Christ the King (Proper 29), Cycle C
With the texts chosen for this occasion, the Church Year ends in a note of triumph. The Lord is King! The Lord rules in these texts in a great variety of ways, but in each in some way the Lord is King. This is the message that we shall proclaim next Sunday. It shall be our task to proclaim with all of the skill given to us by God the many ways in which the Lord is King in these texts and in our lives.
Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 | Pentecost 6 (Cycle C)
The emphasis in these texts on trusting in the Lord (Adonai in Psalm 16 and in Psalm 77 and Jesus as the Christ in Luke 9:51-62) is appropriate for this occasion, near our annual celebration of the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the USA. Also useful in this connection is the article by Hans Walter Wolff, “Swords into Plowshares–Misuse of a Word of Prophecy?” (Currents in Theology and Mission 12:3, June, 1985, pp. 133-147).
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Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 | Pentecost 3 (Cycle C)
The principal theme in these texts is that the Lord (Adonai in the Israelite Scriptures and Jesus as the Christ in the Newer Testament) renews life. There is a progression in the texts from lifting up those who are bowed down in Psalm 146 to healing those who are at the point of death in Psalm 30 and 1 Kings 17:17-24 to bringing back to life a young man who was being carried out of a city to be buried in Luke 7:11-17. The Galatians 1:11-24 reading may seem to stand outside this theme, unless we articulate “the gospel that Paul proclaimed” (Galatians 1:11) as the good news that God raised Jesus from the dead and will also raise us from the dead.
Read More About - Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 | Pentecost 3 (Cycle C) »
Day of Pentecost, Cycle C
Two lunar months after they reenacted the Passover meal each year, many of the ancient Israelites brought some of the first fruits and vegetables of the spring season as an offering to the Lord and to their priests as they celebrated together their spring religious and social agricultural festival. When the Torah became the unifying factor of those who survived the fall of Jerusalem and the loss of their nation, this agricultural festival, the Feast of Weeks, seven weeks after the Passover, gained additional meaning as a commemoration of the giving of the Torah to Moses by Adonai at Sinai. For Greek-speaking Israelites still later, this festival was called Pentecost because it was celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover.
Seventh Sunday of Easter, Cycle C
As is appropriate for this Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after the Ascension of the Lord, the emphasis within these texts is on the exaltation of the Lord. In Psalm 97 it is the Lord (Adonai) who is exalted. The exalted Lord Jesus and the Most High God are said to have removed the spirit of divination from the slave girl in the Acts 16:16-34 account and opened the gates of the Roman prison. In the Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 text it is said that the exalted Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, will be coming soon to judge everyone and to give the water of life to those who are thirsty. In the final portion of the prayer of the Johannine Jesus in John 17:20-26 the members of the Johannine community and those who will believe in the exalted Johannine Jesus through their word are said to be one with the Johannine Jesus in the glory that the Father has given to the Johannine Jesus.
