Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for June 13, 2021

First Reading (Track One): 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

Saul was named king of Israel amid great hopes, but it hasn’t worked out. To fully grasp the background for Sunday’s Track One first reading, it is helpful to read it in context with the fierce and bloody verses that immediately precede it:

The Sower (1888), oil painting on canvas by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Kröller-Müller Museum, The Netherlands. (Click image to enlarge.)

God had ordered Saul to gather an army and attack the neighboring Amalekites, utterly destroying all that they have and killing all their people and livestock. But against God’s command Saul spared the king and kept the best spoils for himself. Now God, regretting having made Saul king, rejects him and his kingship. In this reading we see God sending Samuel to Bethlehem to find the next king among the sons of Jesse. Much to everyone’s surprise, God passes over seven strong, handsome sons to choose the youngest, David.

First Reading (Track Two): Ezekiel 17:22-24

Can it be only a coincidence that Sunday’s readings point us toward planting, growing, and new life from old, just as the first day of summer draws near? The prophet Ezekiel celebrates the noble cedar, a lofty tree that provides a nesting place for birds and shade for all manner of creatures. Ezekiel is speaking of Israel, reminding the people that God may bring down the mighty nations and raise high the lowly. The prophet’s words offer an inspiring reminder that, with God’s help, a mighty tree can grow from a sprig. In the beauty of creation, we know that God is good.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 20

Echoing the militaristic themes that surround Israel’s ancient kings and their call to holy war against their neighbors, the Track One Psalm resounds as a prayer for victory. It calls for a blessing before battle, petitioning God to defend the people, send help and strength, accept their offerings and advance their plans. Rather than trusting in chariots and horses, the Psalmist declares, the people shall call on the name of God to give victory to Israel’s king.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 92:1-4,11-14

Just as Ezekiel imagined a mighty mountaintop cedar as symbol for Israel, these verses from Psalm 92, a psalm of praise and thanksgiving, show us mighty trees, too: Cedars of Lebanon and tall palm trees stand as metaphors for the people who grow and flourish under God’s nurturing care. Through righteousness – the practice of justice – and faith in God’s lovingkindness, we may remain ripe and fruitful our whole lives long.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-17

The idea of fruitful growth and bountiful harvests may be more subtle in these verses from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, but we can find allusions to the theme in the closing verses. When we choose to live in Christ, everything in our life changes, Paul writes. Just as the leaves fall in autumn and our flowers and gardens die only to return full of life in the spring, everything that is old passes away in Christ’s creation. Everything becomes new for us in the life we gain through Jesus.

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

Like so many of Jesus’ parables, the two featured in Sunday’s Gospel draw metaphors from seeds and sowing: tiny beginnings that grow up to yield food from the earth. But there’s something else going on: This is Mark’s first account of Jesus using parables to unveil the nature of the Kingdom of God. Mark will tell sixteen more “The Kingdom-is-like” stories in his Gospel’s sixteen chapters. In another recurring theme, Mark shows us Jesus intentionally disguising his mission through mysterious parables, after which he warns his followers to keep his healings secret. Theologians call this “The Messianic Secret,” and wonder why it is so important in Mark’s Gospel. Was Jesus’ call for a Kingdom of God, a kingdom that might replace Roman rule, too dangerous an idea to bring up in public?

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for June 10, 2018

Garden of Eden (1530), painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). In the foreground: Prohibition of God to Adam and Eve, in the middle ground: Creation of Adam, the Fall, Discovery of the Fall, the Expulsion from Paradise. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): 1 Samuel 8:4-20,11:14-15

This reading may at first appear to be an obscure passage from Israel’s early history, but it marks a significant turning point: Having settled in the Promised Land under the guidance of judges (temporary military leaders), the nation now faced rising difficulties with corrupt judges, including the prophet Samuel’s own sons, who had taken bribes. The people clamored for a king to lead them in the manner of their neighboring nations. Samuel opposed this idea, declaring that God was Israel’s king. But with God’s direct guidance, Samuel finally gave in and named Saul king; but Samuel warned that the people would come to regret it.

