1st Reading (Track 1): Exodus 16:2-15
The Israelites are not long in their journey when their life
under oppression in Egypt seems to have been better than where they now find
themselves. They complain against Moses and Aaron, but their complaint is
actually against the Lord, as their leaders point out to them. God hears their cry, however, and sends them
food: quail in the evening and bread
(“manna”) in the morning. The gift of manna comes with a test concerning
sabbath observance, which many of them fail (16:27-30). See also the
description of manna in Numbers 11:7-9, which gave rise to the legend that the
manna’s taste varied with the eater’s preference.
16:2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and
Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The
Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat
by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into
this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord
said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the
people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test
them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what
they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the
Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, 7 and in the morning you
shall see the glory of the Lord,
because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the
evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you
utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against
the LORD.” 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole
congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole
congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the
glory of the Lord appeared in the
cloud. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the
Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning
you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13 In the evening quails came up and covered
the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the
surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the
ground. 15 When the Israelites saw
it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord
has given you to eat.”
Psalm
105:1-6, 37-45 (Track 1)
Psalm 105 is one of the “historical psalms” which tells
the story of Israel in lines of poetry (the others are 78, 106, 135, and 136).
In Psalm 105, the first six verses are a general introduction, encouraging the
people to give thanks and praise as they “remember the marvels he has done.” We
then read the end of the psalm, re-calling the exit from Egypt, the manna and
the quails, the water out of the rock, and the conquering of “the
nations.” A crucial line for these
historical psalms is verse 42: “God
remembered his holy word and [the promise made to] Abraham.”
1 Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; *
make known his deeds among
the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, *
and speak of all his
marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name; *
let the hearts of those who
seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Search for the Lord and his strength *
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done, *
his wonders and the
judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, *
O children of Jacob his
chosen.
37 He led out his people with silver and
gold; *
in all their tribes there
was not one who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad of their going, *
because they were afraid of
them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering *
and a fire to give light in
the night season.
40 They asked, and quails appeared, *
and he satisfied them with
bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water flowed, *
so the river ran in the dry
places.
42 For God remembered his word *
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness,
*
his chosen with shouts of
joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the
nations, *
and they took the fruits of
others’ toil.
45 That they might keep his statutes *
and observe his laws. Hallelujah!
1st Reading (Track 2): Jonah 3:10—4:11
The story of Jonah is biblical comedy. Jonah does not believe
in the “wideness of God’s mercy,” and does everything he can not to be the
bearer of it. He would rather die than tell the good news to the Ninevites! As
a story, Jonah calls Israel to repentance and proclaims God’s lavish mercy. The
story is used in the Christian Testament at Matthew 12:38-41 and Luke 11:29-32,
and it is the afternoon reading on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.
3:10 When God saw what the people of Nineveh did, how they turned from
their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he
would bring upon them; and he did not do it. 4:1 But this was very displeasing
to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He
prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I
was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning;
for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O Lord,
please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ 4 And the Lord
said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Then
Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for
himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become
of the city. 6 The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it
come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his
discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God
appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry
east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and
asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you
to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord
said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which
you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about
Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty
thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also
many animals?”
Psalm
145:1-8 (Track 2)
Psalm 145 is a song of praise, and also, in I s entire
21 verses, and alphabet acrostic poem. In this beginning of the psalm, verses
1-3 offer praise, and 4-8 offer a portrayal of God, ending, here, with a phrase
used to characterize God that appears many times (9) in the Hebrew Scriptures,
beginning with the creedal statement of Exodus 34:6.
1 I will exalt you, O God my King, *
and bless your Name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless you, *
and praise your Name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord
and greatly to be praised; *
there is no end to his greatness.
4 One generation shall praise your works to another *
and shall declare your power.
5 I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty *
and all your marvelous works.
6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, *
and I will tell of your greatness.
7 They shall publish the
remembrance of your great goodness; *
they shall sing of your righteous deeds.
8 The Lord is
gracious and fill of compassion, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
2nd Reading: Philippians 1:21-30
Philippi was a major port city in Macedonia. Pauls’
establishment of the church there is told in Acts 16:11-40. Paul’s relationship
with this community was a good one. There is no sense of conflict between them
as there is in most of Paul’s letters. There is some opposition to the
Christians in Philippi going on, but we are not told much about it. Paul is
probably writing this letter from prison in Rome, sometime between 61 and 63 c.e. He is at the point in his life
where he has developed an indifference to continued earthly life and the chance
to be with Christ. Yet he remains purposeful in encouraging the Philippians to
continue in joy of the gospel and to strengthen their unity.
1:21 To me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means
fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23 I am hard pressed between the two: my
desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary
for you. 25 Since I am convinced of
this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress
and joy in faith, 26 so that I may
share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. 27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of
the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear
about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side
by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28 and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For
them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is
God’s doing. 29 For he has
graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of
suffering for him as well—30 since
you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still
have.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus’ parables are
often meant to elicit a reaction from us that he then uses to bring home a
point about the gospel. This is certainly true of this parable. We are meant to
share in the indignation of those who have worked the entire day. It is not fair to give the same
wage to those who worked only an hour, but that is the main point. The mercy of
God is not fair by human standards. God stands ready to give indiscriminately,
so that, indeed, it will seem as if the last are being put first and the first
last. We are all on an equal footing with God.
20:1 [Jesus said,] “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went
out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the
usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3
When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle
in the marketplace; 4 and he said
to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’
So they went. 5 When he went out
again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found
others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle
all day?’ 7 They said to him,
‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the
vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the
owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them
their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came,
each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now
when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them
also received the usual daily wage. 11 And
when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the
scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied
to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for
the usual daily wage? 14 Take what
belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.
15 Am I not allowed to do what I
choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first
will be last.”
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 translations are from The Book of Common Prayer. Com.mentaries are copyright © 2017 Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843. www.EpiphanyEsources.com. All rights reserved. Permission is given to copy for congregational use with this attribution
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