Rev-o-lution

Revised Common Lectionary: Isaiah 65:17-25 and Isaiah 12; Malachi 4:1-2 and Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19

Narrative Lectionary: Micah, (1:3-5); 5:2-5a; 6:6-8 (Matthew 9:13)

We are nearing the end of the season after Pentecost, and the Revised Common Lectionary wraps up the first selection series of the prophets, turning to the time after the exile in Isaiah 65:17-25. In this part of Isaiah commonly known as Third Isaiah, the prophet recognizes that the people of his time are returning to their old ways, forgetting what God has done for them. Yet the prophet still has hope that God will restore what has been destroyed, that God will remake what has been taken: God will create new heavens and a new earth. No more will the people be forced away; they will live where they have built, they will grow and thrive. No more shall there be harm or destruction, for God will respond before they even call for help.

Isaiah 12 is a psalm of thanksgiving to God. First Isaiah witnessed the destruction by Assyria of Israel and Samaria to the north and the attempted siege on Jerusalem, but Assyria did not pursue taking Judah. The prophet interprets their survival as God’s favor upon them. Though they were disobedient, God still saved them, and the prophet calls upon the people to sing for joy as to what God has done for them and for Zion.

The second selection for the Hebrew Scriptures turns toward the day of the Lord, the day of judgment, as the liturgical year turns toward Reign of Christ Sunday. The prophet Malachi prophesied that the day would come when God’s purifying fire would burn up all evildoers, so that there would be nothing left that evil could graft on to. Instead, the Sun of Righteousness would rise with healing in its wings for those who turn to God. This beautiful image conveys that God’s fire of judgment is for purifying and healing, not for destruction and dismay.

Psalm 98 is a song of thanksgiving to God for victory, which was an alternate selection for the first Psalm reading last week. God has remained faithful to the people of Israel, showing God’s steadfast love, and all the earth knows God’s victory. The psalmist calls upon the whole earth to make a joyful noise, to praise God. With musical instruments, and the music of the sea and floodwaters—everything is called to praise God, all of God’s creation. God is the one who judges the whole earth and judges the people rightly.

The Epistle readings conclude the series in 2 Thessalonians, with an exhortation for the believers to do what is right in 3:6-13. The writer urges the readers to keep away from those who have gone astray and have either been idle or just busybodies without doing anything to contribute to the community of faith. This was a specific concern with a specific community, and the writers urge them to consider who is working for the community of faith and living out the teachings that were passed to them and encourages the faithful to not stop doing what is right.

Luke 21:5-9 is part of Jesus’s final teachings to the disciples when he is in Jerusalem the last week of his life. While the disciples are admiring the temple, Jesus foretells that no one stone will be left. We must remember that the Gospel accounts were written after the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E., and Jesus is preparing the disciples for what is to come (therefore, the gospel writers are helping the listeners of their day understand why they must endure the troubles of their time). The disciples wonder when the destruction of the temple will take place, but Jesus assures them to not be alarmed. There will be people who will try to lead the believers astray. There will be natural disasters and wars and plagues, and even before that, persecution including trials and imprisonment. Nonetheless, Jesus assures them they will be innocent before God, and will endure for the sake of the gospel.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on the prophet Micah, who brings both judgment and hope. In 1:3-5, God is coming to judge the people for false worship, in Samaria and Jerusalem, and judgment against the two country’s capitals, their leaders who had led them astray. Micah had witnessed Assyria taking Israel, destroying Samaria and sending the people into exile. However, in 5:2-5, Micah brings a word of hope, of a new king from David’s hometown, one who will rule the people in the future but whose origin is ancient. This ruler will bring peace for Judah. Yet in 6:6-8, we know that the people have continued to go astray. The prophet rhetorically asks what it is God requires of us. If the people are bringing offerings and sacrifices and yet destruction is still happening, perhaps the solution is not greater offerings and sacrifices, but a need to change themselves. God has shown them what is required: to do justice, practice loving-kindness, and walking in humility with God.

The supplementary verse is Matthew 9:13, where Jesus paraphrases Micah and Amos and other prophets by saying God desires mercy and not sacrifice, and Jesus tells those listening to go learn what that means.

As we near Reign of Christ Sunday we read passages from times of great struggle, for the ancient Israelites, for the disciples of Jesus, and for the early churches. All these point to a need for inner transformation that is outwardly expressed—a love of God that conveys love to one’s neighbor. A practice of mercy to others that demonstrates the mercy God has shown us. A commitment to justice that includes not only us, but the most vulnerable in our society. God’s desire is not a desire to punish for punishment’s sake, but that we learn from the consequences of our actions, and often that is painful. The time of judgment of God is often seen as a destructive, monumental act of widespread change, but just as often the prophets and apostles call the faithful to judge themselves if they are following God’s ways and to transform their own lives. As we approach the end of this liturgical year, where is God calling you to examine your own life and make changes for the new? Where is God’s purifying fire at work, burning up what is useless, but bringing healing and hope in your life? What worries and cares do you have—especially after yet another volatile election season in the U.S.—that you can lift up to Christ and hear the words of hope Jesus has for you, as he gave the disciples walking amidst the temple long ago? May the words of victory in the psalms bring some assurance and comfort to you in this time.

