Break Open the Word

  The Second Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 5, 6 June 2021   Track 1 or Track 2 1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15) Psalm 138 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-35   Genesis 3:8-15 Psalm 130 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-35   The Collect   O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen .     Background: Serpents   It is not surprising to find frequent mentions of serpents in the Hebrew Scriptures ( see the Track Two First Reading ). They were a common and ubiquitous part of the culture and mythology of the Ancient Near East. It was both a symbol of fertility ( see the image of the snake eating itself )    but of evil and chaos as well. The name in Hebrew is  nachash a word that is associated with divination. Serpents are surreptitious as well, and not just in t

The Day of Pentecost, 23 May 2021   Acts 2:1-21 or  Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 104:25-35, 37 Romans 8:22-27 or  Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15   The Collect   Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.   or this   O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.     Background: Whitsunday   This is another name for the Day of Pentecost, the last S