George Love, Pastor of Hebron Presbyterian Church, continues sharing his thoughts on the Daily Lectionary Series of Bible readings. You will find his most recent comments at the top, with earlier ones below. See earlier ones in previous months by following this link.
We have also added daily links to Presbyterian Church (USA) website where you will find the Scripture readings for that day. We hope you will find this a helpful way to join us in seeking God's message for our daily lives.
August 16
First Reading:
Judges 16:15-31
Psalm : Psalm 113
Second Reading:
2 Corinthians 13:1-11
Gospel: Mark 5:25-34
"She had heard about Jesus…" - Mark 5:25
I wonder how many people traveled how many miles because they had "heard about Jesus." Jesus, in the gospels, seems to be in constant motion. He travels from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other. He travels to Jerusalem and back. He's in Samaria. He's in Jericho. Jesus stays on the move.
Along the way he heals, which has to be a big part of the attraction. So many people, who were experiencing a deficit of hope, heard about Jesus and the miracles he performed and had to think they needed to seek Jesus out. The woman in the crowd who by the end of the story has been healed by Jesus and sent on her way with a blessing, was in the crowd to begin with because of the news that had reached her ears about Jesus.
These folks who heard about Jesus are an inspiration to us to share our faith in Jesus in winsome ways. The goal isn't to push people to do something they don't want to do. The goal is to speak the truth of the difference that Jesus has made in our lives. When we speak the truth of Jesus' love and activity that we have experienced in our lives, and that we see in our world, people will want to seek Jesus out. In a world in which far too often there is an extreme deficit of hope, let us speak and act in ways that bear witness to the hope we have found in our Lord.
August 15
First Reading: Judges 16:1-14
Psalm: Psalm 138
Second Reading: Acts 7:30-43
Gospel: John 5:1-18
"'Do you want to be made well?'" - John 5:6
The stories in John's gospel are rich with details and observations and pretty much all of them are important, inviting the reader to give careful thought to every step of the narrative as it unfolds. Here is another story with a somewhat familiar theme, Jesus is healing on the Sabbath. In this instance the person who is healed is the first person to be stopped by the religious leaders. Having been instructed to take up his mat and walk, the leaders have taken him to task for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. Not celebrating that he can walk, but questioning him about carrying his mat.
Before we get to that interaction though there is a powerful moment between Jesus and this man who has been coming to these same pools for thirty-eight years in hopes of being healed. Jesus straight out asks the man if he wants to be made well. The man does not respond directly. Instead he cites his frustration with the circumstances that he believes have conspired against him being healed. As he talks it sounds as though the man is saying, if he was able to accomplish what he has not been able to accomplish he would wish to be healed. Jesus listens and then heals him.
This is another story where we are encouraged to listen closely to Jesus. Jesus is not asking the man why he can't be healed. He is asking if he wants to be healed. Jesus may ask us if there is a particular outcome we are hoping and praying for in life. Responding with the reasons why it cannot happen is missing what Jesus is asking. He doesn't ask why something is impossible. He is asking what he can make possible. This was a life-changing distinction for the man who was healed and it is for us as well.
August 14
First Reading: Judges 14:20-15:20
Psalm: Psalm 142
Second Reading: Acts 7:17-29
Gospel: John 4:43-54
"Jesus said to him, 'Go, your son will live.'" - John 4:50
This story finds Jesus in Cana of Galilee, around thirty-four miles from Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. A royal official with a sick son hears that Jesus is in the region and comes to him to implore Jesus to come with him to his home and make his son well. Jesus directs him to return to his home. His son will live. The royal official begins the journey home and the next day encounters servants from his home who have come with good news - his son is recovering. When he asks when the boys health returned, they tell him it was the previous day. The official realizes they are describing the moment when Jesus told him to go home.
An obvious lesson of this story is that Jesus does not need to place his hands on a person to heal them. He doesn't need to be in the same house with a person to heal them. He can be in a different city, some distance away. Jesus can change a life from anywhere.
As present day followers of Jesus, our belief is that the risen Christ ascended to heaven, leaving his followers to share the good news. We believe they did that and the sharing continued until it reached us. We believe that one day Jesus will return. But we also hold fast to the truth we find in this story. Jesus does not have to be physically in the room with us to transform our lives. Our risen Lord has been and is transforming lives every day.
