Second Sunday In Lent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle C
The Church Year Theological Clue
The Second Sunday in Lent reminds the people of God, who gather for worship this day, that they are following Jesus to Jerusalem, according to the Roman Catholic ORDO, or, in the other lectionaries, are given a preview of what is going to happen in the Holy City. Almost any Gospel for the Day that is selected from St. Luke, which would fit into the liturgical/theological scheme of Lent, will have some sort of orientation to Jerusalem; Luke's whole gospel makes it absolutely clear that Jesus' ministry will reach its climax in the Holy City. This is so because Luke, writing after the resurrection, of course, really comprehends what Jesus was to do in Jerusalem on behalf of sinful humanity, and he actually believes that the crucified and risen Christ is the Lord. All of this might explain some of the differences in the readings for the day, which see complete agreement on the second reading, and agreement on the first reading in three of the four lectionaries, and the pairing of these readings with completely different gospels. This much is clear; the church is "going up to Jerusalem," and there will witness, through the word, Jesus' death for the forgiveness of sin and his resurrection which tells the world that death has been overcome by the power of God.
The Prayer Of The Day
The Book Of Common Prayer provides, as it does for most Sundays, a single collect to be used as the Prayer of the Day. The Lutheran Book Of Worship supplies two prayers in something of a reverse order; the second prayer, which begins: "God our Father, your Son once welcomed an outcast woman because of her faith ...," really points to the Gospel for the Day in Cycle A ("the woman at the well"). The first listed prayer, subsequently, has to do double-duty on the Second Sunday in Lent, Cycles B and C. The preacher will have to judge for him/herself if it is adequate for the liturgical and biblical themes of the day. It reads: "Heavenly Father, it is your glory always to have mercy. Bring back all who have erred and strayed from your ways; lead them again to embrace in faith the truth of your Word and to hold it fast; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."
One is tempted to compare this contemporary collect with the traditional prayer for reminiscere, "Remembrance Sunday," as this Sunday used to be called. There is a bit more of remembering the grace of God and throwing ourselves upon his mercy in this collect: "O God, who seest that of ourselves we have no strength: Keep us both outwardly and inwardly; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."
The Psalm For The Day
Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14 (RC) 10-18 (E) - This psalm is another one of those psalms that finds multiple use in the lectionary and liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. (The Lutheran lectionary appoints it for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Cycle A.) It would serve quite well as a Psalm of the Passion of our Lord, and it might function better when it is connected to the Gospel of St. John, but it does join together the first and second readings with verse 17, "What if I had not believed that I should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!" The Book Of Common Prayer uses those portions of the psalm that the ORDO employs on the Third Sunday of the Year (A) and the Seventh Sunday of Easter (also, A), highlighting the "light" theme of the gospel and, especially, the passion motif ("For in the days of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter") which belongs to Holy Week.
Psalm 42:1-7, 11-15 (L) - The Book Of Common Prayer appoints this psalm for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B, to speak to the situation of the leper in the Gospel for the Day. It also fits into Lent and could very well be a lament of the Lord as he hung on the cross and cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Verses 1 1-13 tend to intensify the "passion" theme (for example, "While my bones are being broken, my enemies mock me to my face; all day long they mock me and say to me, 'Where now is your God?' " The last verse is an excellent exhortation for this Sunday: "Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance and my God."
The Readings
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 (E, C); 15:5-12, 17-18 (RC) - On some Sundays it appears that the first reading harmonizes with the second reading in such a way that it stops short of the Gospel for the Day. At least one theme is built into, and basic to, the first two readings: "Trust in God and the precious promises of his word." In Genesis 15, God makes two promises to Abram: Namely and first, that he will have a son and numerous progeny - a "people" - and, second, that he will give Abram's offspring a land to live in. These promises are sealed by a covenant that the Lord God made with Abram and his people in the last two verses of the reading. Jesus, called the Son of David in the New Testament, is also a son of Abram/Abraham and has to be numbered among these people, but he is also the greatest of them and is Lord of all. The church is his "people" and his covenant with the people of God is his death and resurrection.
