The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on Christmas Eve

The Revised Common Lectionary isn't just a guide to Scripture passages for Sunday worship. It also has suggested scriptures for other important days on the church calendar. Sometimes these special days are called "festivals." Christmas Eve is one such "festival" celebrated with a special worship gathering by many Presbyterian churches. As such, I thought it might be helpful to use this Friday's slot (the last on which I'll be featuring "Reflectionary" posts for the foreseeable future) to discuss the scripture passages for Christmas Eve worship. These passages are the same every year, as opposed to following the three-year cycle of most Revised Common Lectionary readings. As usual, all links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).

Long-time and especially dedicated readers among you may recognize most of the text here as being identical to the podcast version I've linked to in the past (although there I'm still using the now-defunct TNIV). If you are such a person, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuing support. And to everyone, a very Merry Christmas!
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on December 18th, 2011

Here are the passages for December 18, 2011, the 4th Sunday in Advent (Year B). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).

As I have been doing all through Advent, I'd like to invite readers to consider how the themes of Advent are advanced by reading these passages this week.
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on December 11th, 2011

Here are the passages for December 11, 2011, the 3rd Sunday in Advent (Year B). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on December 4th, 2011

Here are the passages for December 4, 2011, the 2nd Sunday in Advent (Year B). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).

One big question for all the passages below: How are the themes of Advent (and ask yourself "What are the themes of Advent?" if that helps) advanced by reading these passages this week?
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on November 27th, 2011

Here are the passages for November 27, 2011, the 1st Sunday in Advent (The first Sunday of the liturgical calendar, so we're now in Year B of the lectionary cycle). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).

Isaiah 64:1-9

• People often associate the season of Advent with Christmas. And rightly so, given that it's the four Sundays immediately preceding the Christmas holiday, and many verses to be read during this season will involve explicitly Messianic promises or the prelude to the story of Jesus' birth. But there's more to the Advent season than just the story of a baby being born. Why do you think this passage is included during this time of year?
  

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

• It may not mean anything, but I'm struck by the inclusion of the possessive pronoun "my" in verse 4, in the midst of Paul's standard greeting (he gives thanks to God for his audience in several epistles, often including this pronoun). Why is this possessive pronoun included? Does Paul doubt that his audience also considers God "their" God?
  

Mark 13:24-37

• This passage certainly has little to do with the birth of the baby Jesus (which, of course, isn't covered in the gospel according to Mark at all, anyway)! As I said before, Advent isn't just a time for remembering that story. The inclusion of passages like this demonstrate that it also a time to reflect on Jesus' second coming.
  
• Or does it? When Jesus says "I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen," can he be talking about his return? Or does he mean something by "this generation" other than the lifetimes of those humans hearing his words?
• What does it mean about Jesus that he says even "the Son" (presumably referring to himself, although I'm curious to hear if there's another interpretation) doesn't know when these things will take place?
• Might this passage have any meaningful connection to the parable we read a few weeks ago, or is it talking about something entirely different?
  

The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on November 20th, 2011

Here are the passages for November 20, 2011, Christ the King Sunday (sometimes referred to as Reign of Christ Sunday). Christ the King Sunday is the final Sunday of the liturgical year (Year A, in this case, on the Revised Common Lectionary). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on November 13th, 2011

Although the Revised Common Lectionary runs on a three-year calendar, differences between years sometimes dictate that there aren't the same number of Sunday observances from one year to another. Thus, as I look at my three-year old writings, I realize that there was no 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time in 2008. The upshot of this is that I am actually writing these reflections with 2011 fully in mind.

Here are the passages for November 13, 2011, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on November 6th, 2011

Here are the passages for November 6, 2011, the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on October 30, 2011

Here are the passages for October 30, 2011, the 31th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on October 23, 2011

For those who've kept track, today's supposed to be the end of the world (less "again" this time and more "still"), according to Harold Camping. After the failure of the May 21st prophecies, the media hasn't said much about the "final end" that was supposed to come today. Although I've really already dealt with that issue back in May, I do want to at least mention the fact in passing.

That done, and since I have every reason to assume we'll all still be around, here are the passages for October 23, 2011, the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on October 16, 2011

Here are the passages for October 16, 2011, the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the TNIV via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on October 9, 2011

Here are the passages for October 9, 2011, the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All Scripture links are to the CEB via BibleGateway.com unless otherwise noted, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the drop-down menu at BibleGateway.com).
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on October 2, 2011

The church I attend uses a Sunday School program based on the "Godly Play" curriculum. When talking with one of the parents/teachers some time ago, one of the things he talked about is how much attention the curriculum pays to the liturgical calendar. Of particular note, he was impressed by how the "green" weeks on the church calendar (what the Revised Common Lectionary calls "Ordinary Time") are instead referred to as the "Good Green Growing Time." This helps the children (and their parents?) to understand that every Sunday is important, and that God is always at work.
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The Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on September 25, 2011

A few years ago, I had a weekly feature here I called "The Reflectionary," which grew out of a podcast project I did for a few months. Basically, I would follow the Revised Common Lectionary—that is, the Bible readings that many churches use for their weekly worship gatherings—and post my own questions and comments as I reflected on each reading.
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Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on Christmas Eve

