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St. Barnabas, Apostle (11 June)

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 42: 5-12

Isaiah was the prophet that God chose to speak to the peoples of the Southern Kingdom, or Judah, over the time period preceding and following the collapse and disappearance of the Northern Kingdom, from around 740 to 695 B.C. His ministry was to call the people to repentance and to assure them of God’s faithfulness in keeping His promise to give to them—and all mankind—a savior. Here in today’s lesson, God through Isaiah provides a description of that coming Messiah. Interestingly, in these first two verses, God delivers a prophecy about Jesus’ baptism: that the Holy Spirit will descend upon him. Thereafter follows a description of the nature of that Messiah: gentle, compassionate, righteous, bringer of justice, persevering.

But midway through the reading, God stops to give a description about himself: creator of the heavens and the earth, the giver of life to people. Then he lists what his purpose is in sending the Messiah: to call Jesus—to be the righteousness needed to redeem mankind, to give him as a new covenant for the people, to be a light for all nations, to heal the sick and disabled, to have compassion on prisoners. Then God concludes that he is now bringing new things, a new covenant, to life through that Messiah.

This prophecy, as we know, was indeed fulfilled with the arrival of Jesus. In fact, Jesus said just that when he returned to Nazareth on the Sabbath Day and, when he was given the scroll of Isaiah to read from, he turned to this passage, read it, and said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Luke 4:21.

Our reading for today ends with Isaiah calling for everyone and everything to praise the Lord and to give glory to God. Indeed!

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Nativity of St. John the Baptist (24 June)

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 40: 1-5

Isaiah, one of God’s prophets to the Southern Kingdom, or Judah, during the time of the Northern Kingdom’s spiral into obscurity, generally was responsible for carrying a message of required repentance. In today’s reading, however, it appears that Isaiah has been given a vision some 200 or more years into the future where the people of Judah are lamenting their captivity in Babylon. The words of Isaiah are words of comfort to the people from God, because God is having compassion on his repentant people; their sin has been forgiven, they have been punished for their wickedness. Furthermore, God encourages his people to prepare a pathway for the glory of the Lord to again be seen, this time by all peoples. In order to facilitate the appearance of God on this pathway, highways should be made straight, valleys should be lifted up, mountains and hills should be leveled, and rough and uneven ground should be smoothed.

But how is this done? By the people repenting!

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Second Lesson: Acts 13: 13-26

St. Paul and his companions, Barnabas and John Mark, have just started out on St. Paul’s first missionary journey. For some reason, John Mark left the group and returned to Jerusalem after they arrived in Asia Minor. Paul and Barnabas subsequently arrive in Antioch of Pisidia, where on the Sabbath Day in the synagogue, they are invited to bring a message of encouragement to the attendees. St. Paul could not have asked for a better invitation, so he arises and recounts the history of the Children of Israel from their time of slavery in Egypt to the conquering of the Promised Land, to the period of the judges until the time of Samuel when they asked for a human king in place of God as their king. St Paul then notes that their first king, Saul, was followed by David, from whose offspring a Savior was promised by God. That Savior St. Paul identifies as Jesus, the one for whom John the Baptist prepared the way by preaching a message of repentance. St. Paul concludes: our salvation has arrived!

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Gospel Lesson: Luke 1: 57-80

Let’s recount St. Luke’s history up to this point. The birth of John the Baptist was foretold to his father, Zechariah the priest, as he was performing his duty of burning incense in the Temple at the hour of prayer. Suddenly an angel appears to Zechariah and announces that his barren wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son whose name is to be John and who will turn many of the Children of Israel back to God. Amazingly, Zechariah questions the message of the angel, to which the angel states that Zechariah will be mute until the time of the fulfillment of his message.

Six months later, the same angel, Gabriel, appears to Mary to announce that she will be the mother of the Promised Messiah. Mary accepts her assignment humbly, but then hurries to her relative, Elizabeth, who immediately recognizes Mary as the mother of the Messiah, and whose baby leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb at the appearance of Mary, now pregnant with Jesus. The joy in the house is verbalized with Mary’s song of praise to God, which we know as the Magnificat.

Mary’s visit with Elizabeth lasts for three months, just as Elizabeth is ready to give birth. When she does, the relatives arrive to share in the joy and to be a part of the naming of this boy at his circumcision. But when the relatives want to name the boy Zechariah after his father, Elizabeth insists that his name is to be John, despite there being no relative with that name. Unwilling to accept Elizabeth’s choice, the relatives turn to Zechariah, who writes that the boy’s name will be John. And as the angel predicted, Zechariah immediately regains his voice. But then the Holy Spirit intervenes, filling Zechariah and prophesying through him that through John’ ministry, God’s promises of deliverance from their enemies will be initiated as he prepares the way for the coming Messiah, who will bring salvation, forgiveness of sins, and light, the deliverance that they need the most.

