Second Sunday in Lent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
The Sunday received its title - Reminiscere - from verse 5 of the Twenty-fifth Psalm, "Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting." This is meant to be a kind of "remembrance Sunday" - as all Sundays are, recalling the death and resurrection of our Lord as "little Easters" - but with a difference. The church is being asked to remember the identity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and that the passion and death of the Lord are fairly close at hand. Jesus was the One par excellence who could say, "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you; let me not be humiliated, nor let my enemies triumph over me." And the faithful, as baptized members of the Body of Christ, are to remember their sinful estate and turn to God in repentance and faith this day and every day. The Sunday - Remembrance Sunday - is a model for the faith and life of the Christian.
The Prayer of the Day
The traditional collect for this Sunday speaks to the human condition and what Luther would have called "the bondage of the will." The Episcopal prayer for this Sunday strikes the note common to most contemporary "remembrance" collects:
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and holdfast the unchangeable truth ofyour Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God for ever and ever.
The LBW contains two prayers for this day; the first is quite similar to the Book of Common Prayer collect, while the second was written to complement the John 4 Gospel in Series/Cycle A.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 16, or 16:5-11 (E) - This is a psalm that speaks to the passion of the Lord:
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord, my God above all other" ... I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not fall. My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices. My body also shall rest in hope. For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the pit ... You will show me the path of life. (emphasis mine)
It picks up and highlights the emphasis on Jesus' impending suffering and death in the Mark 8 Gospel, and the "remembrance" theme of the day.
Psalm 115:1, 9-18 (L) - Put into the context of this day, this could be the cry of a person who remembers the goodness - the love and faithfulness - of God and his deliverance from an impossible situation, even sin and death. Because this individual remembers the thercies of God, he/she turns to the Lord and praises him for the gracious gifts of God that have been received. Those who remember the mercies of the Lord God in Jesus Christ ought to, spontaneously, "bless the Lord, from this time forth for evermore. Hallelujah."
Psalm 116:10, 15-19 (R) - The predicament that Abraham and Isaac found themselves in had to be in mind of the people who selected this psalm for Remembrance Sunday. The words of the psalm could have been spoken by Isaac:
I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication.... The cords of death entangled me; the grip of the grave took hold of me; I came to grief and sorrow.... Turn again to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has treated you well. For you have rescued my life from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.
A theologically informed and faithful Christian might say the same thing.
The Psalm Prayer - Psalm 116 (LBW)
God of power and mercy, through the Passion and resurrection of your Son you have freed us from the bonds of death and the anguish of separation from you. Be with us on our pilgrimage, and help us offer you a sacrifice of praise, fulfill our vows, and glorify you in the presence of all your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 (R); 22:1-14 (E)
The Lutheran lectionary appointed this reading for last Sunday, the First Sunday in Lent, Series/Cycle B. Commentary may be found there.
Genesis 17:1-10, 15-19 (C)
The story of God's visit to Abram, when he was ninety-nine years old, begins with a change in name from Abram to Abraham, and the promise of an "everlasting covenant" between God and Abraham and his offspring. God also changes the name of Abraham's wife from Sarai to Sarah, but God made Abraham laugh when he declared that he and Sarah would have a son, who would be named Isaac. Abraham was virtually 100 years old and Sarah was ninety when God informed them of the impending birth of a special child, who would be the inheritor of the covenant the Lord made with Abraham. This is one of the great stories of faith, which needs to be remembered, particularly in the perspective of the new covenant God made with the world in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 28:10-17 (18-22) (L)
There seems to be virtually no connection between this reading, which is another great story of faith, and the Gospel for the Day (Mark 8:31-38). It would actually complement the Roman Catholic choice of Mark 9:2-10, the Transfiguration story, much better than Mark 8. The family story of Jacob's dream, as he camped out at night on the journey from Beersheba to Haran, tells about the ladder from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending it - and God's promise to keep and bless Jacob wherever he went. Jacob's reply on awakening from sleep is so familiar and so true to the human situation: "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it.... How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." The rock on which Jacob had pillowed his head during the night became the pillar of God's house in that place. Jacob did, in his own way, what Peter had suggested to Jesus on the mount of the Transfiguration, "Let us make here three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." Commitment to God is the one theme that emerges from this text and makes contact with the Gospel for the Day, in which Jesus declares to the disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
Romans 4:16-25 (C)
The first portion of this text (verses 13-18) was the second reading for Proper 5 (the Third Sunday after Pentecost) of Series/Cycle A, and most of the passage was the Roman Catholic and Lutheran reading for the same Sunday. See the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, for comments and suggestions.
