Lectionary
Ruminations 2.0 is a revised continuation of Lectionary Ruminations. Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised
Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary
Ruminations 2.0 draws on nearly thirty years of pastoral experience. Believing that the questions we ask are often
more important than any answers we find, without overreliance on commentaries I
intend with comments and questions to encourage reflection and rumination for
readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are
invited and encouraged. All lectionary
links are to the via the PC(USA) Devotions and
Readings website.
FOR AN UPDATED AND REVISED VERSION, GO TO
THIS LINK
PREFACE: There are many service as well as scripture
options for this Day. Some congregations may have already observed a traditional
Easter Vigil starting on Saturday but concluding on Sunday. Others may schedule
a sunrise or early morning service in addition to the regularly scheduled Sunday
service. Some congregations may observe a service in the evening in addition to
a morning service. My ruminations will focus primarily on the readings
associated with the traditional Sunday service, which still offers options for
the Readings.
10:34 Do we hear this verse
any differently in light of Pope Francis?
To whom is Peter speaking? How
shall we hear this in light of some of the rhetoric emanating from the current
presidential primary campaigns?
10:35 Is “nation” a geographical, ethnic, or religious designation? What does it mean to fear God?
10:36 What is the message,
or more specifically the content of the message, Peter is referring to?
10:37 Why might it be
important to reference John?
10:38 I think we might
generally know how Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at his baptism, but
how and when was he anointed with power?
Must we buy into a personified “devil” to find truth in this verse?
10:39 Who are “we”? What does it mean to be a witness?
10:40 Please note: Jesus
did not rise from the dead. God raised
him from the dead. What is the nuanced meaning of “appear”? Could God not have
allowed Jesus to appear?
10:41 Does Peter mean to
suggest that only those who ate and drank with the risen Christ are witnesses?
10:42 Who commanded, God or
Christ? What is the difference between
preaching and testifying?
10:43 Is “All” hyperbole?
Acts
or Isaiah? I usually use
the Acts passage rather than the Isaiah passage because Acts specifically
refers to Jesus’ resurrection. Using the Acts Reading as the First Reading also
leaves room to also use the 1 Corinthians Reading.
65:17 Do Christians
consider this prophecy to have been fully fulfilled? Note that heavens is
plural while earth is singular. What do we remember and what do we forget? Out
of the death and destruction of the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile,
their 9/11, arose a hope of resurrection and new life. Don’t forget the old but
don’t be bound by it.
65:18 Why is the passing of
the old and the coming of the new something to be glad about? Not the present
participle “creating”.
65:19 God rejoices? But weeping
and cries of distress are still heard in Jerusalem.
65:20 So everyone who dies
a natural death before they turn a hundred in accursed?
65:21 Shall they build
houses and plant vineyards on occupied territory?
65:22 What are the days of
a tree like?
65:23 What shall we say
when an Israeli child or a Palestinian child dies from violence?
65:24 So God is proactive?
65:25 Oh, if only this last
phrase were true today.
118:1 The LORD is good, but
the Lord’s followers often are not.
118:2 This is beginning to sound
like a rubric for a responsive reading.
118:14 Are strength and
might mere synonyms? What is their relation to salvation?
118:15 If we were to ever
hear a glad song in worship, it ought to be on Easter!
118:15b-16 What is so
special about the right hand of the LORD?
Do these verses display a bias against left handers?
118:17 Not dying is
different from resurrection. What are the deeds of the LORD?
118:18Is this a singular or
a collective “me”? I wonder about the
nature of this punishment.
118:19 Where are the gates
of righteousness located and how many of them are there?
118:20 Is the gate of the
LORD one of the gates of righteousness or a different gate?
118:21 What was the
answer? At least this psalmist
apparently experienced prayer being answered.
118:22 What is a
cornerstone and what purpose does it serve.
Do not confuse a corner stone with a keystone.
118:23 What is the LORD’s
doing? Who are “we”?
118:24 I thought the LORD
made all days.
This passage is
proclamation, not exclamation.
15:19 This sounds more like
the end of an argument rather than the beginning. So, are we to be pitied or
not?
