Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Aug. 7, 2022 (Pentecost 9C)

First Reading (Track One): Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

In recent weeks we have heard from the Prophets Amos and Hosea, who prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel as it fell to the Assyrians.

Now our Track One first readings come to perhaps the greatest of all the prophets – Isaiah – who prophesied to the Southern Kingdom, Judah, a generation later as it fell under threat from the Babylonians. Isaiah’s message is consistent with the earlier prophets in its anger – for example, it likens the people to the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah – and in its lament: The chosen people are going to lose the promised land and the temple. They will be forced into exile because they have failed to keep the covenant that Moses made with God: to “do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow.”

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 15:1-6

In recent weeks in our Track Two first readings we’ve heard about Abraham, the patriarch of the chosen people: God promised that Abraham and Sarah would have a son. Abraham bargained with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if only he could find a few honest people there. Now we turn back to an earlier time. We pick up Abram’s story at an earlier point, when God has not yet named Abraham. Abram makes no secret of his frustration that he and his wife, Sarai, are still waiting for the heir that God has repeatedly promised them. Abram asks God for reassurance, and God responds, repeating the promise that their descendants will be as numerous as the stars.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

In a way, this Psalm expands on the prophecy that we heard in the Isaiah reading. God is not tired and angry about the people’s offerings of thanksgiving and sacrifice, but God expects us to keep our covenant of faith. God calls us to be thankful, to practice righteousness and justice in our lives. God’s expectations of the people are clear and firm: Those who forget God literally risk being torn apart, but those who keep God’s way and remember Israel’s covenant will know salvation.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 33:12-22

Think of how grateful Abram must have been after he heard God’s reassurance that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars. In similar feelings of gratitude the Psalmist sings of relief, joy and thankfulness for God’s love and care. As the prophets consistently shout, the nations and people whom God chooses will be happy; God’s eye remains on those who wait for the Lord. Those who trust in the Lord’s name will know God’s loving-kindness.

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

The Letter to the Hebrews holds an unusual place in the New Testament: Probably written late in the first century, perhaps around the same time as Matthew’s Gospel, its intended audience is thought to have been Jewish Christians who were considering a return to Judaism to escape vicious anti-Christian persecution by the Roman authorities. Throughout its text, sometimes using terms that can sound anti-Jewish to modern ears, the author of Hebrews argues that Christianity is the better way. In these verses, though, the author takes care to speak well of the Abrahamic tradition expressed by the prophets, declaring that Jews and Christians will inherit the city of God through faith, beautifully described as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Gospel: Luke 12:32-40

Do not be afraid, Jesus assures his little flock of followers. God’s kingdom is coming. Still, those who heard Jesus speak the next few lines could be excused for being more than a little fearful: Sell your possessions, Jesus tells them. Make durable purses, and be ready to go when Jesus calls. We don’t know when a thief might come into our house at night, Jesus warns; and who wouldn’t be afraid about that? This is Jesus’s way of telling the apostles to remain ready. The Kingdom may come when we least expect it, bringing us “unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Aug. 11, 2019

First Reading (Track One): Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

In recent weeks we have heard from the Prophets Amos and Hosea, who prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel as it fell to the Assyrians. Now our Track One first readings come to perhaps the greatest of all the prophets – Isaiah – who prophesied to the Southern Kingdom, Judah, a generation later as it fell under threat from the Babylonians.

Isaiah’s message is consistent with the earlier prophets in its anger – it likens the people to Sodom and Gomorrah – and in its lament: The chosen people are going to lose the promised land and the temple. They will be forced into exile because they have failed to keep the covenant that Moses made with God: to “do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow.”

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 15:1-6

In recent weeks our Track Two first readings have looked into the life and work of Abraham, the patriarch of the chosen people: God promising that Abraham and Sarah would have a son; Abraham bargaining with God over Sodom and Gomorrah’s fate. Now we turn back to an earlier chapter, where we find Abram – God has not yet changed his name to Abraham – who is clearly frustrated that he and his wife, Sarai, are still waiting fruitlessly for the heir that God has repeatedly promised them. Abram has followed God’s call and done battle for the people, but his only heir is a slave’s child. He asks for God’s reassurance, and God responds with the repeated promise that Abram’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars.

Psalm: (Track One): Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

Today’s Psalm fits right in with Isaiah’s prophecy to Judah, and expands upon it: God is pleased to have our offerings of thanksgiving, but God expects us to keep our covenant to be faithful, to be thankful and to practice righteousness and justice to others in our lives. Insincere thanksgiving won’t do, the Psalmist warns. Those who keep God’s way and remember the covenant with Moses will know salvation. But those who forget God risk being “torn apart.”

Psalm: (Track Two): Psalm 33:12-22

Imagine how Abram must have felt after receiving God’s reassurance. Relief, joy and gratitude for God’s love and care: These are the themes, too, of psalms like this one, psalms of thanksgiving and praise. As the prophets consistently proclaim, the nations and people whom God chooses will be happy; God’s eye remains on those who wait for the Lord. Those who trust in the Lord’s name will know God’s loving-kindness.

