Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 29, 2022 (Easter 7C)

First Reading or alternate Second Reading: Acts 2:1-21

Come, Holy Spirit! It is Pentecost, the Jewish feast of Shavuot, and the Spirit – the Advocate that Jesus had promised that God would send to the apostles in his name – comes to them in a burst of wind and tongues of fire in the room where they are gathered.

This is a noisy, exciting scene. We might interpret it as a reversal of humanity’s division into many languages at the Tower of Babel: every person in the crowd of spectators from many nations hears the apostles speaking in his or her own native tongue. Peter then preaches to the crowd in the apocalyptic words of the Prophet Joel, foretelling that God will pour out the Spirit on all people in the last days.

Alternate First Reading: Genesis 11:1-9

The story of the Tower of Babel is another of the ancestral legends in Genesis that children and adults alike enjoy hearing re-told. It follows immediately after the stories of Noah and his family, and it clearly hadn’t taken long for humanity to get into trouble again. Now they are building a huge city and a mighty tower that can reach the heavens, a development that troubles their creator. A careful reading shows us that God wasn’t angry that they tried to reach heaven, but rather worried that – echoing Adam and Eve’s desire to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil – they would learn too much and become too wise. By causing this prideful people to speak different languages that others could not understand, God encouraged them to scatter out and fill the earth.

Psalm: Psalm 104:25-35, 37

This portion of Psalm 104, a resounding hymn of praise, celebrates God as the creator of all the Earth and everything that lives on it. God made all things great and small, we sing. God made the countless creatures that live in the sea; even Leviathan, the great whale, which the Psalmist imagines that God made “for the sport of it.” God feeds all creation, in life and in death. May God rejoice in all creation as we rejoice in God. “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17

In this short reading from Paul’s letter to the Romana we see him beginning to sketch our concepts that the early church, over the next few centuries, would gradually work out the form of Trinity that we still proclaim in the Nicene Creed: God, Abba, the Father, sends God’s Holy Spirit to lead us to become children of God, with Jesus, the Son of God with whom we suffer and through whom we are glorified.

Gospel: John 14:8-17,25-27

Through much of Eastertide our Gospels have taken us through Jesus’ farewell discourse to the apostles during the Last Supper, as told by John. This week we return to verses that we heard just a few weeks ago. In the verses preceding this passage, Jesus has told the apostles that he will be leaving them soon. But now, speaking in what is essentially John’s version of Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles – he assures them that Jesus remains in God and God in Jesus, and that God’s Holy Spirit will be with them forever. The Holy Spirit comes as an eternal Advocate, sent in Jesus’s name to teach us, to lead us and to comfort us with that great peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for June 9, 2019

First Reading or alternate Second Reading: Acts 2:1-21

Come, Holy Spirit! It is Pentecost, and we hear the breath of the Holy Spirit – the Advocate that Jesus had promised that God would send to the apostles in his name – through all our readings.

In Sunday’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples are gathered for Shavuot, the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Pentecost in Greek), which celebrates the gift of knowledge through Torah. While they are gathered, the Spirit comes down to them in a mighty wind and tongues of fire, bringing them the gift of many tongues. The Spirit sends the apostles out to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all the people of the earth.

Alternate First Reading: Genesis 11:1-9

The story of the Tower of Babel is another of the ancestral legends in Genesis that children and adults alike enjoy hearing re-told. It follows immediately after the stories of Noah and his family, and it clearly hadn’t taken long for humanity to get into trouble again. Now they are building a huge city and a mighty tower that can reach the heavens, a development that troubles their creator. A careful reading shows us that God wasn’t angry that they tried to reach heaven, but rather worried that – echoing Adam and Eve’s desire to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil – they would learn too much and become too wise. By causing this prideful people to speak different languages that others could not understand, God encouraged them to scatter out and fill the earth.

Psalm: Psalm 104:25-35

This lovely hymn of praise begins with images that must surely bring pleasure in anyone who loves ships, the sea and the whales who do indeed seem to “sport” in it as they leap and spout under God’s blue skies and brilliant sunlight. And then, over the waters, we see the breath of God that brings us life, just as in the first moments of creation when God’s spirit-breath blew over the waters like a mighty wind separating land from sea, night from day.

Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17

In this short passage from his letter to the early church in Rome, Paul quickly sketches an idea that the early church would work out as Trinity over the centuries that followed. God the Creator inspires us – literally, breathes belief into us – through the Holy Spirit. This redeems us from the slavery of fear, making us adopted children of God, sharing our heritage with Jesus, the son of God, with whom we suffer and through whom we are glorified.

Gospel: John 14:8-17, 25-27

If the closing verses of Sunday’s Gospel seem familiar, they should: We heard those same lines just three weeks ago, when Jesus assured the apostles that God would send the Advocate – the Holy Spirit – in Jesus’ name, to guide them and remind them of all that Jesus taught. Now we go back and hear the words that led up to that promise: Jesus assures the apostles that Jesus dwells in God and God in Jesus. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” he says. God has done God’s works through Jesus, showing us the face of the Father in the acts of the Son. Now, through the power of the Spirit, we are reminded of all that Jesus taught.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for May 15, 2016

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21

Come, Holy Spirit! It is Pentecost, and the Spirit – the Advocate that Jesus had promised that God would send to she apostles in his name – comes into the room in wind and tongues of fire. This is a noisy, exciting scene. We might interpret it as a reversal of humanity’s division into many languages at the Tower of Babel: every person in the crowd of spectators from many nations hears the apostles speaking in his or her own native tongue. Peter then preaches to the crowd in the apocalyptic words of the Prophet Joel, foretelling that God would pour out the Spirit on all God’s people in the last days.

Psalm 104:25-35, 37

We sing this resounding hymn of praise today, celebrating God as the creator of all the earth and everything that lives on it. God made all things great and small, even the countless creatures that live in the sea; even Leviathan, the great whale, which the Psalmist imagines that God made “for the sport of it.” God feeds all creation, in life and in death. May God rejoice in all creation as we rejoice in God. “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17

In this short reading we see Paul sketching ideas that the early church would eventually work out as Trinity and proclaim in the Nicene Creed: God, Abba, the Father, sends God’s Holy Spirit to lead us to become children of God, with Jesus, the Son of God, with whom we suffer and through whom we are glorified.

Gospel: John 14:8-17, 25-27

Does the end of today’s Gospel sound familiar? We heard the ending verses just three weeks ago, when Jesus assured the apostles that God would send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name, to guide them and remind them of all that Jesus taught. Now we hear the preceding verses, in which Jesus assures the apostles that Jesus dwells in God and God in Jesus: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” God has done God’s works through Jesus; and through the power of the Spirit, those who believe in Jesus may also do those works.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, May 19, 2013.

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21
We find the Holy Spirit blowing through our lives in all four readings for Pentecost Sunday. Near the beginning of the Bible, we read about the Tower of Babel, where God came down and caused a prideful people to speak different languages that others could not understand, scattering them over the earth. Today God the Holy Spirit comes down again, bringing the gift of many tongues, and sending the apostles out to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all the earth. We’re all apostles now, in the original meaning of the Greek word, those sent out to tell the story of Jesus.

Psalm: Psalm 104:25-35
This lovely psalm of praise begins with images that surely bring pleasure in anyone who loves ships, the sea and the whales who do seem to “sport” in it as they leap and spout under God’s blue skies and brilliant sunlight. And then, over the waters, we see the Holy Spirit, literally the breath of God, who brings us life, just as in the first moments of creation when God’s spirit-breath blew over the waters like a mighty wind separating land from sea, night from day.

Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17
In this short reading from his letter to the early church in Rome, Paul quickly sketches an idea that the early church would work out as Trinity over the centuries that followed. God the Creator inspires us – literally, breathes belief into us – through the Holy Spirit, showing us our shared heritage with Jesus, the son of God, with whom we suffer and through whom we are glorified. Paul wrote in the verses leading up to this passage that, by having the Holy Spirit dwell in us, we can overcome sin and death.

Gospel: John 14:8-17,25-27
Today’s reading is part of an extended passage from John’s story of the Last Supper, in which Jesus speaks of God in Trinitarian themes, too. Jesus has just told the apostles that he will be leaving them soon, but assures them that Jesus remains in God and God in Jesus, and that God’s Holy Spirit will be with them forever – and with us – as an eternal Advocate, sent in Jesus’s name to teach us, to lead us and to comfort us with that great peace of God that surpasses all understanding.