Get reading for Worship!
Did you know that most of the time we follow a pattern of scripture readings in our worship services? It’s called “following the lectionary” and it is based upon a three-year cycle of Bible readings. Many churches follow this pattern — Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, etc. Sometimes, we set aside the lectionary readings in order to do a sermon series based upon other Scripture readings that we would not otherwise hear in worship.
We invite you to spend some time each week “reading ahead” and pondering the readings that you will hear in upcoming worship services. If you take this challenge, think about how it will change how you hear the word in worship after you have spent reading it during the week. It’s a great way to get ready for worship by reading for worship!
Sun. September 28 — 16th Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Warnings to those who are comfortable or wealthy - Psalm 146
The Lord gives justice to those who are oppressed. (Ps. 146:7) - 1 Timothy 6:6-19
Eager to be rich or eager to pursue richness of God’s justice? - Luke 16:19-31
Story of poor Lazarus and the wealthy man
Overview
Today’s gospel evokes our sympathy. It opens the possibility—described as an impossibility—of place-sharing, trading or sharing places with each other. It also echoes a common theme: the pursuit of wealth in this world can lead us into idolatry and away from faith in Christ. Instead, as the reading from 1 Timothy reminds us, we should pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness, so that there is no “poor man named Lazarus” dying at our gates. After all, the greatest treasure—our eternal salvation?has already been procured for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Knowing this, we can share all we have with our neighbors, even our very place and salvation, confident that God will continue to provide for our needs.
Sun. October 5 — 17th Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Wicked surround the righteous; wait for the Lord - Psalm 37:1-9
Commit your way to the Lord; put your trust in the Lord. (Ps. 37:5) - 2 Timothy 1:1-14
Guard the treasure entrusted to you: faith and love in Christ - Luke 17:5-10
Faith the size of a mustard seed
Overview
Faith is the theme for today’s readings, but not just any faith. It is a life-transforming faith, one that demonstrates the very presence of God moving, alive, and active in God’s people. In response to Habakkuk’s oracle, the Lord answered him that “the righteous live by their faith” (Hab. 2:4b). But just what does it mean to be righteous? It’s a righteousness imparted by God, who creates and claims each of us as God’s own sons and daughters, bringing us into this family by our baptisms and by the faith God gives us makes us holy children. Being part of this divine family gives us our worth, even at those times we may not think of ourselves as worthy. In 2 Timothy, the author writes a history of the faith in Timothy’s family, beginning with his grandmother and then passed on to his mother and himself. This is how many of us were first brought into the family of God: we had faithful parents who knew of their own God-given righteousness and then passed this gift on to their children. But again, it’s all God’s doing! Finally, Jesus’ disciples boldly ask their teacher to “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). They knew that faith was something needed, and Jesus explains that even a small amount of faith can do great wonders. What does it mean to have this sort of faith, a faith that can serve God’s purposes here to truly be God’s work and yet it’s done with our hands? On this Sunday, help the assembly experience this faith that God has given us. It’s a gift and connection to our God.
Sun. October 12 — 18th Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c
Naaman washes in the Jordan and is cleansed - Psalm 111
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. (Ps. 111:1) - 2 Timothy 2:8-15
If we die with Christ, we will live with Christ - Luke 17:11-19
One leper made clean by Jesus gives thanks to God
Overview
Today is a day of unexpected blessings and miracles, signs of how God is active and alive and present in our world and in our lives when we are open and receptive to the possibilities. We hear, read about, and experience healing. Fragile relationships are restored. Hope is experienced in profound ways. Naaman, a commander and mighty warrior, suffers from leprosy, and even though he first denies the cure, Naaman accepts the advice of his servant, and by God’s action his skin and its disease is washed clean. Also afflicted with leprosy, ten lepers implore God’s mercy and are made clean. But the outsider—the foreigner—is the only one who returns to give thanks. Today many of us encounter other hardships of all sorts, and our reading in 2 Timothy makes the stark point that we all suffer. But our God joins us in our sufferings and in our hardships, making us whole through our spiritual cleansing of baptism and filled with God’s Spirit.
Sun. October 19— 19th Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Genesis 32:22-31
Jacob’s struggle with the angel: I’ll not let go until you bless me - Psalm 121
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. (Ps. 121:2) - 2 Timothy 3:14—4:5
In the presence of Christ the judge, proclaim the message - Luke 18:1-8
The widow begs for justice; God grants justice to those who cry to him
Overview
Two characters step out of scripture today to teach us about persistence in prayer. One is named. Jacob is the devious brother who tricked his twin, Esau, out of his birthright and their father’s blessing, and Jacob was himself duped on his wedding night by his father-in-law, Laban. The other character, unnamed, is a widow acquainted with grief, one among many marginalized and vulnerable people, but a woman who dares to stand her ground in her quest for justice. On the banks of the river Jabbok, Jacob wrestles with the angel and limps away with a blessing and a new identity. The unnamed widow repeatedly appeals for justice and finally is vindicated. Many have known persistent prayer as a kind of wrestling with God. Many have pleaded with God for justice and mercy. Today God’s grace and mercy is known in the blessing of baptismal remembrance and our identity as beloved children of God.
