Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 21, 2024 (Pentecost 9B/Proper 11)

The Good Shepherd, (1616), oil painting on canvas by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638). Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading (Track One): 2 Samuel 7:1-14a

As our Track One first readings continue following the life of King David, remember that David’s genealogy is the Messianic line that Christians trace down the ages as the ancestry of Jesus. In Sunday’s Track One first reading, David – having consolidated Israel and Judah under his rule – becomes concerned that the people’s custom of keeping the Ark of the Covenant in a mere tent is insufficient to reflect the greatness of God. David decides to build a great temple to hold the Ark in a place of honor. But God, speaking through the prophecy of Nathan, dismisses this idea. God’s home, Nathan declares, is with the House of David: the dynasty of God’s people.

First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 23:1-6

Sunday we will read about the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23 and Mark’s allusion to the crowds following Jesus as “sheep without a shepherd” in the Gospel. First, though, the Prophet Jeremiah reminds us that, counter to the image of God as loving shepherd, there are bad shepherds who would destroy the flock and send its sheep running away. God will attend to these evildoers, the prophet says, envisioning the Temple restored on Mount Zion and a successor seated on King David’s throne. Then, Jeremiah foretells, the sheep will be gathered in when the people return to Jerusalem.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 89:20-37

This passage from the middle portion of Psalm 89 celebrates God’s covenant with David and his descendants, a royal family that God made to endure forever. David’s line would last even through war’s devastation and exile’s pain, the Psalmist sings; David’s line would remain in spite of fears of God’s wrath over the nation having broken its covenant. Yes, the people’s iniquities might bring punishment, the rod and the lash, but their actions will never take away God’s love nor prevent the rise of a new David, Messiah and King.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 23

This week we turn again to the beloved 23rd Psalm. We hear its verses so often that most of us probably can read along without looking at the words. Psalm 23 appears five times during the three-year Lectionary cycle, and it also is often chosen for funeral services. Surely it is so popular because of its assurance that God’s goodness and mercy are always with us. Reading the psalm, feeling the comforting presence of the Shepherd, puts us back in touch with God’s restoring grace.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22

The author of the letter to the Ephesians takes pains to assure this early community’s Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians that all are fully invested in the community. All have become one through Christ Jesus: Jesus is the cornerstone who brings near even those who were far away. At the time of this writing, late in the first century after the fall of the Temple, Jewish Christianity and rabbinic Judaism were splitting apart. Christianity was actively gathering in Gentile converts, and sought to emphasize the promise that all had become one in Christ.

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

The apostles have returned from their mission to go out in pairs, healing and teaching the good news. They’re eager to tell their stories, but bone-weary, too, so Jesus invites them to go off in a boat to find a deserted place to rest. The excited crowds follow them around the shore to meet them, though, and a compassionate Jesus can’t help responding. These sheep needed a shepherd. Then (after the Lectionary skips over two familiar stories about the loaves and fishes and Jesus walking on water) they finally land at Gennesaret on the other side of the lake. Here, too, people come running like a huge flock of sheep to see Jesus, and he willingly touches and heals all who seek him.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 25, 2021

First Reading (Track One): 2 Samuel 11:1-15

If you wondered why the Lectionary skipped over the story of Jesus feeding the multitude in Mark’s Gospel last Sunday, this week provides the answer: We get John’s account of the loaves and the fishes instead, as our Gospel readings take a midsummer turn to John and the bread of life for the next several weeks.

The Miracle of the Five Loaves and two Fish (1547-1548), oil painting on linden wood panel by Lucas Cranach the Elder, (1472-1553). National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm, Sweden. (Click image to enlarge.)

Before we get to the Gospel, though, our Track One first reading opens a dark chapter in the life of King David. In spite of the fame that David earned through his kingship and victories as a warrior, when he was bad, he was very, very bad. He is so attracted by the sight of beautiful Bathsheba bathing on her roof that he summons her, rapes her – no kinder term will serve for a person in his power taking her without her consent – and then arranges for the death in battle of her husband, Uriah, so he can take her.

First Reading (Track Two): 2 Kings 4:42-44

Just about everyone enjoys the story about the time that Jesus fed a crowd with loaves and fishes that mysteriously multiply to more than fulfill the need. This is surely one of the most familiar Gospel stories. In fact, it is Jesus’ only miracle that is told in all four Gospels; we hear John’s version on Sunday. You may not be so quick to recall the similar story of the Prophet Elisha feeding a similar, if smaller, multitude, though! Faced with a crowd of hungry people, Elisha directed that they be fed from a sack of food that a man had brought to sacrifice. He had only 20 loaves and a bit of grain for 100 people, which didn’t seem like much. But with God’s help it proved to be more than enough. Just as in the Gospel stories, there were even leftovers.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 14

Psalm 14 resonates with David’s heinous behavior in the first reading. The Psalmist, speaking in the voice of a disappointed king, laments that the people have turned faithless and corrupt, foolishly denying God as they commit abominable acts. God looks down to see if any wise people remain, but there are none. But even in these times of evil, the Psalmist sings, God remains with the righteous. God is the refuge of the just, and eventually will deliver the people and restore their fortunes.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 145:10-19

Like many of the Psalms, this hymn of praise and thanksgiving expresses gratitude to a God who is not only powerful but faithful and merciful too. God is always prepared gently to lift up those who fall and to support those who are oppressed, we hear in this portion of Psalm 145. Echoing the bounty that God provided for the hungry people in the Ezekiel reading and the hungry crowd that we will see on the mountainside in John, the Psalmist, too, celebrates God who gives us food; whose outstretched hands satisfy every living creature.

