The Synoptic Gospels: A Journey Into the Kingdom

As with some of our other seasonal readings, the lectionary for the First Sunday after Christmas is the same each year.

John 1:1-18
The gospel offering is John 1:1-18. Though John is not among the synoptic Gospels, it does occasionally receive some commentary in the Journey series. In fact, it was a subject of our blog entry of Monday, December 24, 2007, as Christmas selection III.

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about John 1:1-18. The text is located at pages 208-212.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume I in PDF format.

Galatians 3:23-35; 5:4-7
The First Sunday after Christmas features an important reading from one of the letters of Paul. The Letter to the Galatians contains his most powerful declaration about how freedom in Christ liberates the people of the way from what Paul by now considers to be the shackles of Judaic law. Paul focuses on faith working through love, rather than obedience to ritual requirements, as the center of one’s relationship with God.

Paul’s view about the relationship of the Christian believer to the Hebrew law was far from unanimous. Other early Christian leaders, including James the brother of Jesus, adhered to the notion that the law was still operative, and that gentile converts to even this Christian expression of Judaism were required to accept all the burdens of the law, including circumcision and dietary restrictions.

In fact, the experience of the early church coming to grips with a mission that embraced gentile converts was among the most important developments in first-century Christianity. It opened the richness of life in relationship to the God if Israel to those who were previously outside that fellowship.

Among the Gospels, Matthew is the one most focused on connections between Jewish tradition and the growing church. For that reason, we considered the text from Galatians in light of statements that Matthew’s Jesus makes about the law in the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon itself receives the lion’s share of our attention in Volume II of the Journey.

Click here to view what Volume II of the Journey has to say about Galatians 3:23-25 and 5:4-7. The text is located at pages 255-264.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume II in a PDF format.

The gospel readings are identical in the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The epistle readings differ, though, as we will see below.

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Luke 2:15-21

The gospel for today is spread across two segments of commentary in the Journey series. The first portion contains Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus. Luke places the Holy Family in its long trek from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea, an eighty-mile stretch of often difficult and dangerous terrain. At the beginning of this passage, Joseph and Mary have found temporary shelter among the animals because there was no room in the inn.

Yet, the family is not alone. The birth of Jesus is heralded by angels. One would think that heavenly messengers making a monumental announcement would appear to the priestly classes, or to the highborn, wealthy, and powerful. Instead, the message is delivered to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. God’s ways are not the world’s ways.

It is tempting to view this pastoral scene as a biblical affirmation of God’s special affinity for the solid peasantry, the people of the land who work with crops and herds. But if we were to think this way, we would be wrong. Shepherds worked out in the elements. Their tasks often required them to be ceremonially unclean, as they had to protect the flocks from whatever risks arose, regardless of where that led them. Moreover, with easy “confusion” among flocks and animals, shepherds were often regarded as thieves. The result: in first-century Judaism, shepherds were virtual outcasts.

So it is to the ruffians—not the kings or the priests or even the solid, law-abiding peasant stock—that the announcement of the birth of the Savior is made. What might that mean for the way we think about conventional morality and piety?

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about Luke 2:5–20. The text is located at pages 111–115.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume I in PDF format.

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However, the above section does not complete our reading from Luke. The Feast of the Holy Name, as the title suggests, involves the actual naming of the Savior. We pick up that strand in verse 21, where the evangelist reports that the child has been given the name that the angel directed before he was conceived in the womb.Because our Journey series divides the material differently from the lectionary reading, we will include an additional section of commentary regarding the rites of circumcision and purification. Mary and Joseph, as observant Jews, follow the requirements of these rites. Luke’s descriptions of them depict an evangelist who possesses less-than-a-comprehensive understanding of the Mosaic law. Perhaps this trait is a byproduct of his Gentile identity. However, the fact that he shows Mary and Joseph undertaking the considerable efforts to observe the rites (even if Luke is wrong about their precise details) demonstrates a high regard for Jewish tradition. Luke shows how, from the beginning, the new Jesus movement remains in continuity with ancient Judaism.

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about Luke 2:21–24. The text is located at pages 130–133.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume I in PDF format.