August 13
First Reading: Judges 14:1-19
Psalm: Psalm 147
Second Reading: Acts 6:15-7:16
Gospel: John 4:27-42
"Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, 'What do want?' or 'Why are you speaking with her?'" - John 4:27
Can you imagine being frustrated with Jesus? Has there ever been a time when you have felt frustrated with Jesus? If so I think his followers would be right there with you. Here, nestled into this beautiful, dramatic story of Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman and her subsequent sharing of that interaction with the townspeople of Sychar, is this wonderfully human moment between Jesus and the disciples.
The disciples had been off doing disciple stuff and had left Jesus at the well as he was tired. They come back and see Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman and they immediately are wondering how it is that they can't leave him alone for a minute without something unexpected happening. Could he not just rest, and wait for them, and be slightly predictable for once?
Of course not. Jesus is never going to be predictable in that way. He is never going to be confined by barriers and parameters that we think society has placed on him. As we think and pray about it, are there times when we may be bound up in what we think is expected of us by the norms and arbitrary boundaries of our world that we miss the places Jesus is inviting us to go, the people Jesus is wanting to introduce us to, the actions Jesus is calling us to take?
August 12
First Reading: Judges 13:15-24
Psalm: 1,33,89:1-18
Second Reading: Acts 6:1-15
Gospel: John 4:1-26
"'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.' The woman said to him 'Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.'" - John 4:13–14
John 3 featured a visit between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee. In that interaction there is extraordinary teaching by Jesus coupled with a real struggle to understand by Nicodemus. Here in John 4 we have a visit between Jesus and an unnamed Samaritan woman. More extraordinary teaching by Jesus, more struggle to understand by his conversation partner. One of the beauties of these passages is what they teach us about the importance of being open to honestly engaging with Jesus and pushing forward with our questions even when we aren't precisely sure what we are asking about.
Both Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman understand that they do not understand. But they also show resilience and a commitment to keep the questions coming. In Jesus' answers we see how important it is for us to set aside our expectations for what Jesus will say and simply to listen and let the answer roll over us. It will turn out that even if the woman receives the living water of which Jesus speaks, she will, if she keeps living there in Samaria, have to return to Jacob's well and draw water again. And yet what Jesus says is true, the water he would provide is satisfying in a way that the water from the well can never match.
The call today is to tenacity. Seek Jesus out as Nicodemus did. Stay curious as the Samaritan woman was. Keep the questions coming, a characteristic both of these folks exhibit. Both stories seem to point to our Savior's willingness to listen to our questions. Thankfully they also paint a picture of his desire to patiently stay in the conversation with us as we work through his answers.
August 11
First Reading: Judges 13:1-5
Psalm: Psalm 42
Second Reading: Acts 5:27-42
Gospel : John 3:22-36
"He must increase, but I must decrease." - John 3:30
I'm always drawn to John's humble words in this passage. Words that are completely consistent with the way he encounters and deals with Jesus and with interactions about Jesus. He is ready to allow his followers to leave him to follow Jesus. He fully embraces the idea that his work is not to build the brand of John the Baptist, but to make the way for the Messiah.
An important point I think is to truly consider what he is saying. When he says he must decrease and Jesus must increase, I don't think he is saying he must be less John the Baptist. I believe he is saying that when he allows his relationship with Jesus to guide as much of his life as possible he is becoming who he was created to be.
I believe this idea transfers to us as well. To decrease is to eliminate as much as possible of what separates us from allowing the impact of Jesus to increase in our lives. When I am selfish, when I lack grace in my relationships, when I am not kind; in each of these instances I am not decreasing that Christ may increase. As we follow Jesus, how are we seeking to live in ways that prioritizes Christ in our lives?
August 10
First Reading: Judges 12:1-7
Psalm: Psalm 5, 82, 29
Second Reading: Acts 5:12-26
Gospel: John 3:1-21
"And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light…." - John 3:19
The Judges passage is another kind of horrible passage with a lot of unnecessary deaths reported. The people have entered the promised land, but the stories told of the people in the book of Judges tend to not be stories of joy or light. They are about conflict, violence, horrifying actions, and sometimes enormous amounts of loss of life.
In Acts the disciples are put in prison for bearing witness to the good news. Along the way they are having tangibly positive impacts on people as they are healing many people as they tell the gospel of Jesus. The good outcomes don't make them immune from arrest. As was the case with Jesus himself, there seems to be a lot of alarm about a movement that refuses to be managed in the traditional structures.
