Welcome back one and all! For those in Canada and the US who had a long weekend I hope the holiday was enjoyable! And now as we look forward to another Sunday let us pray:
(Prayer source)
O God of mercy,
in Jesus Christ you freed us from sin and death,
and by your Holy Spirit
you nourish our mortal bodies with life.
Plant us now in good soil,
that our lives may flower
in righteousness and peace. Amen.
The Lectionary passages for this week -- Proper 10A, the 4th After Pentecost (this year) can be read
here.
One of the nice things about the Lectionary readings in the Season After Pentecost is that we get to follow a logical flow through the Jewish Scripture readings. In Year A these readings follow through the stories of the Patriarchs (admittedly with some big jumps) and through into the story of the Exodus as we move into the fall. This week we move into the stories of Jacob, as he tricks Esau into giving up his birthright. Jacob is at best an interesting character. Hardly a good role model when it comes right down to it. In fact the family of Abraham provides an intriguing look at "family values" as
this link discusses
The Lectionary also includes an alternate Jewish Scripture reading that the compilers feel links with the Gospel reading. This week we have a passage from Isaiah 55 that has a fairly clear link with the Gospel Reading from Matthew -- the Parable of the sower and the seed. Interestingly Matthew also provides us with an allegorical interpretation of the parable. It is a matter of great debate (in some circles anyway) whether the interpretation goes back to Jesus. Does including these verses make the preacher's task easier or more complicated?
Or for a different tack one could continue on in the book of Romans as Paul continues to discuss sin and law and appears to veer into a dualistic flesh-Spirit dichotomy. And people wonder why Christianity has always struggled with dualism and visions of the body as flawed....
Image Sources:
Jacob and Esau
Sower Stained Glass
cartoon