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Romans 1:1-7 (BCP)

The BCP and RCL readings from the epistles diverge for the Feast of the Holy Name. Since we provided commentary on the BCP’s epistle in the Journey series, we will include that here as well.

The introductory material to Paul’s Letter to the Romans states that the ancestry of Jesus “according to the flesh” follows the Davidic line. It reports God’s declaration that Jesus is his son “according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead.”

The concept of how Jesus stands in sonship toward God is easily glossed over, as if its meaning were readily apparent. In fact, it is not. We considered this idea in Volume I of the Journey when studying Luke’s version of the baptism of Jesus. That event served as a springboard to address the broader questions of what we mean when we say that Jesus is the Son of God.

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about Romans 1:1–7. The text is located at pages 208–212.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume I in a PDF format.

The RCL and the BCP are virtually identical for the Second Sunday in Advent, Year B, with only slight variations around the optional portions of the readings.

Mark 1:1–8 and Isaiah 40:1–11

The Gospel and Old Testament lessons today contain two interesting features. The first is that the gospel text contains a paraphrase of the Old Testament lesson. Consequently, the pages from the Journey, which comment on one reading also comment on the other. The second feature is that the Journey breaks down today’s gospel reading into two parts, with intervening parallels and separate segments from Matthew and Luke falling between the book’s study of Mark. Of course, that is why the books themselves offer more than this blog! But we should still be able to make something worthwhile out of this format.

Mark 1:1–6 contains the powerful opening of the oldest gospel. It proclaims the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The opening goes on to quote Old Testament prophecy and to declare the arrival of John the Baptist on the banks of the River Jordan.

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about Mark 1:1–6 and Isaiah 40:1–11.  The text is located at pages 172–176.

The Journey commentary on today’s gospel continues later in Volume I. John the Baptist describes the coming One, with a promise of baptism by the Holy Spirit exceeding John’s own baptism by water. In this preaching, John connects back to the Old Testament and foresees that all will be fulfilled.

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about Mark 1:6–8. The text is located at pages 193–196.

Year B

We are, on November 30, starting Year B with the first Sunday in Advent, the year we focus of the Gospel According to St. Mark. While I have not yet published on the gospel for the day, I have preached on it. Following please find a link to the sermon I delivered three years ago to the congregation of Grace Episcopal Church, Chattanooga TN.

Wishing you and yours a blessed, rich, and meaningful Advent season.

Sermon on Mark 13:24-37

Year A

The Easter Season continues with no readings from the synoptic Gospels. The other readings for the Sixth Sunday, though, do touch on our studies.

Acts 17:22–31(RCL and BCP) In a New Testament lesson, the Apostle Paul visits the seat of learning in Antiquity—the City of Athens—and addresses the gathered intellectuals while standing before the Areopagus. In English, the term is translated as “Mars Hill,” so we might think of it as the public square.

This scene, written by the author of Luke-Acts (the only gentile writer in the Bible), places Paul in a scene reminiscent of Socrates on trial. To the knowledgeable Greek reader of Luke’s day, the passage preserves undertones of risk and confrontation over matters concerning the divine. Well might they have known the history of what happened to Socrates some centuries earlier, and on first encounter with this text, worry about what might happen to Paul, hero of Acts of the Apostles.

We cited this passage in a footnote to Volume I of the Journey, while studying the Epiphany. The term “epiphany” means spiritual revelation. In Matthew, the wise men from the East represent the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Gentiles at the time of his birth. Paul continues that course decades later as he proclaims the Christian message to the men of Athens.

Click here to go to Volume I, pages 121–127 of the Journey.

1 Peter 3:8–18 (BCP) The second lesson comes from the first letter of Peter. It calls on the reader not to repay evil for evil, nor abuse for abuse. We cited this passage when studying the Great Antitheses from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. These admonitions begin by reciting conventional pearls of wisdom, then expand upon them exponentially, revolutionizing the disciples’ roles and moving them from compliance with established standards to a radicalized set of kingdom values. It is not always our role to assert our “rights” as we understand them, but sometimes to respond to a higher, more sacrificial calling. As the commentary shows, it is not something that is even possible to do all the time. But, we must try.

