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Lectionary Notes - First Sunday in Lent
Readings for First Sunday in Lent, 3/5/06:
Genesis 9:8-17, Psalm 25:1-10, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark
1:9-15
Genesis 9:8-17:
- One of God's first covenants established with God's
people - never again to destroy the earth and its people as God did in the
flood. What other covenants does God make with humans?
- Have you ever made a personal covenant with God? Have
you kept your part of the promise? Has God?
- The rainbow is a symbol of a promise. Symbols are
important reminders of promise - we use rings, for example, as symbols of
promises made in marriage. What symbols are important reminders in your own
life?
- Have you seen many rainbows? When I see them, I am
always filled with joy, they are so rare and precious. How do they make you
feel? Do you remember God's promise when you see them?
Psalm
25:1-10:
- The psalmist mentions shame several times - his shame,
the shame of those obedient to God, shame he hopes is put on others by God.
Shame is a powerful emotion, a powerful motivator, a powerful weapon of
oppression. Of what are you ashamed in yourself? In others? How do you
shame others? Does God shame us?
- "Do not remember the sins of my youth or my
transgressions" - Many people probably echo the psalmists worries - will be
judged by all the things we did when we didn't know any better? I think we can
trust in God's abundant grace, who calls us into a more mature discipleship.
Indeed, verses 8 and 9 talk about God as a teacher, The One who instructs us.
How have you learned/grown in your faith over the years? Are you a mature
disciple? Or an early student?
1 Peter 3:18-22:
- Peter clings to a New Testament dualism between flesh
and spirit. Sometimes, thinking of these separate spheres is helpful, but
sometimes New Testament writers make it seem as though everything flesh -
flesh God created - is bad. What do you think? How do we nurture our spirits
without negating the temple/bodies in which we live?
- Note the connection in verse 20 to the Genesis reading
for today, and the connection in verse 21 to the gospel lesson about baptism.
- The author has a unique description of baptism: not a
removal of dirtiness, but an appeal to God for a "good conscience." This
emphasizes personal responsibility and repentance without emphasizing
guilt/unworthiness/original sin. It leaves out God's initiative of grace to
us, but I like the way the Peter describe his view.
Mark 1:9-15:
- We start with a review of the baptism of Jesus - short
and sweet in Mark. Make sure you compare Mark's recording of
this scene (remember Mark is the earliest gospel written) with the accounts in
the other gospels. In Mark, God speaks directly to Jesus: You are my Son,
the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. Other accounts have God saying This
is my Son. I prefer Mark's recording - God speaking directly to God's child.
- This passage highlights Mark's love of brevity - where
the temptation lasts several verses with many details in Luke and Matthew,
with a recorded conversation between Jesus and Satan, Mark sees no need for
such an account, simply recording that Jesus was tempted for 40 days, driven
into the wilderness by the Spirit. What do you make Mark's account? What does
his brief style say about what is most important to him about Jesus'
temptation?
- Mark again emphasizes that for Jesus, the good news is:
"the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe." Do you see this as
good news? Why was it so important for Jesus to tell this?
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Pastor’s Note: (I use the Greek-English
Lexicon from Liddell and Scott, the “little Liddell”
and the Metzger et. al Greek New Testament in my translation work.)
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