Skip to main content

Lectionary Notes for Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A

Readings for 8th Sunday After Epiphany, 3/2/14:
Isaiah 49:8-16a, Psalm 131, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Matthew 6:24-34

Isaiah 49:8-16a
  • Compare these words of promise with the gospel lesson for today.
  • "I have inscribed you on the palm of my hands." Do you have any tattoos? Any scars? What stories to these markings tell? I think there's something about permanency here. And intimacy. Made part of God's body forever, so to speak.
  • How could God forget us, when we are like a child being nursed by God? I love the precious and sweet nature of that image.

Psalm 131:
  • How high have you lifted your eyes? How high is too high? What is too great to even be looked at by you?
  • What do you do to calm and quiet your soul?
  • Do you hope in the Lord? What is your hope? What do you hope for?

1 Corinthians 4:1-5:
  • "stewards of God's mysteries." What a fabulous phrase! How do you care for the mysteries of God?
  • Paul, always confident, admits God may have reason to judge him, but can't really think of any reason... :)
  • Who do you judge? Yourself? Others? Do you feel God's judgment of you? Others' judgment toward you?

Matthew 6:24-34:
  • What master do you serve?
  • Chris Haslam says that the Greek word here is merimnate, which means more literally to “be preoccupied with or be absorbed by.”
  • Sometimes I wonder how Jesus can tell us not to worry. Is he just oversimplifying? An idealist? How do you tell people who are hungry and naked and homeless not to worry? But, I think, more likely, Jesus is tying his words back to him comments about more than one master. When we worry, we tend to make an idol of the object of our worry, because we're putting something else in a more important place than God.
  • I think I worry about everything. And then I worry about worrying too much! What do you worry about? How does worry affect your life?
  • "Strive first for the kingdom of God." I love this phrase, and the word 'strive'. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon for First Sunday in Lent, Year B, "Jesus in the Wilderness," Mark 1:1-4, 9-15

Sermon 2/18/18 Mark 1:1-4, 9-15 Jesus in the Wilderness             You’ve heard me say before that the gospel of Mark is my favorite gospel. Part of the reason I love it is because of Mark’s brevity. I don’t love that he’s short on details, exactly. I love that he seems practically breathless in getting the good news of Jesus to us, and that he seems to believe that the news is so good it isn’t even going to take very many words to convince you of his message! His frantic style strikes me as showing both how important and how convincing he believes Jesus’s message to be.             But, then we arrive at a Sunday like today, and I find myself a little frustrated perhaps, or at least a little challenged by Mark. In the lectionary, the series of the first Sunday in the season of Lent always focuses on the temptation of Jesus – his time in the wilderness, where he confronts Satan, and commits to God’s path rather than the flashy alternative Satan presents. This is the fo
Post a Comment
Read more

Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent, "Hope: A Thrill of Hope," Mark 1:1-8

Sermon 11/26/17 Mark 1:1-8 Hope: A Thrill of Hope             Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Is the glass of life half empty, or half full? My mom and I have gone back and forth about this a bit over the years. She’s wildly optimistic about most things, and sometimes I would say her optimism, her hopefulness borders on the irrational. If the weather forecast says there’s a 70% chance of a snowstorm coming, my mom will focus very seriously on that 30% chance that it is going to be a nice day after all. I, meanwhile, will begin adjusting my travel plans and making a backup plan for the day. My mom says I’m a pessimist, but I would argue that I’m simply a realist , trying to prepare for the thing that is most likely to happen, whether I like that thing or not. My mom, however, says she doesn’t want to be disappointed twice, both by thinking something bad is going to happen, and then by having the bad thing actually happen. She’d rather be hopeful, and enjoy her state of
1 comment
Read more

Sermon for Second Sunday in Advent, "Peace: All Is Calm, All Is Bright," Isaiah 11:1-10, Mark 13:24-37

Sermon 12/3/17 Mark 13:24-37, Isaiah 11:1-10 Peace: All Is Calm, All Is Bright             “Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon’ virgin mother and child. Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”             This week, I read news stories about North Korea testing a missile that perhaps could reach across the whole of the United States.             This week, I spoke with a colleague in ministry who had, like all churches in our conference, received from our church insurance company information about how to respond in an active shooter situation. She was trying to figure out how to respond to anxious parishioners and yet not get caught up in spending all of their ministry time on creating safety plans.             This week, we’ve continued to hear stories from people who have experienced sexual assault and harassment, as the actions, sometimes over decades, of men in positions of power have been
Post a Comment
Read more