John's gospel speaks on multiple occasions about light and darkness. The Bible doesn't shy away from showing us both. Our aim as followers of Jesus is to learn to love the light and work for a world where there is less of the darkness. Over in Matthew 5, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world. The world from the time of the Judges through the present is a place that needs the light. Our call as those who follow the One who brought light irreversibly into the world, is to share and point to the light of Christ's love.
August 9
First Reading:
Judges 11:1-11, 29-40
Psalm: Psalm 117
Second Reading:
2 Corinthians 11:21b-31
Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
"Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm." - Mark 4:39
I'm sure that Jesus and his followers made trips across the Sea of Galilee where the sun was shining and there was no life threatening storm. We just don't get stories that happen much about those trips. This particular story begins in a way that, if you've been around Bible stories for long, will feel very familiar. Jesus and the disciples wrap up their activities in one place and Jesus suggests they get in a boat and cross to the other side. At this point, experienced gospel readers are expecting a storm - and that is what happens.
The disciples are having to deal with the boat taking on water and waves crashing all around them and Jesus is…sleeping. So they wake him, and Jesus does what they hoped and what we expect; he calms the storm. And then there is this moment of intense calm. How wonderful did that feel? One moment you are questioning if you are going to make it across the lake, the next, smooth waters. They all exhaled.
This is a moment that you perhaps have experienced in your walk of faith. We do not need to be in a boat on a stormy sea, to feel what seem to be monster waves crashing all about us as we try to navigate ourselves from one end of a day to the other. We've tried everything, things are falling apart, and then Jesus occurs to us. We can talk to Jesus. So we do. And there are times in those moments that all that seemed in upheaval dies down and we experience peace. Christ's peace. Prayer, talking with God, can do that. Thanks be to God for the times when the storms subside and we can know the calming reality of the peace of Christ.
August 8
First Reading:
Judges9:22-25, 50-57
Psalm: Psalm 90
Second Reading: Acts 4:32-5:11
Gospel: John 2:13-25
"After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken." - John 2:13-25
One of the things I've had in mind a good bit lately is how the appearance of things changes over time. I'm thinking less of the physical appearance of people or places, although that works as well. My thought is more of dreams, concepts, ideas; our understanding of moments and events in our lives. There are certainly things that unfold quickly and in order. We do this and the next thing that happens is that and we can see the direct line between the two.
It's not always like that. I think it is often not like that. Instead a thing happens and there is no next thing that is obvious to follow. Or a thing happens and we try to understand it and can find no place to view it where it will make sense. What we learn as we grow older, as we have more experiences, and as time passes is that what may seem pointless, nonsensical, or incomprehensible at one moment in the present, may find a future moment when the past comes sharply into focus.
The disciples heard Jesus make his statement about the temple and did not understand. It was memorable - to say that the temple could be destroyed and in three days built back up was decidedly memorable - but it wasn't clear to them what he meant. Until it was. Until more time had passed, they had lived through his death and resurrection, and it came into focus that he wasn't talking about a building. He was talking about himself. When the present seems cryptic and answers are elusive, sometimes the answer is patience. We wait on God and in time we come to see what God is up to.
August 7
First Reading:
Judges 9:1-16, 19-21
Psalm: Psalm 84
Second Reading: Acts 4:13-31
Gospel: John 2:1-12
"'Listen to me, your lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over themselves.'" - Judges 9:7-8
So many great stories to reflect on in today's readings. We meet Abimelech, son of Gideon, who does not have the moral compass that we see in many of the judges. The temptation to be made king is too great for him. We are told that seventy of his brothers, that is what he views as seventy potential adversaries for the crown, are killed. One of them, Jotham, escapes. Jotham then goes to rally the people with the story of the trees who went seeking a king. If you listen to Jotham using this story to make his point, you can hear that Jesus and his parables stand in a clear storytelling tradition.
We have the story of Peter and John being told to keep quiet about the good news of Jesus Christ, and responding, in difficult circumstances, that the one thing that is not on the table is them keeping quiet. They have good news and their life's work is going to be to share it. When they are released, the two go back to the Christian community and, with their actions, teach us how to respond to crises. They pray. They immediately turn to God and that prayer leads them to an experience of God's presence through the Holy Spirit.
Finally, in the gospel of John we have the story of Jesus' first miracle, turning water to wine at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. It's a quick story. How amazed the people carrying the water that was now wine to the people in charge must have been. They knew they had poured water into those jars and they could see the water was wine. This story also includes the wonderful interaction between Jesus, who says that it is not yet his time when Mary asks him to help out in this circumstance, and Mary, who ignores him and tells the servants to do what Jesus will tell them to do. Then Jesus follows his mother's instruction.