Sun. October 26 — 20th Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22
Jerusalem will be defeated - Sirach 35:12-17 (alternate)
God is impartial in justice and hears the powerless - Psalm 84:1-7
Happy are the people whose strength is in you. (Ps. 84:5) - 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
The good fight of faith - Luke 18:9-14
A Pharisee and tax collector pray together
Overview
We may expect the religious insider to be blessed, the moral person to be right with God. But as is so often the case, Jesus’ parable for today sweeps away conventional expectations. Jesus surprises the disciples and us when he says it’s not the Pharisee but rather the tax collector, that morally suspect, second-class citizen, who goes home “justified,” right with God (Luke 18:14). Here is a strong reminder for those of us who are church “insiders.” We are sinners who beg for God’s mercy, utterly dependent on God’s forgiveness and love—not merely for ourselves but for all in God’s creation.
Sun. November 2 — Christ the King-21st Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Isaiah 1:10-18
Learn to do good, seek justice, and rescue the oppressed - Psalm 32:1-7
All the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble. (Ps. 32:6) - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Faith and love amid persecution and adversity - Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus climbs into a tree to see Jesus
Overview
In the gospel today, Zacchaeus joyfully welcomes Jesus into his home, where Jesus prompts a changed heart and mind in his host and proclaims salvation. All this reveals an undercurrent of hospitality and welcome that propels much of the narrative of the Bible. As in other instances of practiced hospitality, something important changes. Salvation is revealed in Zacchaeus’s changed heart and mind, and perhaps even in the changed perception of the crowds who witness Jesus accompanying Zacchaeus to his home. And the salvation that is visited upon Zacchaeus’s home will reach out into his neighborhood and community through his generosity and compassionate living.
In our worship today, we welcome the risen Christ to join us, and we invoke the name of God as we gather. God welcomes us around the communion table and through this holy hospitality feeds us with Christ, so that transformative salvation may follow us home and wherever we go.
Sun. November 9 — 22nd Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Job 19:23-27a
I know that my Redeemer lives and I shall see God - Psalm 17:1-9
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings. (Ps. 17:8) - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
The coming of the Lord Jesus - Luke 20:27-38
Jesus speaks of the resurrection; the God of the living
Overview
When the Sadducees encounter Jesus with a technical question, he responds by humanizing and placing divine value upon each character in the Sadducees’ hypothetical scenario. Jesus’ response is about resurrection and about naming people as children of God and of light. The answer Jesus gives the Sadducees is about God, whose presence means life. This is about God’s promise of resurrection in the face of death, and about life in the face of and in spite of death.
Like Job, who was surrounded by the remnants of his lost life and still proclaimed hope, Jesus is in the midst of palpable tension that very soon will lead him to his own death, and yet he proclaims life. The author of this hope is God, whose very naming of a person brings that one to life. These texts proclaim hope in the face of hopelessness, and urge us to do the same.
Sun. November 16 — 23rd Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Malachi 4:1-2a
A day of blistering heat for the arrogant; a day of healing sun for the righteous - Psalm 98
In righteousness will the Lord judge the world. (Ps. 98:9) - 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Do not be idle, but do what is right for the sake of Christ - Luke 21:5-19
Jesus speaks of wars, endurance, betrayal, and suffering for his sake
Overview
In our baptisms we move spiritually from death to life. We are reminded of this in the words from the service of Holy Baptism: “In baptism our gracious heavenly Father frees us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 227). We begin in death, and grace raises us to life. Still, we tend to focus on the spiritual nature of this change or transformation.
It is easy to forget that by the very nature of that baptism, we can in an instant move physically from life to death for the sake of the life we are gifted with in baptism. We hear the words of promise and trust in the gifts and blessings of baptism, but overlook the accompanying responsibility. Like a teenager with a brand new driver’s license we relish our newfound freedom and may forget all those other drivers on the road whose safety depends upon the new driver.
The new life we receive in baptism is a life that is lived to God each day. On any given day we may be called upon to renounce, in some way, the God we serve and love. On any given day, we may be called upon to stand up for life—or for a life, or for our own life—or for someone’s freedom or safety, or for love, perhaps even under threat of death. Many around the world live that kind of life every day for the sake of the gospel. Jesus encouraged disciples to always be ready for the tests and trials that will somehow surely come. As we grow in the obedience, courage, patience, and love we need to keep the faith in difficult times.
