Bible on the Back Porch
Reading, pondering and studying God’s Word is sometimes best done “on the back porch.” Each week we will try to offer something for you and your “back porch time.”
Current and Upcoming Sunday Readings
15th Sunday, Year C
The Good Samaritan
The Gospel reading for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C is the well known parable of the “Good Samaritan.” There are a lot of undercurrent in this simple story. A “certain man” is waylaid on the way to Jerusalem. He is not identified by race, nationality or religion. People in positions of leadership in the Jewish faith pass him by. A Samaritan stops to help. Is this important? Would Jesus’ hearers be shocked?
Take a moment and consider these amazing reading from the comfort of your back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
Parable of the Good Samaritan by Balthasar van Cortbemde (1647) | Royal Museum of Fine Art, Antwerp | PD-US
16th Sunday, Year C
Martha and Mary
The Gospel reading for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C is the well known account of Jesus at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. It should be noted that last week’s gospel, ,the Good Samaritan, was exactly about “doing.” Perhaps this week’s gospel is not a simple comparison of listening vs. doing. The scribe (last week) is told to “go and do likewise,” while Mary is praised for not going and doing, but rather being present and listening.
Take a moment and consider this account that is far more than “simple.” Do it from the comfort of your back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary | Diego Velázquez, 1618 | National Gallery, London| PD-US
17th Sunday, Year C
Praying, Asking, and Receiving
The Gospel reading for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C begins with the apostles asking Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus gives them the model prayer: the Our Father (also known as the Lord’s Prayer). Among the gospel writers, Luke places more emphasis on prayer – it appears in stories, parables, and Luke often pictures Jesus withdrawing from the crowds to pray. We often think of this as a premier private prayer, but is it? Does it say “My Father…” or “give me this day….’ Like the account of Martha and Mary (last week) this more than a simple presentation of a prayer.
Take a moment and consider this account that is far more than “simple.” Do it from the comfort of your back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
The Lord’s Prayer (Le Pater Noster) | James Tissot, ca. 1890 | Brooklyn Museum | PD-US
18th Sunday, Year C
What matters to God
The Gospel reading for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C begins with a man asking Jesus to settle an inheritance issue, his immediate problem. Jesus offers a parable about a more important and longer-term issue: are you storing up things that matter to God? Within the parable are questions of needs, wants, greed, and vanity – and, in the light of last week’s gospel in which Jesus teaches us to pray – there is the question of the things we pray for.
Take a moment and consider this account that is far more than “simple.” Do it from the comfort of your back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
The Parable of the Rich Fool | Rembrandt, 1627 | Gemäldegalerie, Berlin | PD-US | also known as The Money Changer