Some days, you may run into a reading in which you struggle to find the message. I suspect today is not that day. Each of the texts shares a powerful story with much to think about. This is yet another reason why we regularly return to God's word - to find what that word will say to us today.
August 6
First Reading: Judges 8:22-35
Psalm: Psalm 26
Second Reading: Acts 4:1-12
Gospel: John 1:43-51
"Gideon said to them, 'I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.'" - Judges 8:23
The whole leadership model of the time of the Judges is a fascinating one. This is the time when the people are in the promised land, organized into tribal areas, but without a central government. This is the time prior to the time of the Kings. The people would know peace for a while, perhaps a number of years. Something would happen and a threat would arise. In that time of need, God would lift up a judge from among the people. Typically in some manner a military leader who would lead during the threat. When the battle was won and peace was restored, the service of the judge was largely over.
Gideon is an example of such a judge and of the temptation that was likely a part of the process if you were a successful judge, meaning you led the people to a positive outcome. In such a time, the people may decide they want you to continue in the role of leader. What Gideon sees and keeps before him, even in the heady days of the people wanting to make him a king is that God is the leader. God is always the leader. The people who are raised up by God, do not take God's place, they work on God's behalf. Gideon is clear that he does not intend to rule and that his sons will not rule. The ruler has been and will be God.
Whether or not we are leading anyone into battle, the lesson is a good one. It is important to remember that the source of ability to accomplish anything begins with our Creator. We are most likely to discover the best version of ourselves when we recognize that the best version of ourselves finds its origins in God.
August 5
First Reading: Judges 7:19-8:12
Psalm: 134
Second Reading: Acts 3:12-26
Gospel: John 1:29-42
"One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found his brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah….'" - John 1:40-41
It is interesting sometimes to think of all the things that had to happen in order for the moment at hand to happen. You run into a friend you haven't seen for awhile at the grocery store. A chance encounter that turns out to be a welcome time of catching up. How fortunate you might think afterwards. Perhaps fortunate is one way to describe it, but why were you at the grocery store at precisely that moment. What weren't you doing that you could have been doing? What choices at the start of the day (or even earlier) led to your day unfolding in such a way that you found yourself at the end of the frozen food aisle just as your friend was picking up some ice cream. Following this line of thought can lead us to see how things we might have viewed as moments of chance, may well be moments of divine guidance.
Andrew was a follower of John. Andrew happened to be paying attention when John announced Jesus as the lamb of God and subsequently talked with Jesus and was invited to come and visit more with Jesus. Andrew wound up being one of the twelve disciples. And because of Andrew, his brother, Simon Peter also became a disciple of Jesus. Because Andrew heard John, and then met Jesus, and then decided he should go and tell his brother. Was Andrew in the right place at the right time by chance or did God have a plan for him and through him for Peter? I lean towards it all as a plan unfolding.
Present actions and choices lead to what is next and beyond that to what is next and so on. And God is at work in all of it. It is a beneficial spiritual practice to pray about the day before it unfolds and to prayerfully review the day as it winds down. Such a practice can help us to have our eyes open to catch glimpses of God's guidance; the nudges of the Holy Spirit in the midst of our daily lives.
August 4
First Reading: Judges 7:1-18
Psalm: Psalm 7
Second Reading: Acts 3:1-11
Gospel: John 1:19-28
"He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, 'I am not the Messiah.'" - John 1:20
"Peter said, 'I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.'" - Acts 3:6
When we encounter Jesus, we find ourselves redirecting our lives to Jesus. This does not make us perfect, but it hopefully makes us humble. To follow Jesus is not to imagine how powerful we can become, it is to be inspired by the vision of a world that in Christ has the answer to its most profound needs.
John the Baptist is confronted by some religious leaders with questions about who he imagines himself to be – is he a prophet? is he the Messiah? They ask because they see how the people are attracted to him, how much response he is getting as people come to repent and be baptized. There is no indication that John is ever tempted to believe that he is the promised Messiah. He is quick to shoot down any suggestion that he is the Messiah, and he, with equal speed, turns the focus beyond himself to one he suggests is already in their midst. He does not see himself in competition with Jesus; he sees himself preparing for Jesus.
