys, a threat that scripture will later echo in Herod’s decision to kill Bethlehem’s babies after the birth of Jesus. But the baby Moses escapes in a floating basket. He will go on to become the next great figure in the ancestral stories, who will lead the people out of Egypt on a long trek toward the Promised Land.

Psalm: Psalm 124

The Psalmist remembers the people’s deliverance from slavery in a hymn of thanksgiving to the God who carried them through the frightening exodus from Egypt. We remember their passage through the Red Sea and then, in striking imagery, the Psalm likens the people to a bird escaping from a snare. The hymn concludes with joyous thanksgiving: “Our help is in the name of the Lord.”

Second Reading: Romans 12:1-8

In his letter to the Romans, Paul returns to a beautiful metaphor that he uses often to describe the body of the church: Like our own bodies, the church has many parts. Each has a purpose, and all must function together to make the body work. True for the 1st century church in Rome, it’s just as true today: Some lead, some teach, some give, some learn, some listen; some offer compassion. All together we make up one body in Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20


Versions of this key Gospel passage appear in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is a major turning point in all the Gospels, an important moment in which Jesus first acknowledges that he is the Messiah, the son of the living God. Matthew then shows Jesus declaring Peter “the rock” upon which he will build the church. All three Gospels, in almost identical words, show us Jesus “sternly” commanding the disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah. Theologians still debate the meaning of this “Messianic secret.” Why do you suppose Jesus would tell his disciples not to spread such good news?