Click here to go to Volume II, pages 287–298 of the Journey.

As through most of the season, the Fifth Sunday in Easter does not offer a text from the synoptic Gospels. Even so, the Journey series has commented on the gospel for the day, found in both the RCL and BCP lectionaries.

John 14:1-14

The gospel is from John’s account of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. The disciples, in distress and confusion about what is approaching, ask Jesus where he is going and what will occur. He responds with metaphor, so often the case in the Fourth Gospel.

We quoted this passage in an appendix to Volume II and invited the reader to consider whether God’s saving action is universal or limited. As you can see, how we answer that question could well affect the way we live.

Click here to view what Volume II has to say about the last meal with the disciples. The text is located at pages 436-440.

The Fourth Sunday in Easter does not offer a text from the synoptic Gospels. However, the Journey series has commented on one of the day’s readings. It is used in both the RCL and BCP lectionaries. In fact, it is the same text used for the Fourth Sunday in Easter, Psalm 23.

Isn’t it interesting how the great passages in the biblical witness can tell us much about our faith, both during our most penitent season—the season of Lent—and during our most celebratory season—the season of Easter?

Psalm 23

The appointed psalm for the day is the well-known twenty-third psalm. It contains lyrical praise and thanksgiving offered to the shepherd who makes his sheep lie down in green pastures by the still waters, and who guides them through the valley of the shadow of death.

We considered this model Old Testament prayer as we studied a model New Testament prayer in Volume II of the Journey. The Lord’s Prayer, found at Matthew 6:9–15, has Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. We see how one thought is spoken (for example, “Thy kingdom come.”), and how the next thought elaborates on the meaning of the first (for example, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”).

Just as the sheep of Psalm 23 are not left wanting because the shepherd is making them to lie down in green pastures, the will of God is being done on earth as it is in heaven, because his kingdom is arriving.

Click here to view what Volume II has to say about how the Lord’s Prayer follows the model of the twenty-third psalm. The text is located at pages 316–319.

The Third Sunday in Lent offers similar readings between the RCL and BCP lectionaries. We have not commented on the gospel passage in the Journey series, which is found in John. However, we have considered the epistle and Old Testament passages in Volume II of the Journey.

Romans 5:1–11

The reading from the Epistle for today comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. We touch on it in Volume II of the Journey as we outline the well-developed theories around the lost Q source containing sayings of Jesus. The unyielding ethical content of the Q sayings, carried forward to our own day in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount and Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, place demands on us which we are obligated to strive to fulfill. Paul’s letter to the Romans reminds us of the presence of God’s grace in our lives, by which we are empowered to seek to do his will, and forgiven when we fall short.

Click here to view what Volume II of the Journey has to say about Romans 5:1–11. View the actual page excerpts from Volume II in PDF format. The text is located at pages 8–11.

Exodus 17:1-7

The Old Testament reading comes from the children of Israel’s time in the dessert. Suffering from thirst, they complain to Moses, seeking relief. Moses in turn cries out to God for aid. In sight of the elders of Israel, Moses, at God’s command, strikes a rock on Mount Horeb with his staff. The waters came forth, quenching the people’s thirst. The place is then named Massah and Meribah, memorializing how the people quarreled and tested the Lord. The name is recalled because of their failure, even more than because of God’s graciousness.

We discussed this passage along with the testing of Jesus on the First Sunday in Lent. The stories there echo the divine exchange of Exodus between God and the children of Israel. But in the gospel, unlike the Old Testament, God’s servant fulfills the commands given, and prevails against the forces that would separate him and his people from the Father. Where they failed in the ancient days, Jesus succeeds in the gospel.

Click here to view what Volume II of the Journey has to say about Exodus 7:1–7. View the actual page excerpts from Volume II in PDF format. The text is located at pages 67–71.

Ash Wednesday brings us out of Epiphany, the season of lights, and into a time to confront the inner darkness. We begin the forty days of Lent by acknowledging our sins, and turning to God in repentance, seeking his forgiveness.

Matthew 6:1–6,16–21

Matthew offers the same gospel reading every Ash Wednesday. We have studied all of it in the Journey series, though its segments fall in separate places. We will also follow that practice here.

