Pentecost 3CIlluminations on the Lectionary readings for June 26, 2022 (Pentecost 3C)

First Reading (Track One): 2 Kings 2:1-2,6-14

Because Easter was relatively late this year, we dropped into the middle of the story of the prophet Elijah in the books of Kings.

Stories of life and passion of Christ (1513), fresco by Gaudenzio Ferrari (c.1475-1546), Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Varallo Sesia, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

God chose Elijah to speak truth to King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, and to warn the kings who would follow them that disaster lay ahead. After fleeing the rulers’ anger for fear of his life – we heard about that in last week’s Track One first reading – we now look on as Elijah is taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot while his chosen successor, Elisha, and a crowd of fifty other prophets look on in amazement.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 19:15-16,19-21

The two Lectionary tracks almost converge this week, as Track Two gives us the passage that follows last week’s Track One first reading: The prophet Elijah, who had been chosen by God to speak truth to Israel’s kings and to warn them that disaster lay ahead, was despairing because he feared death at the hands of his foes. But God gave him strength and sent him on with instructions to choose Elisha as his successor. Elisha hesitates – foreshadowing the reluctant followers in Sunday’s Gospel – but then finds the will to come along.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

Stormy metaphors of dark clouds, thunder, lightning and pouring rain fill this Psalm with images of a God whose mighty deeds shout out great power and might. The Psalmist is troubled in the dark of the night. He cries out untiringly. He seeks comfort for his soul but refuses to accept it. But then he finds hope by reflecting on God’s power in the storm, remembering the way that God led the people out of slavery and protected them as they wandered in the desert.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 16

Almost exactly half of the 150 Psalms are attributed by tradition to King David, as is this one, titled “Song of Trust and Security in God” in the New Revised Standard Edition. The speaker, David or a later Psalmist writing in his name, calls out for God’s protection and guidance. Those who follow false gods will only increase their trouble, the poet sings. But by accepting God as his “portion and cup,” his heart will be glad and his spirit will rejoice, knowing that God will not abandon him to the grave.

Second Reading: Galatians 5:1,13-25

Having assured the Galatians in the verses we heard last week that we are all in one with Jesus, no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, Paul urges all of us to stand firm in faith and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to use the freedom that God gives us not to “bite and devour” one another, Paul writes, but to accept the fruit of the Spirit in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

From now through the end of the Pentecost season, we will follow Luke’s account of Jesus’ long journey from his home in Galilee toward Jerusalem, his passion, and the cross. As the journey begins, after they group has a quick encounter with an unfriendly Samaritan village, we are shown a side of Jesus that may surprise us with his seeming frustration and impatience. Is his command to come and follow him so urgent that disciples must leave the dead un-buried? Is there really no time for them to bid their families farewell? Once Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem,” it seems, everything now moves toward bringing in the Kingdom of God. Nothing else is more important than that.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for June 30, 2019

First Reading (Track One): 2 Kings 2:1-2,6-14

Here’s a Bible trivia question for you: Other than Jesus, who got into heaven still wearing an earthly body?

The Lord Commands the Prophet Elijah (1585-1589), oil painting on canvas by Paolo Fiammingo (c.1540-1596). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. (Click image to enlarge.)

Sunday’s Track One first reading tells us the story of the prophet Elijah taken up in a chariot of fire. The Apocrypha tell us that the prophet Enoch was “taken up,” too. In the Transfiguration we see Moses joining Elijah in a shining body to greet Jesus; and modern Catholic doctrine holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was “assumed” bodily into heaven. As you think about this passage, consider the challenge that faces Elisha as he takes over the prophet’s job that Elijah handed over as he moved on.

First Reading (Track Two): 1 Kings 19:15-16,19-21

The two books of Kings sum up the story of Israel’s kings from the reign of David until the fall and exile of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Sunday’s Track Two first reading enters the narrative as the prophet Elijah, who had been chosen by God to speak truth to Israel’s kings and to warn them that disaster lay ahead, was despairing because he feared death at the hands of his foes. But God gives Elijah strength and sens him on with instructions to choose Elisha as his successor. Elisha hesitates, foreshadowing the reluctant followers of Jesus in today’s Gospel as he goes back first to kiss his parents and feed his family – but then he comes along.