Romans 5:1-11 (L)
The Roman Catholic, the Episcopal, and the Common lectionaries employ this selection as the second reading for the Third Sunday in Lent, Series/Cycle A. Comments may be found in the appropriate Lectionary Preaching Workbook.
Romans 8:31-34 (R); 8:31-39 (E)
The LBW lectionary used this text last Sunday, the First Sunday in Lent. "Liturgical adjustments" will have to be made by the pastor, as part of the pastoral exegetical process, to apply the commentary and sermon suggestions to the Second Sunday in Lent.
Mark 8:31-38 (E, L, C)
This Gospel is part of the incident in which Jesus, while on the way to the "village of Caesarea Philippi," asked two questions: First, "Who do men say that I am?" and second, "Who do you say that I am?" It was good old Peter who blurted out, "You are the Christ." Then, after charging them to tell no one, Jesus told them about his impending betrayal, suffering, death, and resurrection that would take place in Jerusalem. Peter wouldn't hear any of that and attempted to convince Jesus that this shouldn't happen. Thus the rebuke from Christ, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." Jesus' mind was made up; he was convinced that this was God's will for him and nothing could change his mind - not even Satan himself. Satan, in the person of Peter, was put down and totally defeated by Jesus once again. At the end of the story, Jesus reveals the twist in the story. Anyone who wants to be a disciple of Jesus has to be as totally commited to Christ and his mission as was Jesus himself. The followers of Jesus have to take up their crosses - what ever they may be - and serve the Lord.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 8:31-38 (E, L, C) - "Another Defeat for the Devil."
(Note: A sermon for this Sunday in The Tree; the Tomb, and the Trumpet concentrates on the first part of the text. This sermon is grounded in Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" and his denunciation of Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.")
Peter's quick tongue had a way of getting him into trouble; it surely did on the occasion when Jesus said to him, "Who do you say that I am?" He blurted out, "You are the Christ." He would have been fine, had he stopped at that point and held his peace when Jesus told the disciples that he was going to die in Jerusalem. Mark doesn't say what he said in response to the information Jesus imparted to them, but he obviously attempted to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem, at least from doing anything in public that would stir up the religious leaders and the temple priests. His argument, whatever it was, must have been persuasive. Why else would Jesus say to him, "Get behind me, Satan?" What an awful putdown to be called "Satan" by his teacher and master. That must have cut Peter to the quick.
1. Jesus was tempted to turn his back upon Jerusalem when Peter tried to get him to change his mind. The temptation must have been as real as when Jesus was enticed by Satan in the wilderness to abandon the will and plan of God and simply "to do his own thing." Satan never gives up!
2. Jesus knew that there would be no service without sacrifice. Total commitment and complete obedience to God were requisite to the successful completion of his mission on earth - even if he had to sacrifice his life in the endeavor.
3. Jesus meant it when he said, "Get behind me, Satan, "for the Evil One was, in his subtle manner, attempting to get to him. (C. S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters offers a number of illustrations on subtle temptation. That's what the whole book is about, in a sense.)
4. Satan is always defeated when people simply say, "Get behind me, Satan." He has to be conquered again and again, and he can be, because he knows that he will never conquer Jesus and those who believe in him.
