Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Aug. 21, 2022 (Pentecost 11C)

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 1:4-10

When God called Jeremiah, the young man doubted his ability to do this important job. “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy!” Every time God called a biblical prophet, it seems, the chosen one instinctively resisted.

Moses tried to decline, saying that he couldn’t speak clearly enough to announce God’s words. Jonah flatly refused to take God’s word to the people of Nineveh. Isaiah was terrified about God’s prophecies passing through his unclean lips. But just as God reassured them all, God spoke kindly to Jeremiah: Even before Jeremiah was born, God knew him, and knew that he would be a prophet to nations and kingdoms, with power “to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 58:9b-14

The book of Isaiah actually contains the work of three ancient writers, according to modern bible scholars. The first Isaiah warned of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple because of the people’s failure to be righteous and just. The second Isaiah prophesied from exile in Babylon. And the third Isaiah, the speaker of this passage, prophesied after the return from exile, a challenging time when the temple was wreckage and the people were having a hard time settling back in. The temple and the city must be rebuilt, the prophet declares, and that will be hard work. But Isaiah promises that all will be well if they follow God’s covenant: Be just, share with the needy, and care for the afflicted. Do all this, and honor the Sabbath, and Judah’s ancient glory will be restored.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 71:1-6

Sunday’s short Psalm fits well with the Track One first reading from Jeremiah. In these verses the Psalmist speaks from a place of weakness and fear. Caught in the hand of the wicked, in the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor, he calls out to God for refuge, seeking God’s protection and help. God knows us from before our birth, the psalmist sings in words echoing Jeremiah. God is our strength and our hope, sustaining us through all our life.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 103:1-8

This familiar hymn of thanksgiving is beloved for its assurances that God loves us, has mercy on us and takes care of us. It is easy to imagine the people of Isaiah’s time singing verses like these as they traveled home from exile. In its hopeful verses we are reminded that God forgives us, heals us and redeems us. We count on God’s mercy and grace, gentle spirit and abundant love.

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-29

Last week’s reading from Hebrews celebrated the heroes of the Hebrew Bible who made up the “cloud of witnesses” that now stands with us as we follow in Jesus’ way. In this Sunday’s passage we remember Moses receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The people were terrified as the the sky went dark, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the earth shook with God’s power. But now we have a new covenant under Jesus, the author of Hebrews says: God gives us through Christ a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Gospel: Luke 13:10-17

As a rabbi and teacher in the ancient tradition of Judaism, Jesus knew and followed Torah, God’s law and teaching. He faithfully kept the Sabbath. But when he was teaching in the synagogue on Sabbath, he paused his teaching, stopping what he was doing in order to heal a woman’s painful disability. The woman was overjoyed, of course, but a leader of the synagogue were outraged. How dare Jesus work on the Sabbath? But Jesus called out this hypocrisy, pointing out that no one would hesitate to work to protect their own property on a Sabbath. Why should a woman in pain for 18 years have to wait another day for relief?

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 25, 2019

First Reading (Track One): Jeremiah 1:4-10

Whenever God calls a prophet, the prophet-to-be almost invariably resists.

Moses thought he couldn’t speak well enough. Jonah just plain didn’t want to deal with the people of Nineveh. Isaiah thought his unclean lips weren’t up to the job. And Jeremiah? He just wasn’t old enough for this important job: “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy!” But God reassures him: Even before Jeremiah was born, God knew him, and knew that he would be a prophet to nations and kingdoms, with power “to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 58:9b-14

The great prophetic book of Isaiah actually contains the work of three ancient writers in sequence, bible scholars say. The first Isaiah prophesied the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple; the second Isaiah may have been written while among Israel’s exiled community in Babylon; and the third Isaiah, who speaks Sunday’s verses, prophesied soon after the exiles returned home. The city and the temple lay in ruins, and the people were having a hard time settling back in. God will help us, the prophet promises; but we must be just, share with the needy and care for the afflicted. Do all this, the prophet says, and honor the Sabbath, and Judah’s ancient glory will be restored.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 71:1-6

Sunday’s short Psalm fits well with the Track One first reading from Jeremiah. In these verses the Psalmist speaks rom a place of weakness and fear. Caught in the hand of the wicked, in the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor, he calls out to God for refuge, seeking God’s protection and help. God knows us, as God knew Jeremiah, from before our birth. God is our strength and our hope, sustaining us through all our life.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 103:1-8

This is a hymn like the people must have sung on their arrival back in Jerusalem after the exile. Its message of thanksgiving has made it a favorite from ancient times down through the ages. “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” As we sing we remember that God forgives us, heals us and redeems us. We can count on God’s mercy and grace, gentle spirit and abundant love. We know that God insists on righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-29

Last week’s reading from Hebrews celebrated the Old Testament prophets who made up the “cloud of witnesses” that now stands with us as we follow in Jesus’ way. Sunday’s reading recalls how Moses received the Ten Commandments: The people were terrified as the the sky went dark, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the earth shook with God’s power. But now, the author declares, continuing his argument that Christianity is the better way, we have a new covenant under Jesus. God gives us through Christ a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Gospel: Luke 13:10-17