Call to Worship
Behold, the day is coming,
When God will make new heavens and a new earth.
Behold, the day is coming,
When we shall draw water from the well of salvation.
Behold, the day is coming,
When God will answer before we even call God’s name.
Behold, the day is here!
We gather to worship and pray and praise God’s name,
And we live into God’s ways of love, justice, and peace.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
God of Justice and Righteousness, we confess that we demand Your judgment upon others but mercy for ourselves. Correct our thinking and our actions, O God, that we might desire mercy for all and live into Your ways of kindness and compassion. Direct us, O God, to judge ourselves and confess our sins, to repent and turn back to You, and work to repair and restore what we have broken. Guide us, O God, into Your ways of love, truth, and justice, so we might be caretakers of the earth, builders of hope, restorers of peace, and repairers of the world. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
We hear the words of assurance from the poets, for the psalmists knew that even in times of despair, they would sing joyfully to our God. We hear the words of assurance from the prophets, that even when the faithful failed, God had plans for restoration. We hear the words of assurance from our ancestors in faith, that God did not forget them, and God continues to lead us all home, as far as we wander away. We hear the words of assurance from Jesus, that in Christ we have life abundantly. We are forgiven, loved, and restored. Listen to the words of old, and speak the words of hope to one another, by blessing and forgiving and restoring one another as Christ has restored you. Amen.

Prayer
God of the Hopeless, God of the Discontent, God of the Dejected and Poor, there is much in the way of shadow and death in our world, but Your light shines in the shadows and bleakness. Your words are a lamp for our feet, a light for our path. Your love is made known to us through Jesus Christ but also through the love of one another. As much as we may want to give up, You do not give up on us. As much as we make ourselves unlovable, You still love us. Break through the hopelessness and despair, but let it also fuel us for the work of justice. May we not become content, but may we alleviate one another’s pain by engaging in compassion and kindness. May we never give up on love, for love endures all things. You are our God, and we know You hear our prayers, our cries, our desperate sighs, and You bring us to life, again and again. Amen.

Revised Common Lectionary: Haggai 1:15b-2:9 and Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 or Psalm 98; Job 19:23-27a and Psalm 17:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:27-38

Narrative Lectionary: Elisha Heals Naaman, 2 Kings 5:1-15a (Matthew 8:2-3)

If All Saints Day is observed this Sunday, readings and resources can be found in last week’s post.

We are nearing the end of the season after Pentecost, and the pattern of our readings turns toward Reign of Christ Sunday in the liturgical year.

The first selection of the Hebrew scriptures, which has followed the prophets in this season, turns toward the promises of God to the people upon their return from exile. The prophet Haggai speaks of hope to the exiles returning home in 1:15b-2:9. The people had been away for around seventy years and their city and temple were destroyed and left to rubble. Yet the same God who brought them out of Egypt was bringing them home. Haggai spoke words of hope to the governor and high priest of the people of Israel, that though there were few, if any, who remembered the glory of the temple, the temple would become a place of prosperity. The treasure of other nations would come, and the splendor of the temple will be even greater than before. Haggai echoes what other prophets of his time, such as Second Isaiah, said regarding God’s restoration of the people and their home and temple to be even greater than what was before, and how other nations were drawn to support the people.

Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Verses 1-5 sings praise to God. One generation shall declare what God has done to the next generation, and the psalmist is in awe and meditates on God’s splendor and majesty. Verses 17-21 speaks of God’s faithfulness and righteousness, drawing close to the faithful who call on God’s name, and showing favor to those who honor God. The psalmist concludes with a vow to continue to praise God and calls upon all living things to bless God’s name.

An alternative selection is Psalm 98, another song of praise, probably sung after a battle victory. God has remained faithful to the people of Israel, showing God’s steadfast love, and all the earth knows God’s victory. The psalmist calls upon the whole earth to make a joyful noise, to praise God. With musical instruments, and the music of the sea and floodwaters—everything is called to praise God, all of God’s creation. God is the one who judges the whole earth, and judges the people rightly.

The short passage of Job 19:23-27a contains Job’s plea to God. Job knows that God lives, that God hears his prayer, but he wishes God would answer. He wishes his words were inscribed as a testimony of what he has been through, as evidence. Though Job’s friends have tried to find fault with Job, a reason for Job’s suffering, Job knows the only one who can answer truthfully is God.

Psalm 17:1-9 is the psalmist’s plea for God to answer their prayer. They know they have done nothing wrong and if God were to test their heart, they would be true. The psalmist has refuted the ways of violent people and has stayed true to God’s ways, and they know God will respond. The psalmist beautifully calls upon God to guard them as God’s precious one, to keep them safe from evil.

The Epistle reading continues its short series in 2 Thessalonians, turning toward mentions of Christ’s return and the day of judgment, with 2:1-5, 13-17. The writer (purporting to be Paul) urges the readers to not be worried. Instead, they ought to live as if the day of the Lord was already there. They need to be prepared for deception by leaning on the teachings that have been passed down to them so they can remain steadfast in the gospel they have received. There is a lawless one who isn’t named in this letter, but some political or religious leader of the time who put himself above others and claimed to be from God. It is Christ himself, the writer prays, who will bring comfort and encouragement.

Some Sadducees challenge Jesus in Luke 20:27-38. The Sadducees were one of several Jewish groups in the first century. They were part of the priestly group that was in charge of worship at the temple, and disagreed with the Pharisees, who were probably more closely aligned with Jesus’s views on the authority of scripture and on the belief in resurrection, and the Pharisees were not involved in the temple worship. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and use a story of a woman who was married more than once as an example of why there couldn’t possibly be a resurrection, because according to the Levitical tradition, when a man dies, his widow must marry his brother. If that’s the case, then when they all die and are resurrected, who is she married to? Jesus responds by telling the Sadducees they are thinking about the resurrection wrong. Marriage is a human institution, made necessary by our culture and tradition, but not necessary in God’s reign. And when God in scripture refers to their ancestors of the faith in speaking to the prophets, such as Moses, God refers to them in the present tense; so therefore, they must be living. To God, all the ancestors of the faith are alive. The way we view our world and our lives is not how God views us at all.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on God healing Naaman through the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 5:1-15a (this was part of the Revised Common Lectionary, the second selection of the Hebrew scriptures, back on October 9th). Naaman was the commander of the king of Aram’s army, but he suffered from leprosy. Naaman’s wife had a servant, an Israelite girl who was taken captive, and this servant told Naaman’s wife about the prophet in Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) who could heal. The king of Aram wrote a letter to the king of Israel on behalf of Naaman, but the king of Israel freaked out, because he wasn’t God. Elisha, God’s prophet, told the king of Israel to calm down and to let Naaman come to him, because then he would know there was a prophet in Israel. Naaman arrived at Elisha’s house, and Elisha’s messenger told Elisha to go wash seven times in the Jordan and he would be clean. Naaman was angry because it was too simple. It had to be more complicated than that, otherwise he could have just bathed at home. Naaman’s servants reasoned with him: he would rather do something difficult, instead of a simple act for healing? Naaman gives in, bathes in the Jordan seven times, and his skin is restored. Naaman then realizes there is no God but God, the God of Israel.

