A Layman’s Take on Today’s Readings: Lectionary 461

Key

Bold = verse commented upon

Blue = comment

Highlight = direct command

Jonah 1:1-2:1-2, 11

This is the word of the LORD that came to Jonah, son of Amittai:

“Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish,paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD.

The LORD, however, hurled a violent wind upon the sea, and in the furious tempest that arose the ship was on the point of breaking up. Then the mariners became frightened and each one cried to his god. To lighten the ship for themselves, they threw its cargo into the sea. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, and lay there fast asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God! Perhaps God will be mindful of us so that we may not perish.”

Then they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots to find out on whose account we have met with this misfortune.” So they cast lots, and thus singled out Jonah. “Tell us,” they said, “what is your business? Where do you come from? What is your country, and to what people do you belong?”

Jonah answered them, “I am a Hebrew, I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him, “How could you do such a thing!–  They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them.– They asked, “What shall we do with you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more turbulent. Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet down for you; since I know it is because of me that this violent storm has come upon you.”

Still the men rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not, for the sea grew ever more turbulent. Then they cried to the LORD: “We beseech you, O LORD, let us not perish for taking this man’s life; do not charge us with shedding innocent blood, for you, LORD, have done as you saw fit.” Then they took Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea’s raging abated.

Struck with great fear of the LORD, the men offered sacrifice and made vows to him.

But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD, his God. Then the LORD commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the shore.

Jonah 2:3-5, 8

Out of my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me; from the midst of the nether world I cried for help, and you heard my voice.

For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea, and the flood enveloped me; all your breakers and your billows passed over me.

Then I said, “I am banished from your sight! Yet would I again look upon your holy temple.”

When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; my prayer reached you in your holy temple.

John 13:34

I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”

He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied,  “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”

He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”

Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

1.        We and others are hurt when we disobey God. Jonah and the sailors had to go through ordeal described in the first reading, and the victim in the Gospel reading had to wait for help while the priest and Levite passed him by.

2.        That is not changed by the fact that we think we have good reasons to disregard God’s direction. Jonah had understandable reasons for not wanting to go to Nineveh (it was a scary and unclean, place), and the priest & Levite had their reasons (staying ceremonially clean and on schedule to do their jobs).  The harm still resulted.

3.   In contrast, others are blessed when we obey God. The Ninavites were saved because Jonah eventually complied with God’s directions and the victim was cared for because the Samaritan obeyed God’s prompting to help. 

4.        God knows better than we do and we must trust Him; He has our good in mind, and disobedience will not work anyway.  See Isaiah 55, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 33:10-11, Psalm 127:1-2, Proverbs 19:21,

5.       We therefore  must listen for—and too—God’s instructions.

6.      We must also remember that even if we mess up and deviate from God’s will, He will still help us get back on track if we ask Him. Isaiah 55:6-7, Luke 15, John 6:37.  

A Layman’s Take on Today’s Readings: Lectionary 460

Key

Bold = verse commented upon

Blue = comment

Highlight = direct command

Baruch 4:5-12,27-29

Fear not, my people! Remember, Israel, You were sold to the nations not for your destruction; It was because you angered God that you were handed over to your foes. For you provoked your Maker with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods; You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you, and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you. 

She indeed saw coming upon you the anger of God; and she said:“Hear, you neighbors of Zion! God has brought great mourning upon me, For I have seen the captivity that the Eternal God has brought upon my sons and daughters. With joy I fostered them; but with mourning and lament I let them go. Let no one gloat over me, a widow, bereft of many: For the sins of my children I am left desolate, because they turned from the law of God.

Fear not, my children; call out to God! He who brought this upon you will remember you. As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him; For he who has brought disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.”

Psalm 69:33-35, 36-37

 “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the LORD hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not. Let the heavens and the earth praise him, the seas and whatever moves in them!”

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. They shall dwell in the land and own it, and the descendants of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall inhabit it.

Matthew 11:25

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

Luke 10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.  Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

1.        We cannot lose sight of the fact that God loves us, even in the midst of difficulties.

2.         Instead, we are to respond to difficulties by pressing closer to God.

3.    This seems to be the same dynamic we see in Sirach 2, Hebrews 12:5-13, and James 1:2-5. 

4.     It is really encouraging that God does not give up on us, reject us, in spite of even very grievous sins (as in the first reading), but keeps calling us back to Him.

A Layman’s Take on Today’s Gospel Reading: Lectionary 459/650

Key

Bold = verse commented upon

Blue = comments

Highlight = direct commands

Matthew 18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”

He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.  And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

1.           This child came when Jesus called, even though he likely did not understand why Jesus was calling him or what would happen once he came over to Jesus. Same dynamic as Sirach 2:4 and Sirach 3:22?

2.           Chances are that the child was probably doing something else he would rather have kept doing, and may have been reluctant to come with Jesus.

3.           But because he did come, the child was part of something truly great: he was part of an illustration that has had—and continues to have—tremendous impact over the years.

4.           The child was able to be a part of that because he was close enough to Jesus to be available.

5.           We should not be too proud to learn from the examples of those that society (and even ourselves) considers to be our inferior.  Same dynamic as Proverbs 6:6-8 and Proverbs 30:24-28?

What Scripture says about Work—We gotta do it.

First things first—we have to work. It’s unavoidable. We were intended to work before the fall. Genesis 2:15. That mandate was reaffirmed after the fall. Genesis 3:17-19.  It continues after Jesus’ incarnation.  2 Thessalonians 3:6-12. That reality is enforced by an unavoidable incentive system. God provides positive reinforcements for working.  Proverbs 6:7-8,  Proverbs 10:4,  Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 20:13, Ecclesiastes 3:22, Ecclesiastes 5:12, Ecclesiastes 5:18. See also Proverbs 16:26. He also structured the world to provide negative consequences for failing to work. Proverbs 6:10-11, Proverbs 10:4-5, Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 18:9, Proverbs 19:15, Proverbs 20:4, Proverbs 20:13, Proverbs 21:25, Proverbs 24:30-34,  2 Thessalonians 3:6, 10-11.

So why did God structure things that way? Three things come to mind.

One is so that we will be more accurate reflections of God. We are created in the image of God, Genesis 1:27, and God works. We see that in the creation accounts; he worked hard for six days. Genesis 2:1-3.  It is implicit in the sabbath command. Exodus 20:11. We see it in the scripture referring to “the work of his Hands.” Job 34:19, Psalm 111:7. 

Another is that it makes us more effective at accomplishing one of His purposes for us—to deliver His love in various forms. We obviously get more of that done if we are working than if we are not, so it makes sense that God would instruct and incent us to work.  

A third is that it gives God another vehicle for giving us joy. We feel satisfaction and joy when we do a good job at something, and when we see others enjoy the results of our work. God's incentives to work are incentives to experience that joy.