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Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A, June 26, 2005

First reading, 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a

Our Liturgical Setting: This reading prepares the congregation to hear the day's gospel, Matthew 10:37-42, which you should read first. Notice that the first half of these sayings of Jesus are about the behavior of his disciples; the second half are about the behavior of others towards the disciples. It's one of those sayings that prompted the selection of today's first reading.

The Historical Situation: The traveler who enjoys hospitality in this story is identified as "a holy man of God" in the story. In fact he is a prophet. (As Reginald Fuller points out, that's what the author meant by "holy man", one who is a bearer of God's word.1) Pronounce his name "e LISH uh" with a short e in the first syllable and a short i in the second. To the careful listener, this will distinguish him from his mentor, the more famous prophet Elijah ("ee LYE juh"), of whom you can read in 1 Kings, starting at chapter 17. This is the most innocent of a series of miracle stories in 2 Kings, chapter 4, that establish Elisha's authority as a man of God.

Proclaiming It: Now this reading is a simple story. When proclaimed to the congregation, it should sound like a story. The elements of the story are quite ordinary: a frequent traveler, a kind but childless couple, hospitality, promise and hope. Tell it like you'd tell the story of how you met your spouse, or how you'd tell a serious story to a child.

Second Reading, Romans 6:3-4, 8-11

The Theological Background: In prior chapters of Romans, Paul has established that God has given us Christ so that, by our relationship with Christ, we might enjoy God's favor. Now Paul is working out some of the implications of that. That Christ was raised from the dead means at least all of the following:

Proclaiming It: The letter to the Romans is full of vivid contrasts, and these paragraphs have that character in spades.

Vary your pitch as you proclaim the contrasting elements. The congregation should hear the contrasts in your voice. If they're to grasp the contrasts intellectually, they need this help from you.

Extra! Each Sunday passage from Romans in context: Click here to see a table summarizing the readings from Romans from the 9th to the 24th Sundays of Ordinary Time, this year.

1 Preaching the Lectionary: The Word of God for the Church Today, Reginald H. Fuller. The Liturgical Press. 1984 (Revised Edition). pp. 139-141. See his treatment of all the day's readings at the link in the table below.

Several other commentaries on these passages. All are thoughtful, all quite readable, from the scholarly to the popular.
Links may be incomplete more than a few weeks before the "due date."
Lutheran pastor and college teacher Dan Nelson's notes for a study group.
Dan covers different first and second readings this week, but you'll be edified by his notes on the gospel, reflection and prayers. 		The Text This Week; links to homilies, art works, movies and other resources on the week's scripture themes Father Roger Karban's syndicated column about these readings, from 2002.
The 2002 column of Jesuit Father Francis X. Cleary, From the site of the Saint Louis Review. Saint Louis University's excellent liturgy site
Most welcome here are Reginald Fuller's commentaries.
Lector's Notes appear about two weeks before S.L.U. releases its liturgy pages for the same Sunday, so the addresses behind the links above are subject to change. If you get an "Error 404, Not Found," try the S.L.U. Center for Liturgy home page.

The Lectionary selections in the frame at the left, if any, are there for your convenience. The publishers of the page in that frame have no connection, except for membership in the one Body of Christ, with the publisher of this page. Likewise the publishers of the pages on the links above.

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Last modified: Fri May 27 21:13:13 CDT 2005