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21

In Sunday’s passage from the letter to the Ephesians we hear the author kneel before God to lift up a prayer for the people being addressed: He prays that the people of Ephesus may receive strength through the Holy Spirit and have Christ living in their hearts through faith. Then this selection closes with a beautiful blessing that the Book of Common Prayer offers as a benediction in Morning and Evening Prayer: “Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.”

Gospel: John 6:1-21

Starting Sunday and continuing through the month of August, our gospel readings will turn from our year with Mark to visit the sixth chapter of John, in which Jesus discourses at length about the bread of life. We begin with John’s version of the familiar story of the loaves and fishes. John hints at the Eucharist in his account, in which Jesus blesses the bread, then distributes five barley loaves and two fish to 5,000 people. Somehow this small portion feeds everyone abundantly, with more left over than they had to start with. The crowds are so amazed that they clamor to make Jesus king, but he slips away, catching up with the startled disciples by walking miles across the water to join them in their boat.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for July 22, 2018

Jesus healing in the land of Gennesaret, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883). Engraving in The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, published in 1885, Stuttgart, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

As our Track One first readings continue following the life of King David, remember that David’s is the Messianic line that Christians trace down the ages as the ancestry of Jesus. In Sunday’s reading, David, having consolidated Israel and Judah under his rule, becomes concerned that the people’s custom of keeping the Ark of the Covenant in a mere tent is insufficient to reflect the greatness of God. David decides to build a great temple, but God, speaking through the Prophet Nathan, dismisses this idea. God’s home, Nathan declares, is with the House of David, the dynasty of God’s people.

First Reading (Track Two): Jeremiah 23:1-6

The image of a shepherd as metaphor for a caring leader who protects the flock recurs in several of our readings today. First we see the prophet Jeremiah speaking fierce truth to the power of Babylon, which had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and was holding many of the people in exile. God is going to round up the remnant of his scattered flock and bring them home like a shepherd with his flock, the prophet declares, and the oppressors will be punished for their evil. Soon God will restore the glory of the lost kingdom, raising up a mighty new king like David.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 89:20-37

Sunday’s Psalm verses celebrate God’s covenant with David and his descendants, a royal family that God made to endure forever. David’s line would last even through war’s devastation and exile’s pain, the Psalmist sings; David’s line would remain even in spite of fears of God’s wrath over the nation having broken its covenant with God. Yes, the people’s iniquities might bring punishment, the rod and the lash, but their actions will never take away God’s love nor prevent the rise of a new David, Messiah and King.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 23

Now we return to the beloved 23rd Psalm. We hear its verses so often that most of us probably can read along without looking at the words. It appears five times in the three-year Lectionary cycle and also is often chosen for funeral services. Surely it is so popular because of its assurance that God’s goodness and mercy are always with us. Reading the Psalm, feeling the comforting presence of the Shepherd, puts us back in touch with God’s restoring grace.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22

The author of the letter to the Ephesians strives to assure formerly Gentile Christians that they are fully invested in the community, completely united with their Jewish Christian sisters and brothers without any need to follow Jewish law. The author writes that all have become one through Christ Jesus, the cornerstone, who brings near even those who were far away. At the time of this writing, late in the first century after the fall of the Temple, Jewish Christianity and rabbinic Judaism were splitting apart. Christianity was actively gathering in Gentile converts, and it was important to emphasize the truth that all had become one in Christ.

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Two Sundays past, we heard Jesus sending his disciples out in pairs to heal the sick, cast out demons, and teach the good news. They’ve come back home now, eager to talk about their mission. Apparently they’re worn out, too, as Jesus invites them go in the boat to a quiet place to rest. But the crowds following Jesus are too eager to wait, so they follow like a herd of sheep, and Jesus feels a shepherd’s compassion for them. Later, they cross over the water and land at Gennesaret, where another large flock comes running to see Jesus. Of course this loving shepherd willingly touches and heals all who come.

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 July 26. 2015

Jesus is portrayed with the loaves and fishes in this ancient Coptic icon.

Just about everyone knows the Gospel stories of Jesus feeding the crowds with the mysteriously multiplying loaves and fishes. It is the only miracle of Jesus that is reported in all four Gospels. This fascinating story about the Prophet Elisha, however, is a little less well-known. The prophet directs an annual harvest sacrifice to a crowd of hungry people; and here, too, a portion that seemed insufficient – only 20 loaves for 100 people! – proves more than enough, with leftovers remaining.

Psalm: Psalm 145:10-19

Like many of the Psalms, this grateful hymn of praise expresses gratitude to a God who is not merely powerful but faithful and merciful, always prepared gently to lift up those who fall and to support those who are oppressed. Echoing the bounty that God provided for the hungry people in Ezekiel and the hungry crowd on the mountainside in John, the Psalmist, too, celebrates God who gives us food; whose outstretched hands satisfy every living creature.

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21


Did you hear a familiar phrase in this reading? First, we hear a prayer that the people of Ephesus would receive strength through the Holy Spirit and have Christ living in their hearts through faith. Then this selection closes with beautiful words that have been adopted as a benediction for Morning or Evening Prayer: “Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.”

Gospel: John 6:1-21

We get two miracles in today’s Gospel. First, we hear John’s version of the familiar story of the loaves and the fishes. John hints at the Eucharist in his account, in which Jesus blesses the bread, then distributes five barley loaves and two fish to 5,000 people, somehow making this small portion feed everyone abundantly, with more left over than they had to start with. The crowds are so amazed that they clamor to make Jesus king, but he slips away, catching up with the startled disciples by walking miles across the water to join them in their boat.