Open Word
Brief daily reflections on a lectionary text for the day.
If you wish to be perfect – Aug 17
“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21
“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
I am not a fan of the whole literal or metaphorical reading of the Bible discussion. It seems to me each side has decided which parts of the Bible to read literally and which to read metaphorically. This may be a quippy cop-out but I’m for reading all parts of the Bible seriously, especially the parts that challenge me.
Jesus’ reply to the young man’s question certainly challenges me. It is one of those texts that causes me an initial pang of guilt, because I haven’t and don’t expect I will sell all that I have. And then I move into negotiation with the text. “Selling what I have” is really about spiritual detachment from my possessions. This feels at list a little more reasonable, although I haven’t achieved that either. Or perhaps this was just a statement directed at this young man to address his particular issues and isn’t a general instruction for all.
There are many ways to distance oneself from the seemingly straightforward meaning of the text.
For me, sitting with this text with an open spirit, with wonder and curiosity, listening to how God might be speaking to me through it increases the likelihood that understanding and direction might come.
Whatever you do with this challenging instruction, don’t get so distracted by it that you forget to pay attention to, and heed the instruction that follows. “Then come, follow me.”
Sounding Scripture: Aug 14
“With joy you will draw water
from the wells of Salvation.” Isa 12:3
Lectionary Psalm, Aug 14, 2026
Isaiah 12:2-6
“With joy you will draw water
from the wells of Salvation.” Isa 12:3
This verse, which also is used on the third Sunday of Advent, Year C, is one that has stuck with me for many years. It is a beautiful image of a fully restored life. But I think it’s true sticking point for me is how it sounds when spoken, or how it feels when speaking it. All those round “w” sounds and the rhythm of the verse give it the feeling of water tumbling over rocks.
(The version used by the by the USCCB draws water “at the fountain of salvation” which is fine as an image, but it just doesn’t have the same flow.)
The sound of scripture is not something most of use pay a lot of attention to, but poets and lyricists know that the sound of their text can build engagement or lose it. My favourite translation of the Psalms, by Liturgical Training Publications (no longer in print), was done for the intent of being read aloud.
My three semesters of biblical Greek are a long ways in the past and I no longer have a Greek New Testament but I’m pretty sure the joyful sound of this English translation of our Isaiah text is not found in the original tongue. My three semesters of biblical Hebrew, while also a ways off in my past taught me that Hebrew scripture when spoken is an audio-rich experience with lots of repetition, rhymes, and plays on words.
Ours is a world that began with the spoken word, “Let there be light.” and throughout God is primarily encountered through hearing. The word of God is first word that is heard.
“Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.” Rule of Benedict, Prologue
Kingdom Accounting: Aug 13
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” (Mt 18:21-22)
Lectionary gospel, Aug. 13, 2026
Matthew 18:21-19:1
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” (Mt 18:21-22)
Kingdom of God accounting is baffling.
A generous offer of forgiving sins seven times is exploded into an exhortation of seventy-seven offers of forgiveness. The first offer of seven can be counted on one’s hands, but seventy-seven, how do you keep track of that?
We also see examples of Kingdom accounting in the feeding thousands stories. Five loaves and two fish, fed to 4000 people, and we get 12 baskets of leftovers? I’m guessing Jesus didn’t have an accountant because balancing his books would be a nightmare.
Offering that kind of extravagant love and grace is hard once, let alone seven times, let alone seventy-seven times. It is much easier to account for each indiscretion than to blow all sense of proportion out of the water so that you can’t even keep track our generosity. It silences our desire to even the score and give people what they deserve.
As hard as it is to offer that abundant grace, it can be even harder to receive it – to not get back the penalty we deserve is disorienting, but to receive endless, unqualified love and grace destroys our sense of justice and fair play. It becomes a deeply humbling experience.
May we all lose count of the gifts of love offered and received.
Treat him like a tax collector: Aug 12
“If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” Matthew 18:17
Lectionary gospel, Aug 12, 2026
Matthew 18:15-20
“If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” Matthew 18:17
I’m sure Matthew’s ears perked up when Jesus was explaining how to treat an unrepentant brother – “treat him like a tax collector?” “Like me?!” Matthew must have been puzzled.
Sometimes what looks like an insult, turns out to be something else entirely.
“Treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”
In the Rule of Benedict, the book used to guide monastery life since the 6th century BCE, when a fellow monk has so seriously broken trust so at to be banished from the monastery, the Abbott is instructed to “exercise utmost care and concern for the wayward monk.” The Abbott is to send “mature and wise monks who, under the cloak of secrecy, may support the wavering sister or brother, urge them to be humble as a way of making satisfaction, and ‘console them lest he be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.’ (2 Cor 2:7)” (Rule of Benedict, Chapter 27)
“Treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”
Jesus spent a lot of his time on earth with Gentiles and tax collectors, so treating a wayward brother like one seems an odd “punishment.” Jesus’ relationship with Gentiles and tax collectors was often one of compassion and generosity.
The wayward sister or brother or monk may have broken trust and relationships, but they have not broken our ability to love, learned from the one who loves us.
Gentiles and tax collectors all are we and like the wayward monk, we are cared for, urged to be humble, and always welcome home.