sorry this is late...
NEW TESTAMENT: Colossians 3: 12 - 17 (RCL)
Colossians 3: 12 - 17 (18 - 21) (Roman Catholic)

Colo 3:12 (NRSV) As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart.

Notes
h/t montreal Anglican

Now he tells them, chosen by God as they are, what virtues, ethical qualities, are expected of them: “compassion” (v. 12) is sympathy for the needs of others and “meekness” is gentleness and consideration towards others. Christ’s forgiveness of them (and us) is a model for their conduct towards each other (v. 13). The primary quality for the Christian is “love” (v. 14).

In v. 15, the word translated “rule” literally means be umpire or referee: so may “the peace of Christ” be the reference point for your consciences, as it is for you all in the Church (“one body”). May the understanding, the knowledge, of the way Christ works be yours, and may sharing this in the community lead you to deeper understanding (“wisdom”, v. 16); may you show your thankfulness to the Father through the Son in worship. In all your words and actions, speak and do as though Christ were doing them.

Colossae was a city in what is now southwestern Turkey. It had a flourishing wool and textile industry and a significant Jewish population. It seems that most Christians there were Gentile.

Galatians 3: 23 - 25, 4: 4 - 7 (ECUSA)

Gala 3:23 (NRSV) Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,

4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6 And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.


GOSPEL: Luke 2: 41 - 52 (RCL)


Luke 2:41 (NRSV) Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." 49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

his is the only passage in the Bible that tells of Jesus’ boyhood. On the “festival of the Passover”, Jews celebrated both Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and the Festival of Unleavened Bread, a symbol of the start of a new year. Jesus’ family is pious. He is now “twelve years old” (v. 42); in another year, he will officially become a man (now celebrated by Jews in the bar mitzvah). After the eight days of the festival, the “group” (v. 44, probably the whole village) begins the journey back to Nazareth. Joseph and Mary find Jesus in the outer court of the Temple “among the teachers” (v. 46), experts in Jewish law. Respectful of the law, he not only listens and asks questions, but also answers their questions.
V. 49 marks a turning point in the gospel: these are the first words of Jesus we have; for the first time Jesus’ father is named as the Father – until now, Joseph has been called his father. Note “must”: the relationship between Jesus and the Father requires obedience. Parents do reach the point where they do not understand their children (v. 50); here Mary and Joseph do not comprehend that his relationship with God takes precedence over being their child. Upon return to Nazareth, he obeys his parents in everyday life. In spite of not understanding, Mary “treasured” (v. 51) what Jesus says – as his mother and also as the model believer. Jesus continues to grow physically and in understanding, preparing himself for the mission that lies ahead of him (v. 52).




John 1: 1 - 18 (ECUSA)

John 1:1 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' ") 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Notes
h/t montreal Anglican

John identifies that which has become flesh and blood as the "Word." Here he draws on language closely associated with the figure 'Wisdom'. In a first century CE Jewish text, the Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom is described as "she who knows your [God's] works and was present when you made the world." Jesus, like Wisdom, is described in John's Gospel as the one through whom the world came into being (1:3, 10; see also Proverbs 8:22-31) and who does the works of God (5:36; 10:32; 14:10).

John also draws on the language of "Wisdom" found in another Jewish text from the second century BCE, Sirach. Here, Wisdom is said to make her dwelling (kataskēnō) in Jacob (Sirach 24:8). John uses the same verb root (from skēnoō) in 1:14. A more literal translation might render this verse, "The Word pitched its tent among us," giving the phrase a wonderfully earthy feel. This alternate translation also provides a sense of God's intentionality. God has chosen this place, a place identified not by physical characteristics or geographic boundaries, but by reference to relationship ("among us").

The use of Wisdom language to speak about Jesus reminds us:
• That the story of Jesus has deep roots within Judaism and cannot be separated from them.
• That the language we use to speak about Jesus evokes additional images and ideas. Consequently, these new ideas inform our overall understanding of Jesus. Using the language of "Wisdom" to identify Jesus invites us to seek out those texts where Wisdom is central. To complete the circle, we reflect on how they help us to gain insight into Jesus.
• That we need to be careful with the language we choose to talk about Jesus. Yet how do we speak about the ineffable? We need to pick our words with care, or we may end up making unintended claims with disastrous consequences. Consider, for example, the potential ramifications of calling Jesus "big brother." In choosing the language of Wisdom, John gives his audience appropriate language with which to speak about and understand God's incarnation.