St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (29 June)

First Lesson: Acts 15: 1-12 (13-21)

Paul and Barnabus just recently have returned from that first missionary journey to Asia minor. They are now in Antioch when some men from Judea arrive on the scene to straighten them out. No, they claim, faith is not enough. Every Christian (male) must also be circumcised—implying that the covenant that God made through Moses was still in effect. That is to say, the covenant that Jesus made with us through his blood sacrifice was not sufficient. One can almost imagine the fierce discussion that must have followed as Paul and Barnabas debated with them. Finally the Antioch church decided to sent a contingent to Jerusalem, where the issue could be decided by the apostles. And as they went through Phoenicia and Samaria, they shared the good news of salvation for the Gentiles as they went, bringing great joy to their hearers.

After their arrival in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas must have been shocked to discover that believers that still belonged to the Pharisees insisted that Christians not only must be circumcised but must keep all the laws of Moses. Then Peter got up and reminded them of what they had decided after Peter came back from that astounding episode in the household of Cornelius (Acts 10), where these Gentiles were baptized in the Holy Spirit just as the disciples were on the day of Pentecost. The assembly then became silent as Paul and Barnabas recounted all of the miracles and healings that Jesus had done through their hands during their missionary trip. Finally James, the brother of Jesus and regarded as the head of the church in Jerusalem, got up and recounted a number of the passages in the Old Testament where God made it very clear that he, God, intended salvation for all peoples, not just Jews, right from the beginning. With that, the decision was clear that the old covenant had been replaced by the new covenant, but that the new Christians still needed to observe certain things, including

—staying away from anything polluted by idols,
—abstaining from sexual immorality, and
—not eating meat from strangulated animals (where the blood was still present in the meat) or the blood itself.
It was a tremendous day where the freedom we have in Christ was confirmed.

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Epistle Lesson: Galatians 2: 1-10

Galatia was a large province in what is now central Turkey, through which Paul and Barnabas had preached during their first missionary journey. St. Paul now finds it necessary to write to them regarding what they now believe: that new Christians (males) have to be circumcised and must adhere to all the rules and customs laid out in Moses’ writings. Note that this letter was written before the meeting in Jerusalem that was described in our first lesson for this day. In the first chapter of Galatians, St. Paul establishes that he is an apostle called and instructed by Jesus himself, and it was only 14 years after his conversion that he went to Jerusalem to meet the other apostles. He took with him Titus, a Greek, who was not circumcised, and no objection was made to that until some false Christians came in to insist on circumcision. After further discussion, the apostles acknowledged that God had called St. Paul as a missionary to the Gentiles. Then Peter, James, and John offered St. Paul the right hand of fellowship, confirming his call to the uncircumcised, the Gentiles. They only asked St. Paul to remember the poor, something that St. Paul had already been eager to do.

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Gospel Lesson: Matthew 16: 13-19

Jesus’ ministry has been plagued by two continuing obstacles:
—The religious leaders fanatically oppose him because he doesn’t

accept their man-made rules and regulations.
—The people are looking for a Messiah who will be a political and

military leader, overcoming the Romans and making the Jews the world’s superior people, which they are convinced they are.

In today’ reading, Jesus pauses with his disciples in order to find out directly from them what their perspective is on his ministry. This prompts Peter to blurt out his famous confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus responds with the following statements:

—It is on this bedrock of faith and confession that He will be able to build His Church,

—The gates of hell will not be able to withstand the Church’s march to victory over the devil, the world, and even our own flesh.

—His disciples will be given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, keeping the doors locked for those who refuse to repent and believe (thus not having their sins forgiven), but opening the doors to those who repent and believe (thus having their sins forgiven).

The Bible text then adds, beyond our current reading, that, to the disciples’ amazement, he tells them not to tell others that he is the real Messiah, because the peoples’ expectation of the Messiah was for worldly gain, not for heavenly treasure.

St. James the Elder, Apostle (25 July)

First Lesson: Acts 11: 27 - 12:5

It has been a busy year. St. Peter has experienced a revelation after the Holy Spirit arranged to have him witness to the household of the Roman army officer Cornelius in Caaesarea, resulting in God baptizing the entire household with the Holy Spirit just as the disciples were on the day of Pentecost. After Peter was called to Jerusalem for entering the house of a Gentile and baptizing them with water, the early Christian church was beginning to realize that God meant to save all people, not just the Jews, after St. James drew it to their attention. Subsequently, we find the church in Antioch growing by leaps and bounds. And when the prophet Agabus appears in their midst to predict a forth-coming world- wide famine, the Antioch church starts a collection to help the persecuted saints in Judea.

