Lectionary Readings
(from the Revised Common Lectionary)
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This lectionary covers the next thirty days. For full lists, see the seasons and years below.
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Proper 19 (24)—Season after Pentecost, Year B
Summary
Peter goes from the honor of confessing Jesus as Christ to being rebuked as Satan in the span of just a few verses. Peter confesses rightly that Jesus is the Christ, however, he rejects the idea that the Messiah would suffer. There is likely some self-interest here, since the treatment of the master will surely fall on his servants. Indeed, Jesus makes the transference explicit in verse 34. Following Jesus means taking up a cross.
Peter, at this stage in his faith, is like the plant that springs up in shallow soil, exultant to claim the victory but scandalized by the way of the cross. Many are pleased to confess Jesus as Lord, but few are willing to suffer for his sake.
The preacher will find this a hard message if the fact of Christ’s presence in suffering is left out. Jesus does not call us to suffer alone, but with him, since he has gone before us on the way and his resurrection has transformed the way of defeat into the path to victory. It is not a matter of going out looking to suffer needlessly. But if people really follow Jesus’ way, then they will find themselves opposed on every side. The believer is to bear these trials prayerfully and with patience. This is the glory of the Christian life that the believer must not reject: that patience and endurance in suffering produces intimacy with Jesus.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Proper 20 (25)—Season after Pentecost, Year B
Summary
Jesus’ prediction of his death and resurrection once again puzzles the disciples. Here, their desire for status derails their spiritual journey. Though plainly spoken, it is natural to not understand Jesus’ statement that he will die and rise again, but the disciples are “afraid to ask him” what he meant (v. 32). Instead they busy themselves nattering about which one of them is the greatest, showing how they have set their minds on human ends, not on heavenly ones.
Here, Jesus takes the opportunity to instruct them on the values of his kingdom: that humility, not pride is to be exalted. By bringing forward a child, Jesus shows someone who is weak and helpless. Describing this powerful symbol, Theophylact wrote “a child has no desire for honor, it is not jealous, and it does not remember injuries.” Childlikeness is the opposite of the strutting the disciples had done along the way and a prerequisite for entrance into Christ’s kingdom.
The preacher will not lack for application here. The desire for recognition, even in small and trivial ways, marks the human condition from the least to the greatest. Sanctification in Christ is the expunging of these characteristics. If we follow his example on the cross, then we will not shun ignominy, suffering, and humility, since we will see that it is the road to God. Achievement and victory are gifts and blessings when they come, but they must not be grasped at or sought after as life’s chief aim. Somehow or other, the crown of victory in this life must be set aside for the crown of thorns which leads to eternal life.
Sunday, September 29, 2024
Proper 21 (26)—Season after Pentecost, Year B
Summary
Jesus’ response to John’s report of the wayward healer shows how he draws people to himself by encouraging the good in them instead of only rebuking the evil. This is a helpful example of how the church ought to approach the splintered traditions, spiritualisms, and false theologies of the modern world.
Those earnestly convinced of Jesus’ power, but who walk apart from his church, are to be commended for their fruits first which will open a way to inform them of their faults. This is the same spirit in which Prisca and Aquila mentored Apollos, who submitted to their instruction.
However, one should not read a casual attitude toward spiritual allegiance into Jesus’ advice. Augustine points out that verse 40, “he who is not against us is for us” ought to be read alongside Luke 11:23, “he who is not with me is against me.” The “us” vs. the “me” is significant, since it is not right to make use of the power of the name of Christ without submitting oneself to his person.
Ultimately, everyone must pledge allegiance to Christ, but this is no reason to make enemies needlessly among those who are inclined to revere him.
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Proper 22 (27)—Season after Pentecost, Year B
Summary
Jesus’ prohibition of divorce has been sadly relaxed in Protestant circles (typically by an expansive definition of the exception of “immorality” in Matthew 19) but here in its earliest form, Jesus’ astonishing teaching on the indissolubility of marriage is stark and unqualified.
Marriage is something that God does, not people: “what God has joined together ”¦.” Likewise the sinful consequences of divorce are plain and egalitarian: if either the man or the woman chooses another partner besides the one of their God-made union, the divorce means they live as adulterers despite their second marriage. This uncompromising fidelity mirrors the relationship between Christ and his church.
In much the same way as Jesus, the preacher will face an uphill battle reintroducing this back into most congregations. Focusing on the positive side of the teaching is recommended. Lifelong fidelity in marriage images God’s fidelity to his people even though he suffered rejection, suffering, and disappointment. The congregation can be invited to see their marriages, especially unhappy ones, as opportunities to be like God, persevering in love that is not subject to circumstances.