Verses 1-2: The “Word” (Greek: logos) of God is speech, but also God in action, creating (see Genesis 1:3 and Psalm 33:6), revealing (see Amos 3:7-8), redeeming (see Psalm 107:19-20). Jesus is this “Word” (see v. 14). He was eternal (“in the beginning”, Genesis 1:1), personal (“with God”), divine (“was God”). Note “was”: not became. This contrasts with v. 14. [NOAB]
Verse 1: “In the beginning ... was with God”: This also recalls the traditions of Wisdom being with God at creation (see Proverbs 8:30 and Wisdom of Solomon 7:25), but John goes beyond the stance of wisdom literature, which carefully avoids showing Wisdom as equal with God. [NJBC]
Verse 3: He was the sole agent of creation: see Genesis 1:1; Proverbs 8:27-30; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2. [NOAB]
Verse 4: Apart from him, both physical and spiritual life would recede into nothingness: see 5:39-40 and 8:12. [NOAB]

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 10: 5 - 10 (all)

Hebr 10:5 (NRSV) Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your will, O God'
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me)."
8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
9 then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.
10 And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Notes h/t montreal anglican

the author has stated that the sacrifices offered annually in the Temple on the Day of Atonement (according to Jewish law) foreshadow (point forward to) “the good things [that are] to come” through Christ. He then argues: if the temple sacrifices were “good things”, i.e. cleansing of all inner guilt that sin causes, why did these sacrifices need to continue? (v. 2) These sacrifices, he says, did not wipe the slate clean

sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings”: These terms are probably meant to cover the four main types of sacrifice: respectively peace offerings, cereal offerings, holocausts, and sin offerings (including guilt offerings)

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 39 - 45 (46 - 55) (RCL, Can. BAS)
Luke 1: 39 - 55 (Can. BAS)
Luke 1: 39 - 45 (Roman Catholic)

Luke 1:39 (NRSV) In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,
40 where she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.
45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
46 And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."


universalize her experience, to reflect how God deals with all humanity. While the verbs are in the past tense in English, the Greek tense has the sense of:
• how God customarily acts – as he always has and will continue to do – and
• what he is starting to do in the conception of Jesus.
The “proud” (v. 51), the arrogant, are alienated from God by their very “thoughts”; he reverses fortunes, raising up those in need (“lowly”, v. 52, “hungry”, v. 53) and rejecting the rich, those who think they don’t need God. Vv. 54-55 sum up the Magnificat: in his compassion, God has fulfilled and continues to fulfill his promises to the patriarchs.


The verbs in the Greek are in the aorist (past) tense. Because the aorist can indicate various times of action, scholars differ as to the precise meaning because they do not see how God has accomplished (past tense) all this in the mere conception of Jesus. NJBC prefers the interpretation that these actions are what God characteristically does (gnomic aorist) and is beginning to do now in the conception of Jesus

NEW TESTAMENT Philippians 4: 4 - 7 (RCL, Roman Catholic)
Philippians 4: 4 - 9 (Canadian BAS)

Phil 44 (NRSV) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Notes h/t montreal anglican
Jesus bids his disciples to “rejoice that ... [their] names are written in heaven”. V. 4 is the conventional Greek salutation (like our goodbye) but here Paul means “rejoice” literally. He expects the Second Coming soon: “The Lord is near” (v. 5). Then v. 6: rather than worrying on their own, the Philippians should ask God to help them, through prayer, both of “supplication” (petition) and “thanksgiving”.

The original is marana tha, an Aramaic expression transliterated into Greek meaning Our Lord is come or Our Lord, come. The use of this expression in 1 Corinthians 16:22 suggests that this was an early prayer originating in the Palestinian church. [HBD] See also Revelation 22:20. [JBC]


GOSPEL Luke 3: 7 - 18 (RCL)
Luke 3: 10 - 18 (Roman Catholic)

Luke 37 (NRSV) John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
10 And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" 11 In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" 13 He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." 14 Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.


Notes h/t montreal anglican


The “crowds” (v. 10) are probably ordinary people; they should have selfless concern for the disadvantaged. In spite of attempted reforms, “tax collectors” (v. 12) still collected more than prescribed. The “soldiers” (v. 14) were probably Jews in the service of Herod Antipas; they too were despised. John tells them that they should follow the emperor’s guidelines on military conduct. That “What should we do?” is answered here and elsewhere in various ways probably indicates that simply following rules is inadequate: we must ask again and again in openness to God’s will.
At the time, people expected the Messiah to come at any moment (v. 15): perhaps John would restore Israel’s fortunes and God’s power would triumph now. John says that the baptism he offers is vastly inferior to Jesus’ baptism: for Jesus, he is so unworthy that he cannot even do a slave’s task


Only Luke has these verses. He emphasizes the acceptance of the message by ordinary and marginalised people. These people also respond to Jesus’ message..

The emperor Augustus tried to eliminate abuses in the Roman tax system. John’s words reflect these high ideals.

