Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 26, 2021

First Reading (Track One): Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

Take note of this reading, as this is the only time during the three year Lectionary period that we hear a reading from the book of Esther … and even this is only for those following Track One!

Sketch for Christ Rebuking His Disciples (c.1858), oil painting on canvas by Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859). Tate Gallery, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

We come in just in time to hear the end of this story that, in Jewish tradition, is read in its entirety on the feast of Purim. Esther is the only book in the entire Bible that doesn’t mention God, but it tells a stirring legend of the Jewish people. In these verses Queen Esther of Persia reveals at a banquet feast that she is Jewish and would herself be killed with her people if the wicked Haman carried out his plan to kill or enslave all of Persia’s Jews. The angry king orders Haman hanged on a giant gallows, and justice is served. This event is remembered in Jewish tradition with feasting, joy, and gifts of food for each other and the poor.

First Reading (Track Two): Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

Sometimes the story of the Israelites wandering with Moses in the desert seems like an ancient reality show. Freed from slavery in Egypt by God’s mighty hand, the people complain because they miss the good food that they used to enjoy. This gets an angry response from God that prompts Moses to bark back. Then, two men who had remained in the camp start prophesying without supervision! A young man runs to tell on them, and Moses’ assistant Joshua wants them punished. But Moses says no: He only wishes that all the people could prophesy and share God’s spirit! A few moments after this reading, we hear a similar story in the Gospel from Mark.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 124

Recalling a time when Israel feared death at the hands of enemies, Psalm 124 sings joyous thanksgiving for God’s protection in parting the waters of the Red Sea so the people could escape Pharaoh’s bondage in Egypt. If God had not been on their side when the enemies rose up against them, the Psalmist exults, the waters would have overwhelmed them! The torrent would have gone over them! But God did not give them up. They escaped, singing, “Our help is in the Name of the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.”

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 19:7-14

These verses from Psalm 19 urge us to pray, and tells us why we should: God’s commandments are good, and it is good for us to follow them. The Psalm ends with a familiar exhortation that preachers often offer at the beginning of a sermon, and that we might all do well to ponder when we begin to pray: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Second Reading: James 5:13-20

As we reach the end of our month-long visit with the letter of James, this powerful epistle has called on us to care for our neighbors, to protect the weak, and to do the work that God has given us to do. Now the letter ends with a call to prayer: Are we suffering? Pray! Are we happy? Sing hymns of praise! Are we sick? Ask our friends to pray for us! Prayer works. When we bring our brothers and sisters back to God’s way, we save them from death, the author of James says; for God works through us as God worked through the prophet Elijah when he prayed for an end to a killing drought and famine.

Gospel: Mark 9:38-50

The Apostle John seems angry and perhaps a little possessive. “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us,” he yells. We can imagine him running up to Jesus and demanding, “Make them stop! They’re not authorized!” But Jesus isn’t bothered. “Do not stop him,” he tells the apostles, adding, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Jesus, perhaps using an old rabbinic tradition of contrasting an act with an extreme alternative, goes on with some pretty scary language about staying on the right path or else. But his point is clear: If people are with us, don’t throw them out.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Sept. 23, 2018

Christ Blessing the Children (1535-1540). Painting on beech wood by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

This reading seems to express an ancient, patriarchal view of woman’s subsidiary role in the household, an attitude that we hope the 21st century is leaving behind. Of course we should read the patriarchal language in both testaments as a signal of its own time and culture, not as guidance for the modern world. But read closely, and see that this capable wife is no shrinking, helpless figure. She has her husband’s trust; she supervises the household servants as she buys goods and food for the family and even purchases farm and vineyard fields. She is strong, brave, wise and kind. Her husband and her children praise her. “Let her works praise her in the city gates,” indeed!

First Reading (Track Two): Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22

Both good behavior and bad behavior have consequences. Righteousness is pleasing to God; evil deeds lead to death. We hear this theme in Sunday’s readings first in a reading from the book of Wisdom, which is traditionally attributed to King Solomon but was actually written in Greek in the last centuries before Christ. Most of Sunday’s reading, save for the opening and closing verses, presents the ungodly, arguing why they choose to persecute the righteous people who look down on them. They are wrong, of course, as the bracketing verses make clear: They don’t understand God’s purpose, nor do they recognize the rewards of a blameless life.

First Reading (Alternate Track Two): Jeremiah 11:18-20

Jeremiah is often called “the Weeping Prophet” for the loud lamentations that he shouts out to warn the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah that their failure of righteousness and justice is going to bring down God’s wrath in the form of defeat, destruction and exile. In these short verses, though, his weeping is more personal: He has learned that those leaders, angered by his prophecies, are scheming to kill him. He feels like a gentle lamb led to slaughter, he sings, but even in the face of enemies he remains committed to God.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 1

We sang Psalm 1, the first of the 150 Psalms, in the weeks after Easter. Now we return to it again. We celebrate those who follow in the way of God, who delight in God’s teaching and meditate on it. These faithful souls will be happy, becoming as firmly rooted in faith as are trees deeply rooted by running water, gaining strength and bearing fruit. The wicked, in contrast, can count on no such happy end. Those who do not follow in God’s way will be blown away like chaff in the wind.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 54

This Psalm, attributed by tradition to King David, recalls a time when the young David, not yet the king, was forced to flee in terror from an angry, jealous Saul who sought to kill him. This narrative resonates with the reading from Wisdom: When insolent and ruthless enemies seek our lives, God’s laws will not hold them back. A time of fear is a time to pray, a time to call on God who delivers us from trouble and upholds our lives.