The supplementary text is Matthew 8:2-3, when a leper came to Jesus and told him that if he chose, he could make him clean. Jesus replied, “I do choose. Be made clean!” and immediately the man was made well, and his flesh restored.

We are often focused on the wrong things. Job’s friends were focused on figuring out what Job must have done to cause all the bad things to happen to him, instead of simply being present with Job while he was suffering. While we might not believe God causes bad things to happen, we often offer up meaningless platitudes when they do, which also do not help. For the people returning from exile, they probably could only see the destruction, and it was hard to imagine hope; yet the same God who brought them out of Egypt had brought them home. Nothing is impossible with God, and God would restore their temple and their home. For the church in Thessalonica, it was easy to get worried about different religious and political figures rising up and different gospels, but Paul reminded them to stay true to what had been passed down to them, to not be worried. Instead, judge yourself and live as if the day of the Lord is already upon us. Live into God’s ways all the time. Jesus countered the Sadducees because they asked the wrong question. It’s not about how our choices today affect us for after this life, for heaven or hell—it’s about how our choices today affect us and others today, and for the next generation among us. Christians have become short-sighted, focused on a ticket to heaven instead of an eternity that begins now. With a world posed to warm 2-3 degrees by the end of the century, the day of judgment is now. In a society where children and teachers are killed by gun violence, the day of judgment is now. We ought to be living today as if our lives are accountable right now, not some time in the future.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 98:1a, 4, 9b)
O sing to the Lord a new song,
For God has done marvelous things.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth,
Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
God is coming to judge the earth;
God will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Come, worship our God, who is just and true,
May we judge our own hearts, and live into God’s ways of justice and mercy.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Creator God, we confess that we have not lived into Your first commandment to us as human beings, back in the first chapter of Genesis. You called us to fill the earth and to have stewardship of it the way You have made and cared for all creation. You are a just and true God, but we have distorted Your image. We have imagined You as abusive and wrathful and have been abusive and harmful to Your creation and to each other. We have failed to live into Your commandment and have not lived as You intended. Call us into repentance, O God, to turn back to You and to Your ways, to restore Your image instead of our own. May we repent of our harm of the earth, and work quickly to repair and restore, so that the next generation may not live with the sins of ours. Call us into this restorative work, O God, so that we might seek forgiveness and lay a better foundation for those who come after us. Holy, Just, and True, You are the One we seek, Creator of us all. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
God is so wise and loving, gracious and kind, that God always offers us a chance for repentance, an opportunity to repair, a way to restore. God desires for us to remember who we are as God’s beloved, to remember we are made in the image of God, and that the worst things we can do are not the last things done unto us, for Christ lives. You are precious to God. God loves you madly, and desires the best for you. Love one another. Repent of where you have gone wrong, and work to repair and restore. Seek healing and wholeness, and forgive as you have been forgiven. Live into God’s ways and know God is with you, always. Amen.

Prayer
God of Justice, we often view judgment as harsh, condemning, something against us, instead of understanding that You call us to judge ourselves, to stop and listen for Your word whispering in our hearts. Your judgment is sound and Your decrees in scripture are true. You have called us to turn back to You. Your justice lifts up the lowly and fills the hungry with good things. When it is harsh, it is because we have had too much and now are sent away empty. When we are too high on ourselves we are brought down, but when we have been crushed down, You raise us up. You are Just and True, and we trust Your words in our hearts, Your breath in our lives. We trust where You are leading us. Even when it is hard, You lead us forward into Your ways of justice and mercy. Help us to go forward together and to trust in You. Amen.

Revised Common Lectionary: Joel 2:23-32 and Psalm 65; Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22 and Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

Narrative Lectionary: David and Bathsheba, 2 Samuel 11:1-5, 26-27; 12:1-9; Psalm 51:1-9 (Matthew 21:33-41)

The first selection in the Hebrew Scriptures follows the rise of the prophets in this season after Pentecost. Liturgically, as Christians move toward Reign of Christ Sunday, the readings of the prophets turn to the day of the Lord, the day of judgment. Each prophet envisioned this in their own way. The prophet Joel envisioned a time when the harvest would be plentiful and their vats overflowing, a repayment for all the people had lost, especially for those of the holy city of Jerusalem, destroyed at the beginning of exile. All among them, old and young, would dream and behold visions and the young would prophesy, full of God’s spirit. However, there will also be signs of destruction before the day of judgment. Nonetheless, all those in Jerusalem, all who call upon God’s name, will be saved.

Psalm 65 is a song of praise to God who answers prayer. Those who seek closeness to God are blessed, for God has delivered them. The psalmist praises God, who both dwells in the temple and is active in the entire world, for God established the mountains and bound the seas. God crowns the year with its bounty of harvest, and the meadows and pastures overflow with God’s blessings.