15:20 Note again that
Christ has been raised from the dead. He
did not rise from the dead.
15:21-22 Is this logical?
15:23 Who belong to Christ?
15:24 Is it possible to
celebrate Easter without a little eschatology? Is this an indictment of secular
and political power?
15:25 Who are his
enemies. What does it mean to put an
enemy under one’s foot?
15:26 Did Christ defeat
death when he was raised, or is this something yet to happen?
See ruminations above.
20:1 Note that only Mary
Magdalene is mentioned. We are not given
a reason for her coming to the tomb.
20:2 Did Jesus not love
Peter and the other disciples, but on this one?
In light of verse 1, who is the “we” Mary is talking about? Who did she
mean by “They”?
23:3 Why is the other
disciple not named?
20:4 Is there any deeper
meaning here? How could they be running together and not arrive at the same
time?
20:5 Why do you think the
disciple did not go into the tomb?
20:6 Peter may have been slower,
but was apparently, what, braver? Had the stone been removed so that Jesus
could come out of the tomb or so Peter and the other disciple could go into the
tomb?
20:7 Does this detail
matter?
20:8 Believed what?
20:9 Note that here it is
“rise from the dead” and not “be raised from the dead”. How could they not understand the scripture?
What scripture did they not understand?
20:10 Well, this is
ant-climactic!
20:11 Peter and the other
disciple were typical men, abandoning the woman! Why had Mary not left with the two disciples?
I find it interesting that we are told the other disciple “bent down to look in”
(20:5) and that Mary “bent over to look into the tomb”. Do we need to bend down
in some way to see into the truth of the empty tomb?
20:12 Why had the two
disciples not seen the two angels? Have
you ever seen an angel? What is your
angelology? Do angels ever wear anything
but white?
20:13 Did the angels really
need to ask the question?
20:14 Remember, this story
is being told from the perspective of after the fact. Is there any significance
to the fact that Mary did not see Jesus until after she turned?
20:15 Why does Jesus ask
the same question asked by the angels? Was Jesus’ question a rhetorical
one? How cold Mary mistake the risen
Jesus for the gardener? Could she not see his feet?
20:16 What does it mean
when someone call you by name?
20:17 Would Mary be allowed
to hold on to Jesus if he had ascended?
Why all this ascension talk? What is the meaning of “brothers”?
20:18 Thus Mary Magdalene
is the first evangelist. End of
story! Well, not quite.
John or Luke? John is my favorite gospel and since there is no liturgical year dedicated to John, I usually prefer to use the John Reading rather than the Luke Reading.
24:1 What is early dawn?
Note that in the John Reading, Mary was the only woman at the tomb, but in the
Luke Reading there are several. Why the discrepancy and does it make a
difference?
24:2 Similar to the
question I asked regarding John 20:6, I wonder if the stone had been rolled
away so that Jesus could come out of the tomb or so the women could go in?
24:3 No habeas corpus.
24:4 Who were then men in
dazzling white? Could this be an allusion to Moses and Elijah? How many
witnesses were required by Jewish law?
24:5 The women were awed
that the tomb was empty but terrified when confronted by the two men in
dazzling white. Does Easter still awe and terrify us? Note that here “he has
risen” not “he has been raised”.
24:6 Anamnesis?
24:7 When and where did
Jesus say this? Note the “Son of Man” language. Why “again”?
24:8 Anamnesis!
24:9 Who were “the rest”?
24:10 Why are only three of
the women named? How many other women were there? Why are the recipients of
this news called apostles rather than disciples?
24:11 Do most people in our
post-modern post-Christian culture hear the Easter story as an idle tale?
24:12 Peter must not have
had his foot in his mouth in order to run to the tomb. Did he have to see for
himself because the women’s testimony was not powerful enough? What happened, exactly, that amazed Peter?
ADDENDUM
I am currently a Member at Large of Upper Ohio
Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I am a trained and
experienced Interim Pastor currently available to supply as a fill-in
occasional guest preacher and worship leader or serve in a half-time to
full-time position.
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