Diocese of East Tennessee: Weekly Lectionary
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June 11, 2006
Trinity Sunday – B

Book of Common Prayer Lectionary
Exodus 3:1-6
Psalm 93
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17

Revised Common Lectionary
Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 29
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17

Reflection and Response
Prayer Starter

Today's readings invite us to experience the mystery of the Trinity. In Exodus (BCP), God is revealed to Moses as both “God” and “Lord.” Isaiah (RCL) responds to the invitation to speak for God, the Holy One. Paul explains that the Holy Spirit leads us to the Father, who adopts us as children and thus makes us “joint heirs with Christ.” In today's gospel, Jesus explains to Nicodemus that being born of the
Spirit, with faith in the Son, results in eternal life with God the Father.

First Reading: Exodus 3:1-6 (BCP)
Today's reading comes from the account of the calling of Moses (3:1–4:17). Herein God makes a significant self-revelation to Moses, explaining the character and name of the Lord.

Two names for God are given in this passage and are used interchangeably: God (from Elohim), a general title for deity; and Lord (from Yahweh), a personal name that means "He is" (3:14). God identifies with the people's history, as indicated in the naming of the patriarchs. Moses expresses his awe by hiding his face, for in Hebrew understanding, to see the Lord directly is fatal.

Exodus 3:1-6
Moses was keeping the flock
of his father-in-law Jethro,
the priest of Midian;
he led his flock beyond the wilderness,
and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

There the angel of the LORD appeared to him
in a flame of fire out of a bush;
he looked, and the bush was blazing,
yet it was not consumed.
Then Moses said,
“I must turn aside
and look at this great sight,
and see why the bush is not burned up.”
When the LORD saw
that he had turned aside to see,
God called to him out of the bush,
“Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then he said,
“Come no closer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place on which you are standing
is holy ground.”
He said further,
“I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham,
he God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob.”
And Moses hid his face,
for he was afraid to look at God.

First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8 (RCL)
This reading recounts the call of the prophet Isaiah. He has a vision of the Lord enthroned amidst the divine council in the setting of the temple at Jerusalem. The throne is the ark of the covenant. Above the Lord are the seraphs, literally “burning ones.” Here, like the cherubim in the first chapter of Ezekiel, they indicate the heavenly creatures who give God worship.

The triple repetition of holy emphasizes the mysterious, unapproachable quality of the divine. Isaiah responds to the vision of ‘God's holiness with a sense of profound sinfulness before God's perfection, not only for himself, but for all the people. He is granted cleansing through the coal from the altar so that he may proclaim God's word to the people.

Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,
high and lofty;
and the hem of his robe filled the temple.
Seraphs were in attendance above him;
each had six wings:
with two they covered their faces,
and with two they covered their feet,
and with two they flew.
And one called to another and said:
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The pivots on the thresholds shook
at the voices of those who called,
and the house filled with smoke.

And I said:
“Woe is me!
I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphs flew to me,
holding a live coal that had been taken
from the altar with a pair of tongs.
The seraph touched my mouth with it and said:
“Now that this has touched your lips,
your guilt has departed
and your sin is blotted out.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send,
and who will go for us?”
And I said,
“Here am I; send me!”

Psalm: Psalm 93 (BCP)
This is one of the kingship psalms (Psalm 93, 95–99). It was probably used as part of the great autumn festival at the turn of the year, the feast of Tabernacles (also called the feast of ingathering, Exodus 23:16; and the feast of Yahweh, Judges 21:19). One of the emphases of this festival was the kingship of Yahweh, perhaps celebrated by a yearly enthronement ceremony. God is praised as sovereign over the world, especially over the waters, which symbolize the power of chaos. This psalm, like many of the psalms, proclaims the good news of God's reign.

Psalm 93
The LORD is king,
he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed,
he is girded with strength.

He has established the world;
it shall never be moved;
your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.

More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
more majestic than the waves of the sea,
majestic on high is the LORD!

Your decrees are very sure;
holiness befits your house, O LORD,
forevermore.

Psalm: Psalm 29 (RCL)
Psalm 29 is a hymn to Yahweh as the God of storm that may have been written as an objection to the pagan assertion of Baal as the thunder-god. The “glory” of the Lord gives God dominion over nature and over all gods. Thus Yahweh alone is the source of strength and blessing for the people.

Psalm 29
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendor.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
he God of glory thunders, the LORD, over mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is powerful;
he voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.

May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Second Reading: Romans 8:12-17
The presentation of the Trinity in the scriptures is not a matter of formal definition but of the living experience of God revealed in creation, redemption and sanctification. For example, in 1 Thessalonians, our earliest New Testament document, Paul speaks of God as Father, of Jesus as Lord and of the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:1-5).

