27 March 2022: Fourth Sunday of Lent/Lætare Sunday C

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Jos 5:9a, 10-12	Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7	2 Cor 5:17-21	Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
		RCL: 2 Cor 5:16-21

Liturgical note: Lætare Sunday

The fourth Sunday of Lent is called Lætare Sunday. The Latin verb lætare (lay-TAH-ray), which means “rejoice!” or “be joyful!”, comes from the entrance antiphon for the day:    Lætare Ierusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam.    Rejoice, Jerusalem, and come together all who love her. The liturgical color for Lent is purple, a color that reminds us of our need for metanoia: conversion and change. Lætare Sunday’s liturgical color is rose, a color that represents joy. This Sunday marks Lent’s approximate mid-point, a day to rejoice because Easter is now within sight. Traditionally this Sunday relaxed usual Lenten practices.

Lent: meals, metanoia, and reconciliation

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, tells parables, forgives, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings focus on eating together and reconciliation.

First reading (Jos 5:9a, 10-12)

The first reading is from the book of Joshua, Moses’ assistant and successor, who leads the Israelites into the promised land. In today’s pericope, the Israelites are about to enter Canaan (“encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho”). God tells Joshua that God has “removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” The “reproach” or shame of Egypt is slavery: the Israelites enter the land God promised to them as a free people. God also forgives the people for their rebellious acts in the wilderness: the golden calf, their grumblings against God and Moses, their rejection of the Law. Before entering the promised land, the Israelites “celebrate Passover,” the covenant meal. This second Passover marks the moment they leave the wilderness for the promised land. Once they are able to feed themselves in Canaan, they no longer need manna; God stops providing it. The Lectionary editors chose this reading for its ritual Passover meal as a sign of transition, echoing the father’s feast in today’s gospel.

Second reading (2 Cor 5:17-21)

The second reading is from Paul’s second letter to the Corinth ekklesia. Paul writes this letter (or a series of letters) to continue the Corinthians’ instruction, sharing his own apostolic work as an example. In today’s pericope, Paul reminds the Corinthians that “all who are in Christ are a new creation.” The new things do not happen automatically; the “new creation” comes into existence only when a person hears, believes, and responds. God initiated the reconciliation between God and humans (“all this”) with Christ acting as mediator of God’s reconciliation (“in” or “through Christ”), in Christ’s transforming death and resurrection. God’s reconciliation gives the believing community an example and a “ministry of reconciliation.” God, through Christ, reconciled everyone (“the world”) to God, without regard for the quantity or seriousness of everyone’s sins (“not counting their trespasses”). Through Christ’s example, disciples receive God’s message (“word”) of reconciliation (Christ died to reconcile all with God and to save all). Paul closes with reconciliation’s paradox: the sinless Christ (“did not know sin”) represents all sinners (“for our sake”); through his transformative death (“was made sin”) he took away our sins so that we can be reconciled ( made “righteous”) with God. The Lectionary editors chose this reading for its message of God’s reconciliation, echoed in today’s gospel parable.

Gospel (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32)

Luke’s gospel continues Jesus’ discipleship teachings on his journey to Jerusalem. In today’s pericope, Jesus answers those who oppose his ministry to sinners with a parable about lost sons.

A story of two sons. The parable describes not only the younger son’s conversion and return to his father, but also the older son’s opportunity to reconcile with his father over his alienation and anger.

• The younger son is immature and impetuous (“give me my share of your livelihood”), but his experiences in a “distant country” change the way he sees things (“coming to his senses”). Although the younger son’s conversion is incomplete and selfish (“my father’s hired workers have more than enough food“), his father rejoices at his return and restores his place in the family (the robe confers honor, the signet ring confers authority, the sandals indicate the son is a free person, not a slave).

• Although the older son never leaves home, he is equally lost to his father. He refuses to attend his brother’s party. His father, the party’s host, leaves the house to console (the Greek text uses παρακαλέω/parakaléō, meaning “to comfort” or “to console”) his son. The older son complains that his father doesn’t appreciate him: he has “slaved” for years and followed all the rules, but doesn’t even get a goat (nowhere near a fatted calf!) to feast with his friends. His father addresses him tenderly (“my son”) and speaks to him as a friend (“with me always”) who shares his life (“everything I have is yours”). The story ends with the older son and father still outside the feast, as the father explains the need for them to rejoice together.

A story about a father’s love and reconciliation. Jesus’ parable seems, at first, to be about the younger son, but it is equally about the older son. With all the drama, we can easily miss the father’s love for both sons, and his wish to reconcile with them. The father is the parable’s central figure. He neither punishes the younger son for his carelessness and selfishness, nor denounces the older son for his resentment and misdirected anger at his father for forgiving his younger brother. Jesus address the parable to the righteous ones who, like the older son, are offended because Jesus “welcomes sinners.” The parable asks the Pharisees and scribes: if a human father loves his children this much, how much more does God love the lost and self-righteous and seek to reconcile with them?

