Lectionary – Page 7 – A Preacher’s Ponderings

Reversal

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost; 25 September 2022; Proper 21C (RCL); Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31.

Finally, a glimmer of hope in Jeremiah. King Zedekiah has asked Jeremiah (in the verses we leave out) why he is prophesying that Jerusalem will fall and that Zedekiah will go into Exile. Jeremiah responds with God’s instructions to him to buy his cousin Hanamel’s field. The text doesn’t tell us why Hanamel wants to sell the property, but the fact of the Babylonian occupation of the land may have something to do with it.

Eternal tents

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost; 18 September 2022; Proper 20C (RCL); Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13.

The readings in Track 1 from Jeremiah over the course of these last weeks have just gotten bleaker and bleaker. It’s almost enough to make one choose Track 2 for Year C. Next week, the armies of the King of Babylon will be besieging the city, and the following week, we will read from Lamentations. And the week after, Jeremiah will tell the exiles in Babylon that God wants them to settle there, and increase rather than decrease, in other words, to accommodate to their exile.

Lost

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost; 11 September 2022; Proper 19C (RCL); Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10.

Although we are reading Track 1, and the OT lesson and Psalm are not chosen relate to the Gospel reading, I do find an interesting progression in the readings for this Sunday. Jeremiah starts out bleak, with almost no hope of restoration — the whole land will be laid waste because of the sins of the people. Psalm 14 holds out just a tiny bit more hope (when the Lord restores the fortunes of God’s people). In the reading from 1 Timothy, the author acknowledges God’s forgiveness of grave sin, and in the Gospel reading, there is rejoicing over the restoration of even one.

Cost

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost; 4 September 2022; Proper 18C (RCL); Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33.

Oof! I wonder if the designers of the lectionary assigned this reading from Luke’s Gospel on a Sunday they knew would usually fall on Labor Day weekend, when crowds would be slim. Whoever does not hate father and mother, wife and children . . . cannot be my disciple — not a message that will go down smoothly, especially when contrasted to what we think of as the new commandment to love.

Vulnerability

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost; 28 August 2022; Proper 17C (RCL); Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1, 10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14.

It’s too bad we leave out the verse we do in the reading from Hebrews — they make it clear just how much this reading has to do with food. The reference to entertaining angels unaware is almost certainly to Abraham and Sarah, who entertained three angels at the oaks of Mamre. The last sentence — Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God — makes reference to the Old Testament injunction to invite the widow, the orphan, the alien, and the Levite — those who would otherwise have not access to meat — to the sacrificial meal.

Release

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost; 21 August 2022; Proper 16C (RCL); Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17.

I cringe a little whenever we read a passage like this one from Luke’s Gospel. After Mark’s Gospel, Christian authors followed the standard trope of presenting “the Jews” (or some sect thereof, like the Scribes, and/or the Pharisees, etc.) as hypocritical rule-followers. For centuries, Christian biblical interpretation has reinforced this caricature. It behooves us to remember this rhetoric was developed in the midst of a life-and-death struggle between siblings, and we no longer share that context. Maintaining this trope has proved deadly.

Division

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost; 14 August 2022; Proper 15C (RCL); Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:1-2, 8-18; Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2; Luke 12:49-56.

The saying about bringing division, not peace, and households divided against themselves comes from Q material (it is found also in Matthew, but not Mark). Burton Mack identifies this as coming from the second layer of the Q tradition, expressing frustration at the failure of the message of the kingdom. That’s the layer of tradition that gives us the imprecations against various villages. Mack points out that by the third layer of tradition the Q community had reached some sort of accommodation to the status quo.

Treasure

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost; 7 August 2022; Proper 14C (RCL); Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40.

The reading from Luke’s Gospel for this Sunday seems to contain three unrelated sayings joined together by the Gospel writer. The first one concerns God’s intention to give the hearers the kingdom, which should motivate them to rely on God’s faithfulness. Part of this saying (concerning indestructible purses and treasure stored where thief cannot steal) is found also in Matthew in a different context.

Greed

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; 31 July 2022; Proper 13C (RCL); Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21.

We have skipped over most of the material in Hosea, in which God punishes Israel to try to win their favor and fidelity. Hosea, on God’s instruction, married Gomer, a prostitute, as a prophetic sign of Israel’s unfaithfulness (her prostitution after other Gods). The implication seems to be that Hosea should have similarly punished Gomer to win her love and fidelity. Any battered woman reading Hosea would cringe, or worse.

Pray without shame

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost; 24 July 2022; Proper 12C (RCL); Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2:6-18; Luke 11:1-13.

The metaphor of the relation between husband and wife for the relationship between God and Israel, while seemingly tender, is problematic. In the honor/shame context of ancient Israel, a wife’s adultery brought shame on her husband’s family, and so he was justified in methods of controlling her sexuality that we would find problematic at the least.