1st Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Our first reading is the third
promise of children to Abram and Sarai, who are now in advanced age. At this
point there has been much “water under the bridge” in the story and God has
failed to deliver. The promise remains, however, and God ups the ante by
changing their names—a sign of their radical dependence on God. Our names represent
who we are at the deepest level. The change of name by God (which is frequent
in the Bible) shows that God knows us and has the power to form us at this deep
level.
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine
years old, the LORD appeared to
Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and
you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then
Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “As
for me, this is my covenant with you:
You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your
name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of
nations. 6 I will make you
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from
you. 7 I will establish my covenant
between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations,
for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your
wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give
you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings
of peoples shall come from her.’
Psalm 22:22-30
22 Praise the Lord,
you that fear him; *
stand
in awe of him, O offspring of Israel;
all you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in
their poverty;
neither does he hide his face from them;
*
but
when they cry to him he hears them.
24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I
will perform my vows in the presence of those who
worship him.
25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *
“May your heart live for ever!”
26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and
turn to the Lord, *
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; *
he
rules over the nations.
28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow
down in worship; *
all
who go down to the dust fall before him.
29 My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him; *
they
shall be known as the Lord’s for
ever.
30 They shall come and make known to a people
yet unborn *
the saving
deeds that he has done.
2nd Reading: Romans 4:13-25
Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome
(a place he had never been), in part, to lessen the tension between Jewish and
Gentile Christians. Here he uses the story of Abraham to preach a radical
equality. All are equal inheritors of Abraham’s promise through their faith. He
is using here a method of interpretation of the Scriptures called “midrash,”
which allows for re-interpretation of any original meaning to fit current
circumstances.
4:13 The promise that he would
inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law
but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If
it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the
promise is void. 15 For the law
brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16 For this reason it depends on faith, in
order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his
descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share
the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the
father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who
gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he
would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So
numerous shall your descendants be.” 19 He
did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as
good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the
barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No
distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in
his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being
fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as
righteousness.” 23 Now the words, “it
was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to
us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over to death for our
trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Gospel Reading: Mark 8:31-38
Jesus has just asked
the disciples who they believe he is and Peter has replied, “You are the Christ
(Messiah).” But now it is clear that at least Peter and Jesus have very
different understandings of what that means. Jesus’ rebuke is strong. “Satan”
means “the adversary.” Jesus will die and his followers must be prepared to do
the same. After two more predictions of his death, Jesus will give them images
of what he means by their “death”—they must be as children and servants.
8:31 Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great
suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32
He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began
to rebuke him. 33 But turning and
looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For
you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” 34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and
said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and
take up their cross and follow me. 35 For
those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life
for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the
whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed,
what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those
who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels.”
The
Scripture quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.
All rights reserved. The Psalm
translation is from The Book of Common
Prayer. Commentaries are copyright ©
2018, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All
rights reserved. Permission given to
copy for group use.
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