Summary and reflection

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask us to think about our share in God’s ministry of reconciliation. Joshua hears that God freed the Israelites from slavery; they are a free people who celebrate entry into the promised land with a ritual meal. Paul invites the Corinthians to be reconciled to God and to share in the ministry and message of reconciliation. Jesus describes God’s superabundant love in welcoming the lost and inviting the righteous to joy and reconciliation.

We can get so wrapped up in following rules that we forget that reconciliation is about love, not about equality or legal observance. Do we recognize and celebrate transitions from slavery to freedom: not just another’s, but our own as well? Do we expect change and new things to happen automatically without the hard work of listening, believing, and acting? Do we set a higher value on virtue than God does, forgetting that we are all beneficiaries of God’s mercy, all the time?

—Terence Sherlock

20 March 2022: Third Sunday of Lent C

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15	Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11	1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12	Lk 13:1-9
RCL: Is 55:1-5		RCL: 1 Cor 10:1-13

Lent: learning discipleship through examples

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, tells parables, forgives, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings focus on learning discipleship from others’ examples.

First reading (Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15)

The first reading is from Exodus, the second book of Torah. Exodus tells the stories of Moses, Passover, freedom from Egypt’s slavery, the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. In this pericope, God reveals the Godself to Moses and charges him to lead God’s people out of Egypt’s slavery and into the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. Shepherding his father-in-law’s flocks, Moses sees a bush on fire, but the bush isn’t burned up. This “remarkable sight” leads Moses to a personal encounter with God and a commission to free and to save God’s enslaved people. Like many Hebrew scripture leaders and prophets, Moses doesn’t want to accept his divine call (“But when I go . . . ,” “What do I say?”). God responds by revealing not only God’s personal name, but also God’s essence: “I AM who am.” God is a living and acting being who is the source of existence. In the ancient world, knowing someone’s name gave the other person power over the named person. In revealing God’s name, God becomes vulnerable to Moses. In this vulnerability, God is no longer an abstract God, but a personal God who intervenes in history to save God’s chosen people. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the Exodus story provides the basis for Paul’s examples and warning in the second reading.

Second reading (1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12)

The second reading is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinth ekklesia. Paul writes to the Corinthians to urge them toward unity and to correct their wrong behaviors. Paul retells the Exodus stories to teach the Corinthians (who were mostly gentiles) about their Jewish heritage and to instruct the Corinthians about their own discipleship. In today’s pericope, Paul draws parallels between the Israelites’ “passing through the sea” and the Corinthians’ Christian baptism; and between the Israelites eating manna (“spiritual food”) in the wilderness and their own Eucharistic meal. Paul’s point is that there were many who passed through the sea and who received divinely provided nourishment but who nevertheless displeased God and did not enter the promised land (“struck down in the wilderness”). Paul warns the Corinthians that being baptized and celebrating the Eucharist alone do not guarantee automatic entry to God’s kingdom. Paul says “these things happened to [the Israelites] as an example” ironically, because some Corinthian know-it-alls consider themselves to be fully mature adults, who don’t need examples and admonitions. Paul concludes with a warning about overconfidence: salvation requires active discipleship to “stand secure;” simply going through the motions means nothing (“take care not to fall”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading because Paul’s examples from scripture are similar to Jesus’ examples and parable in today’s gospel.

Gospel (Lk 13:1-9)

Luke’s gospel is from Jesus’ discipleship teachings on his journey to Jerusalem. In today’s pericope, Jesus comments on two news stories to teach about metanoia, and tells a parable about patience.

• Sudden death and metanoia. Jesus turns the reports of deaths into examples for his hearers. He makes two points: first, those who died did not deserve to die more than others; second, one cannot correlate the kind of death to sin’s punishment. When death comes without warning, it’s too late for metanoia (a change of mind/heart). Jesus’ call to metanoia is not simply turning away from sin (“repent”), but a turning toward God and acceptance of God’s kingdom.
• Parable of patience. A cared-for fig tree provides fruit ten months out of the year. In Jesus’ time, a fig tree’s cultivation followed a strict process. A farmer gave a new tree three years to grow; in years three to six, Jewish law forbade eating the fruit; in year seven, the tree’s fruit was offered to God. In the parable, the tree’s owner has been waiting three years for fruit (the tree is now nine years old); he believes the fruitless tree is wasting his orchard space. The gardener intercedes, and asks for one more year of patience. This parable provides comfort to Jesus’ hearers, and a warning: they still have time to respond to his call to metanoia, but not forever; if they do not respond quickly, they will be cut off from the kingdom.

