Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for July 3, 2022 (Pentecost 4C)

First Reading (Track One): 2 Kings 5:1-14

In the time of the Kings, the Arameans and Israel were enemies. So Naaman, an Aramean military leader, must have been wary when his servant suggested that he go to Israel to heal his leprosy.

But leprosy was a terrible disease, disfiguring and contagious; its victims were ritually unclean. So Naaman complied, but then the prophet Elisha wouldn’t even see him, adding insult to injury by sending out a mere servant with advice that sounded too simple to be true. But Naaman’s servants urged him to try Elisha’s proposed sevenfold bath in the Jordan, and just like that, Naaman was cured.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 66:10-14

In the final chapter of Isaiah, the people have returned to Jerusalem from exile, full of joy at their long-awaited homecoming, but facing the hard work of rebuilding the city and a new Temple. It is a time for rejoicing, the prophet declares, and it is a time for healing, too. God will shower prosperity on the city, Isaiah prophesies; and, in beautiful language envisioning God as a loving mother, he assures the people that God will nurse and carry the people as a mother comforts her child.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 30

Can you imagine Naaman praying this beloved Psalm of thanksgiving for recovery from a grave illness? The Psalmist thanks God: ”I cried out to you, and you restored me to health.” Then he urges everyone, all of us who are God’s servants, to give thanks for all God’s gifts; to be thankful for an end to the sadness that often accompanies illness. We thank God for turning the weeping of those long dark hours of night into the celebration that comes at dawn, when our mourning turns to joy.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 66:1-8

The Psalmist’s prayer echoes the trust in God’s protective power that we heard from Isaiah in the Track Two first reading. All Earth’s people are called to be joyful in God and to sing the glory of God’s name. Invoking God’s action to protect the people of Israel by turning the sea into dry land as they fled from Egypt, the Psalmist reminds us to sing in full voice to praise the God who protects us.

Second Reading: Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16

Sunday brings the final verses of our quick visit in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. We have heard Paul declare that Christ’s message is universal for all humankind: Jew and Gentile, man and woman, slave and free. In this bold assertion he was arguing against opponents who called for a more exclusive way as the early church evolved. Now Paul, approaching the conclusion of this loving letter, restates an essential principle of faith: “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Or, as Jesus and Torah alike expressed it, love your neighbor as yourself.

Gospel: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Jesus has “set his face to go to Jerusalem,” beginning his journey that we will hear in our Pentecost season Gospel passages from Luke through the end of November. Even after demanding that his followers leave their families and all their possessions behind, Jesus has no apparent difficulty in enlisting a crowd to help him spread the Good News. He calls 70 followers to hurry through the countryside, “like lambs in the midst of wolves,” to tell villagers that the Kingdom of God is drawing near. Those who reject them, like the Samaritan villagers in last Sunday’s Gospel, are rejecting Jesus. Those who welcome them are welcoming Jesus.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 7, 2019

First Reading (Track One): 2 Kings 5:1-14

Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, was born in Aram in Mesopotamia. By the time of Israel’s kings, though, Aram and Israel had become bitter enemies.

But then the powerful Aramean general Naaman contracted leprosy, a terrible and disfiguring disease that rendered the sufferer unclean, cut off from their community. That was reason enough for Naaman to dismiss national rivalry and follow his Israelite servant’s advice to go to Israel’s prophet Elisha for a cure. In Sunday’s Track One first reading, we hear how Elisha added insult to injury by sending out a mere servant to give Naaman a ridiculous sounding prescription to go wash his body in the Jordan river. Fortunately for Naaman, his servants came to the rescue again, calming his rage at Elisha’s disrespect. It couldn’t hurt to try, they advised … and behold, Naaman was cured.

First Reading (Track Two): Isaiah 66:10-14

Our Track Two first reading takes us to the final chapter of Isaiah. The people have returned from exile to Jerusalem. They were full of joy at the return to their beloved city, but it lay in ruins; they faced the daunting labor of rebuilding the city and constructing a new temple. Still, the prophet declares, it is a time to rejoice and a time to heal. God will shower prosperity on the city, and, in beautiful language envisioning God as a loving mother, God will nurse and carry the people as a mother comforts her child.

Psalm: (Track One): Psalm 30

What an appropriate Psalm to follow Naaman’s healing! This hymn of thanksgiving sings out gratitude to God for recovery from a grave illness. Then it celebrates the gifts of God that may bring even more joy: ending the sadness and depression that so often accompanies illness … turning the weeping of those long dark hours of night into the celebration that comes at dawn … and turning the mourning of sickness into the dancing of health.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 66:1-8

Echoing the theme of trust in God’s protective power that we heard in the Isaiah reading, the Psalmist calls on all the earth to be joyful in God and sing the glory of God’s name. Recalling how God protected the people of Israel escaping slavery in Egypt by turning the sea into dry land, we sing out in full voice, making our voices heard in praise of the God who protects us.

Second Reading: Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16

We have reached the end of Paul’s letter to the Christian community in Galatia in Asia Minor. Throughout the letter Paul has consistently argued that Christ’s message is universal – for all humankind – Jew and Gentile, man and woman, slave and free. Writing from far away, he has stood strongly, sometimes angrly, against the arguments of opponents who tried to persuade the Galatians to follow a more exclusive way. Paul’s final response clearly echoes Jesus’ message: “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” In other words, follow Jesus by loving your neighbor as yourself.