Sun. November 23 — 24th Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Jeremiah 23:1-6
Coming of the shepherd and righteous Branch who will execute justice - Psalm 46
I will be exalted among the nations. (Ps. 46:10) - Colossians 1:11-20
Hymn to Christ, firstborn of all creation; peace through his blood - Luke 23:33-43
Jesus is crucified between two thieves: you will be with me in Paradise
Overview
Jesus’ true identity seems to remain a mystery for most of the disciples. Jesus can teach, preach, heal, cast out demons, challenge authority and more, but still they do not comprehend. You might say it is a case of mistaken identity as the disciples and other followers seem to be hoping to discover something very different from the real Jesus. It is the criminal executed with Jesus who in his dying desperation says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Clearly, the criminal has no other hope, still in this moment he acknowledges Jesus’ true identity.
Modern followers of Jesus resemble those ancient followers in many ways. Everyone has their own image of Jesus, the gifts we want Jesus to bring us, the ways we want Jesus to fix those things in our lives that cause pain or suffering. In our anxiety we want Jesus to be our magical savior. It can be frustrating when we discover a very different Jesus. Instead of one who fixes everything in an instant, Jesus is the one who walks with us through the darkest valleys. Jesus is the one who calls us to lives of service—and again and again as we care for the needs of others we discover the face of Jesus himself in the lost, the last, and the least.
Our sin gets in the way, yet those who profess Jesus as Christ the King—the one in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell—are forever seeking to be clear in heart, mind, and soul about the true nature of his identity, and how we can share that identity with others.
Sun. November 23 — 24th Sunday of Pentecost
Readings and Psalms
- Jeremiah 23:1-6
Coming of the shepherd and righteous Branch who will execute justice - Psalm 46
I will be exalted among the nations. (Ps. 46:10) - Colossians 1:11-20
Hymn to Christ, firstborn of all creation; peace through his blood - Luke 23:33-43
Jesus is crucified between two thieves: you will be with me in Paradise
Overview
Jesus’ true identity seems to remain a mystery for most of the disciples. Jesus can teach, preach, heal, cast out demons, challenge authority and more, but still they do not comprehend. You might say it is a case of mistaken identity as the disciples and other followers seem to be hoping to discover something very different from the real Jesus. It is the criminal executed with Jesus who in his dying desperation says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Clearly, the criminal has no other hope, still in this moment he acknowledges Jesus’ true identity.
Modern followers of Jesus resemble those ancient followers in many ways. Everyone has their own image of Jesus, the gifts we want Jesus to bring us, the ways we want Jesus to fix those things in our lives that cause pain or suffering. In our anxiety we want Jesus to be our magical savior. It can be frustrating when we discover a very different Jesus. Instead of one who fixes everything in an instant, Jesus is the one who walks with us through the darkest valleys. Jesus is the one who calls us to lives of service—and again and again as we care for the needs of others we discover the face of Jesus himself in the lost, the last, and the least.
Our sin gets in the way, yet those who profess Jesus as Christ the King—the one in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell—are forever seeking to be clear in heart, mind, and soul about the true nature of his identity, and how we can share that identity with others.
Sun. November 30 — First Sunday of Advent
Readings and Psalms
- Isaiah 2:1-5
Weapons of war transformed into instruments of peace - Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” (Ps. 122:1) - Romans 13:11-14
Salvation is near; time to wake from sleep - Matthew 24:36-44
The sudden coming of the Son of Man
Overview
In the 1960’s people were urged to turn on, tune in, and drop out—to leave the material world behind in favor of an alternate reality. In today’s gospel, Jesus also urges us to tune into an alternative to the material world, one he called the coming of the Son of Man. In Jesus’ person, the dominion of God comes into the world, and the risen Christ continues to give us abundant signs of its presence. Jesus commands his followers not to drop out of the world, but to be on the lookout for him in it.
Christians await the second coming of Christ, the parousia, when we believe we will experience God’s reign in its fullness. In the meantime, we live, in the words of some theologians, “already, but not yet.” We look for glimpses of the dominion in the here and now. The season of Advent, and today’s readings, are designed to help turn us on to the excitement and anticipation of God’s reign in our lives and tune in to the infinite opportunities we have to participate in it. In other words, they want to wake us up!
St. Paul exhorts us in today’s second reading to lead lives of faithful obedience until the final day. He also challenges us to participate in God’s dominion in the here and now, calling us to wake from sleep, to “put on Christ.” Eyes wide open and wrapped in Christ, we are called to a new day. Isaiah describes his own vision: gathered by God, learning and teaching God’s ways, walking in God’s paths, beating swords into ploughshares and spears to pruning hooks. Wide-awake, active, and ready for encounters with Jesus, we may find God’s dominion when and where we least expect it.