Summary and reflection

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask us to think about how and what we learn from others. In his encounter with God, Moses learns that God is a personal God who seeks to save the chosen people. Paul uses the example of the Israelites to teach the Corinthians that their salvation requires active discipleship. Jesus uses stories about sudden death to teach that salvation requires a change of heart and mind, a choice disciples should make sooner rather than later.

Like a too-often-heard car alarm or an endlessly repeating announcement, examples and warnings can become easy to ignore. Lent offers space and silence for us hear what’s important. When God reveals the Godself, do we see a burning bush or a God becoming vulnerable to save? When we encounter examples of God in scripture, do we look for the startlingly miraculous or the quiet promises of care and salvation? When we hear examples of God’s kingdom in Jesus’ parables, do we hear God’s judgment or God’s patience?

—Terence Sherlock

13 March 2022: Second Sunday of Lent C

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Gn 15:5-12, 17-18	Ps 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14	Phil 3:17–4:1	Lk 9:28b-36
RCL: Gn 15:1-12, 17-18			RCL: Lk 9:28b-36 or Lk 13:31-35

Lent: encounters that transfigure

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, tells parables, forgives, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings focus on how a trusting encounter changes us.

First reading (Gn 15:5-12, 17-18)

The first reading is from Genesis, the first book of Torah. In today’s pericope, God again promises the childless and homeless Abram progeny (“count the stars, so shall your descendants be”) and a homeland (“give you this land”). When God sees Abram’s trust (“put his faith in the LORD”), God recognizes the depth of their relationship (“credited [Abram] as . . . righteous”), and enters into a contract or covenant with Abram. In the ancient world, parties ratified contracts and treaties by cutting up animals. If either party violates the covenant, he will end up like the cloven animals. The Hebrew idiom karat berit, literally “to cut a covenant,” may derive from this legal ritual. After preparing and placing the animals, Abram falls into a deep sleep (“trance”) of darkness. What happens next is mysterious, part of the covenant’s haunting mystery. Smoke and fire are signs of God’s presence (for example, the pillar of fire/pillar of smoke in Exodus; the burning bush on Sinai), but the disembodied furnace (“fire pot”) and torch are unique to this event. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the theophany (God’s appearance to Abram) includes a trance and enveloping darkness, similar to the theophany in today’s gospel.

Second reading (Phil 3:17–4:1)

The second reading is from Paul’s letter to the Philippi ekklesia. Paul writes to thank them for their help and generosity and to encourage them toward unity, humility, peace, and joy. In today’s pericope, Paul closes his letter by inviting the Philippians to join together as a community. Christians “walk together” in a discipleship journey and learn from others (“imitators”) who have mastered its teachings. The “cross of Christ” is Paul’s shorthand for God’s entire saving plan. The “enemies” may be Judaizing missionaries who visited the Philippians and taught the requirement to follow Jewish dietary laws and circumcision. Paul “weeps over” the disunity and division they have caused in the community. These enemies focus on earthly things that are passing away; disciples must be heaven-focused (“our citizenship is in heaven). The human body is impermanent, subject to illness, disease, and death; Christ’s saving and transformative action has destroyed death. Only the savior can transform a human’s “earthly body” to conform with Christ’s “glorified body” and share in Christ’s resurrection. “Joy” is the letter’s theme. The Philippians are Paul’s joy: he is proud of them (“my crown”) and shares their achievements. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because Paul’s description of our earthly bodies being changed or transfigured by Christ echoes the transfiguration in today’s gospel.

Gospel (Lk 9:28b-36)

Luke’s gospel describes how Jesus is changed before Peter, John, and James, and how Jesus’ transfiguration equally transforms the disciples.

• Changed, transformed, transfigured. Both Mark (Mk 9:2) and Matthew (Mt 17:2) use the Greek word μεταμορφόω/metamorphóō, meaning “to change form,” to describe Jesus’ transfiguration. Luke presents Jesus changed while praying, his face “different” and his clothes “dazzling white.” While in conversation with the Father (“praying”), Jesus is transformed in glory.
• Glory and suffering. Moses and Elijah appear “in glory” and talk with Jesus about his coming “exodus.” In the middle of this present vision of Jesus in glory, Luke introduces Jesus’ future suffering and death, the “exodus” he will accomplish in Jerusalem. Jesus’ transformative saving act (death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification) enables him to give the Spirit to his disciples.
• Silence. When humans encounter the divine or experience mystery, the only possible response is silence. Meeting God in person and in prayer changes us. Peter’s, John’s, and James’ personal transfigurations are complete only after Jesus’ exodus and the Spirit is poured out; only then they become “ministers of the word” (Lk 1:2). In the meantime (“at that time”) they can only reflect in silence and prayer.

