Month: May 2016

Who is worthy?

29 May 2016
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 4C (RCL)
1 Kings 18:20-39
Psalm 96
Galatians 1:1-12
Luke 7:1-10

This passage from Luke is full of words connoting worth and value, and calls into question many of our assumptions about the world. The passage begins with an interesting choice of vocabulary. The NRSV has, “After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.” A better translation might be, “When Jesus had fulfilled all his words in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.” This is exactly the same vocabulary Luke uses when Jesus rolls up the scroll in the synagogue at Nazareth, and says, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” After that sermon, Jesus went on to say that in the days of Elijah the prophet, Elijah was sent only to the widow of Zarephath (a gentile), and Elisha healed only Naaman the Syrian. Continue reading “Who is worthy?”

Practicing Trinity

22 May 2016
Trinity Sunday
Year C
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

The doctrine of the Trinity developed over the course of a couple centuries (or longer) of reflection on what happened in the events of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The Christians of those first centuries came to be convinced that what had transpired in the Jesus event was nothing less than the reconstitution of the human being and indeed of the whole created order; it could only have been accomplished by the same God who had created the world in the first place. They developed an entire theological vocabulary (ousia, hypstasis among the more technical terms) to express the idea that God was at work in Jesus the Christ, and yet maintain the unity of the Godhead. Continue reading “Practicing Trinity”

Practicing unity

8 May 2016
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Easter 7C (RCL)
Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
John 17:20-26

The reading from Acts presents a wonderful set of allusions to other scriptural stories and a set of contrasts between Roman religion and the religion Paul is teaching. The Revelation passage invites all to come and share in the vision of the goal of history. And John presents us with an insight into participation in the divine life. Continue reading “Practicing unity”