Sunday (November 10) Scripture Commentary

November 10 Sermon – “What Do You See?”

Haggai 1:15b-2:9

This is the story of how the Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt after being destroyed in war. The people are overwhelmed at such a task. The prophet Haggai assures them that God will provide the courage and the resources.

Thanks to King Cyrus and later King Darius, they made it possible for the exiles of Judah to return from exile in Babylon.

They laid the foundation of the new Temple in 536 BC but nothing else has been done in years. The people decided to build houses for themselves instead of finishing the Temple. The people are struggling and the prophet, Haggai says it’s because they didn’t make the rebuilding of the Temple the top priority.

Judah has three leaders: Zerubbabel the administrator, Joshua the High Priest, and Haggai, the prophet.

Haggai asks them to remember the old Temple that was build by Solomon and he tells the people that this Temple will be filled with an even greater presence of God’s glory.

II Thessalonians 2:13-17

These are words of encouragement to all who believe in Christ. The Apostle Paul prays that we will be comforted and strengthened to live out our faith.

The Apostle Paul explains that God’s kingdom has not fully arrived on earth but it has begun. Evil forces are at work in the world but they will be held back by God.  God will destroy evil once and for all.

Paul thanks God for those who have faith in Christ. He tells the Thessalonians that they have been chosen for salvation. They will share with God through Christ.

Lectionaries - Structure & Spontaneity

The church universal often speaks of two lectionaries that are an important part of the life of a Christian and the church. These two lectionaries are meant to complement each other. The Sunday lectionary is a three year cycle of readings that always includes passages from the Old Testament, a Psalm, the New Testament (typically an Epistle), and the Gospel.

But there's also a daily lectionary which is a two year cycle of readings of Old and New Testament passages.

At Lancaster First UMC, we use a combination of Sunday lectionary readings for some Sundays and for other Sundays, we use other texts that relate to our sermon series themes. Sometimes, the lectionary is used even for our sermon series if it fits the theme we are using.

This Sunday, for the "Puzzling Parables" sermon series, our parable is "The Laborers in the Vineyard" from Matthew 20:1-16 which is not one of the appointed lectionary texts for this Sunday, but does appear in today's daily office lectionary readings. It's interesting how things come together.

When we were preaching on the "Crosses of Jesus" sermon series this past Lent, Sam noticed that the appointed lectionary Gospel lesson for the Sunday he was to preach on the Jerusalem Cross was the the scripture in which Jesus spoke about his love for Jerusalem. This kind of spontaneous connection happens more often than one might think.

This all reminds me of the importance of both structure and spontaneity in our faith journey. We need both to help us grow as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.