Church Festivals in June-Aug
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June 1 (transferred from May 31): Visit of Mary to Elizabeth

Sometime after the Annunciation, Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words “Blessed are you among women,” and Mary responded with her famous song, the Magnificat. Luke’s gospel tells that even John the Baptist rejoiced and leapt in his mother’s womb when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting. On this festival two women are seen: one, too old to have a child, bears the last prophet of the old covenant, and the other, still quite young, bears the incarnate Word and the new covenant.

June 3: The Holy Trinity

Early Christians began to speak of the one God in three persons in order to describe more fully the wonder of salvation. God is above us, beside us, within us. God is our loving Father, our savior Jesus, our companion Spirit. To be baptized in this name is the enter into God’s community.

June 11: Barnabas, Apostle

The Eastern church commemorates Barnabas as one of the Seventy commissioned by Jesus. Though he was not among the Twelve mentioned in the gospels, the book of Acts gives him the title of apostle. His name means “son of encouragement.” When Paul came to Jerusalem after his conversion, Barnabas took him in over the fears of the other apostles, who doubted Paul’s discipleship. Later, Paul and Barnabas traveled together on missions.

June 24: John the Baptist

We are now on the far side of the sun from Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. In the Northern Hemisphere the days now begin to grow shorter as we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Messiah. In comparing himself to Jesus, John once said “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Though John was eager to see his own ministry eclipsed, Jesus honored John as being the greatest prophet.

June 29: Peter and Paul, Apostles

These two are an odd couple of biblical witnesses to be brought together in one commemoration. It appears that Peter would have gladly served as the editor of Paul’s letters; in a letter attributed to him, Peter says that some things in Paul’s letters are hard to understand. Paul’s criticism of Peter is more blunt. In Galatians he points out ways that Peter was wrong. One of the things that unites Peter and Paul is the traditions that says they were martyred together on this date in 67 or 68. What unites them more closely is their common confession of Jesus Christ. In the gospel reading appointed for this day, Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ through whom the foundation of the church is established. In the second reading, Paul tells the Corinthians that they are the temple of Christ. Together Peter and Paul lay a foundation and build the framework for our lives of faith through their proclamation of Jesus Christ.

July 3: Thomas, Apostle

Thomas is perhaps best remembered as “Doubting Thomas.” But alongside this doubt, the Gospel of John shows Thomas as fiercely loyal: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). And John’s gospel shows Thomas moving from doubt to deep faith. Thomas makes one of the strongest confessions of faith in the New Testament, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). From this confession of faith, ancient stories tell of Thomas’ missionary work to India, where Christian communities were flourishing a thousand years before the arrival of sixteenth century missionaries. The feast of St. Thomas is observed on various dates, and a long tradition in the West placed it on December 21. In 1969, however, the Roman Catholic calendar moved it to July 3 in agreement with the Syrian Church. Evangelical Lutheran Worship follows this ecumenical trend.

July 22: Mary Magdalene, Apostle

Bernard of Clairvaux affectionately called Mary of Magdala “the apostle to the apostles,” because she was sent on Easter to bring them the good news from Jesus’ open tomb. Today we remember her with thanksgiving and recall other women of faith who by their actions and words gave witness to God’s powerful new life.

July 25: James, Apostle

James is one of the sons of Zebedee and is counted as one of the twelve disciples. Together with his brother John they had the nickname of “sons of thunder.” One of the stories in the New Testament tells of their request for Jesus to grant them places of honor in the kingdom. They re also reported to have asked Jesus for permission to send down fire on a Samaritan village that had not welcomed them. James was the first of the Twelve to suffer martyrdom and is the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in scripture. He is sometimes called James the Elder to distinguish him from James the Less, commemorated with Philip on May 1, and James of Jerusalem, commemorated on Oct 23. James is frequently pictured with a scallop shell. It recalls his life as a fisherman, his call to fish for people, and the gift of our baptism into Christ.

August 15: Mary, Mother of Our Lord

The church honors Mary with the Greek title theotokos, meaning God-bearer. Origen first used this title in the early church, and the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon upheld it. Luther upheld this same title in his writings. The honor paid to Mary as theotokos and the mother of our Lord goes back to biblical times, when Mary herself sang, “from now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). Mary’s life revealed the presence of God incarnate, and it revealed God’s presence among the humble and poor. Mary’s song, the Magnificat, speaks of reversals in the reign of God: the mighty are cast down, the lowly are lifted up, the hungry are fed, and the rich are sent away empty-handed.

August 24: Bartholomew, Apostle

Bartholomew is mentioned as one of Jesus’ disciples in Matthew, Mark and Luke. The list in John does not include him, but rather Nathanael. These two are often assumed to be the same person. Except for his name on these lists of the Twelve, little is known. Some traditions say Bartholomew preached in India or Armedia following the resurrection. In art, Bartholomew is pictured holding a flaying knife to indicate the manner in which he was killed.

  Lessons for June-Aug

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost June 28, 2009 (Lectionary 13)
Lamentations 3:22-33 or Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
Psalm 30 (1)
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Mark 5:21-43

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost July 5, 2009 (Lectionary 14)
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm 123 (2)
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost July 12, 2009 (Lectionary 15)
Amos 7:7-15
Psalm 85:8-13
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost July 19, 2009 (Lectionary 16)
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23 (1)
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost July 26, 2009 (Lectionary 17)
2 Kings 4:42-44
Psalm 145:10-18 (16)
Ephesians 3:14-21
John 6:1-21

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost August 2, 2009 (Lectionary 18)
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm 78:23-29 (24, 25)
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost August 9, 2009 (Lectionary 19)
1 Kings 19:4-8
Psalm 34:1-8
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
John 6:35, 41-51

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost August 16, 2009 (Lectionary 20)
Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm 34:9-14 (10)
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost August 23, 2009 (Lectionary 21)
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22 (15)
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost August 30, 2009 (Lectionary 22)
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15 (1)
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 6, 2009 (Lectionary 23)
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Psalm 146 (2)
James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17
Mark 7:24-37