This podcast file is actually a couple of years old now, and so the web page mentioned at the end (specific to The Reflectionary) is no longer valid. Since taking down that original Reflectionary page, I've had little reason to repost any of these old entries, but the Revised Common Lectionary readings for Christmas Eve are the same every year, and since I no longer have a live link to this file on my blog, it seems appropriate to post it here. The podcast contains comments and questions on the following passages:

• Isaiah 9:2-7
• Titus 2:11-14
• Luke 2:1-20 (some churches will stop at verse 14, but verses 15-20, being optional in the RCL, are included here)
  

The whole podcast is only about 10 minutes long, so you should be able to find a place to fit it into your schedule without too much trouble. Music lovers may appreciate the clips from Handel's Messiah incorporated into the podcast, which are performed by the MIT Concert Choir (I don't know what year). These clips are made available through archive.org and are available for use via a "Creative Commons" license similar to that used by this blog, itself.

Enjoy! As a reminder, I post weekly lectionary ruminations (text only) on Saturdays, over at the Presbyterian Bloggers site.

Reflectionary: A Change of Plans

On Saturday, I announced that the weekly Reflectionary post would be moved to Tuesdays, effective today.

That entry is written, but there's been a change of plans.

Starting this coming Saturday, I will be contributing weekly lectionary reflections (I don't yet know if the Reflectionary title will be retained) to the Presbyterian Bloggers site.

Since I was unaware of this change only a few days ago, an explanation is in order. Last Monday, a post went up asking for a volunteer to contribute "a weekly 'Chewing on the Word: Lectionary Ruminations' on Saturdays." Since the request seemed a bit similar to what I was already doing with The Reflectionary, I sent an e-mail offering my services, and suggesting that the site coordinator check out the work I'd already done to see if it matched what they were looking for.

Meanwhile, I was already considering changing when my weekly post would go up. Transforming Seminarian has a fairly limited readership, dependent upon Google hits as much as word-of-mouth to generate hits. I keep track of the page hits to this site, as well as where viewers found it from. I found that most people who found the Reflectionary posts were finding them via Google, but only after the Sunday worship gathering for which the posts were intended. A Tuesday posting would have given people more time to find the posts before the readings would be used in church. With almost a week having passed since I sent the e-mail to the Presbyterian Bloggers site, and not having heard anything, I decided to go ahead and announce the change.

Yesterday morning, I got an e-mail from the Presbyterian Bloggers site coordinator which said "Let's give it a whirl and see how it goes." Another e-mail, sent at the same time, granted me access to the site, where I found that I'd already been announced as the new contributor of "Weekly Discussion of the Lectionary." Since that site has a larger readership than mine does, the Saturday posting date is much more appropriate.

Since I have no desire to dilute the effectiveness of my contributions before I've even started posting them to the new venue, it seemed best to postpone the entry intended for today, and post it over there on Saturday. See you there!

Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on September 21, 2008

The Reflectionary is a weekly blog entry consisting of questions and comments on readings from the Revised Common Lectionary used at many Christian churches.

Starting September 27th, entries may be found via Presbyterian Bloggers. Each entry features the readings for the following Sunday, in hopes of enhancing the experience of participation during one's regular Sunday worship gathering.

Here are the passages for September 21, 2008, the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the TNIV via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the links at BibleGateway.com).

Exodus 16:2-15

• As I read of the Israelites' grumblings, even to the point of wishing they were back in Egypt (where they were cruelly treated as slaves), I am reminded of how basic a need hunger is. Can you think of any time when you or someone you knew was willing to give up an essential freedom, just in order to be sure that basic needs were being met?
• Moses goes to some lengths to tell the Israelites that their complaints are not so much with him or with his brother Aaron, but with God. Why does God meet the needs of those who complain against God in this instance, rather than punish them for their lack of faith?
  

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

• Often, the Psalms praise God for deeds God has done in the history of Israel. Parts of the Exodus story (including the passage above) are repeated here. How many specific deeds are related? Look at how those deeds are spread across many chapters and books in that story. How often do you see these events retold elsewhere in the Bible? Why does the Bible bother with this repetition?
  

Philippians 1:21-30

• The apostle Paul ponders questions of his own life and death in this passage. Some have argued that, if it weren't for Paul's desire to be a blessing to other people, this passage suggests that it would be just as well for him to die. What would you have to say to such an argument? Why are we as Christians called to live, rather than to just wait for the end?
• What is Paul's attitude toward suffering?
  

Matthew 20:1-16

• Different commentaries and footnotes on the Bible occasionally give differing ideas of what a "denarius" was worth (one decades-old note I saw last week suggested "about twenty cents," which strikes me as low, even accounting for inflation!). Others avoid giving clear modern equivalents, suggesting instead that the denarius was the usual amount paid to a laborer for a day's work. Does this explain why the first group of workers were so willing to go to work for that stated amount (this first group being the only group we are explicitly told was given an exact value for their wages), despite their clear discontent at the end of the story?
• What "wages" do we expect to be paid for service to Jesus? In what ways might we sometimes act like the first group? Who might you be upset to see paid those same "wages"?
  

Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on September 14, 2008

The Reflectionary is a weekly blog entry consisting of questions and comments on readings from the Revised Common Lectionary used at many Christian churches.

A new entry is added each Saturday, and features the readings for the following day, in hopes of enhancing the experience of participation during one's regular Sunday worship gathering.

Here are the passages for September 14, 2008, the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the TNIV via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the links at BibleGateway.com).

Exodus 14:19-31

Psalm 114:1-8 or Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21

• Churches are given the option of choosing either passage for the "Psalm" this week. One of the down-sides to BibleGateway.com is that the site doesn't really know how to handle partial verses, such as that called for with verse 1b in the Exodus passage. The letter "b" indicates that only a part of the verse is to be read as part of the lectionary. In this case, the second part, starting with "I will sing to the LORD."
• Note that the Exodus passage here takes place immediately after the end of the previous passage.
  

Romans 14:1-12

• What does Paul mean when he refers to "weak faith"? What might it mean to truly "accept" a person with such faith?
• Does this passage have anything to say about differences between Christian denominations today? What articles of faith should we hold to be essential, that we should continue to refuse to compromise on?
  

Matthew 18:21-35

• It's worth noting that the number "seven" is a significant number in Biblical literature, often something far beyond what a literal reading of the number as a number might suggest. Is this the case here? When Peter suggests seven times to forgive someone, does he plan on counting the number of times, only to be told differently by Jesus?
• Pay attention to the footnotes for this reading, particularly in regard to how much a "talent" and a "dinarius" was worth in 1st century currency.
  

Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on September 7, 2008

The Reflectionary is a weekly blog entry consisting of questions and comments on readings from the Revised Common Lectionary used at many Christian churches.

A new entry is added each Saturday, and features the readings for the following day, in hopes of enhancing the experience of participation during one's regular Sunday worship gathering.

Here are the passages for September 7, 2008, the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the TNIV via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the links at BibleGateway.com).

Exodus 12:1-14

• This passage starts with God telling Moses about how God's people are to order their calendar. Two questions: 1) Why don't Christians use the same calendar today? 2) The first significant action described in this passage relates to the tenth day of the first month. Why isn't the first day of this first month mentioned?
• God gives fairly specific directions on how the Passover meal is to be prepared and eaten. What is the significance of the specific instructions? Why not use another type of animal, for example?

Psalm 149:1-9

Romans 13:8-14

Matthew 18:15-20

• Jesus tells his followers that their actions on earth will have significance in heaven. How might this play out? What if two sets of Christians disagree? What would be the heavenly impact of such a disagreement?
  

Reflectionary: Scripture for Worship on August 31, 2008

The Reflectionary is a weekly blog entry consisting of questions and comments on readings from the Revised Common Lectionary used at many Christian churches.

A new entry is added each Saturday, and features the readings for the following day, in hopes of enhancing the experience of participation during one's regular Sunday worship gathering.

Here are the passages for August 31, 2008, the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). All links are to the TNIV via BibleGateway.com, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead (either with your own Bible, or via the links at BibleGateway.com).

Exodus 3:1-15

• Why do you think the passage mentions an angel in verse two, then never mentions the angel again? Moses is always seen to be talking directly to God thereafter.
• God tells Moses to remove his sandals in verse 5, because Moses is now standing on holy ground? What makes it holy?
• At the end of the passage, Moses asks God for a name that he can tell the Israelites is God's name. In most English translations, God's response comes off a bit like Popeye the Sailor: "I am who I am." Why does God answer in this way? Notice also that many English translations depict this line and quite a lot of instances of the word "Lord" (but not all) in capital letters: "Lord," for example. Why do you think translators depict these words in this way?
  

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c

• One of the down-sides to BibleGateway.com is that the site doesn't really know how to handle partial verses, such as that called for with verse 45c, here. The letter "c" indicates that only a part of the verse is to be read as part of the lectionary. In this case, the third part: "Praise the LORD."
  

Romans 12:9-21

• This passage is filled with advice that most everyone should be able to agree is good to follow. Of course, actually living up to these standards can actually be very difficult. Even worse, most of us don't always realize when we've failed to live up to some important part of these teachings. But we all find some parts easier than others. Can you think of someone you know who does follow some part of Paul's advice particularly well, that you wish you could emulate more fully? How do you think they do it?
  

Matthew 16:21-28

• It's important to remember that this passage comes immediately after Peter's proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah. How could Peter be so right about that, yet so wrong about Jesus' teaching about his own death mere seconds later?
• It's one thing to tell someone that they're wrong, or that you disagree with them, but why does Jesus actually call Peter "Satan" in verse 23? Doesn't that seem a little harsh?
• I'm from a Presbyterian tradition, myself, so if you're not from that tradition, this question may seem odd to you, but understand that many Presbyterians have strong reactions to any theology that sounds like "works righteousness," as opposed to being "saved by God's grace alone." What should we do with a verse like verse 27 that says that the Son of Man (usually understood to be Jesus) "will reward everyone according to what they have done."
  
• What did Jesus mean when he told his disciples 2000 years ago that some of them would "not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom"?