But then King Herod Agrippa I (grandson of King Herod the Great) discovers that he can please the Jews by persecuting the Christian church, when he arrested St. James (the brother of St. John) and had him executed. So he followed that up by having St. Peter arrested and thrown into prison, guarded 24/7 by four squads of four soldiers each. Since Peter’s trial was scheduled after the Passover, the Christian church made earnest prayer to God for Peter’s return.

A lesson to be learned from history: When individuals and church bodies in the Christian church are experiencing persecution, the church should be making continual prayer to God for His intervention on their behalf. We cannot sit by passively, just hoping for the best.

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Epistle Lesson: Romans 8: 28-39

St. Paul continues his treatise on the persecuted Christian by assuring us that, if we love God and are following His will, then He will make any circumstance we face turn out for our good. After all, God has determined from the beginning of time (Ephesian 1:4) that true believers would be called for His purpose, justified by Jesus’ death and resurrection, and destined for eternal glory. But we need to remember that God the Father allowed His only Son to die for us after being falsely accused, but raised him from the dead and elevated him to the highest position in Heaven after the Father. Likewise, even though God is for us, we can expect to be falsely accused because of our witness, and even condemned.

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St. Mary Magdalene (22 July)

Old Testament Lesson: Proverbs 31: 10-31

The Book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon, the wisest man that lived at that time. God had asked King Solomon, at the beginning of his reign, what he wanted most of all. When King Solomon responded with “discernment,” God was so pleased that he not only granted that request, but also added honor, power, fame, and wealth. That discernment gave rise to a wisdom that is staggering even today. The book of Proverbs was his way of passing on that wisdom to today’s readers.

The topic for this proverb is the characteristics of an excellent wife. What makes her a jewel? Solomon says a wife that can be trusted by her husband, who is there when she is needed and who supports and protects him throughout their marriage. In addition, she works diligently for her household, is astute in business matters, is responsive to the truly poor and needy, provides clothes and coverings for her entire family, and runs a business from home. As a consequence, she is respected by her children and husband, allowing him to achieve God’s plan for him and to be respected by friends, neighbors, and business associates.

Bottom line: charm and beauty may be great among the people of the world, but a woman who fears the Lord, and shows it in what she says and does, is truly worthy of praise.

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Second Reading: Acts 13: 26-31

St. Paul is on his first missionary journey, accompanied by Barnabas. Our reading finds them in the city of Antioch in Asia minor, where they head to the synagogue to worship and to share the Good News when they are invited to share some words of encouragement. St. Paul is only to happy to oblige, and starts out with a very concise history of the Children of Israel, and finishing that history with a concise history of Jesus’ ministry. He then notes that the Jewish rulers did not understand that Jesus was their Messiah and had him killed but that God had raised Jesus from the dead. St. Paul concludes that he and Barnabas were now bringing this message of salvation to them.

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Holy Trinity Sunday

Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 1: 1 - 2: 4a

Today’s reading recounts the creation. By day, these events happened:

Day 1: The heavens and the earth are created. Notice the plural “heavens.” Also notice that the “heavens” seems to be a vast void at this point (see Day 4). The earth is without form, and enveloped in darkness. The Spirit of God hovers over the waters, as if waiting for the next step. Then God creates day and night by creating light.

Day 2: Heaven itself is created as an expanse between (apparently) masses of water.

Day 3: Earth and seas are formed out of the waters under the heavens, and dry land is called forth. Then God causes various kinds of plants, vegetation, and fruit trees to grow from the earth.

Day 4: The sun and moon are created to establish time and seasons. In addition, the stars of the heavens are created. Thus day and night are established.

Day 5: Creatures of the seas and birds of the air are created, and commanded to be fruitful and multiple. Note that this day’s creations required a lot of artistic expression. Why so? Just consider the huge variety of incredibly beautiful fish of the oceans and birds of the tropics.

Day 6: God then calls forth from the earth creatures of all kinds: livestock, crawling things, and beasts. Then God says, “Let us (notice the plural) make man in our image” (presumably a trinity: body, soul, and spirit), to exercise dominion over the earth and everything in and on it. And he creates mankind as male and female so that they could be fruitful and multiply. God then established diets for his creatures: every plant yielding seed and every fruit with seed in it is given to man, while every other living creature is given green plants for food. Notice that at this point, man is not given any other creature (meat) for food.

Day 7: God rests from the previous 6 days of work.

Sunday on June 12 - 18 (Proper 6)

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 19: 2-8

A lot has happened in the three months since the crossing of the Red Sea into Arabia. Pharaoh’s army has been destroyed, the bitter water at Marah has been made sweet, God has rained manna from heaven, God has provided an abundance of water from the rock at Horeb, the attacking Amalekites were defeated, and Moses’ father-in-law, priest of Midian, has provided sound advice to Moses on how to govern this large body of people.