Jeremiah 26:8-15 (L) - God warned the city of Jerusalem, through the prophet Jeremiah, of impending destruction because of its continued disobedience and sin. His prophecy seemed like heresy to the "priests and the prophets," so much so that they called for his death. When the "princes of Judah and all the people" learned that Jeremiah spoke at the express command of God, they told the "priests and the prophets" that he did not "deserve the sentence of death," for prophesying against the city. And although he had put himself in their hands, the threat of this death sentence was lifted because the "princes and all the people" knew that it was God himself who was speaking to them. The reading points to the (Lutheran lectionary) Gospel for the Day, which contains Jesus' lament for Jerusalem.
Philippians 3:17--4:1 (RC, E, L, C) - As happens too many times, when one compares the readings that the several churches have selected for any given Sunday, it appears that some sort of "liturgical lottery" existed by which the readings were just "pulled out of a hat" and set down on a given Sunday. This reading might be read on the other side of Good Friday and Easter, possibly at Pentecost or even toward the end of it, mainly because it deals with the hope of those who wait and "stand firm in the Lord." In "that day," when Christ comes in glory, his people will enter into a whole new realm of existence. Paul says that Jesus Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body." So, Christians should "stand firm" and trust the Lord, whose resurrection is our assurance of his return and a new existence.
Luke 9:28-36 (RC) - This gospel was read on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, The Transfiguration, in the Episcopal and Lutheran congregations, as well as the churches using the Common lectionary. Comments are to be found on that Sunday. The "departure" theme of Jesus' death at Calvary becomes even more prominent when this gospel is read during Lent.
Luke 13:(22-30) 31-35 (C); 13:31-35 (L, C) - In this gospel, there is something of a palimpsest, as though the same scroll were used and Jeremiah's name and story were written over by St. Luke as he spells out Jesus' self-discipline as a prophet who speaks for God, as Jeremiah did, and puts himself in the hands of the religious leaders and allows them to do with him what they will. He ignored the warning of the Pharisees, informing him of Herod's intention to kill him. He countered their words with his own indictment of the evil "fox" Herod, and went on to raise his lament for Jerusalem and the people of God. This is one of the times that he cast his work in a feminine image, saying, "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings ..." He prophesied that the people of Jerusalem would not see him again until they would confess him as Lord of all, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" The difference between Jeremiah and Jesus does not come out at this point; it emerges at the cross, for the leaders and the people called for Jesus' death and he was nailed to a tree until dead.
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 13:31-35 (E, L, C) - "On Sticks And Stones. " - In a sermon included in The Riverside Preachers and dedicated to the late Harry Emerson Fosdick, William Sloane Coffin, Jr. said: "In Browning's The Ring And The Book, Pompilia says of her friend, 'Through such souls alone, God stooping shows sufficient of his light for us in the darkness to rise by.' "
He continued: "It is marvelous that in every generation God raises up men and women with visions larger than their time. These are people who are for truth, no matter who tells it; for justice, no matter who's against it. Like God, they carry on a lover's quarrel with the world. It is not a grudge fight, mind you. If they are against evil, it is only because they so love the good. And if they say the present situation smells to heaven, it is only because they hold such a bright view of the future ... One such person was Harry Emerson Fosdick." Coffin saw Fosdick as a prophetic voice, who spoke out on every issue that was important, regardless of the consequences. Dr. Coffin might have said, "He modeled his life and ministry after that of Jesus Christ (or Jeremiah)."
1. Most people would "back off," if they were informed that their words or actions had offended the "powers that be" and, especially, if their lives were endangered. "Sticks and stones will break my bones" isn't just kid talk, you know.
2. Jesus was different; he was like the true prophets, saying it "as it is," regardless of the consequences. He had to go up to Jerusalem and he had to say what he said, whatever the cost might be to himself. And "sticks and stones could break his bones."
3. And he paid the price for speaking out and calling upon people to hear the good news he brought them, telling them that God's kingdom was at hand. They liked things just the way they were - who doesn't and they let him know in no uncertain terms. "Crucify him!" was their response to the gospel he preached to them. Only a "stick" was needed to kill Jesus - no stones or broken bones.
4. As we move through Lent, it becomes increasingly clear to us that Jesus "got what he asked for" - not "what he really deserved" - because that was a respectful hearing and a joyful response from people he came to save. He got a "stick." At least they didn't throw stones and, indeed, the "names must have hurt him."
5. Is it any different today with you and me? Does Jesus get a real hearing with us or "sticks and stones" and "names that really hurt him?"
