March 16 Sermon – “Who Were the Twelve Disciples of Jesus:
James the Lesser & Thaddeus”
Psalm 121
Imagine walking a long journey up a hill to
Jerusalem with your friends and family to attend an annual religious festival.
Off in the distance, you can now see the Temple glistening in the sun as you
sing these words from Psalm 121.
Psalm 121 is known as a Psalm of Ascent. These include Psalms 120 through 134. These short Psalms were sung by pilgrims on
their way up to the temple on Mount Zion for religious feast celebrations.
Jerusalem and the Temple are located at the top of a long
hill which is why verse 1 speaks of “lifting my eyes up to the hills.”
Verse 2 – The psalm reminds us that God is the creator of
the universe.
Verses 3-8 – These verses remind us that God offers
protection in all possible circumstances.
John 14:18-24
Our Gospel reading provides the only story in
the scriptures about Thaddeus, also known as Judas, who is one of the twelve
disciples of Jesus. This story takes place soon after Jesus' Last Supper with
the disciples.
The disciple Thaddeus was also known as Judas, which is why
verse 22 makes this distinction.
This passage is part of what is known as the “Farewell
Discourse” of Jesus where he prepares the disciples for when he would be
leaving them.
Jesus is telling the disciples that if they remain faithful
to Christ despite tremendous opposition from the world that they will receive
peace from God (verse 27.)
This scripture reminds us of our Psalm 121 reading for this
Sunday which speaks of God’s protection in all circumstances.
[Note: The resources used for these scripture reading commentaries are based on the Everyone series by NT Wright, The Wesley Study Bible, and the “Montreal-Anglican”lectionary commentaries.]
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