Summary and reflection

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask us to think about the changes we need in our own lives. Abram’s faith leads to a deeper and mysterious covenantal relationship with God. Paul urges the Philippians to conform themselves to Christ to be transformed and resurrected. Jesus’ transfiguration reveals and foreshadows the disciples’ own transformations as they continue to follow Jesus to Jerusalem and beyond.

Transfiguration begins with a personal encounter, but requires continuous work. Will we let faith and trust lead us into a deeper and possibly unforeseen relationship with God? Will we allow ourselves to be conformed to, and transformed by, Christ’s death? Will we use prayer and silence to change ourselves and to transform the world?

—Terence Sherlock

6 March 2022: First Sunday of Lent C

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Dt 26:4-10	Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15	Rom 10:8-13	Lk 4:1-13
RCL: Dt 26:4-11		RCL: Rom 10:8b-13

Lent: testing and revealing faith

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, tells parables, forgives, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings focus on how testing reveals and gives meaning to faith.

First reading (Dt 26:4-10)

The first reading is from Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of Torah. In today’s pericope, Moses gives the people a formula for expressing their thanks to God. The farmer offering firstfruits (“the basket”) would recall his ancestors (“my father was a wandering Aramean”) on the point of starvation, traveling to Egypt, where they were enslaved (“maltreated and oppressed”). This liturgical narrative reinterprets an agricultural offering into a narrative about how God enters history to deliver the enslaved Israelites (“brought us out of Egypt”) and save them (“gave us this land flowing with milk and honey”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading because of its themes of worship, hunger, and salvation found in the gospel, and the second reading’s theme of salvation.

Second reading (Rom 10:8-13)

The second reading is from Paul’s letter to the Rome ekklesia. Paul wrote this letter, his last and longest, in 58 AD to introduce himself and his ideas to Rome’s believing community ahead of his planned visit. Paul reflects systematically on God’s freely offered salvation through Christ as an unearned gift, not achieved by human effort or accomplishment. In today’s pericope, Paul returns to the basics of Christian faith: first, that “Jesus is Lord,” and second, that “God raised Jesus from the dead.” Supporting these creedal statements with citations from Hebrew scripture (Dt 30:14, Is 28:16), Paul asserts that everyone who believes (“with the heart”) is made righteous before God (“justified”) and who confesses (“with the mouth”) is saved. Paul emphasizes that salvation is open to all (“no distinction between Jew and Greek”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading because Jesus’ authority, kingship, and divinity, signified in his title “Lord,” are tested by the devil in today’s gospel.

Gospel (Lk 4:1-13)

Luke’s gospel describes how the devil tests Jesus to discover his weaknesses.

• Emperors, kingdoms, cities, subjects. Luke, writing to gentiles in the Roman empire, uses this familiar political and social model to describe God’s kingdom. In the ancient world, a king or emperor ruled over one or more kingdoms; each kingdom contained and controlled cities, filled with citizens or subjects. Luke imagines God ruling with justice and mercy over a kingdom of many cities, each filled with angelic spirits and human believers. The devil, at war with God and God’s kingdom, rules a counter-kingdom of chaos, oppression, and corruption, populated by demons, unclean spirits, and evil humans.
• Testing the opposition. The devil knows Jesus is a ruler in God’s kingdom (“if you are the son of God”), and probes his opponent, searching for his weakness. The devil tests Jesus’ faithfulness to God:
  1. Will Jesus use his power over the elements (“command this stone to become bread”) for his own benefit? Jesus replies that he will trust in God (Dt 8:3).
  2. Will Jesus trade his fealty to God for fealty to the devil to gain power over humans (“all this power and glory”) to accomplish his messianic mission? Jesus replies that he serves God alone (Dt 6:13).
  3. Will Jesus use his power over God (“God will command angels to guard you”) to reveal his messiahship in a public show? Jesus replies that neither he nor the devil should test God (Dt 6:16).

The tests reveal to the devil what he needs to know about Jesus, so he withdraws, but the conflict between God’s kingdom and the devil’s counter-kingdom continues throughout Jesus’ ministry.

Summary and reflection

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask us to think about what testing reveals about our faithfulness and discipleship. In Deuteronomy’s firstfruits liturgy, God’s faithful people recall God’s inbreaking in history to free and to save them. Paul tells the Roman believing community that those who believe, that is, who remain faithful to God, will be saved. Luke shows the devil testing Jesus’ commitment to God and to his mission.

Believing is easy until something or someone tests the boundaries and depth of our faith. When we recall times that God seemed far away, do we also remember the opportunities that appeared revealing God present in others and creation? When we say the words of what we believe, do we also live the words in our hearts and daily lives? When our faithfulness is tested, do we recognize our personal failures while affirming our continued trust in God’s saving kingdom?

—Terence Sherlock