5. The final defeat of Satan came when Jesus died on the cross. Only then was the victory over Satan, which began in the wilderness, complete.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Genesis 17:1-10, 15-19 (C) - "A Covenant, a Child, and a Cross."
1. The Covenant - the Lord would be their God and they would be his people - forever.
2. The Child - promised by the Lord God and given a name by God himself. This is a preview of Christmas and the prophesy of Isaiah, "Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end...."
3. It took another child and a cross to renew the covenant and to establish and maintain peace once and for all. There was no other way.
4. Christ died to establish a new Covenant between God and his people. That Covenant is made personal in our baptism, where we are sealed into that relationship by the Holy Spirit and "marked with the cross of Christ forever."
Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 (R); 22:1-14 (E)
See the comments and suggestions for last Sunday, the First Sunday in Lent, Cycle/Series A (LBW), which may be reworked for preaching on the Second Sunday in Lent.
Genesis 28:10-17 (18-22) (L) - "From Pillow to Pillar to Post."
1. A stone pillow gave Jacob a dream instead of a headache. He saw a ladder that stretched all the way to heaven, on which angels descended and ascended. God, he believed, was coming to him in a special way and trying to tell him something.
2. The pillow became a pillar for Jacob recognized the reality of the dream and that special "presence" in that place. "This is no other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." So he promised to "let God be God," and be faithful to him as long as he lived.
3. The pillar was replaced by a post. Christ destroyed the religion of the temple, the old covenant that had beeen corrupted by people, and in its place put up a post - from whose crossbar he hung to renew the covenant and a right relationship between God and his creatures.
4. From pillow to pillar to post - that is the nature, according to this story, which reaches its climax in the New Testament, of our Lenten pilgrimage. And at the end of it, the post pries open the tomb, taking us - with Jesus - from death to life eternal.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, Romans 4:16-25 (C)
The Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5) Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, has comments and a sermon suggestion for this text. See, also, the material for the Second Sunday in Lent, Cycle A, which overlaps the beginning of this text.
Romans 5:1-11 (L)
This text was explored and developed into a sermon suggestion for the Third Sunday in Lent (R, E, C), in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
Romans 8:31-34 (R); 8:31-39 (E)
The Lutheran lectionary has this text on the First Sunday in Lent, Cycle B. Comments and sermon suggestions apply to this Sunday, too.
The Prayer of the Day
The traditional collect for this Sunday speaks to the human condition and what Luther would have called "the bondage of the will." The Episcopal prayer for this Sunday strikes the note common to most contemporary "remembrance" collects:
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and holdfast the unchangeable truth ofyour Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God for ever and ever.
The LBW contains two prayers for this day; the first is quite similar to the Book of Common Prayer collect, while the second was written to complement the John 4 Gospel in Series/Cycle A.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 16, or 16:5-11 (E) - This is a psalm that speaks to the passion of the Lord:
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord, my God above all other" ... I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not fall. My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices. My body also shall rest in hope. For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the pit ... You will show me the path of life. (emphasis mine)
It picks up and highlights the emphasis on Jesus' impending suffering and death in the Mark 8 Gospel, and the "remembrance" theme of the day.
Psalm 115:1, 9-18 (L) - Put into the context of this day, this could be the cry of a person who remembers the goodness - the love and faithfulness - of God and his deliverance from an impossible situation, even sin and death. Because this individual remembers the thercies of God, he/she turns to the Lord and praises him for the gracious gifts of God that have been received. Those who remember the mercies of the Lord God in Jesus Christ ought to, spontaneously, "bless the Lord, from this time forth for evermore. Hallelujah."
Psalm 116:10, 15-19 (R) - The predicament that Abraham and Isaac found themselves in had to be in mind of the people who selected this psalm for Remembrance Sunday. The words of the psalm could have been spoken by Isaac:
I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication.... The cords of death entangled me; the grip of the grave took hold of me; I came to grief and sorrow.... Turn again to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has treated you well. For you have rescued my life from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.
