Category Archives: Lectionary and sermon

Twenty Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

Alternate First reading and Psalm

1 Kings 17:8-16 Psalm 146

Second reading

Hebrews 9:24-28

Gospel

Mark 12:38-44

The psalm:

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.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!

The gospel from Mark
A widow’s generosity

As Jesus taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.

Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The sermon:
Pastor Stevenson’s message today is on both the psalm and the gospel. Psalm 146 begins with verses that read “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.” This psalm is a lectionary reading every four years – election year in which there is a winner and a loser. We are in the season of several festivals ending with Christ the King Sunday. And it is these when we make our financial pledges. Money raised can be wasteful, but not at St John, The pastor is expected to raise money, but not our pastor, even though we will be needing a new furnace boiler. In our gospel lesson Jesus observes a poor widow donating one cent in the temple. At St John giving what we can is enough. Pastor Stevenson continues with his remarks on the psalm and gospel…………

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All Saints Day

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

• Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9 and Psalm 24
• Revelation 21:1-6a
• John 11:32-44

The gospel from John:

The raising of Lazarus
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 3When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”d But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him and let him go.”

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Twenty Second Sunday after Penetecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First Reading and Psalm

Job 38:1-7, (34-41), Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 91:9-16

Second reading

Hebrews 5:1-10

Gospel

Mark 10:35-45

A first reading from Isaiah:
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases, yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.

They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with affliction. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.

Out of his anguish he shall see; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

The gospel from Mark:
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.

For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Sermon:
One bible scholar thinks that Isaiah is the most contested book of the bible. It has been interpreted to be a prophecy. Is he prophesying Jesus Christ? How does Mark differ from Isaiah? Isaiah refers to an anonymous servant four times. God chose the servant. He took the initiative. Who was the one? Were there two? The verbs are singular. There was a servant in the 6th century. Isaiah gives us just a glimpse of a messiah. His was a prophecy. Pastor Stevenson continues with his interpretation………

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Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Psalm 22:1-15

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 Psalm 90:12-17

Second reading

Hebrews 4:12-16

Gospel

Mark 10:17-31

The gospel from Mark:
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.'” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age–houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions–and in the age to come eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Sermon:
In our gospel reading Jesus tells a man to inherit eternal life “sell what he can and give the money to the poor. Why is this gospel in our lectionary at this time? Likely it is because this is the time of the year when we are asked to pledge offerings for the next year and have fund raisers. Pastor Stevenson tells us that we all have something we would refuse to give up including himself. In Hebrews 4:11 Paul tells us to make every effort to “enter the rest” on Sunday, the seventh day, as did God so that no one will “fail by disobedience.” Pastor continues with interpretation of today’s gospel.

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Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8

Second reading

Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Gospel

Mark 10:2-16

The gospel from Mark:

Teaching on marriage

Some testing Jesus, asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”

But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 1He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

People were bringing children to him in order that he might touch them, and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.

Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 Psalm 124

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Psalm 19:7-14

Second reading

James 5:13-20

Gospel

Mark 9:38-50

The gospel from Mark:
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.

Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

“If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First Reading and Psalm

Proverbs 31:10-31 Psalm 1

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22 or Jeremiah 11:18-20 Psalm 54

Second reading

James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a

Gospel

Mark 9:30-37

The gospel from Mark:
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.

He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them, and taking it in his arms he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:
First reading and Psalm

Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 116:1-9

Second reading

James 3:1-12

Gospel

Mark 8:27-38

The gospel from Mark:
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Sermon:
In our gospel reading, why did Jesus tell his disciples to keep quiet after asking them “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter answering him, “You are the Messiah.” He sternly ordered them not to tell anyone. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, is killed and after three days rises again. This is like a man when he could not find his key to his front door and looked for it under a streetlamp, a neighbor asked him why he looked for it there? In the Old Testament Isaiah said to God “You Hide Yourself.” God had provided the Israelites their land. After the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and Cyrus had carried the Israelites off to Syria, finally God let them come back and rebuild. The disciples did not like being told that their Messiah would be killed and would rise again. But God gave them HIs Son, Pastor Stevenson says to us as he continues on ………..

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Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 Psalm 125

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Isaiah 35:4-7a Psalm 146

Second reading

James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17

Gospel

Mark 7:24-37

The gospel from Mark:
Christ heals a little girl and a deaf man

From there Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.

Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go–the demon has left your daughter.” And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went by way of Sidon toward the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm
Song of Solomon 2:8-13

Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
 Psalm 15

Second reading

James 1:17-27

Gospel

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The gospel from Mark:

Authentic religion

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash, and there are also many other traditions that they observe: the washing of cups and pots and bronze kettles and beds.)

So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”