Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Oct. 21, 2018

“For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples (1580s), oil painting by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588). National Gallery in Prague. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): Job 38:1-7,34-41

In last week’s Track One first reading we heard Job loudly lamenting his condition, looking for God and angrily demanding that God come out of hiding and hear him. Now Job gets his wish, but God’s response may not be what he had expected. A mighty, powerful God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind and quickly sets him quite literally in his place. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” God thunders, hurling poetic words at Job like thunderbolts. “Tell me, if you have understanding.” God has created a wonderful universe, full of beautiful creation; but sometimes creation stands in conflict, when a lion seeks its prey or when young ravens go hungry.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 53:4-12

If you want to be in charge, be careful what you wish for. Throughout Sunday’s readings we hear of servant leadership, sacrifice, and walking humbly with our God. Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant,” who we meet often in our readings (most recently only last month) may make us think of Jesus in his willing sacrifice to bear the sins of many. In its original context, though, Isaiah writes of the servant’s suffering in the past tense, remembering Israel itself as the servant, the sacrificial pain of its sad exile now finally come to an end.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 104:1-9,35, 37c

Echoing God’s extended response to Job, this hymn of exaltation worships God as creator of the universe and as ruler of all creation, whose mighty works fill us with awe. It envisions God clothed in majesty and splendor, wrapped in a cloak of light that crosses the heavens. God rides across the world on the wings of clouds, spreading out mountains and valleys, oceans and rivers, setting the earth immovably on its foundations and separating the land from the water.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 91:9-16

We will chant only the second half of Psalm 91 on Sunday, but it is worth taking a moment to read the entire psalm. (You can find it in the Psalter, Pages 719-20, BCP). In verses 1-9 we hear of another servant who suffered, yet who received God’s protection against illness and enemies. In the verses that we pick up today, the Psalmist assures us that we can find protection by seeking refuge in God, when we pray as Jesus taught us, “deliver us from evil.”

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10

These verses from the letter to the Hebrews presents Jesus as the perfect high priest, a new high priest with a new covenant and new sacrifice. But this high position did not come easily. Because Jesus was fully human, he was not immune from suffering; he suffered “with loud cries and tears.” He learned obedience through his suffering, even as God’s own Son. Thus he became the greatest of the line of priests that began with King Melchizedek, the first high priest named in Genesis. As the perfect image of God, Christ earned salvation for us all.

Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

Immediately before today’s Gospel, the apostles have just heard Jesus tell them for the third time that when they reach Jerusalem he will be arrested, flogged, killed, and will rise again. And now, also for the third time, we hear some of them responding with remarkable cluelessness. James and John “the Sons of Thunder,” who we recently heard complaining that other people were casting out demons in Jesus’ name, now demand, more than request, that Jesus let them sit at his right and left hand in God’s kingdom. One more time, Jesus sets the apostles straight: To follow Jesus we must be servants, not those served; if we wish to be first, we must be the slave of all.

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 Oct. 25, 2015

‘Christ Giving Sight to Bartimaeus, 1799-1800, William Blake, in the Yale Center for British Art.

When God is with us, when God saves us, when God makes us well, we show our gratitude and joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Let’s hold this theme of gratitude and grace in our thoughts as we reflect on today’s readings. Here, the Prophet Jeremiah, in loving words and with tears of comfort and joy, tells Israel that God will bring them out of exile. The weak and the strong, mothers and children, those who can’t see and those who can’t walk, will all come back home together, praising God and giving thanks.

Psalm: Psalm 126

Surely the Psalmist had Jeremiah’s happy prophecy in mind when he wrote these lines of joy. We sing in celebration of Israel’s restoration on Mount Zion, Jerusalem, the home of the Temple. Turning to a deeply meaningful image of planting fields and reaping a harvest bounty, we sing in memory of our ancestors sowing with tears, reaping with songs of joy; going out weeping, carrying the seed, but bringing home ripe sheaves of grain, joyfully shouting out our thanksgiving.

Second Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28

Seeking to bring Jewish converts back to the infant church, the author of Hebrews compares Judaism unfavorably to Christianity in words that now sound un-generous. Jesus is a far greater high priest than the old high priests of the Temple, these verses proclaim. The old high priests were mortal, sinful humans, who had to purify themselves through sacrifices. Perhaps it’s better simply to stand with this reading’s conclusion: Jesus, made perfect forever, stands for us all through his sacrifice on the cross.

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

Blind people in ancient times were desperate and ashamed. They had to beg for food, and their neighbors often assumed that their blindness was punishment for some grievous sin. Sadly, physical blindness has also been an enduring metaphor for willful refusal to “see” or believe. Mark’s Gospel uses this image often, telling of such healings at the beginning, and now again at the end, of his long narrative about the apostles’ inability to comprehend Jesus’ message. But blindness is not really the central point of today’s Gospel. Rather, we see God most clearly in Bartimaeus’ gratitude … and in his decision not to go away but to stay and follow Jesus.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012.

First Reading: Job 42:1-6, 10-17
God responded to Job’s demands for a hearing, speaking from a whirlwind to remind Job of the magnificence of God’s creation, next to which which Job is tiny and insignificant. Job quietly, faithfully accepts this. Then comes good news: God restores Job’s fortunes, double what they had been before. Job lives out a long life with riches, a big family and the respect of his friends. Job’s story has a happy ending, but it’s worth remembering that even in the sad event that things don’t get better, God is God and loves us still.

Psalm 34:1-8
Today’s psalm, described as “Praise for Deliverance from Trouble,” fits in nicely with the story of Job. Having begun with a song of praise to exalt God’s name, the psalmist now prays for deliverance from his terror. God indeed saves him from all his troubles, and the psalmist responds with joy: “Taste and see that God is good is good; happy are they who trust in the Most High!”

Second Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28
Jesus, as God, makes a far greater high priest than the former high priests of the Temple, as the author of Hebrews points out repeatedly in these verses. The old high priests were mortal. Jesus lives forever, and intercedes for us to save us. Mortal high priests are sinful humans who must sacrifice repeatedly in their weakness. Jesus is without sin, and his sacrifice on the cross stands for us forever.

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52
Being blind in Jesus’ time left a person nothing to do but beg. People had only pity at best for Bartimaeus sitting by the Jericho road. Perhaps they might throw him a small coin when he begged for alms. When he heard Jesus passing by, Bartimaeus yelled as loud as he could yell, defying bystanders’ attempts to shush him. Jesus listened, Jesus healed him, and Bartimaeus, seeing now, chose to follow Jesus. How might we answer when Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”