Gospel: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

In last week’s Gospel, we saw Jesus beginning his final journey toward Jerusalem, setting his face in the direction of the cross and telling his disciples in no uncertain terms not to tarry. Now Jesus organizes an advance team of seventy witnesses to go on ahead, telling residents in villages along the way that the Kingdom of God has come near. Those who reject them, like the Samarian villagers in last week’s Gospel, are rejecting Jesus; They deserve to be left behind like the dust shaken from the apostles’ feet. Those who welcome them are welcoming Jesus himself. Soon the disciples return, full of joy: In Jesus’ name, they have healed and even cast out demons.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for June 12, 2016

First Reading: 1 Kings 21:1-21a

The bible is filled with stories about evil people, perhaps to show us vivid examples of how not to behave. King Ahab and his wife Jezebel (whose very name has become an insulting term) surely rank among the nastiest, as we see in this shocking story of their plot to have Naboth killed so the king can steal Naboth’s vineyard and make it his garden. But rough justice soon is served, as an angry God summons the Prophet Elijah to warn Ahab that he faces a gory fate: dogs will lick up his blood.

First Reading: 2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:10, 13-15

King David was Israel’s greatest leader, but like so many heroes in the bible, he was deeply flawed: he was an adulterer and a murderer, too, who had the beautiful Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, killed in battle so he could have her for himself. But now God’s messenger Nathan tells David a story that tricks him into cursing and threatening with death a figure that turns out to be David himself. A merciful God spares David’s life, but Nathan foretells that the child of his illicit union shall die.

Psalm 5:1-8

In words that might remind us of wicked people like Ahab and Jezebel, the Psalmist calls for help, describing a God who hates wicked people, braggarts and liars, abhors evil and will destroy evildoers. “Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness,” the Psalmist sings, promising to go into God’s house, bowing down in awe and hoping for God’s great mercy.

Psalm 32

Like many of the Psalms, this is traditionally attributed to David. It certainly would fit the part of a repentant king seeking God’s forgiveness after having been confronted with his terrible acts. As long as the Psalmist labored under guilt, he moaned and his bones withered under God’s heavy hand. Once forgiven, his heart leapt up, embraced by God’s mercy. Just as it was for David, so it can be for us: “Great are the tribulations of the wicked; but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.”

Second Reading: Galatians 2:15-21

Paul continues his argument that Gentile converts to Christianity need not be bound by Jewish laws requiring circumcision, kosher dietary restrictions and other Old Testament purity codes, a requirement that surely would have discouraged new Christians! Pointing out that he himself died to the law so he might live to God, Paul insists that it is our new faith in Jesus Christ that saves us, not justification through following the former Jewish law.

Gospel: Luke 7:36 – 8:3

Pharisees were highly educated scholars and preachers, pillars of the synagogues, but – probably thanks to rowing tensions in the early church – the Gospels often portray them as argumentative, rules-bound hypocrites. Simon the Pharisee did invite Jesus to table fellowship. But when the “woman who was a sinner” comes in and anoints Jesus with the respect and love that the Pharisee had failed to show, it is she who earns his praise and forgiveness of her sins. Is this woman Mary Magdalene? The Gospel doesn’t specifically say so; but note that in the verses that conclude this Gospel, Magdalene has appeared as one of Jesus’s followers.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, June 2, 2013.

First Reading: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43
These verses surely represent the high point in the story of the Israelites, as wise and wealthy King Solomon, son of King David, dedicates the first Temple in Jerusalem. Later in the First Testament narrative, we will see the the people fail in their covenant to practice justice and righteousness, leading to the nation’s decline and fall, the destruction of the temple and exile in Babylon as the prophets foretold. But this day is one of glory and joy and even a little boasting: God is so great and glorious that even foreigners will know God’s name and fear God.

Psalm: Psalm 96
A consistent theme runs through all today’s readings: God is great, and our God is God of all the nations. All the gods of all the other peoples are mere idols, trumpets this ancient psalm of praise and glory. Let all the earth tremble before our God of glory and strength who made the heavens!

Second Reading: Galatians 1:1-12
The church in Galatia had a problem, and Paul wasted no time in getting right to it in his letter to the people there: After planting his church, Paul moved on, and just like that, some other evangelists came in and started contradicting what he had taught. (Later we’ll discover that the problem had to do with insisting that Gentile Christians follow Jewish laws.) But the Gospel that he teaches comes straight from God through Jesus, Paul insists. Those who say otherwise deserve to be cursed!

Gospel: Luke 7:1-10
Luke’s account of the centurion whose servant lies dying might appear at first to be a simple story about faith. But this is not just another eager Jesus-follower asking for help. It is a hated Roman, and worse, a military officer, a captain in command of 100 soldiers. This is a man with real power, accustomed to barking commands and having them obeyed. His gentle, respectful request that Jesus issue such a command to heal his servant gains Jesus’s praise and agreement. And it makes clear that Jesus is not just here for Israel but for all.