The second selection of the Hebrew scriptures turns to Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22. Jeremiah attempts to intercede on behalf of the people, but God responds to their faithlessness. Jeremiah prayed for God to not abandon them like a stranger who does not know them. Though the people have been rebellious, Jeremiah pleads for God to intervene. Jeremiah argues that God shouldn’t be surprised at the people’s behavior, because God has been with them. However, God allows the people to live with the consequences of their actions. If they turn away from God, God will not be with them. Jeremiah refuses to give up and pleads again for God to intervene. The people confess they have sinned. They have not been faithful. But there is no other God who can provide for the people, no other God who can bring rain where there is drought. God is their only hope.

Psalm 84:1-7 praises God for the beauty of the temple, where God has chosen to dwell among the people. Even birds dwell in the temple of God and sing praise in their way. For those who choose to be in the temple and to make their home with God, they find God’s blessings, and God is known to the people in Zion.

The Epistle reading concludes its series in 1-2 Timothy with 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18. Paul wraps up his letters to Timothy, knowing that he himself will most likely die in prison, and feels assured that he has done all he can for God’s glory and not his own. Paul was given strength, even in prison, to proclaim the gospel and turn the hearts of Gentiles to Jesus. Paul is assured that he was spared death thus far to do God’s work and he is ready to be with God. He sees his own life as an example and inspiration for Timothy and others to continue the Gospel work on earth.

The readings in Luke focus on parables for a second week in a row. Last week was the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, this week it is the parable of the two men who went to pray in Luke 18:9-14. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. In this story, Jesus uses the Pharisee as an example of someone who is smug in their own religiosity. It is always a good reminder that Jesus did not see all Pharisees this way, and back in Luke 13:31 some Pharisees warned Jesus to steer clear of Jerusalem because Herod wanted to kill him. But in this parable, Jesus is flipping the common narrative on its head. A tax collector would be despised in society as someone who was working for the Roman government to extort money. One of their own people working for the very empire. The Pharisee would be seen as someone holy, working for God. Instead, it is the Pharisee who fills the temple with empty words attempting to justify himself and the tax collector who shows true repentance before God. It is important to look at verse 9 for the context: Jesus was telling this parable to those among his own followers who thought they were holier than others.

The Narrative Lectionary turns to a lesson on the power of parables, when the prophet Nathan tells a parable to expose David’s sin. In 2 Samuel 11, David didn’t go off to war as kings usually did, and instead he ended up having the wife of one of his soldiers sent to him to sleep with her. Lest we think Bathsheba had any say in the matter, refusing a king usually resulted in death. In the intervening verses David tried to cover up Bathsheba’s pregnancy but Uriah was such a faithful solider he would not go home to his wife, so David had Uriah’s death staged on the battlefield. However, David didn’t get away with it. God sent the prophet Nathan to David and told a parable of a rich and a poor man, and how when the rich man had a visitor come to visit, instead of killing one of his own lambs for dinner, he took the poor man’s only lamb for himself. David was quite upset about this story, believing it to be real, until Nathan revealed that the rich man was David, and that he had taken Uriah’s wife as his own and had Uriah killed, though David was already married several times over. Note that Bathsheba, like other women of that time period, are seen as the property of the men they are married to, without a say in what happened to them.

Psalm 51:1-9 is partnered with this reading as it has long been attributed to David, a song of confession of sin. The psalmist confesses their sin before God, that it cannot be hidden, for even if no one else knows, God knows, and God will expose our wrongdoings. The psalmist calls upon God to cleanse them of their sin, to receive forgiveness and absolution for what they have done, so they may once again experience joy.

The supplementary text is Matthew 21:33-41, when Jesus told a parable of tenant farmers, who seized the land from the owner, beat his servants and killed others. Then the landowner sent his son, believing the tenants would respect him, but they killed him, too. Jesus asked the listeners what they though the owner of the vineyard would do. The listeners were outraged. They declared the vineyard would be taken from those tenants and given to others who would do what they were contracted to do. In the verses following, Jesus then reveals the parable is about them: the kingdom of God is going to be taken from them because they did not do what they had covenanted to do with God.

Stories have power. They teach us lessons that may be right in front of us, but we cannot see it until we look at it more objectively. When we see ourselves from a different point of view, we can see where we haven’t been faithful to God’s ways. When it feels like the world is against us, that is all we know—we are right and others are wrong and they are severely wronging us. But when we look at things from a different view, a global view—we see that we all at times struggle in our own faithfulness. Though we might face one form of oppression, we may be oppressing others and not recognizing our places of privilege. While most of us are not a David, many of us might be a self-righteous religious person, as in the parable Jesus told with the tax collector. We may know someone whom we think could not possibly be in relationship with God and yet they come before God knowing they want to change while we think we don’t need to change. Parables are specific stories with moral points, but all of Scripture can be seen as stories that teach us, when we put ourselves in the shoes of others, that we may not have the whole truth from our perspective.

Call to Worship
Open our minds, O God, to new understandings;
Open our minds, Wise One, to learn from You.
Open our hearts, O God, to Your love in the world;
Open our hearts, Loving Christ, to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Open us from within, O God, to the people in need around us.
Open us up, Holy Spirit, when we want to focus on our own survival.
God of Opening Doors, Your Spirit is moving in us,
Open our minds, open our hearts, open ourselves to Your people,
And may we worship You in the fullness of who we are.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
God Who Knows, we come before You confessing that we often hide the truth from ourselves. We hide the truth that we know so little of You and the universe You have made. We judge others to standards we never hold ourselves to. Even in the name of love we have occasionally allowed ourselves to hate others instead of hating the evil that is in this world, that shapes people away from Your intention, and that includes ourselves. Forgive us, O God, for our hate that enters our hearts and causes others harm. Forgive us, O God, for judging others instead of ourselves. Call us into accountability, Loving One, when we do not acknowledge the truth and deceive ourselves. We seek Your forgiveness. Cleanse us from our sin and purify our hearts to be free of hatred and instead full of love, for it is only love that will transform the world. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” -John 14:27
Know Christ’s peace in your life, and know Christ’s forgiveness. Do not give as the world gives, but love one another, forgive one another, and live into Christ’s ways in this world, of love, justice, and peace. Amen.

