Break Open the Word

The Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day - 5 April 2015 Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Acts 10:34-43 or I Corinthians 15:1-11 St. John 20:1-18 St. Mark 16:1-8 Background: Resurrection Appearances I may have made reference to this wonderful resource in the past, and if so please forgive me for referring to it again. I think that it behooves us as people interested in what the lectionary is attempting to teach us to anticipate all the readings during the Sundays of Easter. Reginald Fuller’s book, The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives [1] , gives a grand overview of the development of these texts, tracing them through the writings of Paul, the synoptics, and John. He begins with the earliest Easter Traditions in the First Letter to the Corinthians, and does a wonderful analysis of Paul’s account. He follows with the narrative of Mark, then Matthew, then Luke-Acts, and finally the Gospel of John and the so-called Johannine Appendix. What...

Palm Sunday - The Sunday of the Passion, 29 March 2015 Liturgy of the Palms Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Liturgy of the Passion Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:5-11 St. Mark 14:1-15:47 Background: Kingship The events of Palm Sunday bring into sharp focus the role of kingship not only at the time of Jesus, but earlier. It is those prior notions of kingship that inform the theology and semiology that attaches itself to the Jesus Story, and helps to define him as a religious character and symbol. The kingship of Mesopotamian region and of Egypt as well contributed to Israel’s understanding of the kingship that developed during their time in Canaan. Prior to the period of Samuel, the life in Israel was rural and tribal, with leaders emerging from time to time to deal with issues larger than tribe and family. It is the order that kingship brought (economic, religious, agricultural, and military) that made it so attractive t...