As an observant Jew and charismatic rabbi, Jesus knew well and faithfully followed the law demanding observance of the Sabbath. But his compassion for a painfully disabled woman compelled him to interrupt his teaching in order to heal her right there in the synagogue! The authorities were outraged at this breach of the Sabbath rules, but Jesus reminded them that they wouldn’t hesitate to protect their own property on the Sabbath. Why should a woman who has been in pain for 18 years have to wait even another hour? This story has a deeper subtext as we continue Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem and the cross: It reveals growing tension between Jesus and temple and state authorities that would culminate with his passion and death.

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 July 31, 2016

First Reading: Hosea 11:1-11

We started in Hosea last Sunday with the prophet’s fierce and startling charge from God about Israel’s path to destruction; but its last verse offered hope for the future. Today’s following verses envision God poetically as a loving, albeit somewhat exasperated parent, looking on Israel as a beloved but troublesome child. Misbehaving offspring may deserve punishment, but no caring parent will give up entirely on a child. God’s heart recoils when Israel turns away, but God’s compassion grows warm and tender; God’s fierce anger is constrained.

First Reading (Track Two): Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” ​In reflecting on this familiar passage in the mysterious wisdom book of Ecclesiastes,​ ​think of “vanity” in the original Hebrew sense of this word, “breath” or “vapor,” something barely visible that veils the light. We spend our lives futilely toiling under the scorching sun in pursuit of something that we can’t grasp, the poet sings: “chasing after wind.”

Psalm 107:1-9, 43

The Israelites hearing Hosea’s prophecy were not spared exile; the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians and their leaders went into exile a century before Judah and the Jerusalem Temple met a similar fate at the hands of Babylon. But those coming home from exile surely felt the emotions expressed in this Psalm, celebrating and offering thanksgiving for the steadfast love of God who gathered them out of exile and brought them home, satisfying their hunger and thirst.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 49:1-11

Foreshadowing the parable of the foolish rich man in today’s Gospel, we hear a Psalm that shouts out the foolishness of trust in riches. Biblical ideas like this surely formed Jesus and his mother, Mary, who spoke often about the hope that the hungry would be filled up and the rich sent away empty. “We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life,” the Psalmist sings to high and low, to rich and poor alike.

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-11

In the last of our four readings from Colossians this season, the author continues his instruction to the new believers in the ancient church at Colossae, reminding them that once Christ is revealed in our lives, we are called to put away evil ways and clothe ourselves in a new life in Christ. In words resembling Paul’s invitation to the Galatians to put away all differences among humankind, we are reminded that “there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!”

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

“You can’t take it with you.” Jesus’ parable of the foolish rich man shares this simple homespun folk wisdom. The rich man’s land produced such a large crop that he wants to build larger barns to store it in. With all this wealth in hand, he plans to “relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God responds with grim, unexpected news: The man will die that very night, having no use for all the cherished goods. Jesus, who reminded us that what we do for the poor, we do also for him, has little patience with those who think only of themselves.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, July 21, 2013.

First Reading: Genesis 18:1-10a
In the overall biblical narrative, the important part of today’s reading is God’s assurance that Abraham and Sarah will have a son, despite her advanced age, fulfilling God’s pledge that their children would inherit the Promised Land. But we hear the promise in the context of Abraham’s radical hospitality to three visiting strangers. Who are these strangers? God? Angels? That’s not entirely clear, but it doesn’t matter: Abraham is generous to the strangers, and Abraham becomes patriarch of God’s chosen people.

Psalm: Psalm 15
Who gets to live in God’s tent? Such a privilege must be earned, in the Psalmist’s view, and it is no surprise that, pared down to the essentials, we get another lesson in loving our neighbor. Do what is right. Don’t slander. Don’t do wrong by our friends or harm the innocent.   These are simple commands, and they guide us into a life of righteousness.

Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-28
Sometimes it is hard to decipher Paul’s dense prose. It may help to think of his letters in their original intent: Pastoral advice given to members of a congregation, offering them theological reflection and practical advice. Try thinking about today’s letter this way: First, Paul became a servant of the gospel … a servant of the church. As a servant, he sounds a lot like Martha in today’s Gospel. But he also calls us to reconcile ourselves to Christ and proclaim Christ’s supremacy, which might make us think of Mary.

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
In last week’s reading from Luke, we heard the Good Samaritan story and reflected on who our neighbor really is. Today, the familiar story of Mary and Martha invites us to dig deeper into this central question of our faith. Who is the good neighbor here? Martha gets busy, cleaning the house, making dinner, making sure that everything is just right for Jesus’s visit. Mary doesn’t do a lick of work. But who spends time with Jesus, learning from him and loving him and being with him? Martha’s work is important, but is she really taking time for Jesus? Perhaps they are both practicing hospitality, each in her own way.