Prayer
God of Transformation, as the seasons change, we give You thanks that things do not stay the same. That we ourselves cannot stay static. You change the world around us and You change our hearts within. May we be open to the ways the Spirit is moving us to change, O God. May we be open to the need to change for others, to make space and room for those who have not had places made for them. May we take notice of what is growing and what is dying, and give thanks for both, O God, for out of death comes new life. Even as we grieve what we have known, You are making all things new. Transform our hearts, O God, to be ready for what You are preparing to make new. Amen.

Revised Common Lectionary: Jeremiah 31:27-34 and Psalm 119:97-104; Genesis 32:22-31 and Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8

Narrative Lectionary: Joshua Renews the Covenant, Joshua 24:1-15 (16-26); (Matthew 4:8-10)

The first selection of the Hebrew scriptures has followed the rise of the prophets during the season after Pentecost. For the second half of the season the focus has been primarily on Jeremiah. We conclude from the series on Jeremiah this week with the promise of the new covenant in 31:27-34. This passage marks the transition toward the end of this season, turning toward Reign of Christ Sunday (where we will revisit Jeremiah one last time). God spoke through the prophet, to a people taken into exile, that times would be changing, and what had been a time of pulling up and destroying would become a time of planting and rebuilding. Again, God speaks that the time would be changing, and a new covenant will be made by God with the people. Unlike the previous covenant that the people broke—though they were in relationship with God—this one is unbreakable, for it is written on their hearts, and all will know God, who has forgiven their sins and remembers them no more.

This portion of Psalm 119:97-104 is part of a much longer psalm on instruction for worship and relationship with God. Each section begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet as an acrostic poem, and this entire section is under the letter Mem. This portion speaks to the love the psalmist has for God’s law, and how they meditate on God’s instructions day and night. Following God’s commandments has led the psalmist into greater wisdom and understanding. They have stayed true to God and are wary of evil. Sweet are God’s words, sweeter than honey, and there is nothing that will call the psalmist astray as they are rooted in God’s teachings.

The second selection of the Hebrew scriptures is the story of Jacob’s encounter with the angel in 32:22-31. Jacob and his family were on their way to encounter his brother Esau, whom he fled from as a youth. The night before, Jacob and his family crossed the Jabbok River, but Jacob decided to sleep away from them. A stranger wrestled with him until dawn, knocking Jacob’s hip out of socket but Jacob managed to overpower him anyway, and would not let the stranger go until the stranger blessed him. The stranger called him Israel, one who wrestles with God, though the stranger refused to tell Jacob his name. Jacob named the place Peniel, the face of God, for he had wrestled with God face-to-face and prevailed. Throughout the book of Genesis, places and people are given names of importance in their encounters with God.

Psalm 121 is an ancient song of knowing God’s presence and help. Hills and mountains were seen in the ancient world as where the gods dwelled, but the psalmist knows that their help is in God, who made heaven and earth. God is the protector and defender, the one who keeps our lives and knows every movement we make, protecting us from birth until death, forever.

The Epistle readings continue in the series of 1-2 Timothy with 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5. Paul encourages Timothy to continue with what he has learned through scripture and what he has been taught. Paul commissions Timothy to preach the word, even when people don’t want to hear it. Some in the early churches were drawn to other preachers who said things the people wanted to hear, instead of the gospel of Christ, which called for a transformation of lives. Paul encourages Timothy to be persistent, to cast off what is false and cling to what is true, and to encourage others to believe in Christ.

Luke 18:1-8 contains a parable in which a widow persisted in her demands for justice from a judge. The judge himself didn’t care—he had no respect for people or for God—but because the woman wouldn’t give up in her pursuit of justice, the judge relented just so she’d stop bothering him. Isn’t God much greater than this unjust judge? Jesus assured the disciples that God would grant justice to those who cried out, to those who were desperate enough. However, Jesus wondered if the people would remain faithful to God when the time of judgment comes.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on God’s faithfulness in covenant, and in Joshua 24:1-15, Joshua called the entire people who had come out of the wilderness, all the tribes, to renew the covenant with God. Joshua reminded the people of what God has done for them through their ancestors, into the land that God gave them. Joshua and his family chose to serve the Lord their God, but all must decide whether to serve the gods of the lands and the peoples around them, or the God who was with them since the time of their ancestors. The longer portion of 16-26 contains the people’s response and Joshua’s charge to them. The people committed to serving God, because God was the one who brought them out of their enslavement and out from oppression by all the other nations. However, Joshua warned the people that they had to commit with their whole heart—they couldn’t just say the words at that moment and later turn from God, for they would know God’s judgment. The people again declared that God was the one they would serve, and Joshua commanded them to put away the idols and foreign gods, to focus on the God of Israel, the one God.

The supplemental passage of Matthew 4:8-10 contains the last temptation of Jesus by the devil in the wilderness. In Matthew’s account, this last temptation is for Jesus to have all the cities of the world if he bows down and worships the devil. Jesus resists Satan and tells him to go away, because it is written that one is to worship God only, to serve only God.

The ethicist Miguel De La Torre speaks about embracing hopelessness, that hope is a byproduct of white western European Christianity that colonizes people into believing that God will rescue them from the systems of the world, and we don’t have to do anything about it. Hopelessness instead causes desperate people to act and change things. We see this hopelessness in the parable Jesus told about the widow—because that judge was not going to change. Nothing was going to change until the widow got him to change out of her desperate endeavor not to give up. That wasn’t hope—that was desperation. The judge himself doesn’t change. Even the system doesn’t change, but it changes enough for her own self.