Luke 9:28-36 (RC) - A sermon suggestion is included with the materials for The Transfiguration of our Lord, the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany.
Genesis 15:1-2, 17-18 (E, C); 15:5-12, 17-18 (RC) - "Promises, Promises- God's."
1. God makes promises to his people; he has since the beginning of time, just as he did with Abram.
2. God always keeps his promises, just as he did with Abram, giving him a son and offspring and promising a land in which his people might live.
3. And God promised a Savior, a Messiah, who would bring new life and hope to his own people.
4. He kept that promise at the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb, despite the cost to him and his Son, and he gives new life to all believers.
Jeremiah 26:8-15 - "Close Call."
1. Jeremiah had a close call, a brush with death, when he preached repentance. The religious leaders called for his death.
2. The belief, held by the "princes and the people," that he was truly a prophet sent by God and spoke God's Word to them, saved him from death.
3. Oddly enough, it was people and priests who knew that Jesus was indeed a prophet of the Lord, maybe the Messiah, but they shouted, "Crucify him!" And they did.
4. God allowed it to happen! There would be no close call for Jesus, only a cruel cross and death.
5. He died to save us! Imagine that and bow down and worship him, the crucified and risen Lord.
Philippians 3:17--4:1 - "Waiting For Jesus - With Tears In His Eyes."
1. The hope of the church is the expectation that the Lord Jesus will return at the end of time and receive his own into God's everlasting kingdom.
2. With Paul, we wait for Christ's coming "with tears in our eyes," because people we know and love have no time for Christ and the church. (A familiar story: A brilliant young man told me, when asked about the baptism of his baby, that he and his wife might have their baby baptized. "It is," he said, "something of a tradition in both of our families." By that he meant that there was nothing more to it than a nice rite to experience, plus the fact that it would placate parents who might otherwise be hurt if the baby were not baptized. He and his wife, who had lived together for a couple of years before they were married, are good people, valuable members of society, and could be to the church but the truth of the matter is that they were much too busy with this life to hear any message about eternal life. They couldn't "wait for the Lord.")
3. Directed by the Word and the Spirit, it is time to wipe away our tears and proclaim the good news to the entire world, so that all may hear and believe that Jesus is Lord forever.
The Second Sunday in Lent reminds the people of God, who gather for worship this day, that they are following Jesus to Jerusalem, according to the Roman Catholic ORDO, or, in the other lectionaries, are given a preview of what is going to happen in the Holy City. Almost any Gospel for the Day that is selected from St. Luke, which would fit into the liturgical/theological scheme of Lent, will have some sort of orientation to Jerusalem; Luke's whole gospel makes it absolutely clear that Jesus' ministry will reach its climax in the Holy City. This is so because Luke, writing after the resurrection, of course, really comprehends what Jesus was to do in Jerusalem on behalf of sinful humanity, and he actually believes that the crucified and risen Christ is the Lord. All of this might explain some of the differences in the readings for the day, which see complete agreement on the second reading, and agreement on the first reading in three of the four lectionaries, and the pairing of these readings with completely different gospels. This much is clear; the church is "going up to Jerusalem," and there will witness, through the word, Jesus' death for the forgiveness of sin and his resurrection which tells the world that death has been overcome by the power of God.
The Prayer Of The Day
The Book Of Common Prayer provides, as it does for most Sundays, a single collect to be used as the Prayer of the Day. The Lutheran Book Of Worship supplies two prayers in something of a reverse order; the second prayer, which begins: "God our Father, your Son once welcomed an outcast woman because of her faith ...," really points to the Gospel for the Day in Cycle A ("the woman at the well"). The first listed prayer, subsequently, has to do double-duty on the Second Sunday in Lent, Cycles B and C. The preacher will have to judge for him/herself if it is adequate for the liturgical and biblical themes of the day. It reads: "Heavenly Father, it is your glory always to have mercy. Bring back all who have erred and strayed from your ways; lead them again to embrace in faith the truth of your Word and to hold it fast; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."
One is tempted to compare this contemporary collect with the traditional prayer for reminiscere, "Remembrance Sunday," as this Sunday used to be called. There is a bit more of remembering the grace of God and throwing ourselves upon his mercy in this collect: "O God, who seest that of ourselves we have no strength: Keep us both outwardly and inwardly; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."
