Rama Ramanathan

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to reflect on John 16:12-15. These four verses lie within verses 16-24, to which the English Standard Version supplies the heading “Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy.” As I said last week, we’re in the part of John’s gospel in which he gives us highlights from Jesus’ farewell speech. […]

This Sunday, we will observe the Day of Pentecost. The lectionary invites us to ponder John 14:8-17, (25-27). In the English Standard Version, those verses fall within sections titled: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (1-14), and “Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit” (15-31). As I said in an earlier post, chapter 14

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder John 14:23-29. The English Standard Version supplies verses 15-31 with the heading “Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit.” As I said last week, in this part of his gospel, John focuses on Jesus’ farewell speech. It’s evening. Jesus has washed the feet of the twelve men whom he’s

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to meditate on Luke 15:1-3 and 11b-32, the parable of the prodigal[1] son. The English Standard Version inserts three headings in the chapter: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, and The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus told these parables in response to

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder Luke 13:31-35. The English Standard Version supplies the heading “Lament over Jerusalem.” The speaking characters are Jesus and some Pharisees. Verse 31 begins with “At that very hour.” Luke begins with these words because he wants us to connect what follows with what Jesus said earlier. What

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to read Luke 9:28-36. The English Standard Version, and most other translations, supply the passage with the heading “The Transfiguration.” The Transfiguration is at once simple and perplexing. There are parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark.[1] What Luke tells us before he introduces the passage is important. Jesus had

Last Sunday, the lectionary invited us to ponder Luke 6:17-38. This is the middle portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, the beginning of which I discussed last week. The English Standard Version supplies today’s verses with the headings “Love Your Enemies,” and “Judging Others.” Some teachings are repeated often. For example, in church membership

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder John 2:1-11. The English Standard Version extends the cluster to include verse 12 and supplies it with the heading “The Wedding at Cana.” The title is descriptive, not theological. But, as I’ve said in several earlier columns, John is a theologian.[1] He wrote his gospel to teach

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder Luke 3:15-17, 21-22. The English Standard Version doesn’t group these verses as two short clusters like the lectionary does. It groups verses 1-22 together and supplies them with the heading “John the Baptist Prepares the Way.” The story is about John whose birth God announced through an