In a sense, the exiles in Jeremiah had no hope left, but in the hopelessness of it all they began to rebuild their lives in Babylon. That’s where the true hope springs forth, not a false hope that keeps us complacent. Both Paul and Joshua know that people will not change, whether it was renewing the covenant in the promised land and saying the words they thought Joshua wanted to hear, or Paul speaking to Timothy hundreds of years later about the early church and how people become complacent, only hearing what they want to hear. There’s not much hope in that. The hope is found in the hopelessness, the act of desperation that causes us to commit to change. Paul committing even in prison to not give up the Gospel. Jesus committing to the cross that death will not have the final word. How desperate are we to actually commit to transforming this world? Or do we simply pay lip service? It’s something faithful people have wrestled with for thousands of years, and we continue to wrestle with it now.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 121:1-2)
I lift my eyes up to the hills,
From where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
Institutions will fall, and people will fail us,
Only God’s love endures forever.
Turn your hearts to God,
Our true hope, strength, and power.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Ancient and Almighty and Awesome God, we come before You, confessing that we don’t set our hearts and minds on You. We set our hearts and minds on the things of this world that we have made: worldly power, wealth, and notoriety. We have FOMO (fear of missing out) so bad that it consumes us as sin. We want what others have. We measure ourselves against what others are doing. We have failed to remember that we are all Your children, each one of us, made in Your image. We are fearfully and wonderfully, awesomely and amazingly made by You, our Creator, and we have treated ourselves like trash. Forgive us, O God, and help us to restore in ourselves our understanding of worth and purpose as Your children, and not by the world’s measures. For it is the things of this world, the stuff we have created and measured ourselves against that is the garbage we don’t need. Help us to chuck it, O God, and instead, remind us that we worship You, the One who made us, who made all the planets and stars and galaxies and this mighty universe and made us from the dust of it all into something incredibly beautiful and wondrous. We are Your children, O God, and may we never forget it, as You call us by name to discipline, disciple, and delight in. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance (from Psalm 121:4-8)
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
You are loved, renewed, and restored. Go and share the good news of God’s blessings, for you are God’s beloved child, and with you, God is well-pleased. Amen.

Prayer
Sweet Spirit, breathe into us Your power to discern the right choices and paths for our lives. Breathe into us Your peace and patience in a world that wants us to make decisions fast. Breathe into us a sense of value and purpose as Your children. Breathe into us the possibility of new life now, as part of our eternal life in You. Sweet Spirit, help us to breathe out the vitriol, the snappy judgments, the condescension that permeates our thinking. May we let go of the negativity that does not shape us for the better but drags us down. May we breathe in the sweetness of life that You have for us, Sweet Spirit. Amen.

Revised Common Lectionary: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Psalm 66:1-12; 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c and Psalm 111; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19

Narrative Lectionary: Covenant and Commandments, Exodus 19:3-7, 20:1-17 (Matthew 5:17)

As we follow Jeremiah in this first selection of the Hebrew scriptures, the prophet writes a letter in chapter 29 to the elders of Israel who are going into exile. God has not forgotten them. God tells them to build houses, plant houses, get married, have children and grandchildren. Pray for the welfare of the city they live in, he writes. It is God who has sent them into exile, and God will be with them even in a foreign land.

Psalm 66:1-12 is a song of praise to God who led the people out of their oppression in Egypt and into the land God promised them. All the earth worships God, and God used the earth, the dry soil, to bring the people out of enslavement. The people rejoiced and worshiped when God led them through. The psalmist turns to prayer, praising God who has led them through to safety, and though the people have been tested, the psalmist knows God will lead them to freedom.

The second selection of the Hebrew scriptures turns to the story of Naaman and Elisha in 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c. Naaman was the commander of the king of Aram’s army, but he suffered from leprosy. Naaman’s wife had a servant, an Israelite girl who was taken captive, and this servant told Naaman’s wife about the prophet in Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) who could heal. The king of Aram wrote a letter to the king of Israel on behalf of Naaman, but the king of Israel freaked out, because he wasn’t God. Elisha, God’s prophet, told the king of Israel to calm down and to let Naaman come to him, because then he would know there was a prophet in Israel. Naaman arrived at Elisha’s house, and Elisha’s messenger told Elisha to go wash seven times in the Jordan and he would be clean. Naaman was angry because it was too simple. It had to be more complicated than that, otherwise he could have just bathed at home. Naaman’s servants reasoned with him: he would rather do something difficult, instead of a simple act for healing? Naaman gives in, bathes in the Jordan seven times, and his skin is restored. Naaman then realizes there is no God but God, the God of Israel.

Psalm 111 is a song of praise, reminding the congregation of all that God has done for them. God provides for those who are faithful, and God keeps the covenant with the people. Everything God does is faithful, just, and true. The beginning of wisdom, the psalmist writes, is the fear, or awe, of God. God is far beyond what we can possibly imagine or understand, and the wise understand this, giving God all the glory, honor, and praise.

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:8-15 to urge Timothy not to forget the reason that Paul is suffering in prison is because of the Gospel. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and the resurrection cannot be contained, just like the word of God cannot be contained, either. Paul is enduring imprisonment because God cannot be imprisoned. Paul is in solidarity with Christ because Christ has been in solidarity with us, and even when we are faithless, Christ remains faithful. Paul urges Timothy to make an effort to speak plainly and faithfully and not get caught up when others want to debate words.