The Psalm For The Day
Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14 (RC) 10-18 (E) - This psalm is another one of those psalms that finds multiple use in the lectionary and liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. (The Lutheran lectionary appoints it for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Cycle A.) It would serve quite well as a Psalm of the Passion of our Lord, and it might function better when it is connected to the Gospel of St. John, but it does join together the first and second readings with verse 17, "What if I had not believed that I should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!" The Book Of Common Prayer uses those portions of the psalm that the ORDO employs on the Third Sunday of the Year (A) and the Seventh Sunday of Easter (also, A), highlighting the "light" theme of the gospel and, especially, the passion motif ("For in the days of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter") which belongs to Holy Week.
Psalm 42:1-7, 11-15 (L) - The Book Of Common Prayer appoints this psalm for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B, to speak to the situation of the leper in the Gospel for the Day. It also fits into Lent and could very well be a lament of the Lord as he hung on the cross and cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Verses 1 1-13 tend to intensify the "passion" theme (for example, "While my bones are being broken, my enemies mock me to my face; all day long they mock me and say to me, 'Where now is your God?' " The last verse is an excellent exhortation for this Sunday: "Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance and my God."
The Readings
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 (E, C); 15:5-12, 17-18 (RC) - On some Sundays it appears that the first reading harmonizes with the second reading in such a way that it stops short of the Gospel for the Day. At least one theme is built into, and basic to, the first two readings: "Trust in God and the precious promises of his word." In Genesis 15, God makes two promises to Abram: Namely and first, that he will have a son and numerous progeny - a "people" - and, second, that he will give Abram's offspring a land to live in. These promises are sealed by a covenant that the Lord God made with Abram and his people in the last two verses of the reading. Jesus, called the Son of David in the New Testament, is also a son of Abram/Abraham and has to be numbered among these people, but he is also the greatest of them and is Lord of all. The church is his "people" and his covenant with the people of God is his death and resurrection.
Jeremiah 26:8-15 (L) - God warned the city of Jerusalem, through the prophet Jeremiah, of impending destruction because of its continued disobedience and sin. His prophecy seemed like heresy to the "priests and the prophets," so much so that they called for his death. When the "princes of Judah and all the people" learned that Jeremiah spoke at the express command of God, they told the "priests and the prophets" that he did not "deserve the sentence of death," for prophesying against the city. And although he had put himself in their hands, the threat of this death sentence was lifted because the "princes and all the people" knew that it was God himself who was speaking to them. The reading points to the (Lutheran lectionary) Gospel for the Day, which contains Jesus' lament for Jerusalem.
Philippians 3:17--4:1 (RC, E, L, C) - As happens too many times, when one compares the readings that the several churches have selected for any given Sunday, it appears that some sort of "liturgical lottery" existed by which the readings were just "pulled out of a hat" and set down on a given Sunday. This reading might be read on the other side of Good Friday and Easter, possibly at Pentecost or even toward the end of it, mainly because it deals with the hope of those who wait and "stand firm in the Lord." In "that day," when Christ comes in glory, his people will enter into a whole new realm of existence. Paul says that Jesus Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body." So, Christians should "stand firm" and trust the Lord, whose resurrection is our assurance of his return and a new existence.
Luke 9:28-36 (RC) - This gospel was read on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, The Transfiguration, in the Episcopal and Lutheran congregations, as well as the churches using the Common lectionary. Comments are to be found on that Sunday. The "departure" theme of Jesus' death at Calvary becomes even more prominent when this gospel is read during Lent.
Luke 13:(22-30) 31-35 (C); 13:31-35 (L, C) - In this gospel, there is something of a palimpsest, as though the same scroll were used and Jeremiah's name and story were written over by St. Luke as he spells out Jesus' self-discipline as a prophet who speaks for God, as Jeremiah did, and puts himself in the hands of the religious leaders and allows them to do with him what they will. He ignored the warning of the Pharisees, informing him of Herod's intention to kill him. He countered their words with his own indictment of the evil "fox" Herod, and went on to raise his lament for Jerusalem and the people of God. This is one of the times that he cast his work in a feminine image, saying, "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings ..." He prophesied that the people of Jerusalem would not see him again until they would confess him as Lord of all, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" The difference between Jeremiah and Jesus does not come out at this point; it emerges at the cross, for the leaders and the people called for Jesus' death and he was nailed to a tree until dead.