Today’s reading finds the Children of Israel being led by God (the pillar of smoke) to the base of Mt. Sinai, where they encamp. God calls Moses to the top of the mountain, where He first of all reminds Moses (and the Children of Israel) how God has delivered, protected, and sustained them all during the last several months, so that He could bring them to Himself. Then God makes a proposal to the Children of Israel;

If they will obey Him and keep His special covenant agreement with Him, then God will make them His treasured possession, His kingdom of priests, and His holy nation.

Note two things about this proposal. First, it is a conditional proposal, with a “if . . . , then . . . “ clause. Secondly— as a continued reading of Exodus will reveal, and with an understanding of Jewish custom— it satisfies the requirements of a marriage proposal. (See Amos 2, where God refers to Himself as Israel’s husband.)

When Moses returns to the camp and relays God’s proposal to them, they all respond with a resounding, “We will!”

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Epistle Lesson: Romans 5: 6-15

St. Paul is in the midst of a treatise on faith. Earlier in this chapter, St. Paul explained that the grace of God that saves us is accessed through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Then he notes that we should rejoice in our current suffering, because suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame before God. Today’s lesson then picks up with the observation that God demonstrated his unfathomable love for us by dying for us when we were an abomination in His sight. Consequently, St. Paul assures us, God will continue to love us even more now that we are reconciled to Him.

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Sunday on June 26 - July 2 (Proper 8)

Old Testament Lesson: Jeremiah 28: 5-9

Continuing from last week the saga of the prophet Jeremiah, we find that the King of Babylon had already raided Jerusalem and taken booty as well as officials captive. In the preceding chapter, Jeremiah had prophesied the fall of the kingdoms of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, and Judah to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He further warned these nations that if they opposed the King of Babylon, God would punish that nation with war, famine, and pestilence. Consequently, Jeremiah warned, do not listen to the false prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who are saying, “Peace, peace.”

But Hananiah, a false prophet, rose up against Jeremiah, saying that God had told him that Babylon would fall within 2 years, with the return of the captives. It is at this point that our reading for today begins. Jeremiah says that he hopes that what Hananiah said would come true. But the history of God’s prophets was that they preached war, famine, and pestilence if the people did not obey God. If however a prophet prophesied peace, then only when that peace came to pass would people know that that prophet actually spoke for God.

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Epistle Lesson: Romans 7: 1-13

In today’s lesson, St. Paul continues his discussion of the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. He starts the discussion with the example of marriage: under the Law, a woman is bound to her husband until his death, and then only is she free to marry someone else. Similarly, when Jesus died and was resurrected, believers died and were resurrected with him, so that the Law no longer applies to them. In other words, we died while a slave to sin; once dead, we are no longer a slave to sin. But since we were resurrected with Christ, we are now able to live our life dedicated to Christ through a Spirit-led life. And that explains the process of being born again!

Sunday on June 5 - 11 (Proper 5)

Old Testament Lesson: Hosea 5: 15 - 6: 6

The story of Hosea can set us back into our chairs, because the first thing God does is tell Hosea (his messenger to the Northern Kingdom during its last 30 or so years) to marry a prostitute and have children by her. This seems like a bizarre request. But wait! Don’t you remember that one of the events at Mt. Horeb could be considered a marriage—a marriage between God and the Children of Israel; and that the Ten Commandments were the marriage agreement? And do you recall that one of the commandments is to not commit adultery? As we soon learn as we begin reading Hosea, that is the picture that God wants to present through Hosea’s marriage: That the Children of Israel, by worshipping the Baals and Asherahs instead of God, were committing spiritual adultery against God as surely as having a relationship with a prostitute.

As we approach today’s reading, we find God warning both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms (known otherwise as Israel or Ephraim, and as Judah, respectively) that punishment is coming. Then, as today’s reading starts, God states that he is just going to abandon them until they truly acknowledge their sin, repent, and earnestly turn back to him. And how do Israel and Judah respond? “No sweat,” they say, because even though they may have some problems here and there, they still remember that they are God’s chosen people, so God is going to bless them anyway, no matter what they do.

But God sees it differently. He describes their love for him as dew that vanishes with the morning sun; it just doesn’t last very long. So God states that judgment and punishment are going forth, because he is not impressed with sacrifices and burnt offerings (in other words, showing up in church on Sunday morning and putting something in the collection plate, but seeking life’s pleasures the rest of the time). Rather, God is seeking a love for him that results in a desire for a better understanding of and relationship to God.