The Gospel lesson is Luke 17:11-19, when Jesus and the disciples passed between Samaria and Galilee. A group of ten lepers called out to him. Lepers were cut off from the rest of society as they were seen as unclean and might possibly be contagious. Jesus calls back to them to go show themselves to the priests. As they went on their way, the lepers realized they were made clean. One came back to Jesus, praising God, and fell at Jesus’s feet to thank him. He was a Samaritan, and he was the only one who came back to praise God. Jesus told him that his faith had made him well. This is the second time in Luke (the first is the Parable of the Good Samaritan in 10:25-37) that Jesus uses a Samaritan, an outsider, as an example of faithfulness from someone that the reader/listener would not expect.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on the Covenant and Commandments in Exodus 19 and 20. After arriving in the wilderness, the people of Israel came to Mt. Sinai, and Moses went up the mountain to speak with God. God told Moses that if the people were faithful and true to the covenant, they would be God’s most precious people out of the whole earth, a priestly nation serving on behalf of God. Moses went down the mountain and called together the elders of the people and shared God’s words with them. In 20:1-17, God shared the first ten commandments to Moses. The first four deal with how to worship God, the only God, the one God who brought them out of Egypt. The people were to honor God with their words as well as their lives through the practice of sabbath rest. The next six commandments were how Israel was to relate to each other: honoring elders, not killing, stealing, lying, committing adultery, and the very last one: a commandment to not even desire what others have. This last one was longer than the others because it was a reminder that the desire for what others have, instead of being satisfied with what we already have, is what leads us into the temptation to lie, cheat, kill, and dishonor others, and it dishonors God.

Jesus declared in Matthew 5:17 that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Matthew’s Gospel account emphasizes Jesus’s Jewishness, and that what he teaches is not against what Moses and the other prophets heard from God but is consistent with the prophets of old.

God is always with us. There are times when we feel God’s absence, when it seems that God could not exist for all the suffering and horror of the world. Yet we know that God has promised throughout scripture that God will always be with us. Even when the Israelites feel abandoned, God is reminding them they cannot ever be apart from God, even in a foreign land. Even when the world seems impossible, God is in the simple things, such as the air we breathe, or the waters that run through the rivers, for water is life. God is present with us in the everyday miracles, when things line up or work out when we didn’t expect them to, when the sun shines on a day that was forecast rain, when the winds die down after the storm. Sometimes it takes outsiders to show us that God is with all of us. Sometimes we need the reminders from others to be grateful, because we have taken God for granted.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 111:1-3, 10)
Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD.
With my whole heart, in the company of the congregation.
Great are the works of the LORD,
Studied by all who delight in them.
Full of honor and majesty is God’s work,
God’s righteousness endures forever.
The awe of God is the beginning of wisdom;
All those who practice it have a good understanding.
God’s praise endures forever.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Holy One, we confess that we take Your love and presence with us for granted. We assume You are with us when life is going well for us, but when we face challenges and trials we cry out, wondering where You are. We confess that far too often we neglect gratitude and focus often on what we are lacking instead of where Your grace abounds. Forgive us, O God, for our short-sightedness. Remind us of the love You have shown us, through the love and care of others. Cultivate in us Your compassion and empathy and remind us to be gentle with one another and ourselves, for we are fragile treasure in clay jars, easily breakable, and yet precious to You. Holy One, Maker of us all, remind us never to take You or others for granted, and to remember Your deep love for us is in our very breath. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
God’s steadfast love endures forever, and never fails us. God’s love renews and restores us. When we love others, we feel God’s love in us. When we care for others, God cares for us. When we show compassion to others, we remember God’s mercy for us. You are loved. You are cared for. You are forgiven and restored. Go and share the good news with one another. Amen.

Prayer
Almighty Creator, You have molded and shaped us in Your image, and yet we do not understand You. We seek You but fail to comprehend how wonderful and awe-inspiring You are and the world You have made. Far too often we make You in our own image, O God, distorting who You really are and trying to shape You into who we want You to be, but You are the Almighty, God Most High, and cannot be contained. Great Creator, instead we pray You might mold us and shape us into who You need us to be. Mold and shape our hearts to be full of Your love for the world. Lead us into Your ways, to grow in wisdom and insight on the journey of faith. Amen.

Revised Common Lectionary: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 and Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; Amos 6:1a, 4-7 and Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

Narrative Lectionary: Joseph in Prison, Genesis 39:1-23 (Matthew 5:11-12)

The first selection for the Hebrew scriptures follows the rise of the prophets, and the second half of this season after Pentecost spends several weeks in Jeremiah. In the midst of the siege of Jerusalem, while Jeremiah was imprisoned by the king, he managed to secure a land deal despite his captivity. Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel sold a field to Jeremiah because the right of redemption passed to him, meaning, Hanamel went down the line of succession within the family and Jeremiah was next in line to either buy it or refuse it. Despite the war going on and being under guard, Jeremiah purchased the field because he knew God was using him as a sign of hope for the people, especially for the guard and the officials close by, that there would be those who survived, a remnant that returned. The deed was placed in an earthenware jar so that it could survive a long time, when those who return would rebuild and plant again.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16 is a song of praise to God who delivers the people from evil. The psalmist assures those who put their trust in God will have shelter and safety and need not fear for their lives. In the latter verses, God declares through the psalmist that They will deliver those who love God and call out to God, for God is their salvation.

The second selection of the Hebrew scriptures turns to the prophet Amos, who warned what was to come to the people of Israel and Judah before the conquest of the Assyrians in the northern kingdom. In chapter 6, the prophet warned those in both nation’s capitals who gorged on their wealth and luxurious lifestyle, ignoring the poor and oppressed among them, that they would be the first taken into exile. Their judgment was at hand.