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 13:31-35 (E, L, C) - "On Sticks And Stones. " - In a sermon included in The Riverside Preachers and dedicated to the late Harry Emerson Fosdick, William Sloane Coffin, Jr. said: "In Browning's The Ring And The Book, Pompilia says of her friend, 'Through such souls alone, God stooping shows sufficient of his light for us in the darkness to rise by.' "
He continued: "It is marvelous that in every generation God raises up men and women with visions larger than their time. These are people who are for truth, no matter who tells it; for justice, no matter who's against it. Like God, they carry on a lover's quarrel with the world. It is not a grudge fight, mind you. If they are against evil, it is only because they so love the good. And if they say the present situation smells to heaven, it is only because they hold such a bright view of the future ... One such person was Harry Emerson Fosdick." Coffin saw Fosdick as a prophetic voice, who spoke out on every issue that was important, regardless of the consequences. Dr. Coffin might have said, "He modeled his life and ministry after that of Jesus Christ (or Jeremiah)."
1. Most people would "back off," if they were informed that their words or actions had offended the "powers that be" and, especially, if their lives were endangered. "Sticks and stones will break my bones" isn't just kid talk, you know.
2. Jesus was different; he was like the true prophets, saying it "as it is," regardless of the consequences. He had to go up to Jerusalem and he had to say what he said, whatever the cost might be to himself. And "sticks and stones could break his bones."
3. And he paid the price for speaking out and calling upon people to hear the good news he brought them, telling them that God's kingdom was at hand. They liked things just the way they were - who doesn't and they let him know in no uncertain terms. "Crucify him!" was their response to the gospel he preached to them. Only a "stick" was needed to kill Jesus - no stones or broken bones.
4. As we move through Lent, it becomes increasingly clear to us that Jesus "got what he asked for" - not "what he really deserved" - because that was a respectful hearing and a joyful response from people he came to save. He got a "stick." At least they didn't throw stones and, indeed, the "names must have hurt him."
5. Is it any different today with you and me? Does Jesus get a real hearing with us or "sticks and stones" and "names that really hurt him?"
Luke 9:28-36 (RC) - A sermon suggestion is included with the materials for The Transfiguration of our Lord, the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany.
Genesis 15:1-2, 17-18 (E, C); 15:5-12, 17-18 (RC) - "Promises, Promises- God's."
1. God makes promises to his people; he has since the beginning of time, just as he did with Abram.
2. God always keeps his promises, just as he did with Abram, giving him a son and offspring and promising a land in which his people might live.
3. And God promised a Savior, a Messiah, who would bring new life and hope to his own people.
4. He kept that promise at the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb, despite the cost to him and his Son, and he gives new life to all believers.
Jeremiah 26:8-15 - "Close Call."
1. Jeremiah had a close call, a brush with death, when he preached repentance. The religious leaders called for his death.
2. The belief, held by the "princes and the people," that he was truly a prophet sent by God and spoke God's Word to them, saved him from death.
3. Oddly enough, it was people and priests who knew that Jesus was indeed a prophet of the Lord, maybe the Messiah, but they shouted, "Crucify him!" And they did.
4. God allowed it to happen! There would be no close call for Jesus, only a cruel cross and death.
5. He died to save us! Imagine that and bow down and worship him, the crucified and risen Lord.
Philippians 3:17--4:1 - "Waiting For Jesus - With Tears In His Eyes."
1. The hope of the church is the expectation that the Lord Jesus will return at the end of time and receive his own into God's everlasting kingdom.
2. With Paul, we wait for Christ's coming "with tears in our eyes," because people we know and love have no time for Christ and the church. (A familiar story: A brilliant young man told me, when asked about the baptism of his baby, that he and his wife might have their baby baptized. "It is," he said, "something of a tradition in both of our families." By that he meant that there was nothing more to it than a nice rite to experience, plus the fact that it would placate parents who might otherwise be hurt if the baby were not baptized. He and his wife, who had lived together for a couple of years before they were married, are good people, valuable members of society, and could be to the church but the truth of the matter is that they were much too busy with this life to hear any message about eternal life. They couldn't "wait for the Lord.")
3. Directed by the Word and the Spirit, it is time to wipe away our tears and proclaim the good news to the entire world, so that all may hear and believe that Jesus is Lord forever.
