This year, the lectionary Gospels for Lent 2 through 5 tell of amazing encounters with Jesus from the Gospel of John — and each one is longer than the last. First Nicodemus, then the woman at the well, now the man born blind. These stories are rich, and also convoluted. They are tough to grasp […]
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Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, Pentecost, John 14:8-17
John 14:8-17 is a slightly odd text for Pentecost — until the end it says very little about the coming of the Spirit. But as with all of John 13-17, it is theologically rich. John 14:8-17 It’s a great text on the Trinity and on the purpose of the Incarnation — plus, if you sneak […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, 5th Sunday of Easter, John 13:31-35
On the 5th Sunday of Easter, the Revised Common Lectionary stays in John, taking a leap forward (and, if you think about it, backward too) into Holy Week. The text is John 13:31-35. On Maundy Thursday, if you remember, we heard this and an earlier portion from the same chapter (John 13:1-17, 31b-35). (And if […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Years ABC, 2nd Sunday of Easter, John 20:19-31
If you are wondering why the lectionary has reverted to John on the Second Sunday of Easter, the answer is easy: In the Synoptic Gospels there are no resurrection appearances after Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday’s morning is Luke 24:1-12 — the empty tomb. The text for Easter Evening is Luke 24:13-49, the Emmaus Road text […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, 6th Sunday after Epiphany, Luke 6:17-26
The Gospel text for the 6th Sunday after Epiphany (Luke 6:17-26) is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The heart of it is the “Beatitudes,” the seemingly winsome but then difficult and paradoxical declarations by Jesus of what makes a person “blessed” or, in some translations, “happy.” Matthew’s version is much more prominent in […]