A theologically informed and faithful Christian might say the same thing.
The Psalm Prayer - Psalm 116 (LBW)
God of power and mercy, through the Passion and resurrection of your Son you have freed us from the bonds of death and the anguish of separation from you. Be with us on our pilgrimage, and help us offer you a sacrifice of praise, fulfill our vows, and glorify you in the presence of all your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 (R); 22:1-14 (E)
The Lutheran lectionary appointed this reading for last Sunday, the First Sunday in Lent, Series/Cycle B. Commentary may be found there.
Genesis 17:1-10, 15-19 (C)
The story of God's visit to Abram, when he was ninety-nine years old, begins with a change in name from Abram to Abraham, and the promise of an "everlasting covenant" between God and Abraham and his offspring. God also changes the name of Abraham's wife from Sarai to Sarah, but God made Abraham laugh when he declared that he and Sarah would have a son, who would be named Isaac. Abraham was virtually 100 years old and Sarah was ninety when God informed them of the impending birth of a special child, who would be the inheritor of the covenant the Lord made with Abraham. This is one of the great stories of faith, which needs to be remembered, particularly in the perspective of the new covenant God made with the world in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 28:10-17 (18-22) (L)
There seems to be virtually no connection between this reading, which is another great story of faith, and the Gospel for the Day (Mark 8:31-38). It would actually complement the Roman Catholic choice of Mark 9:2-10, the Transfiguration story, much better than Mark 8. The family story of Jacob's dream, as he camped out at night on the journey from Beersheba to Haran, tells about the ladder from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending it - and God's promise to keep and bless Jacob wherever he went. Jacob's reply on awakening from sleep is so familiar and so true to the human situation: "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it.... How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." The rock on which Jacob had pillowed his head during the night became the pillar of God's house in that place. Jacob did, in his own way, what Peter had suggested to Jesus on the mount of the Transfiguration, "Let us make here three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." Commitment to God is the one theme that emerges from this text and makes contact with the Gospel for the Day, in which Jesus declares to the disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
Romans 4:16-25 (C)
The first portion of this text (verses 13-18) was the second reading for Proper 5 (the Third Sunday after Pentecost) of Series/Cycle A, and most of the passage was the Roman Catholic and Lutheran reading for the same Sunday. See the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, for comments and suggestions.
Romans 5:1-11 (L)
The Roman Catholic, the Episcopal, and the Common lectionaries employ this selection as the second reading for the Third Sunday in Lent, Series/Cycle A. Comments may be found in the appropriate Lectionary Preaching Workbook.
Romans 8:31-34 (R); 8:31-39 (E)
The LBW lectionary used this text last Sunday, the First Sunday in Lent. "Liturgical adjustments" will have to be made by the pastor, as part of the pastoral exegetical process, to apply the commentary and sermon suggestions to the Second Sunday in Lent.
Mark 8:31-38 (E, L, C)
This Gospel is part of the incident in which Jesus, while on the way to the "village of Caesarea Philippi," asked two questions: First, "Who do men say that I am?" and second, "Who do you say that I am?" It was good old Peter who blurted out, "You are the Christ." Then, after charging them to tell no one, Jesus told them about his impending betrayal, suffering, death, and resurrection that would take place in Jerusalem. Peter wouldn't hear any of that and attempted to convince Jesus that this shouldn't happen. Thus the rebuke from Christ, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." Jesus' mind was made up; he was convinced that this was God's will for him and nothing could change his mind - not even Satan himself. Satan, in the person of Peter, was put down and totally defeated by Jesus once again. At the end of the story, Jesus reveals the twist in the story. Anyone who wants to be a disciple of Jesus has to be as totally commited to Christ and his mission as was Jesus himself. The followers of Jesus have to take up their crosses - what ever they may be - and serve the Lord.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 8:31-38 (E, L, C) - "Another Defeat for the Devil."