NEW TESTAMENT Philippians 1: 3 - 11 (RCL)
Philippians 1: 4 - 6, 8 - 11 (Roman Catholic)

Phil 1:3 (NRSV) I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.


Notes

h/t montreal Anglican

Christians are “saints” in that they constitute “in Christ” God’s holy people.

“praying with joy” (v. 4, a pervasive quality of the book), because of their participation (“sharing”, v. 5) in spreading the good news, “from the first day”, since their conversion.

Paul is in prison for the faith, and not for a crime. Paul being in chains is a special grace rather than an evil:

his prayer for them: may they grow in love of God through knowing more of the Christian reality, marked by keen awareness of its meaning (“insight”), that they may discern the difference being Christians makes (“best”), so that when Christ comes again, they may be ready - having achieved a right relationship with God (“harvest of righteousness”






GOSPEL Luke 3: 1 - 6 (all)

Luke 3:1 (NRSV) In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tibe'rius, when Pon'tius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Her'od was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Iturae'a and Trachoni'tis, and Lysa'nias ruler of Abile'ne, 2 during the high priesthood of An'nas and Ca'iaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechari'ah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isai'ah,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"


Notes

h/t montreal Anglican

Luke places an event (John’s ministry) in the context of rulers

o Luke, “all flesh” (v. 6), all people, not only Jews, will have the opportunity to be rescued from sin.

Various groups, including the Qumran Community, expressed their unhappiness with the Jewish religious authorities by moving out into the wild country around Jerusalem. Members of the Qumran community applied Isaiah 40:3 (quoted in v. 4) to themselves, as they prepared the Lord’s way by living in the desert and by separating themselves from outsiders

It is interesting that the proportions of the ruins at Qumran are the same as those of the Temple; they saw themselves as the true Judaism. The “wilderness” (desert) was also where God led Israel and formed a covenant marriage with them:

“baptism”: At the time, per the Mishnah, it was the practice to baptise converts to Judaism, but John’s call was to Israelites. Ceremonial purification by water has deep biblical roots:

NEW TESTAMENT 1 Thessalonians 3: 9 - 13 (RCL)

1The 3:9 (NRSV) How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.
11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.


1 Thessalonians 3: 12 - 4: 2 (Roman Catholic)

1The 3:12 (NRSV) And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. 4:1 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Notes h/t/

During the many years of wars that took place after the death of the Great Alexander (in 323 BC), only one man was successfully able to rule (and eventually also to call himself King of) Alexander's homeland itself - Macedonia. The man's name was Cassander. After eliminating his rivals, becoming guardian of the toddler King (Alex IV), and securing the loyalty of the nobility under his rule, Cassander needed to strengthen his future hopes at claiming the throne. To do this, he married the only surviving member of the Royal Bloodline, a daughter of Philip the Great, and half-sister to Great Alexander. The woman's name was Thessalonike. They married in 316 BC.

In 317 BC, when Thessalonike and her stepmother (Cassander's last rivals) were beseiged for a year, the future King began making plans for his new country. Cassander sent his troops to strengthen old cities and to build new ones in strategic places. The most important new city, in the most strategic location, was just being finished when Cassander finally took Thessalonike as his captive, and then as his bride. Perhaps as a wedding present, he named the new city after her.

Cassander built Thessalonica on the site of an ancient Thracian settlement called Therme (which means ‘hot’). The site was especially valuable because of several choice features that had to do with its location, not the least of which was a large natural harbor, deep at the shoreline, where Cassander used to increase trade with the inland areas, and for basing a sizeable portion of his fleet. Using both Macedonian and Athenian architects, Cassander gave the old village gates, walls, a fortress, temples, a gym, stadium, theater, and all the special features necessary to be called a city in the world of their day.

The new city grew in importance and prospered, barring periods of conflict, for over a century. When the Romans finally occupied all of Greece (after their second invasion, in 168) they soon noticed the perfect location and harbor of Thessalonica, and made it the capital of their new province. By 140 a new Roman road, the Via Egnatia, was built running right past the city, connecting the traffic of land trade and armies between two major parts of the Mediterranean seas. The Romans kept peace, and the city grew in size and in (relative) prosperity. Italians, Jews and Macedonian-Egyptians all moved to the city, to share opportunities, and wealth (such as it was)….

In the 83rd year after Augustus’ rule began, his nephew Claudius was on the throne, and a new type of religion was introducing itself to the West. In January of 51 AD, two Jews from Palestine, calling themselves followers of “the Christ”, walked into Thessalonica. In that cosmopolitan city, as in so many others, Paul and Silas would manage to turn that whole world upside down… for three months!


h/t http://bible.org/seriespage

“Night and day” does not mean once at night and once in the morning nor does it mean that all night and all day they did nothing but pray. It means they prayed during the night and during the day, i.e., regularly, consistently, and in earnest.65

“Complete” is the Greek karartizo. It means “to fit together or adjust, restore, repair, equip.