Second Reading: James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Picking up where last week’s reading from James left off, the author expands on the theme of guarding our tongues – tiny yet powerful instruments that they are – to praise and bless, not to poison. Contrasting the wisdom that comes from above with the envy and ambition in our hearts, he calls us to show our gentle, wise works in good lives, rather than engaging in earthly, unspiritual ambition and boasting. Resist evil, draw near to God, and God will draw near to us.

Gospel: Mark 9:30-37

Moving on to the end of the next chapter after last week’s reading, we find Jesus and the apostles back in Galilee after their foray into the Gentile country of Tyre and Sidon and Caesarea Philippi. When Jesus tells them for a second time that he must suffer, be killed and then rise again, they still don’t get it. Mark tells us that they’re even afraid to ask, perhaps remembering Peter’s embarrassment when Jesus angrily called him “Satan.” Now, when Jesus leaves them by themselves, they start arguing about which of them is the greatest. Jesus, who must have been thoroughly exasperated, shows them a small child. Following Jesus is not about greatness and power, he says. It is about serving others; it is about welcoming the smallest and weakest among us.

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 Sept. 27, 2015

A Byzantine style fresco of Moses and the manna in the church of St. Anne in Châtel-Guyon, France.

Today’s readings cover a lot of ground! First we hear an amusing story of the people in the desert, so sick and tired of manna that they want to go back to slavery in Egypt for something good to eat. God tells a despairing Moses to assemble 70 elders to help him carry the spiritual load. Then, two men who had remained in the camp started prophesying without supervision! A young man runs to tell on them, and Moses’ assistant Joshua wants them punished. But Moses says no: He only wishes that all the people could prophesy and share God’s spirit. We’ll hear a remarkably similar story in today’s Gospel. What do you suppose these narratives have in common?

Psalm: Psalm 19:7-14

Today’s Psalm sings out praise and thanksgiving for the glory of God’s teaching. Sweeter than honey and more desirable than gold, God’s laws and commandments enlighten us and keep us on a straight path. We all too easily slip and fall into sin, so we pray that God will keep us from losing our way. The psalm concludes with a familiar prayer that we might all adopt before we speak: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”

Second Reading: James 5:13-20

James’ powerful epistle has told us to care for our neighbors, to protect the weak and to do the work that God has given us to do. Now he concludes his letter with a call to prayer. Are we suffering? Pray! Are we happy? Sing hymns of praise! Are we sick? Ask for prayer! Prayer works. When we bring our brothers and sisters back to God’s way, we save them from death. Amen!

Gospel: Mark 9:38-50

Doesn’t John’s complaint to Jesus sound a lot like Joshua warning Moses? “Hey! People are casting out demons in your name! Make them stop! They’re not authorized!” But Jesus echoes Moses’ advice: Don’t worry about it! Be glad that others are doing God’s work in God’s name. Jesus, perhaps using an old rabbinic tradition of contrasting an act with an extreme alternative, goes on with some pretty scary language about staying on the right path or else. But his point is clear: If people are with us, don’t throw them out.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012.

First Reading: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29
Sometimes the story of the Israelites wandering with Moses in the desert seems like an ancient reality show. Freed from slavery in Egypt by God’s mighty hand, they complain because they miss the good food they used to enjoy. This gets an angry response from God that prompts Moses to bark back. Later, some of Moses’ lieutenants are angry, too, because they see others horning in on their turf. Perhaps the lesson here is simply, “Can’t we all get along?”

Psalm 19:7-14
Today’s psalm urges us to pray, and tells us why we should. God’s commandments are good, and to follow them does us good. It ends with a familiar exhortation that preachers often offer at the beginning of a sermon, and that we might all do well to ponder when we begin to pray: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Second Reading: James 5:13-20
James, too, exalts the power of prayer. Pray if we are suffering, he advises us, and pray when we are happy, too. Pray when we’re sick, and ask the church to join us in prayer. Pray for healing for our own sins, and pray for each other in community so we might all be healed, our souls saved from death and our sins forgiven. That’s a compelling argument for prayer.

Gospel: Mark 9:38-50
In some ways Mark’s gospel echoes the first lesson: The apostles are angry that others are casting out devils in Jesus’ name. They tell him to make them stop. He encourages them instead to be glad that others are speaking in his name. Then he offers a series of scary warnings: “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off … And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out.” This is not literal advice, fortunately. Jesus is teaching through an old rabbinic tradition of comparing everyday actions to their most extreme alternatives.