With similar humility Peter and John go to the temple and on the way encounter a man who has spent his life unable to walk. He asks for alms, but the disciples pause and size up the circumstance, seeing that they can offer something more valuable than a monetary donation. Peter tells the man he does not have money to give him, he has a gift from God. He is clear where credit is due: "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, stand up and walk." Peter and John immediately point beyond themselves to the source of their gift.
Both John the Baptist and the two disciples in the Acts passage model for us how to embrace the role of follower of Jesus Christ. Introducing people to the love of God and the difference it can make in their lives is a beautiful aspect of what it is to follow Jesus. It is always aimed at elevating Christ and pointing beyond ourselves to him.
August 3
First Reading: Judges 6:25-40
Psalm: Psalm 9
Second Reading: Acts 2:37-47
Gospel: John 1:1-18
"No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known." - John 1:1-18
I am an underliner. A marker-upper. When I read, especially the Bible, it is always with a pen in hand. I think the prologue to John's gospel is underlined in every Bible in which I have read it. Usually the whole thing, all eighteen verses. It just soars. So epic. So vast. So thought provoking. And so different from the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke). John's Prologue, with its opening words reminding us of Genesis 1 and the story of creation, gives us a sense of the stage we should have in mind when entering into its story.
Loretta Lynn had a song with the line "if you're looking at me, you're looking at country." The idea being that there are many ways to describe the sound, look, and feel of country music. Ultimately, the words, she suggests, are best understood, by looking at a person who has genuinely lived life and expressed it as an artist in the way that she has. John is dealing with much higher stakes, but it's a similar thought. If you're looking at Jesus, you're looking at God.
God is an idea that many people have attempted to describe, portray, and define. In Jesus, John tells us, God has shown us who God is and what God values. Jesus has authentically made God known. So today, the lectionary begins to take us through a reading of John's gospel. Notice has been served. This is the story of God's light come into the world; light that transforms and changes everything.
August 2
First Reading: Judges 6:1-24
Psalm: Psalm 108
Second Reading:
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Gospel: Mark 3:20-30
"And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may always share abundantly in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:8
Abundance, and its counterpart scarcity, are themes throughout scripture. This passage speaks so explicitly about abundance that it is a good opportunity to think closely about the biblical meaning of abundance. A basic human fear is that there will not be enough. We will need something and we won't have it. It doesn't need to be something we need now. If we can anticipate a future where we will need a particular thing, we begin to fear the future where that thing is not available to us. It's a really problematic way of approaching life. Largely because there is no end to things we can plausibly imagine we might need sooner or later.
Such thinking leads to worries about scarcity and lack. Worrying about scarcity and lack centers our minds on such things to the point, again, where it doesn't have to be something that we actually are doing without right now - we may be paralyzed with fear now about a possible future that has not and may never materialize.
Abundance is recognizing the goodness of God and the provision of God. It is scanning our lives for blessings rather than obsessing over what we do not have. The more we recognize our blessings, the richer and fuller life becomes as we live with gratitude for God's goodness and care. As Paul says, recognizing the abundance of blessings we have received prepares us to share those blessings in every good work. The term abundance is not about stockpiling stuff. It is about recognizing the constant love and care of God, and living in joyful response to all that God has done and is doing in our lives.
August 1
First Reading: Judges 5:19-31
Psalm: Psalm 63
Second Reading: Acts 2:22-36
Gospel: Matthew 28:11-20
"And remember I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:20
Christians have been reading the Great Commission from Matthew's gospel for a very long time. Over the course of history what Jesus sends them forth to do has been accomplished in large measure. The faith movement that began with a few people, mostly from the somewhat out of the way Galilee, has extended to the ends of the earth. And it has accomplished this in the way that Jesus directed: followers have told the story and that has led to more followers.
The final verse of Matthew's gospel may be a window into how all those followers over a couple of thousand years have pulled this off. First and foremost they did it, we have done it, by experiencing the truth of what Jesus promises - he is with us always, to the end of the age. People resonate with Jesus' teachings. We marvel at the miracles. We are moved by Christ's self-sacrificial love. But beyond the cross it is the resurrection and it is the truth of the promise that Christ is present with us.
I can't show you a picture of me and Jesus. Nobody from across history can produce that sort of evidence. The evidence is the evidence of faith. Of lives that have been transformed. The experience of a transcendent love. The lived experience of the truth of what Jesus said, did, and promised. We keep experiencing the presence of Jesus and we keep sharing the good news as he instructed. And with thankful hearts we keep holding on to the truth that he is with us always.