Lectionary Reflections

Theme This week’s readings teach us about the difference of a life before and after accepting God’s salvation. The Israelites begin eating from the new, bountiful promised land of Canaan. David sings about the joys of a life after forgiveness. Paul teaches that those who belong to Christ are a new Creation and Jesus shares a story of a father’s joy and celebration when a long-lost child returns home to their rightful place.  Scriptures J oshua 5:9-12 - The Israelites stopped eating manna to survive and began eating unleavened bread and roasted grain from the land of Canaan. This was a sign of God releasing them from their shame of slavery in Egypt. Psalm 32  - David speaks about the joy of experiencing forgiveness of our sins. He explains the stark difference in living a life of sin before accepting God’s forgiveness and grace and after. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 - Paul explains that anyone who belongs to Christ is a new creation. Because of this, we no longer see people from a ...

  Theme This week’s readings carry a prophetic call for people to repent and turn to God for salvation. Isaiah clearly makes this call to his listeners. Paul calls the Corinthian church to seek the living water in Christ and Jesus calls his listeners to repent and turn to God, regardless of whether they are worse sinners than anyone else. The Psalm is a good example of someone who seems to have accepted and is resting in God’s salvation. Scriptures Isaiah 55:1-9 - A call for people to seek God, repent and accept God’s salvation.  Psalm 63:1-8 - A Psalm of praise, expressing a deep longing for God.  1 Corinthians 10:1-13 - Paul encourages the Corinthian church to learn from the Israelite’s past mistakes. He encourages them to stay strong in the face of temptation and not put God to the test. We experience many of the same temptations as God’s ancient people did, but we also have access to the same living water that they did to guide us and save us. Luke 13:1-9 - Jesus u...

  Theme Our entire Lent season is a preparation for the upcoming Easter story and ultimately, Jesus’ resurrection and its implication for us today. Our readings this week encourage us to keep the resurrection in mind when confronting today’s challenges. Abraham is so concerned with his current childless situation that he cannot imagine a future until God’s covenant promise. Paul warns against those who claim to follow Christ, but live in a way that is only concerned with current issues that have no eternal value. Jesus grieves over Jerusalem and its people who do not understand God’s call to a resurrection-life. Scriptures Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 - God promises Abram that he will have biological children and descendants of his own; so many that they will match the number of stars in the sky. Psalm 27 - A beautiful psalm declaring God’s goodness and expressing the desire to live in God’s house forever, praising God and basking in God’s presence. Philippians 3:17-4:1 - Paul urges t...

Theme The readings for this week may seem a bit disjointed at first glance. The OT reading speaks about tithing; the Psalm speaks about taking refuge in the Lord; Paul talks about salvation in Romans; and Jesus faces and resists temptation in the desert. But all of the texts come together as we consider how to live out our faith in the world. It is not enough to merely have faith. Our faith needs to be lived out as we became faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us; as we seek refuge in the Lord; as we declare our faith in word and action; and as we face temptation in the world. Scriptures Deuteronomy 26:1-11 - An instruction to the Israelites on how to distribute their harvest. First, a portion must go to the priest at the place of worship. Then the people should celebrate what God has given them. The instruction makes special note to include the foreigners in their celebrations. Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 - A psalm declaring that refuge in God will provide safety and protection. God...

  Theme The obvious theme running through this week’s readings is the theme of Transfiguration. Every year, this Sunday, we reflect on Jesus’ transfiguration. Jesus’ transfiguration experience is similar to Moses’ experience of meeting with God on a mountain and being transformed so that those who saw him were amazed and terrified. In Corinthians, Paul riffs on Moses’ story in order to provide meaning of the story for his present readers. Scriptures Exodus 34:29-35 - Moses descends from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. His face is radiant because he had spoken to God. The people were afraid of Moses. After giving the commandments to the people, Moses covered his face with a veil until he returned to the tent of meeting to speak with God again.  Psalm 99 - A psalm declaring the glories of God. It speaks about God’s goodness (and discipline) of God’s people. 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 - Paul refers to Moses covering his face with a veil, saying that whenever the Old Covenan...

Theme Grace and radical love are deep themes running through this week’s readings. Grace can be summarised as receiving what we don’t deserve. In Genesis, Joseph’s brothers are forgiven and protected after selling him into slavery. The Psalmist declares that the lowly will possess the land and live in peace and prosperity. Paul talks about getting new bodies after experiencing death in this life. Jesus expands on this concept of grace, declaring that we should extend love and forgiveness even to those who we might consider to be our enemies.  Scriptures Genesis 45:3-11, 15 - Joseph is reunited with his brothers after being sold into slavery in Egypt. Joseph declares that it was God who sent him there so that he could gain a position of power and use it to save God’s people from the upcoming five years of drought and famine. He tells his brothers to fetch his father and return to live with him, under his protection.  Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40 - A psalm declaring that the wicked will...