Psalm: (Track One): Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

This Psalm’s stormy images of dark clouds, thunder, lightning and pounding rain stand as metaphors for a God whose mighty deeds reveal power and might. Deeply troubled and crying out without ceasing, the Psalmist calls on God without tiring, seeking comfort for the soul yet refusing to accept it when it comes. But then hope appears as we reflect on God’s power in the storm and remember how God gently led the people out of slavery and protected them in the desert.

Psalm: (Track Two): Psalm 16

Almost exactly half of the 150 Psalms are attributed by tradition to the hand of King David, as is this one, titled “Song of Trust and Security in God” in the New Revised Standard Edition. The speaker, David or a later Psalmist writing in his name, calls out for God’s protection and guidance. Those who follow false gods will only increase their trouble, the poet sings. But by accepting God as his “portion and cup,” his heart will be glad and his spirit will rejoice, knowing that God will not abandon him to the grave.

Second Reading: Galatians 5:1,13-25

We return to Paul’s letter to the Galatians two chapters after last Sunday’s second reading. He continues his argument that the way of Christ is open to all humankind: God’s covenant with Israel extends through Christ to Jew and Gentile alike. The law of that covenant, he goes on, requires us to love our neighbors as ourselves, not to “bite and devour” one another. The Spirit binds us to our neighbors in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

Jesus now sets his face to go to Jerusalem. From now through the end of the long Pentecost season at the end of November, we will follow Luke’s account of Jesus’ long journey from his home in Galilee toward Jerusalem, his Passion and the Cross. As the journey begins in Sunday’s Gospel, we see a side of Jesus that may surprise us with his seeming frustration and impatience. Is his call to come and follow him so urgent that disciples must leave their dead un-buried? Is there really no time even to bid their families farewell, as Elisha did when Elijah called him? For Jesus, everything now focuses on urgency in bringing in the Kingdom. Nothing else is more important than that.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for June 5, 2016

Elijah Resuscitating the Son of the Widow of Zarephath; painting by Louis Hersent.

We meet the Prophet Elijah again, this week sent by God to travel outside Israel to a Gentile town called Zarephath. God assures Elijah that an elderly widow and her son will feed him. But this isn’t so easy. Zarephath is gripped by a drought, and the widow and her child are about to die from the famine; she is not at all eager to feed a man of different faith. With God’s help, though, a tiny portion of meal and oil is enough to feed them all and to last until the rains come. (In the following verses, the boy sadly dies anyway, but God answers Elijah’s prayer and revives him.)

Psalm 146

As we’ve noticed before, the six Psalms that conclude the Psalm book – the hymn book of the Temple in Jerusalem – ring out with resounding worship and praise. Pay particular attention to this Psalm’s sharp focus on God’s preferential care for those whom Jesus would call “the least of these”: The oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner; the blind, and “those who are bowed down.” And – echoing God’s care for the widow of Zerephath and her child – the stranger, the widow and the orphan.

Second Reading: Galatians 1:11-24

Picking up where we left off last week with Paul’s “astonished” response to the Galatians, Paul continues pushing back against other evangelizers who came to Galatia after he had left and taught a less inclusive Gospel, demanding that Gentile converts follow strict Jewish law requiring circumcision and dietary practices. Paul presents his credentials, recalling that he had been zealous in his Judaism but now proclaims Jesus to Jews and Gentiles alike, having received revelation directly from God.

Gospel: Luke 7:11-17

Can we hear parallels between Elijah and the widow of Zarepeth and Jesus and the widow of Nain? Immediately after healing the centurion’s servant, Jesus goes to a nearby town and restores life to a widow’s son. Like the widow of Zarephath and the centurion, too, this widow responds to her son’s new life with joy and faith. She declares Jesus a prophet and a man of God, and the crowds that will follow Jesus throughout the Gospel continue to grow.