(Note: A sermon for this Sunday in The Tree; the Tomb, and the Trumpet concentrates on the first part of the text. This sermon is grounded in Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" and his denunciation of Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.")
Peter's quick tongue had a way of getting him into trouble; it surely did on the occasion when Jesus said to him, "Who do you say that I am?" He blurted out, "You are the Christ." He would have been fine, had he stopped at that point and held his peace when Jesus told the disciples that he was going to die in Jerusalem. Mark doesn't say what he said in response to the information Jesus imparted to them, but he obviously attempted to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem, at least from doing anything in public that would stir up the religious leaders and the temple priests. His argument, whatever it was, must have been persuasive. Why else would Jesus say to him, "Get behind me, Satan?" What an awful putdown to be called "Satan" by his teacher and master. That must have cut Peter to the quick.
1. Jesus was tempted to turn his back upon Jerusalem when Peter tried to get him to change his mind. The temptation must have been as real as when Jesus was enticed by Satan in the wilderness to abandon the will and plan of God and simply "to do his own thing." Satan never gives up!
2. Jesus knew that there would be no service without sacrifice. Total commitment and complete obedience to God were requisite to the successful completion of his mission on earth - even if he had to sacrifice his life in the endeavor.
3. Jesus meant it when he said, "Get behind me, Satan, "for the Evil One was, in his subtle manner, attempting to get to him. (C. S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters offers a number of illustrations on subtle temptation. That's what the whole book is about, in a sense.)
4. Satan is always defeated when people simply say, "Get behind me, Satan." He has to be conquered again and again, and he can be, because he knows that he will never conquer Jesus and those who believe in him.
5. The final defeat of Satan came when Jesus died on the cross. Only then was the victory over Satan, which began in the wilderness, complete.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Genesis 17:1-10, 15-19 (C) - "A Covenant, a Child, and a Cross."
1. The Covenant - the Lord would be their God and they would be his people - forever.
2. The Child - promised by the Lord God and given a name by God himself. This is a preview of Christmas and the prophesy of Isaiah, "Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end...."
3. It took another child and a cross to renew the covenant and to establish and maintain peace once and for all. There was no other way.
4. Christ died to establish a new Covenant between God and his people. That Covenant is made personal in our baptism, where we are sealed into that relationship by the Holy Spirit and "marked with the cross of Christ forever."
Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 (R); 22:1-14 (E)
See the comments and suggestions for last Sunday, the First Sunday in Lent, Cycle/Series A (LBW), which may be reworked for preaching on the Second Sunday in Lent.
Genesis 28:10-17 (18-22) (L) - "From Pillow to Pillar to Post."
1. A stone pillow gave Jacob a dream instead of a headache. He saw a ladder that stretched all the way to heaven, on which angels descended and ascended. God, he believed, was coming to him in a special way and trying to tell him something.
2. The pillow became a pillar for Jacob recognized the reality of the dream and that special "presence" in that place. "This is no other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." So he promised to "let God be God," and be faithful to him as long as he lived.
3. The pillar was replaced by a post. Christ destroyed the religion of the temple, the old covenant that had beeen corrupted by people, and in its place put up a post - from whose crossbar he hung to renew the covenant and a right relationship between God and his creatures.
4. From pillow to pillar to post - that is the nature, according to this story, which reaches its climax in the New Testament, of our Lenten pilgrimage. And at the end of it, the post pries open the tomb, taking us - with Jesus - from death to life eternal.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, Romans 4:16-25 (C)
The Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5) Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, has comments and a sermon suggestion for this text. See, also, the material for the Second Sunday in Lent, Cycle A, which overlaps the beginning of this text.
Romans 5:1-11 (L)
This text was explored and developed into a sermon suggestion for the Third Sunday in Lent (R, E, C), in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
Romans 8:31-34 (R); 8:31-39 (E)
The Lutheran lectionary has this text on the First Sunday in Lent, Cycle B. Comments and sermon suggestions apply to this Sunday, too.
