A Preacher’s Ponderings

26 January 2014
Third Sunday after Epiphany
Epiphany3A (RCL)
Isaiah 9:1-4
Psalm 27:1, 5-13
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23

The passage from Isaiah for this Sunday is the first half of the usual Isaiah reading for Christmas (9:2-7). The poem goes on to proclaim “A child has been born to us” who will ascend the throne. Zebulun and Naphtali were regions annexed by Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE, and their further history was lost, placing them among the lost tribes of Israel. The poem speaks of the time of their restoration to the kingdom, which will be during the reign of the child celebrated in the rest of the poem.

Matthew has Jesus begin his public ministry in this region Continue reading “Something fishy”

Sunday 19 January 2014
2nd after Epiphany
Epiphany 2A (RCL)
Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm 40:1-12
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
John 1:29-42

The reading from Isaiah continues the theme of God’s servant, who bring justice to the coastlands. Again, the prophet emphasizes that the servant carries out his vocation without violence or triumphalism; in fact the opposite. The servant is the slave of rulers. We can see the shift in Israel’s theology in this short passage. Initially, Israel thought of itself as a weapon in God’s hand, a polished arrow or a sharp sword. But this work has come to nothing. Now, in Exile, deeply despised, the slave of nations, God will use Israel not just to restore Israel, but to bring justice to the nations. Kings will stand up when they see Israel in its current condition, and change their way of operating. Of course, we are still waiting.

The passage from John also represents a real shift in theology, a dramatic re-imagination of the old categories. John the Baptist Continue reading “What do you seek?”

12 January 2014
First Sunday after Epiphany
“The Baptism of Christ”
Epiphany 1A (RCL)
Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17

The season of Sundays after Epiphany continue the theme of the manifestation of the Christ to the world (and specifically to the ‘nations’). In all of the accounts of Jesus’ baptism, we are told that the spirit descends in the form of a dove, and voice is heard from heaven declaring Jesus as God’s Son. The voice from heaven echoes Isaiah’s first Servant Song, which is the first reading for this Sunday. This reference to Isaiah makes it clear that the manifestation of the Christ to the world happens not only one time at the Jordan River, but is ongoing through the Church’s baptism.

Isaiah’s first Servant Song is set with the context of the heavenly court. The gods of the nations Continue reading “A light to the nations”

5 January 2014
The Epiphany (observed)
Epiphany A (RCL)
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

In one of those on-line sermon services (they just show up in my inbox — I don’t subscribe) I read that the passage from Isaiah bore remarkable similarities to Matthew’s story of the visit of the magi. I almost choked on my coffee — could it be that Matthew had read this passage from Isaiah, and intended those similarities? The thought seemed never to have occurred to the author of the sermon help.

Matthew’s infancy narrative recapitulate the history of Israel: Joseph the dreamer, the flight to Egypt, the call out of Egypt. This is no literary accident. If that is so, then the visit of the magi from the east corresponds to the return from Exile Continue reading “Showing forth glory”

22 December 2013
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Advent 4A (RCL)
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew’s infancy narrative differs greatly from Luke’s. While Luke’s narrative focuses almost exclusively on Mary, in Matthew’s account, Mary hardly plays a role: Joseph steps to the fore. Matthew’s infant Jesus recapitulates the history of Israel, and so it makes sense that Joseph the dreamer should have a starring role. Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, and God called Israel out of Egypt. Joseph takes the child and his mother to Egypt so that God again might call his son out of Egypt.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we aren’t given any details about Mary’s pregnancy, except Continue reading “Don’t be afraid”

15 December 2013
Third Sunday of Advent
Advent 3A (RCL)
Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146:4-9
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

In Matthew’s narrative world (whether or not it is historically accurate), one can imagine John stuck in prison, hearing about the works of Jesus and his disciples, and wondering if this really was what he had been waiting for. He had announced someone mightier than himself, whose sandals he was unworthy to carry, who would baptize in holy spirit and fire. He was imagining the ax at the root of the trees, ready to lay into the task of removing the dead wood. And instead, he hears of an itinerant wonder-worker. Surely, this is not the messiah he had been expecting. Where is God’s justice and vengeance in this man?

Matthew’s Gospel Continue reading “Are you the one?”

1 December 2013
First Sunday of Advent
Advent 1A (RCL)
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44

The First Sunday of Advent always brings readings about the “second advent” of Christ, the putative return of Christ. Even in the earliest years of Christianity, the expectation of Christ’s return proved to be an embarrassment. Paul, in his earliest letters, certainly expected Christ’s return any day, and by the time he wrote the letter to the Romans, he has had to modify that expectation somewhat. “Salvation is nearer to us now than we we first became believers,” but no longer tomorrow. Matthew Continue reading “Wakefulness”

24 November 2013
The Reign of Christ
Proper 29C (RCL)
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 146
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43

This Sunday is the last of the liturgical year on which we celebrate the reign of Christ toward which all of creation points and for which it longs. Next Sunday will be the first of Advent, when we begin to prepare for Christ’s first and second arrivals. Through our liturgy, we structure not just annual time, but historical time as well: we acknowledge that history has a beginning and a goal, and both of those relate to God, and to Christ’s activity. Continue reading “Jesus, remember me”

17 November 2013
Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 28C (RCL)
Isaiah 65:17-25
Canticle 9
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Luke 21:5-19

The passages in Isaiah and Luke couldn’t be more different. Isaiah is looking forward to the restoration of the kingdom, when people will enjoy the fruit of their own planting, and live to ripe old ages. In Luke, Jesus ‘predicts’ the destruction of the Temple and the desolation of Jerusalem. Which is it?

Luke, of course, is writing after the destruction of the Temple, and so Jesus is predicting events Luke already knows. Mark had written this “little apocalypse” probably some twenty or thirty years before Luke reworked it. Mark thought the destruction was a sign that the Son of Man was coming any minute. Luke has to explain the delay of the end that Mark thought the destruction foreshadowed. Luke has Jesus say, “Do not be deceived. The end is not yet.” Continue reading “Old and new”

10 November 2013
Twenty fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 27C (RCL)
Haggai 1:15b – 2:9
Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38

We are getting close to the end of the liturgical year. Haggai is wrapping prophecies about the restoration of Jerusalem. Now, God is going to shake heaven and earth, and shake all the wealth of the nations (like olives out of a tree) into Jerusalem. 2 Thessalonians takes us into apocalyptic weirdness: the rebellion must come first, and the lawless one must be revealed. To me, this does not sound authentically Pauline (not that that really makes any difference — there it is in the canon). And Luke presents us with the encounter between Jesus and the Sadducees, concerning the resurrection. We are heading toward end times, the lectionary seems to be saying.

The Gospel reading will for many be troubling. Heaven isn’t going to be like here, at least in terms of marriage (what would the Mormons do with this passage?). Many of us think of heaven as a grand family reunion, and Jesus seems to be saying otherwise.

But, I believe the passage is as much about politics (no surprise) as about heaven. The Sadducees Continue reading “Like angels”