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 3:8-15

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God forbade, they suddenly realized that they were naked. Then they realized that they had defied God’s command. No wonder they were scared! They covered their bodies and hid. When God found them, they blamed each other, and they blamed the snake. What would have happened if they refused to take the fruit? Would the bible have ended just like that, Adam and Eve living happily ever after in Eden? But Adam and Eve did disobey God and lost their home in the garden. Bear in mind, though, that God came out of the garden with them, and stayed with a people of free will and belief through all the ages.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 138

Even from on high, God cares for the lowly. This lovely Psalm of thanksgiving praises God and exults in gratitude that God stays with us when we are in trouble, and answers us when we call. In words that echo the familiar verses of the beloved 23rd Psalm, we remember that God keeps us safe even when we walk in the midst of trouble and that God’s strong hand protects us from our enemies.

Psalm: (Track Two): Psalm 130

We hear this Psalm of hope in God’s redemption now and then in Lent; and it is often chosen, albeit less frequently than Psalm 23, as a Psalm for use in the burial of the dead. Titled “De Profundis” (“out of the depths”), it reminds us that we wait in hope for God’s love and grace even in times of grief, pain and despair, . Even in death we await the resurrection, as in night’s darkest hours we wait for morning light.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

Do not lose heart, Paul tells the Christian community of Corinth, even though we may feel as if we are living a life of affliction and wasting away in our fallen world. That anguish is only momentary in God’s greater intent: God raised Jesus from the dead, and God will raise us, too, Paul writes. The pain that we feel today is only passing. Through God’s grace we will come to live forever in God’s glory beyond all measure.

Gospel: Mark 3:20-35

Last Sunday we saw Jesus rouse the anger of the Pharisees when he healed a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Now, accompanied by a huge, excited crowd that has been following him, he’s in trouble with his family and neighbors. The neighbors think Jesus has gone crazy, or is possessed by a demon, which in those times amounted to the same thing. His mother and brothers come out to talk to him, but his reply probably did not make his family happy: He tells them that his followers are his family now, with work to do in a broken world full of sinners.

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 June 14, 2015

Parable of the Sower (Biserica Ortodoxă din Deal, Cluj-Napoca), Romania)

First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24

Can it be only a coincidence that today’s readings all point us toward planting, growing, new life from old, just as summer comes near? The prophet Ezekiel celebrates the noble cedar, a lofty tree that provides a nesting place for the birds and shade for all manner of creatures. Ezekiel is speaking of Israel, reminding the people that God may bring down the mighty nations and raise high the lowly. But the prophet’s words can serve us, too, as an inspiring reminder that with God’s help, a mighty tree can grow from a mere sprig. See God’s beautiful creation, and know that God is good.

Psalm: Psalm 92:1-4,11-14

This Psalm of praise and thanksgiving shows us mighty trees, too, cedars of Lebanon and tall palm trees, as metaphors for the people who grow and flourish under God’s nurturing care. Through righteousness – the practice of justice – and faith in God’s loving kindness, we may remain ripe and fruitful our whole lives long.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-17

The notion of growing things and fruitful harvests may not be as obvious in this passage from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, but we can find it in the closing verses. When we choose to live in Christ, everything in our life changes. Just as the leaves fall in autumn and our flowers and gardens die, only to return full of life in the spring, everything that is old passes away in Christ’s creation. Everything becomes new for us in the life we gain through Jesus.

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

Here are two more of Jesus’ parables about planting seeds that yield food from the earth. But there’s something else going on: This is Mark’s first account of Jesus using parables to unveil the nature of the Kingdom of God. Mark will recount 16 more “Kingdom-is-like” stories before the book’s end. Mark also has another recurring theme: Jesus intentionally disguises his mission through mysterious parables, and he tells his followers to keep his healings secret. Theologians call this “The Messianic Secret,” and wonder why it is so important in Mark’s Gospel. Might the evangelist have feared that Jesus’ call for the Kingdom of God, presuming that it would overthrow Roman rule, is too dangerous to talk about in public?