Category Archives: Lectionary and sermon

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.”

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

First reading and Psalm

1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43 Psalm 84

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 Psalm 34:15-22

Second reading

Ephesians 6:10-20

Gospel

John 6:56-69

The gospel from John:
The bread of eternal life

Jesus said “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in a synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the ones who did not believe and who was the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.

So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Sermon
Today Pastor Stevenson in his sermon is comparing a belief out in society versus ours. He says that in 2006 he attended a meeting of scientist and engineering evangelicals. One was Francis Collins, known for the first identification of the human genome. Collins spoke to and told the group of evangelicals that he was converted while hiking in the mountains and experiencing the big sky and terrain. Did he then believe in the body and blood spoke of by Jesus in our gospel reading this week? “God is our creator and Christ His flesh and blood.” In our reading He is saying “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them.” How does John speak of the bread of life? “But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” Some of the disciples found this hard to accept. Jesus asks “What if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?” Pastor continues with interpretation of the gospel ……..

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Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 Psalm 111

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Proverbs 9:1-6 Psalm 34:9-14

Second reading

Ephesians 5:15-20

Gospel

John 6:51-58

The gospel from John:

Christ, the true food and drink

Jesus said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Twelvth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 Psalm 130

Alternate First reading and Psalm

1 Kings 19:4-8 Psalm 34:1-8

Second reading

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Gospel

John 6:35, 41-51

The gospel from John:

Christ, the bread of life

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven. “They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.

Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First* reading and Psalm

2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a
Psalm 51:1-12

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 Psalm 78:23-29

Second reading

Ephesians 4:1-16

Gospel

John 6:24-35

The gospel from John:

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us, then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”

Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

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Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEKK

First reading and Psalm

2 Samuel 11:1-15 Psalm 14

Alternate First reading and Psalm

2 Kings 4:42-44 Psalm 145:10-18

Second reading

Ephesians 3:14-21

Gospel

John 6:1-21

The gospel from John:

Jesus feeds 5000

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.

Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”

6Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.