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Epistle Lesson: Romans 4: 13-25

As St. Paul continues his discussion of the Christian faith with the Christians in Rome, he now provides an example from the Old Testament of how righteousness came through faith, not through the works of the Law. His example is that of Abraham, who was promised an offspring who would be heir to the whole world—referring to Jesus, of course. But that promise was not a result of obedience to the Law, which came 500 years later through Moses, but through faith in which Abraham believed God, and that belief was credited to Abraham by God as righteousness. Again, since the promise was based not on works but on faith, that promise was a gift of God’s grace (unmerited favor). And because it was a gift, that promise would be to all of Abraham’s offspring, which would include all who believe in Jesus.

To further reassure Abraham of the surety of his promise, God also promised Abraham that he would be the (spiritual) father of many nations. That is to say, the promise was based on faith, so that it did not matter whether the person who believed was Jew or Gentile. Now, Abraham was around 99 years old, and Sarah around 89 years old, when God made these promises to Abraham, and in particular, a promise of an heir coming from Abraham and Sarah. Abraham could easily have focused on Sarah’s long history of barrenness, so that her becoming fertile at her present age would be unthinkable even today. Yet he focused on God’s promise, not the circumstances. And that faith in God resulted in God declaring Abraham righteous. In a similar way, then, God declares us righteous when we believe him.

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Gospel Lesson: Matthew 9: 9-13

Today’s reading finds Jesus in Capernaum, where he has just healed a man who was paralyzed. As he continues on his way, he sees a man called Matthew, who is a tax collector. Now, in those days, people really despised tax collectors, so much so that they were automatically considered one of the worst of sinners. So why would Jesus extend an invitation to Matthew to follow him? As it turns out, Matthew accepts Jesus’ invitation, and to show his delight in being called to be Jesus’ disciple, he arranges a banquet at his home, to which he also invites his tax-collector co-workers as well as other people who were considered “sinners” by the Jewish elite.

Well, it didn’t take long for the Pharisees to see this and criticize Jesus, saying that he is consorting with tax collectors and sinners. But Jesus sets them straight. People go to a physician because they know they need medical care; but people who do not realize that they are sick do not go to a physician, with sometimes disastrous results down the road. Similarly, Jesus is there for those who realize that they are sinners and need a savior, but those who consider themselves righteous will not benefit from God’s forgiveness. Then Jesus echoes the words from our Old Testament reading for today: God is not interested in our “sacrifices,” but rather on demonstrating the love of God to our neighbor.

Sunday on June 19 - 25 (Proper 7)

Old Testament Lesson: Jeremiah 20: 7-13

You may recall that Jeremiah was one of God’s prophets to the Southern Kingdom during the last 35 years or so of its existence, before its people went into Babylonian captivity. His calls to repentance met with hostility from the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah, including its secular and religious leaders. Thus he was most familiar with persecution throughout his ministry. In fact, as we start our reading for today, we find Jeremiah just being released from prison after a severe beating because he had prophesied the coming disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. His words are words of distress, because he apparently had thought that, since he was speaking the words that God gave him, God would protect him. Yet he cannot squelch the words that God has put within him to speak, so his listeners still seek to do evil to him. But then Jeremiah remembers that when people persecute him, they are actually persecuting God, and God will take vengeance. This thought then results in praise to God from Jeremiah.

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Epistle Lesson: Romans 6: 12-23

St. Paul points out to the Romans (and us!) that since we have been raised from the dead by the death and resurrection of Christ, we have been freed from our slavery to sin. Therefore we are to resist every temptation to sin, thereby presenting ourselves to God as an instrument for righteousness. And we certainly are not to use the argument that, since grace covers our sins, we can sin away because grace will continue to cover those sins. He then reminds us that the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God through Jesus Christ is eternal life. We still have a choice as to whom we will obey!

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Gospel Lesson: Matthew 10: 5a, 21-33

Jesus here gives some wise advice regarding persecution for His sake. His warns first of all that when persecution comes, we will be hated by everybody, and that even members of our own household may turn against us or even betray us. After all, if Jesus was persecuted, we certainly will be persecuted. But when persecution comes, we should be prepared to flee. Our job still is to share the good news of the kingdom.

But then He notes that we should not fear our persecutors, because, all they can do is kill the body. If we deny Jesus, then we will face God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Rather, we should trust that God is fully aware of our circumstances, and that He has our reward waiting for us in Heaven.

The Ascension of Our Lord (10 days before Pentecost)

First Lesson: Acts 1: 1-11

Dr. Luke had been commissioned by a man named Theophilus to write a history of Jesus’ walk on earth, which constitutes the Gospel of Luke. Now Theophilus would like Dr. Luke to write the history of the acts of the early church. St. Luke begins by noting that Jesus spent an additional 40 days on earth after his resurrection, appearing to his apostles and speaking further about the Kingdom of Heaven. Then he gave them an interesting command. Although they now knew that he had risen from the dead and had a glorified body, and even though Jesus had given them further insight as to their mission after three years of on- the-job training, Jesus tells them not to attempt any missionary work, but rather to stay in Jerusalem, praying, until after they have been baptized by the Holy Spirit, in accordance with Jesus’ characterization by John the Baptist (Luke 3:16).

And it is with good reason, because once, when they were gathered around Jesus, the disciples wanted to know whether Jesus was going to restore the Jewish earthly kingdom now. They still hadn’t grasped what Jesus was all about! Jesus responded by telling them it was none of their business what God the Father was going to do. But he does tell them that the Holy Spirit will fall upon them, by which they will receive power to become effective witnesses for Jesus. Consequently, they will start going throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria (the Northern Kingdom), and then to the whole world, bringing the good news of forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation by believing in Jesus’ sacrifice. And with that a cloud picks Jesus up and carries him into heaven.

And while the disciples are standing there, gawking up into the sky, suddenly two men in white robes appear and ask them why they are just standing there looking up. Then they note that, in the same way that Jesus ascended into heaven, so he will descend to the earth on Judgment Day.

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St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (1 May)

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 30: 18-21

Isaiah was God’s messenger for over 50 years to the people of the Southern Kingdom, or Judah, surrounding the time in 720 B.C. that the Northern Kingdom was conquered and dispersed throughout Assyria. This should have been a strong message to the Southern Kingdom, but sadly it fell on deaf ears. The messages of the need for repentance from their rebellious ways, and the need to depend on God instead of depending on neighboring nations, followed by God’s grace toward them and the restoration of their glory, marks the major themes of Isaiah.

In the passage immediately preceding today’s reading, God warns the people of Judah about doing things their way instead of God’s way. For example they put their trust in nations that cannot help them, and demand from God’s prophets to tell them what they want to hear. Such an attitude, God warns, will only lead to sudden destruction. Then, just before our reading begins, God tries a different approach: he tells them that they can be saved if they return to him. There is still time to repent! If they do, the Lord will be kind to them, have compassion on them, and pity them. And through whatever troubles and hardships they may have, the Lord will be there to guide and teach them.

Sounds like something that we can take to heart today!

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Epistle Lesson: Ephesian 2: 19-22

As St. Paul continues his letter of encouragement to the Christians in Ephesus, he notes that Gentiles, who had been driven away from God by the Jews who practiced a religion of exclusion instead of inclusion, have now been brought to God by the blood sacrifice of that great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus. Furthermore, since Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, Gentiles who believe in Jesus have the exact same status as Jews who believed in a coming Messiah in Old Testament days and now believe in Jesus in this New Testament period. So Jesus brought peace with God to the Jews (those who were “near”), and also to the Gentiles (those who are “far off”), making the two  groups fellow citizens and legitimate children of the same household of God. In addition, with Jesus being the cornerstone, the Old Testament saints based on the foundation of the prophets, and the New Testament saints based on the foundation of the apostles, are being built into a temple, a dwelling place for God Himself. Through the Holy Spirit, we are being built into a place where God lives.

The Visitation (31 May)

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 11: 1-5

Although Isaiah’s message generally was one of a cry for repentance so that God could restore the Southern Kingdom, today we find him introducing the Messiah as the “root of Jesse,” that is to say, King David’s father. He then describes what it will be like when Jesus reigns in men’s hearts.

He will be characterized by
—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

—the Spirit of counsel and might, and
—the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.

In addition,
—his delight will be in the fear of the Lord,
—he will not judge with what his eyes see or his ears hear, but

with righteousness and equity; and

—he will render justice to the wicked.

Righteousness and faithfulness will be the key characteristics of this Messiah. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

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Epistle Lesson: Romans 12: 9-16

St. Paul here gives multiple recommendations for the behavior of true Christians, including

—abhorring any kind of evil,
—genuinely loving one another with brotherly affection,
—serving the Lord fervently,
—being patient during tribulation, being constantly in prayer,
—giving your charity to the needy saints,
—showing hospitality,
—blessing those who persecute you (how contrary is this to your nature?)

—empathizing with others, whether they are rejoicing or weeping,
—living in harmony with others (especially within your own family!), and

—not being haughty or thinking you are superior.

Fifth Sunday of Easter

First Lesson: Acts 6: 1-9, and 7: 2a, 51-60

Today’s reading gives us another glimpse of the early New Testament church, this time with conflicts developing. Up to this point, the disciples had still been concentrating their evangelistic efforts on their own ethnic group, the Jews, of which there were two groups: The Hellenists—Greek-speaking Jews living outside of Palestine; and the Hebrews—Aramaic- and Hebrew-speaking Jews living within Palestine. Now it may be hard for us to imagine how anyone could discriminate against someone who does not speak our language, or even not speak our language well, but here you have it. Recall that widows depended on the charity of others to survive if they had no family to support them. In this case, those who were Hellenists widows were being discriminated against during the daily distribution of food. When they cried out to the apostles, the apostles called a meeting of all the disciples and suggested that they look for seven men who were notable for their Christian words and deeds and who were diligent students of the Word, and appoint them to carry out the distribution of food. These folks might be considered Deacons today.

In any case, the seven men are found and appointed, and God continued to prosper their evangelistic efforts, even bringing many priests to the faith. Meanwhile, Stephen, one of the seven, allowed God’s Word to work through him with power, doing many signs and wonders among the people, so much so that certain groups of Jews tried to confound Stephen in debates, but were soundly defeated as the Holy Spirit gave him special wisdom. These Jews were the “Freedmen,” believed to be those Jews who had been slaves but subsequently given their freedom, who came from various regions, and who resorted to the same technique used on Jesus: accuse Stephen falsely of blasphemy. When Stephen is given a chance to defend himself, he lays it on the line plainly, saying that his accusers are just like their fathers, who killed practically every prophet that God ever sent their way, and they killed Jesus too out of jealousy. Stephen’s audience, faced with their own unrighteousness, instead of repenting, drag Stephen outside the city and stone him to death—thus getting rid of God’s voice calling them to repentance.

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Sixth Sunday of Easter

First Lesson: Acts 17: 16-31

St. Paul is in the midst of his second missionary journey to Asia Minor and Greece. He has just been forced out of Thessalonica and Berea because the Jews are jealous of the followings he gathers when he preaches and teaches. The Berean brethren hurriedly send St. Paul by ship to Athens to preclude any physical danger to St. Paul, while Silas and Timothy follow him by land. Since St. Paul has time on his hands while he is waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive, he wanders around Athens, and is amazed by all the different kinds of idols he sees, all to every kind of god imaginable. So he starts to address this in the synagogues and marketplaces, thereby catching the interest of two groups of philosophers: the Epicureans—those who believe in the indulgence of sensual pleasures, and the Stoics—those who believe in the repression of emotion and an indifference to pleasure. St. Paul’s preaching of Jesus and the resurrection is something new to these philosophers, so he is brought to the Areopagus—a religious council having jurisdiction over the civil and religious doings of Athens. There St. Paul gives an incredibly astute introduction to his observations in Athens, followed by a concise history of the world, from the God who created it to the God who redeemed it, ending with St. Paul issuing God’s command that all people should repent.

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Epistle Lesson: 1 Peter 3: 13-22

Recall from last week’s reading that St. Peter had described how the New Testament Christians have the identical calling that God had issued to the Children of Israel at the time that Moses was leading them out of Egypt toward the Promised Land. Their—and our responsibility—was and is to proclaim the mercy and grace of the God who called us out of rebellion to be his children. But now he notes that this witness may not be without consequence. However, despite the suffering brought about by our witness, we are to be prepared to testify to anyone who asks us about the hope we have. But then St. Peter advises that we do so with gentleness and respect, in the same way that St. Paul addressed the Athenians, so that those who slander us for our righteous behavior in Christ will be put to shame. After all, it is better to suffer for doing God’s will rather than for doing evil, just as Christ did when on earth. His suffering, death, and resurrection secured our status as Children of God. St. Peter then explains that after his resurrection, Jesus descended to hell to proclaim to the unbelievers there that their rejection of God during the Old Testament period justified their current and continuing punishment, particularly since Noah—while he was building the ark—preached repentance to many of them, but to no avail. St. Peter then compares the passage of Noah and his family through the waters of the flood to our baptism, since both brought the individual to salvation—all through believing God.

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Seventh Sunday of Easter

First Lesson: Acts 1: 12-26

As our reading begins today, we find the apostles returning to Jerusalem from Mt. Olivet, from which they had just witnessed the ascension of Jesus into Heaven. They return to an upper room where they continually engage in prayer with a number of the women disciples as well as Jesus’ mother and brothers. A few days later they gather with all of the disciples, 120 in total, during which Peter is inspired to replace Judas—the apostle who betrayed Jesus and then, when feeling guilty about it, went out and hanged himself, which probably means impaling himself on a sword.

In any case, Peter lays out the criteria for selecting a replacement for Judas. And of the two possible candidates presented, the one was chosen by lot—the method used throughout the Old Testament period.

The New Testament period now uses a different method, with criteria listed in 1 Timothy 3 as well as Titus 1.

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Epistle Lesson: 1 Peter 4: 12-19 and 5: 6-11

St. Peter continues his discussion of the sufferings, trials, and tribulations of the witnessing Christian, noting that such sufferings should not catch one by surprise. Recall the words of Jesus when he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” John 13:16. Since Christ suffered, it is to be expected that we will suffer when we obey him. In fact, Jesus also said, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23.

St. Peter echoes those sentiments here, but also cautions that we should not expect God’s commendation if we suffer for unrighteous behavior. He then notes that judgment will begin with those in the household of God; and if that is so, what kind of judgment will fall on those who are ungodly? Consequently,

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Seventh Sunday of Easter

First Lesson: Acts 1: 12-26

As our reading begins today, we find the apostles returning to Jerusalem from Mt. Olivet, from which they had just witnessed the ascension of Jesus into Heaven. They return to an upper room where they continually engage in prayer with a number of the women disciples as well as Jesus’ mother and brothers. A few days later they gather with all of the disciples, 120 in total, during which Peter is inspired to replace Judas—the apostle who betrayed Jesus and then, when feeling guilty about it, went out and hanged himself, which probably means impaling himself on a sword.

In any case, Peter lays out the criteria for selecting a replacement for Judas. And of the two possible candidates presented, the one was chosen by lot—the method used throughout the Old Testament period.

The New Testament period now uses a different method, with criteria listed in 1 Timothy 3 as well as Titus 1.

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Epistle Lesson: 1 Peter 4: 12-19 and 5: 6-11

St. Peter continues his discussion of the sufferings, trials, and tribulations of the witnessing Christian, noting that such sufferings should not catch one by surprise. Recall the words of Jesus when he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” John 13:16. Since Christ suffered, it is to be expected that we will suffer when we obey him. In fact, Jesus also said, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23.

St. Peter echoes those sentiments here, but also cautions that we should not expect God’s commendation if we suffer for unrighteous behavior. He then notes that judgment will begin with those in the household of God; and if that is so, what kind of judgment will fall on those who are ungodly? Consequently,

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Holy Trinity Sunday

Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 1: 1 - 2: 4a

Today’s reading recounts the creation. By day, these events happened:

Day 1: The heavens and the earth are created. Notice the plural “heavens.” Also notice that the “heavens” seems to be a vast void at this point (see Day 4). The earth is without form, and enveloped in darkness. The Spirit of God hovers over the waters, as if waiting for the next step. Then God creates day and night by creating light.

Day 2: Heaven itself is created as an expanse between (apparently) masses of water.

Day 3: Earth and seas are formed out of the waters under the heavens, and dry land is called forth. Then God causes various kinds of plants, vegetation, and fruit trees to grow from the earth.

Day 4: The sun and moon are created to establish time and seasons. In addition, the stars of the heavens are created. Thus day and night are established.

Day 5: Creatures of the seas and birds of the air are created, and commanded to be fruitful and multiple. Note that this day’s creations required a lot of artistic expression. Why so? Just consider the huge variety of incredibly beautiful fish of the oceans and birds of the tropics.

Day 6: God then calls forth from the earth creatures of all kinds: livestock, crawling things, and beasts. Then God says, “Let us (notice the plural) make man in our image” (presumably a trinity: body, soul, and spirit), to exercise dominion over the earth and everything in and on it. And he creates mankind as male and female so that they could be fruitful and multiply. God then established diets for his creatures: every plant yielding seed and every fruit with seed in it is given to man, while every other living creature is given green plants for food. Notice that at this point, man is not given any other creature (meat) for food.

Day 7: God rests from the previous 6 days of work.

Second Lesson: Acts 2: 14a and 22-36

Today’s reading is another excerpt from the events that occurred on the Day of Pentecost. In particular, it is another portion of Peter’s sermon on that date, in which he first of all establishes Jesus as a man through whom God (the Father) did many mighty works, wonders, and signs. Peter then points to his listeners as the ones who crucified and killed Jesus—thereby fulfilling a plan by the foreknowledge of God. Peter then establishes that Jesus’ resurrection was foretold by King David, to whom God had promised that one of his descendants would occupy an eternal throne (2 Samuel 7). Next, Peter notes that subsequent to Jesus’ resurrection, he was exalted to the right hand of the Father, and has received the Holy Spirit whom He is now pouring out on the believers. Thus God has made Jesus both Lord (deity) and Christ. In other words, within a few minutes, Peter establishes the truth of the Godhead trinity and establishes Jesus as both true man and true God.

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Gospel Lesson: Matthew 28: 16-20

Jesus and his eleven disciples are in Galilee, on a mountain top, where Jesus gives them some last instructions. Namely, God the Father has given Jesus, the Son, all authority in heaven and earth (i.e., the entire creation). Jesus then commands his disciples to continue the work that He had begun by

—making disciples of all nations,
—baptizing all new disciples in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (i.e., the Trinity), and
—teaching all new disciples to observe all that Jesus had commanded them (the disciples) to do [so we have the responsibility to read the four gospels in order to find out what all it was that Jesus commanded his disciples to do!].

Jesus then assures his disciples that He will be with them always, even to the end of the New Testament period. This then is a promise that we need to hold on to as we live in this present age.

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