Here in Romans 8, Paul mentions, within the space of one chapter, the Spirit as being the Spirit of God (8:9), the Spirit of Christ (8:9) and the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (8:2). Paul seems neither to intend nor to feel the need for any particular distinction among these phrases. He emphasizes that the source of the Spirit is God, that the Spirit's full manifestation is in Christ and that Christians experience the Spirit communally in the body of Christ, the Church.

The Spirit gives to Christians "the spirit of adoption" (v. 15). While Jesus is the Son by proper relationship, Christians are offspring of God by adoption. We are to call upon God as "Abba! Father!" (v. 15) as did Jesus. Adoption was rare among Jews, but more common in the Hellenistic world. Its primary importance was to establish inheritance rights. Christians are "joint heirs with Christ" (v. 17), sharing in the redemptive act of Christ's passion and resurrection and looking forward to sharing in his glorification.

Romans 8:12-17
So then, brothers and sisters,
we are debtors,
not to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh—
for if you live according to the flesh,
you will die;
but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God
are children of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear,
but you have received a spirit of adoption.
When we cry,
“Abba! Father!”
it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—
if, in fact, we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.

Gospel: John 3:1-17
This discourse as a whole (3:1-21) moves from the work of the Spirit (3:3-8) to that of the Son (3:10-15) to that of the Father (3:16-21). Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, explains his interest as being caused by the signs Jesus has performed. Jesus seeks to draw him past these outward manifestations to a recognition of the inward significance of his activity.

The discussion begins on the meaning of being born, or “begotten,” "from above" (v. 3). In Greek, this phrase has two meanings. The first is "anew, again"—temporally—which is what Nicodemus understands on the physical level; the second is from above—spatially—which is what Jesus seems to intend.

Jesus contrasts the realm of the Spirit, which is eternal and heavenly, with the realm of flesh, which is earthly, weak and mortal (but not necessarily sinful). Both flesh and spirit constitute human existence, but the Spirit is life itself. The life that the Spirit gives is not under human control, not anthropocentric, but theocentric, as shown by the illustration of the wind blowing where it will. Both the Greek and the Hebrew words for wind also mean spirit and ­breath.

John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus,
a leader of the Jews.
He came to Jesus by night and said to him,
“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
who has come from God;
for no one can do these signs that you do
apart from the presence of God.”

Jesus answered him,
“Very truly, I tell you,
no one can see the kingdom of God
without being born from above.”

Nicodemus said to him,
“How can anyone be born after having grown old?
Can one enter a second time
into the mother's womb and be born?”

Jesus answered,
“Very truly, I tell you,
no one can enter the kingdom of God
without being born of water and Spirit.
What is born of the flesh is flesh,
and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not be astonished that I said to you,
‘You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it chooses,
and you hear the sound of it,
but you do not know where it comes from
or where it goes.
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him,
“How can these things be?”

Jesus answered him,
“Are you a teacher of Israel,
and yet you do not understand these things?
Very truly, I tell you,
we speak of what we know
and testify to what we have seen;
yet you do not receive our testimony.
If I have told you about earthly things
and you do not believe,
how can you believe
if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has ascended into heaven
except the one who descended from heaven,
the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish
but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son
into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world
might be saved through him.

Reflection and Response
We stand on holy ground. That truth resonates throughout today's readings, reminding us of the essential sacredness of our experience, throughout all times and seasons.

The sacred character of human life springs from our intimate connection with the triune deity. God's self-identification to Moses is not that of some distant figure, aloof from human life. Instead, he is the God of people: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel. If we substitute the names of our own parents or loved ones, we get the message. God is part and parcel of that most close and frustrating human relationship.

To see our ordinary days in this divine light takes a special gift of the Spirit. Elusive as the wind, it inspires and empowers us, enabling us to rise above our mortal limitations and place our lives in the context of the holy. The normal bounds of our thinking can be utterly shattered and expanded, just as Moses' were when he saw a bush burning, yet not consumed.

The same irony is present as we realize that we are deeply human, yet somehow more than that. Redemption by Jesus implies that although we are doomed to die, we also inherit eternal life. The implications of that fact should brighten the dusty surface of our days.

We older folk become as skeptical as Nicodemus about the possibilities for rebirth. The noted teacher is quite willing to admit that the signs Jesus does mark him as one who lives in the presence of God. Yet the next step Jesus asks him to take is the difficult one: acknowledging that any person can see God's kingdom as clearly, enter into this reign and be born of the Spirit.

In so doing, Paul says, we become joint heirs with Christ, suffering with him so that we can also share his glory. It is our union with Christ that makes all ground holy: our affections, our work, our suffering and triumphs.

Quietly consider:
If I am an heir of God, how then should I act?

Prayer Starter
I find courage and confidence in the assurance
of your continuing presence, O God...

 

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