Psalm 146 sings praise to God who watches over the marginalized. The psalmist warns against trusting worldly leaders, for they will not last, but instead the psalmist sings praises to the eternal one. God is the Creator of all and cares for the needs of the poor, hungry, and oppressed, and brings liberty to those in captivity. God watches over especially the most vulnerable, the orphans and widows, and those who practice evil will come to their end. God’s reign will endure forever.

The Epistle readings continue the series on the pastoral letters of 1 and 2 Timothy with 1 Timothy 6:6-19. Paul warns against those who desire wealth because they will never be satisfied. Instead, Paul praises those who find contentment. “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” reminds us that if we love wealth, we do not love God, for Jesus warned us we cannot serve God and wealth (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). Instead, Paul urges the pursuit of righteousness (right-living with God), faith, love, gentleness, and so on. Take hold of eternal life. For those who are rich already they ought to be generous and share of their resources. They need to set their hope on God and not on their wealth and use their resources as a “good foundation” for the church in the future.

Jesus told the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. Prior to this story, Jesus was teaching his disciples and encountered some Pharisees who were opposed to him. It is good to remember that just a few chapters ago, in 13:31, some Pharisees warned Jesus that Herod wanted to kill him. Not all the Pharisees were at odds with Jesus, and at different times Jesus had different encounters with this particular Jewish group. In this part of chapter 16, Jesus challenged the Pharisees and others on wealth ownership, and how wealth can lead us away from what God desires for us. In this story Jesus told, a man named Lazarus, who was poor and covered with sores on his body, used to sleep at the gates of a rich man’s house—a man who lived in luxury without a care in the world. Lazarus longed to eat even the crumbs from the rich man’s table, but instead, the rich man’s dogs would come lick his sores. When both men died, Lazarus was taken by the angels to Abraham, while the rich man suffered. The rich man called upon Abraham for mercy but also had the nerve to tell Abraham to send Lazarus to relieve his suffering! Abraham reminded the rich man that he had everything during his life while Lazarus had to suffer, so now it was time for Lazarus to be comforted. Besides that, it was impossible to cross the chasm separating them. The rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to warn them, but Abraham said if they didn’t believe the prophets, they weren’t going to believe, even if someone rose from the dead—foreshadowing Jesus and the hardness of heart some people would have toward him.

The Narrative Lectionary continues a series on the promises of God with the story of Joseph in prison in Genesis 39.
A content warning for this story: Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph of attempted sexual assault. However, the number of sexual assault cases turning out to be false is extremely low. The story might lead some to believe it happens more often, but in actuality it is a rare occurrence. We need to believe women when they come forward with their stories of assault.
Joseph had already been betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, taken to Egypt, and then served in the household of Potiphar, chief officer for Pharaoh. While he was there, he served Potiphar and helped make him successful. God blessed Joseph in all he did, and Potiphar trusted Joseph. However, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, and when he refused, she accused him of assault and Joseph was thrown into prison. Nonetheless, even in prison, Joseph knew God’s steadfast love. The chief jailer saw Joseph’s potential for leadership and his loyalty and put him in charge of caring for all the prisoners. Despite everything that happened to Joseph, he believed God was with him and he remained loyal and faithful.

The supplementary verses of Matthew 5:11-12. At the end of the Beatitudes, Jesus blesses those who are persecuted and accused falsely on his account. For those who are faithful to God, Jesus’s words are to bring encouragement and to remind the faithful this is what happened to the prophets before them.

Faithfulness to God’s ways does not usually lead to worldly rewards. The prophets faced persecution. Jeremiah was imprisoned. Joseph was sold into slavery and then imprisoned. Jesus himself was crucified. Paul warns that wealth can distort our values and lead us away from God unless we “store up the treasure of a good foundation for the future”—in other words, using wealth to care for those in need around us, being generous and eager to share. Otherwise, far too often wealth leads us to be like the rich man in the story Jesus shared—a man who had no cares in this world and didn’t care for others, and even in death was quite selfish. Unless we change our lives and our values in the here and now and use our resources for God’s reign, we are like those who lounged on the couches in luxury that Amos warned about: the first to lose. Rather, when we are faithful to God, we know that storing up wealth does nothing for the reign of God and we can let go of the way wealth possesses us.

Call to Worship (Psalm 146:1-2, 5, 7, 10)
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the LORD their God,
Who executes justice for the oppressed;
Who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
The LORD will reign forever,
Your God, for all generations.
Praise the LORD!

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Faithful God, we confess our unfaithfulness. We have sought the idols of this world: wealth, notoriety, and worldly power. We have stored up treasure on earth instead of treasure in heaven. We have put the value of money over the value of human lives. We have made our lives more convenient and secure and put our very earth at risk from climate change. We have failed to live rightly by You. We have forgotten Your ways, O God. Turn us back to You. Call us by name and lead us in the path of repentance, reparation, and restoration, for You are our only hope, our Saving Grace. In the name of Christ, who lived, died, and lives again for us, we pray. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance (from 2 Timothy 2:11-13)
“The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” God will always remain faithful, even when our faith fails us. Turn back to God and know God’s love is with you. Turn back to God and know you are forgiven. Turn back to God and know you are restored. Prepare to go forth, ready to share the good news to others that they, too, can know God’s love, forgiveness, and restoration. Amen.

Prayer
Holy One, our world moves at a rapid pace of work, school, care of loved ones, paying bills, and all the other things that are important but can overwhelm us. Help us to find the holy in the midst of it all: the brief moments of quiet, the time to read a chapter of a book, the sunshine breaking through the clouds, the task of watering plants. Wherever we find a bit of Sabbath rest, O God, may we find it a holy moment. Whenever we find a bit of good, O God, nurture that goodness in us. May we seek the holy in our daily lives, for it escapes us in the world that pursues values away from You. May we find the holy moments already among us. Amen.