Verses 1–4: The first segments of the gospel concern the deeds of righteousness, reinterpreting the traditional Jewish practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Jesus’ opening injunction, found in verse 1, calls us to avoid making a show of our pious acts. He moves us away from image—oriented religious observance to the substance of following God’s call.

Our first example is almsgiving. Providing for the poor should be done privately, without drawing undue attention to ourselves. Even so, we must also be aware of the tension between giving privately, as a way to avoid show, and being instructed not to hide our light under a bushel.

Click here to view what Volume II of the Journey has to say in introducing the deeds of righteousness, and about the giving of alms. The passage interprets Matthew 6:1–4. The text is located at pages 305–312.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume II in PDF format.

Verses 5–6: The passage continues with the practice of prayer. Jesus encourages private prayer, in communion with God, not public displays of piety. The Journey commentary explores some very recent examples of people rejecting Jesus’ direction, which calls into question how and when public prayer is to be avoided or offered.

Click here to view what Volume II of the Journey has to say about the practice of prayer, interpreting Matthew 6:5–8. The text is located at pages 312–316.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume II in PDF format.

Verses 16–18: Here we encounter fasting, the third deed of righteousness. Fasting was an acted–out prayer of lamentation. As practiced by Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries, typically it was accompanied by visual cues, such as ashes and sackcloth. Jesus encourages his followers not to make a show, but to fast without drawing attention to themselves. In the Journey, we also consider modern fasting practices.

Click here to view what Volume II of the Journey has to say about fasting, interpreting Matthew 6:16–18. The text is located at pages 334–336.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume II in PDF format

Verses 19–21: The gospel theme now shifts toward other aspects of Christian practice, as Jesus directs us how to live. He has turned our attention away from the negative (how not to practice piety), through the corrective (how to practice piety), and now toward the productive (how we are to store up true treasure). We see that human stores of wealth are vulnerable, but heavenly stores are safe. We further consider that this distinction between the concrete and the abstract is an example of the greater conversation about what is real and what is not. We even cite sources such as Plato and modern physicists!

Click here to view what Volume II of the Journey has to say about treasures, interpreting Matthew 6:19–21. The text is located at pages 337–340.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume II in PDF format.

2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10

This epistle reading juxtaposes Christ’s sinlessness with the need to confront our own sinful nature. This is an appropriate reading with which to begin the penitential season of Lent. We touch ever so lightly on the epistle for today in Volume I of the Journey, where we study the baptism of Jesus, according to Mark. In questioning why Jesus would need to be baptized, we considered 2 Cor. 5:21, Paul’s reference to Jesus not knowing sin. If there is no sin, is baptism necessary? If so, why?

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about 2 Corinthians 5:21. The text is located at pages 203–205 of Volume I.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume I in PDF format.

The RCL and the BCP share virtually the same texts this week, though the RCL goes a little bit further both into Psalm 40 and into the Gospel according to Saint John. Given that there is no reading from the Synoptics today, we take a more oblique approach to the gospel text for this blog entry.

John 1:29-42 (RCL); John 1:29-41 (BCP)

John’s Gospel introduces a different tradition around the baptism of Jesus than we see in other sources. Here, we do not focus on the event itself, but on John the Baptist’s reflections upon it.  He declares its meaning to his audience as he contrasts baptism by water with baptism by the Spirit. The passage offers illumination, rather than elaboration, on what John the Baptist, and perhaps John the Evangelist speaking through him, understands about the event. It heralds the coming of the Lamb of God, the descent of the Spirit like a dove, the revelation of the Son of God.

In the Journey, we examined John the evangelist’s baptismal story by focusing on its contrasts to the Synoptic tradition. We see that the baptism of Jesus is a historical event requiring a major interpretive effort by each of the four canonical evangelists. Each must come to grips with what that baptism means for his own time, place, and community. Therefore, we approach today’s gospel through our interpretation of Luke 3:21-22.

Click here to view what Volume I of the Journey has to say about John 1:29-34, a portion of today’s gospel reading. The text is located at pages 208-212.

Click here to download the actual page excerpts from Volume I in PDF format.