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

As we begin a four-week lectionary visit with the letter to the Hebrews, let’s take care to keep it in historical context. It is not a pastoral letter of Paul but a later document aimed at a broad audience. Hebrews seems to be aimed directly at Jewish Christians who were abandoning Christianity to avoid Roman persecution of the Christian movement. Accordingly, it can be easy to misread its arguments as justification for anti-Judaism. Christianity remains the better way, the author says, arguing that the Jewish patriarchs were faithful long before God revealed the promise of Christ. They saw the promise of Christ from a distance: “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Gospel: Luke 12:32-40

Do not be afraid, Jesus assures his little flock. This gentle reassurance comes just after he has reminded them to live like the lilies of the field, striving only for God’s kingdom and knowing that all the rest will be given as well. Still, the next few lines might have made the disciples at least a little nervous: Sell your possessions. Give alms. Make durable purses: Be ready to go as soon as Jesus calls, dressed for action and your lamps lit. Be on guard, for you don’t know when a thief might come into the house at night. Be ready, Jesus warns, for God’s kingdom may come when we least expect it, bringing us “unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

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 17, 2016

First Reading: Amos 8:1-12

Last week we heard the prophet Amos angrily warning Israel’s king and high priest of the terrible fate that would fall on them and their families if they continued to be unjust. Now he recites a horrifying litany of curses that will come to the land whose rulers “trample the needy and bring to ruin the poor.” Let the land tremble and its people mourn as the sun goes dark and crops fail. The people will hunger and thirst for God’s words as they do for food and water, but they will not find them.

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 18:1-10a

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, begins with our ancestral legend of the Creation, and continues with the familiar stories: Cain and Abel, the Tower of Babel, and Noah and the flood (which has been much in the news in Kentucky this week!) Today we read how the story of the chosen people begins, as God, speaking through three mysterious strangers who receive the patriarch Abraham’s open hospitality, tell him that he and his wife Sarah, despite their age, will have a son, and their offspring will inherit the Promised Land.

Psalm 52

A song perfectly tuned to harmonize with our first reading, this Psalm angrily accuses an unnamed tyrant (perhaps, according to tradition, Doeg the Edomite, who conspired with Saul to kill King David) who “trusted in great wealth,” a liar who loved evil more than good. May God demolish the tyrant, the Psalmist shouts; wicked people who steal from the poor will fail, while those who trust in God’s eternal mercy will live in joy.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 15

Our first reading described the beginning of God’s covenant with the people. Our Psalm lays out the covenant’s fundamental premises. Who may come to the holy hill and reside in God’s tabernacle? We hear a long list of right actions: Do what is right. Don’t slander. Don’t do wrong by our friends or harm the innocent. These are simple commands. Although they may be difficult to live in full, they guide us into a life of righteousness.

Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-28

It is not always easy to decipher the sometimes dense prose of Paul and those who wrote letters in his name. It may help to recognize them as direct advice to a congregation – a sermon in letter form – blending both theological reflection and practical advice. After a theological meditation on Christ as image of the invisible God who made peace through his sacrifice, the author tells us that in becoming a servant of the gospel, he became a servant of the church. As a busy servant, he might remind us of Martha in today’s Gospel. But his call to reconcile ourselves to Christ and proclaim Christ’s supremacy might make us think of Mary.

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Jesus has stopped at the home of his friends Martha and Mary, and we hear the familiar story of the two women who show us very different interpretations of neighborly love. Martha gets busy, eager to ensure that everything is just right. Mary does no work, to Martha’s frustration. She chooses instead to sit at Jesus’ feet, listening, learning and loving. Both practice hospitality, and many of us might recognize some of ourselves in both sisters. Note well, though, that Jesus tells Martha that her sister has chosen the better part.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, July 7, 2013.

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14
Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, was born in Aram; but by the time of the Kings, Aram and Israel were enemies, so the powerful Aramean general Naaman can’t have been excited about his servant’s advice that he go to Israel for a cure for his leprosy. But leprosy was then a terrible and disfiguring disease. It rendered the sufferer unclean, cutting him off from his community. So Naaman went, only to have Elisha add insult to injury by sending out a mere servant out with a ridiculous sounding prescription. Fortunately for Naaman, his servants came to the rescue again, calming his rage at Elisha’s disrespect. It can’t hurt to try, they advised … and behold, Naaman was cured.

Psalm: Psalm 30
What an appropriate Psalm to follow Naaman’s healing! It thanks God for healing a grave illness. Then it celebrates 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.

Second Reading: Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
We now reach the end of a six-week tour through Galatians, in which Paul has declared Christ’s message is universal for all humankind – Jew and Gentile, man and woman, slave and free – standing up against evangelical opponents who fought for a more exclusive way. Paul’s message clearly repeats Jesus’s message: “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” In other words, love your neighbor as yourself.

Gospel: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
In last week’s Gospel, Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem,” telling his disciples in no uncertain terms not to tarry, Now Jesus organizes an advance team of 70 to tell the local villagers that the Kingdom of God is near. Just as the Seventy were called to do then, so we are called today, to act as Christ’s body on earth and proclaim without shame that Jesus brings good news to the poor, release to captives, sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed.