Category: Lectionary Notes

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Lessons and Reflections for the Third Sunday of Advent

Psalm 126
Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Dear Friends,

 This is the Sunday when many traditional churches light a “rose” colored candle on the Advent wreath, signifying the theme of joy that occurs in the readings.

 Isaiah 61 proclaims the good news of deliverance to a people in exile, as the ashes of mourning are replaced with gladness and praise when the Lord displays his glory.  “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God.”

 John’s Gospel opens with the great cosmic perspective of Jesus, who is declared to be the Word that was in the beginning with God, creating all things, the Light that enlightens all people.  In today’s reading John the Baptist testifies to the coming of this Light among us in the one who is coming (Jesus).

 Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” as we await “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” His expectation was that this second and final coming of the Lord would happen literally within his own time.

 Comment:  Advent combines many themes – particularly the theme of watchful waiting and the anticipation of great joy.  How blessed we are that The Word of God who has always been with God has indeed come among us in the flesh and blood of Jesus!  We recall every Eucharist how he said, “take and eat, this is my body….take and drink, this is my blood shed for the forgiveness of sins.”  We rejoice, even while waiting in the darkness of this world, because we are illumined by the very Light of God with and within us.  The Lord HAS displayed His glory, and so we dare to exult in our God.

David S. Robinson, Rector

Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Maple Glen, PA 19002


  

  

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Lessons and Reflections for the Last Sunday of Pentecost – Christ the King Sunday

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46

The prophet Ezekiel declares a day when God will seek out his scattered and wounded people and judge between the “fat sheep and lean sheep” – the “fat sheep” being those who use their wealth and power to exploit the weak and poor.  The Lord will accomplish this by raising up a new shepherd leader, “David” (a descendant of David), to lead them.

The Gospel of Matthew collects a number of the parables of Jesus concerning the coming of God’s kingdom among us in chapter 25.  This parable describes the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy – the coming of the “Son of Man” who is established by God to judge (bring justice to) all the nations (not just Israel!), separating the sheep from the goats.  Those who showed compassion and mercy to the least and most vulnerable people are given mercy and inherit the life of God’s kingdom; those who ignored the least are called “cursed” and go away into punishment.

Speaking to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul rejoices with them in the great hope we have in Jesus Christ, who has been raised from death to be above all other powers, rulers and authorities, so that Christ ultimately is head over all things. Paul likely would have seen this as a fulfillment of the prophecy of a new Davidic leader spoken by Ezekiel

Comment: We realize that even the best human strategies of government result in divisions between people who “have” and have not.” For us as Christian people, we live and work with the governing authorities as best we can, but Christ is the ultimate hope not only for ourselves but for our broken world. We look to Christ as we pray, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” and trust that as surely as Christ has been raised from death, so too he will come again to restore justice among all people.  But what challenges me today is the warning for the present moment: those who refuse the invitation to humbly seek that justice right now are in reality refusing to participate in the coming of God’s kingdom. Yes, I wait and hope for Christ’s ultimate coming in glory, but my waiting must be expressed with active compassion and justice for the least among us.

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Lessons and Reflections for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost

Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46

 

Chapter 19 of Leviticus describes how Israel is to live as a people who reflect and embody God’s own holiness. In these verses this looks like giving honor to family, to the Sabbath day of the Lord, and shunning false worship. Holiness requires justice in all relationships without favoritism, no false witness and slander against neighbors, and in place of hate or vengeance to respect one’s fellow Israelites as you yourself would want to be honored.  So the circle of honor extends from God to self to family to fellow Israelites, but is not here extended to anyone outside the covenant.

 

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is having the kind of discussion with other teachers and rabbis that was commonplace, as they reflect on their scriptures and seek to apply them to the circumstances of their time.  What is of supreme importance in the laws of God?  Jesus here affirms the core practice of loving God and neighbor, much as we just saw in Leviticus 19.  But he then presses on to raise the question of the Messiah.  His question challenges the conventional thinking of the time, which sought a descendant of David who would act as David did.  Jesus suggests that the Messiah, though descended of David, will in mysterious ways be superior and above David.

 

Paul continues his letter to the Thessalonians, noting the accusations against him by his opponents from other towns.  In reply to this, he is able to refer to his conduct among them and asks them to decide for themselves what kind of person he proves to be.  He is not a “people-pleaser” (and thus has enemies), but seeks to “please God who tests our hearts.”

 

Comment:  What does it mean to be holy?  We know a good answer is simply to love.  Paul can actually say, “Look at my behavior” when the integrity of his life was under attack – the best possible reply anyone can make. May we strive to be able to say the same!   As Jesus presses his fellow teachers – and me! – to broaden their understanding of scripture to allow for new insights about what it means to be a loving person who is faithful to God’s leading Spirit.  Jesus goes beyond the “majority opinion” of his day when we see him extend the circle of love to the sinner, the stranger, and the enemy.  If I say that Jesus is my Lord, the Messiah, I see that I need with great care to challenge every “line in the sand” that I draw between me and others!

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Lessons and Reflections for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost

In the reading from Isaiah, we hear the words of God to Cyrus, a foreign ruler, who is nonetheless called “anointed” = called, chosen, and empowered by God for God’s own purposes.  The working of the Lord is not limited to those who believe in or worship him!  The Lord of all can work his plan even through those who worship other gods.

Matthew’s Gospel tells us of an attempt to trap Jesus by asking him about the Roman tax.  Will he agree the hated tax should be paid to the foreign occupier, or will he denounce the tax and incriminate himself as a rebel against Rome?  Noting the image of the emperor on the coin, his answer is that the coin came from Rome and belongs to Rome, and meanwhile we must return to God all that belongs to Him as well.

Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonian Church. He rejoices to see all the evidence that they do indeed belong to God through Jesus Christ because their lives demonstrate this new reality.

Comment: What belongs to God?  As people of faith we know that the “correct answer” would be “everyone and everything.”  My struggle is to actually live this way.  Too often I act as if I am in charge of my time, my day, my plans, my possessions, and can be annoyed or resentful if my plans or wishes are thwarted.  My challenge is to daily offer up my expectations and whatever I have as an offering to the risen and living Lord of my life.  It’s as if I am saying, “Here I am Lord…everything is yours! Where do YOU want me to be, what do you want me to be doing for you in this day?”  Returning myself to the “mind of Christ” is a daily event.

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Lessons and Reflections for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14

The prophet Isaiah describes a day when the Lord God will redeem his people and restore them to the fullness of life.  The great feast on the mountain (Jersusalem) is a vivid picture of this time when death and sorrow are no more.  Isaiah was not likely thinking of a “heavenly banquet” or dwelling – but a future time when an exiled Israel would be restored to security and abundance by God’s mighty hand.

The 23rd Psalm, attributed to David, celebrates the loving care of God in a very personal way. This and other similar Psalms almost startle us with the intimacy of God’s awareness and involvement in our personal lives.

Matthew 22:1-14 contains two parables of Jesus. In the first parable he continues to explain and defend his ministry of gathering “bad” people from the margins of Jewish life into God’s banquet hall, while at the same time making the scandalous suggestion that his opponents are making light of God’s invitation that they claim to honor. The second parable points out that regardless of circumstances, those invited to God’s party must “change clothes” if they want to stay and enjoy the feast!

Speaking to the Philippians, Paul describes the kind of life that belongs to those who know the Lord as their Shepherd. Giving thanks and trusting God in everything, they know a new kind of peace and are focused on what is good, excellent, and worthy of praise.

Comment: We Christians understand the great feast of God, described by Isaiah, in light of Jesus who came to be himself the bread and wine at the feast.  Like David’s psalm, we celebrate the Lord who nourishes our lives in every necessary way, even in times of darkness and death.  But this amazing grace does not replace Jesus’ call upon me to repent – to change “clothes” to wear a new mindset that is given me by Christ. To be aware of God’s great invitation and loving call upon me immediately leads me to put on the “wedding garment” of a changed life that is lived for Christ and not for me!

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Lessons and reflections for the 18th Sunday After Pentecost, October 8, 2017

Isaiah 5:1-7
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21: 33-46

The prophet Isaiah paints the scene of a vineyard that is lovingly established by its owner.  It is clear that the vineyard is the people of Israel who were set free from captivity and established by the hand of the Lord. But the “produce” of Israel has become cries and bloodshed rather than the mercy and justice desired by the Lord. This sort of rebellious vineyard must be “undone.”

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds his opponents of the vineyard image found in Isaiah. He implies that they, like their ancestors in Isaiah’s time, have forfeited their trust as keepers of the vineyard and deserved to be replaced if they don’t change their ways.

Paul tells the Christians of Philippi of his credentials as a former “keeper of the vineyard” – and how he had to “junk” his credentials (count them as garbage to be tossed out!) that he might experience the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as his Lord, who calls him and makes Paul His own.

Comment: Have we come to the realization, trust, and faith that Christ Jesus has “made us his own”?  This means I am be a laborer with Christ in the “vineyard” where God has placed me – my home, my church, my community.  So I have to ask myself what the Lord wants me to do to honor His intentions, and consider what “fruit” I am offering to God.  It’s not a simple matter or my doing what “I” think is good and “I” think will please and honor the Lord.  I need to keep my ears and heart tuned to the words and heart of Christ, so that my labor with and for others is for Jesus, and not actually serving my own good intentions.  I find it a daily struggle to keep my focus on the Lord!

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Lessons and Reflections for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, October 1, 2017

Exodus 17:1-7
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32

In the reading from Exodus, we hear the people of Israel contending with Moses over the lack of water. Their complaint to Moses is understood here to mean the same thing as doubting God’s guidance, since Moses is following God’s directions in leading Israel. Yet God demonstrates faithfulness and does provide water.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable against the religious leaders who did not believe (“believe” here seems to mean a faithful response) to John the Baptist, and now do not believe Jesus.  The parable is about two sons asked to work for their father…and it’s not what they say, but what they really do, that matters.

Paul writes to the Philippians to encourage them in living the Christian faith.  Christ’s own mindset it to be their way of life.  He was one with God, but offered himself to be emptied and offered in service, even when it meant His death on a cross.  This is the life that is exalted by God, and the life God will work out in those who believe (faithfully respond) in Christ.

Comment: “What Wondrous Love Is This…that caused the Lord of bliss to lay aside his crown for my soul.”  So goes the beloved hymn as it sums up how Jesus empties and humbles himself to come among us as one who serves.  Paul shows me today what it looks like when I allow the gift of God’s love in Christ to take hold and be worked out in me.  Jesus lifts us up into communion with God, so that from that place of power we may be poured out for the work God has for us to do in our world.  So I really need to keep my communion with God!  Am I doing that?  And I really need to go and do the things the Lord asks of me today.  Do I know what those things are?  I need to work this out every day!

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Lessons and Reflections for Saint Matthew’s Day, Sunday September 24, 2017

Jesus calls Matthew

Proverbs 3:1-6
Timothy 3:14-17
Matthew 9:9-13

Dear Friends,

In place of the usual readings for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the saint for whom both our Parish and one of the Gospels is named – a former tax collector named Matthew.

Tax collectors of Jesus’ day were despised for serving the Romans, and making themselves wealthy at the expense of their neighbors (they could collect as much over the Roman levy as they could get out of the people). They were considered unclean, cursed by God, and unwelcome in any synagogue or faithful Jewish home or gathering.

Jesus calls Matthew

Jesus sees Matthew and invites him into the intimate relationship of a disciple!  In respect to traditional Jewish culture, this meant that Matthew gave up his tax collection career and association with Rome – a form of repentance or change of life.  Matthew gets up and changes his life forever.  The difference between Jesus and the Pharisees who criticize this action is one of perspective: Jesus expresses the heart of God in taking the initiative to seek the lost and cleanse the unclean.

In this way Jesus restores Matthew to his own faith as a Jew, as expressed in Proverbs as the call to trust the Lord and keep the commandments throughout one’s life.  One who was lost to God has been found and restored to this faithfulness.

Paul’s letter to Timothy echoes the call of Proverbs to honor the teachings of our childhood. Particularly, he lifts up scripture (at that point in time referring to the scriptures of Israel since the New Testament was not yet formed) as inspired by God and useful to train and equip us for the life of faith in Christ Jesus (understood by Paul as the Jewish Messiah).

Comment:  In the call of Matthew we see the heart of God in Jesus, who seeks out a man who has turned his life away from God.  Matthew must have been amazed by the invitation of a Rabbi to become a disciple. At a deep level it seems Matthew was waiting for such an escape from his current life, and he goes on to become the source of the first Gospel in the Christian Bible.  Change the name and profession, and the call to Matthew is the call to you and me to get up and follow Jesus.  I am so grateful for the ways in which I have heard and followed Jesus!  I am also aware of the ways in which I still cling to my old methods and have held back from my Lord’s call.  Every day, Jesus calls me to leave behind my “tax collecting” ways – those places where I am holding out on God.