Lectionary Preaching Workbook, SERIES II
for use with Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
Comments on the Lessons
The Zechariah reading is an answer to an inquiry about fasting. Verses 9-10 contain the essence of prophetic moral teaching. The 1 Chronicles passage is David's prayer of farewell composed by the Chronicler, but with a hint of a blissful after-life. The 2 Maccabees reading tells of the martyrdom of a mother and seven sons. In the reading from 2 Thessalonians we have thanksgiving, exhortation, and closing appeals of the letter. The Lucan passage deals with questions about the resurrection, in which Jesus declares that God is the God of the living.