Ordinary Time Week 3

Psalm: Psalm 13 

Old Testament: Genesis 22:1-14 

Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42 

Epistle: Romans 6:12-23

There are certain passages in the Scriptures that when you stop to think about them, they are a bit disturbing; Genesis 22 is one of those passages. The first verse says that God “tested Abraham.” God challenges Abraham to sacrifice his only son and lets him get so far as to have the knife raised above Isaac before he finally stops Abraham. It is disturbing to me not only that God is testing Abraham, a man who had moved his family to follow God and then waited until he was 99 years old to finally have the Promised Child, but that he did it through almost having a father kill his son. Imagine the strain that episode puts between Abraham and Issac for the rest of their lives together. No doubt neither of them could ever forget that moment, and I’m sure they didn’t sit around the tent years later and say, “Remember that time you almost killed me, Dad? That was a good one.”

Ordinary Time Week 2

Psalm: Psalm 69:7-10, 11-15, 16-18 

Old Testament: Jeremiah 20:7-13 

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39 

Epistle: Romans 6:1b-11

Last week was the beginning of Ordinary Time in the Christian Calendar; however, Trinity Sunday was celebrated last week so we didn’t go into the change of seasons. Following the seasons of Advent and Christmas comes Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and finally, Pentecost; from there, the Church celebrates the season of “Ordinary Time” until the start of Advent again. Ordinary Time comes from the word “ordinal,” and means counted time. The weeks between Pentecost and Advent are not ordinary, or mundane, but simple counted. Perhaps that seems like a minor detail, but the meaning behind the Christian Calendar is that all time is sacred. Every Sunday the Church gathers to proclaim the Story of God, whether it is Easter Sunday or any other Sunday of the year.

Trinity Sunday

Psalm: Psalm 8 

Old Testament: Genesis 1:1-2:4a 

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20 

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Today is Trinity Sunday, when the Church traditionally celebrates the doctrine of the Trinity. It actually seems like a strange idea to celebrate a doctrine in the life of the Church since most of the holidays and celebrations revolve around the life of Christ. I am no expert on the Christian Calendar, but I don’t think there is another Sunday dedicated purely to a doctrine. However, this doctrine, and perhaps Jesus’ divine and human nature, is one of the hardest to understand. Doctrines like the Trinity are the reason the Church has creeds at all. The creeds all developed out of controversy as the Church tried to explain and proclaim what it believed. I thought this week it would be helpful to review the text of the Nicene Creed and the let the doctrine just speak for itself. But reading the Scriptures this week (for example, the baptismal creed in Matthew 28:19), does show that the idea of the Trinity is present in Scripture.

Pentecost Sunday

1st Reading
  Acts 2:1-21 or Num 11:24-30
  Psalm 104:24-34, 35b 

2nd Reading
  1 Corinthians 12:3b-13  

Gospel
  John 20:19-23 or 7:37-39

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day when the Church celebrates the Spirit descending on the disciples in Jerusalem and what is considered the birth of the Church. No doubt we are familiar with the story. The disciples are waiting in Jerusalem for the promised arrival of the Holy Spirit and suddenly, he comes and rests on each one like a flame and they are filled with power. The crowd also hears the disciples speaking in the native tongues of each listener. As a side note here, I used to understand this passage to mean that the disciples were speaking in other languages which they obviously did not know how to speak. But the text says, “Each one of them was hearing them speak in their own language.” (Acts 2:6) With only 12 disciples, they couldn’t be speaking the language of everyone present, but they were heard and understood by everyone in their native tongue. But getting back to the story, Peter eventually stands up and preaches to the crowd and about 3,000 people were baptized that day.

Acension Sunday

Psalm: Psalm 47 or Psalm 93 

Acts: Acts 1:1-11 

Gospel: Luke 24:44-53 

Epistle: Ephesians 1:15-23

Last Sunday was Ascension Sunday; the Sunday the church celebrates when Jesus ascended to heaven after the Resurrection.  This episode in Jesus’ life does not get as much attention as other events in Jesus’ life. Indeed in many churches on Sunday it wasn’t mentioned. But the event plays an important role in the Gospels and the New Testament as a whole.