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Lectionary Notes -
7th Sunday after Pentecost
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sermon or sermon
for this text)
Readings for 7th
Sunday after Pentecost, 6/29/08:
Genesis 22:1-14, Psalm 13, Romans 6:12-23, Matthew
10:40-42
Genesis 22:1-14:
- OK - I'll be up front: I hate this story. I hate a
story that has God granting this precious child and then asks for Abraham to
sacrifice Isaac, as a "test" of Abraham's faith. I hate that God would test
him in that way, and I know how I would respond: No way God! I'm not willing
to agree that this is exactly how such a story literally unfolded. But that's
beside the point. The point is: the story is here, so what will we do with it?
- What's the hardest thing someone
has asked you to do? What's the hardest thing God has asked you to do? How did
you respond?
- "The Lord will provide." This
statement can be a statement of faith, or a statement that sometimes leaves
unexamined the ways people do not have their needs provided for in this
world. Use with care!
Psalm 13:
- "How long, O Lord?" It is ok to cry out to God. God can
handle it. Sometimes I think we're afraid to give to God all of our emotions
and fears and states of being. What kind of strong relationship has such a
strong element of fear in it? Cry out. God wants to hear.
- The psalmist shows faith that God will respond, even in
a time of great trial. Do you trust God will answer you? Confidence that you
will hear God's voice?
Romans 6:12-23:
- *We're in the midst of several
weeks of lectionary texts from Romans. It's a really good idea to know the
text as a whole - Paul is making complicated and interrelated arguments in
here, and it is difficult to take his words in little chunks and not lose some
of his momentum.
- The 'peak' of this passage is verse 23: "For the wages
of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus."
Paul is trying to make it clear what our smartest choice is: grace. It's a
gift. And the alternative is not nearly so promising.
- Paul is also working carefully to make sure that his
readers understand that God's grace does not free us from the law or from
obedience to the law - in fact, it binds us to it, just in a different way
than before. Better obedience to law than sin. But our obedience is freeing,
because the 'end' is salvation through grace, he argues.
Matthew 10:40-42
- A few short verses with a lot of power. We spend a lot
of time in churches worrying about how we welcome people, which is important.
But the kind of "welcome" described here is something beyond shaking hands
with visitors who happen by our churches, isn't it?
- The Greek word used in this section for 'welcome' is
dechomai, meaning "receive," "take," "accept," and the like.
- Check out
Chris
Haslam's notes for a little more on this passage and how the "in the name
of" piece works in Jewish understanding.
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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