“What is lacking” is the Greek husterema, “deficiency, what is behind.” It brings out an important principle. Our faith and our knowledge, application, and faith in the faith never reaches a point of perfection. There is always room for improvement and growth.





GOSPEL Luke 21: 25 - 36 (RCL)
Luke 21: 25 - 28, 34 - 36 (Roman Catholic)

Luke 21:25 (NRSV) "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

h/t http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/archive/cadv1l.shtml

Darkness day and night was considered a sign of the coming of divine judgement:


the “Son of Man” (v. 27), the ideal human, Christ, will come from heaven (“in a cloud”, a symbol of divine presence, as at the Transfiguration) with power to control events. Then “redemption” (v. 28), God’s acts of freeing his chosen people, will be near.


do not be so “weighed down” (v. 34) with day-to-day earthy matters that you are unprepared for the final call (“that day”). It will be for all those who survive all disasters (v. 35). Pray that God may give you the strength to resist all evils, so that you may “stand before” (v. 36) Christ, be deemed worthy by him.

“adorned with beautiful stones”: The second Temple was begun after the return from exile (c. 520 BC), and was modest. Herod began construction of the third Temple in 20 BC; it was finished in 63 AD, and destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD at the end of the Jewish revolt. It was still under construction in Jesus’ day. The stones were some 11 m long x 5.5 m wide x 3.6 m deep. The Temple was begun by Herod the Great


Usually, however, the reference is simply to the coming of the Son of Man or Christ as Lord which, like the coming of the Kingdom of God, the Day of Judgement, and the resurrection of the dead, was expected in the not too far distant future, at the end of the present era.

NEW TESTAMENT Revelation 1: 4b - 8 (RCL, C of E)
Revelation 1: 5 - 8 (Roman Catholic)

Reve 1:4 (NRSV) Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Notes h/t http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/BEpChristtheKing.htm

The formal framework was a structure within which to include major emphases and significant themes, especially those pertaining to the letter which followed. This is certainly the case here. It is no casual greeting. It is no ordinary grace and peace, but grace and peace from a special source. John is wishing his readers grace and peace from God. It is, in fact, more complex. John describes God as "The one who is", an allusion to the Old Testament tradition in Exodus according to which God interpreted his name as meaning: "I am who I am".

Then, as now, this description opens a range of possibilities. It was a way that some non Jews also loved to speak of their gods. It evokes a sense of the Being who is beyond and within all being. The two additional descriptions, "The one who was and the coming one", give a dimension of time. If "the one who is" invites us to think of the here and now and to contemplate the spatial dimensions, the terms, "the one who was" and "the one who is to come", evoke a sense of time and timelessness: in the beginning - and in the end: God; and in the midst of life: God. This is all embracing, combining a sense of origin with a sense of destiny and at the same time a sense of presence.

GOSPEL John 18: 33 - 37 (all)

John 18:33 (NRSV) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" 35 Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Note the Roman Catholic lectionary omits the first part of v. 33.

Notes h/t //montreal.anglican.org

Pilate goes inside the praetorium and asks Jesus: are you the leader of a revolutionary movement? In return, Jesus asks him: Is this question your idea, based on what you have heard, or did others put you up to it? Pilate shows his scorn for Jews; the religious authorities seek your death, but what grounds are there for killing you

Jesus puts into words the dilemma he has been in throughout his ministry: though conscious of an absolute authority, and of Davidic descent, he has known that to assert his authority by force would ruin the purpose for which he has come

Pilate’s suspicion of the high priests is already apparent

Pilate was prefect of Judea from 26 to 36 AD

NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 10: 11 - 14 (15 - 18) 19 - 25 (RCL, C of E)
Hebrews 10: 11 - 18 (Can. BAS)
Hebrews 10: 11 - 14, 18 (Roman Catholic)

Hebr 10:11 (NRSV) And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," 13 and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"
17 he also adds,
"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Notes h/t montreal.anglican.org

The author has told us how much greater is Christ’s sacrifice of himself than the annual sacrifices of the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Now he says that what any priest offered daily in sacrificial ritual for the forgiveness of sins was worthless, unlike Christ’s “single sacrifice” (v. 12): after Jesus died and rose, he became king. (Kings “sat down”, but priests stood.) Since that time, he has been awaiting the final defeat of his “enemies”

The sense here is foreshadow, rather than the Platonic heavenly-earthly contrast in 8:5 (“a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one”). The “good things to come” will come through Christ.

The Day of Atonement rituals reminded worshippers of their sins, but did not erase them. This statement of the inefficacy of the annual sacrifices contradicts the belief expressed in Jubilees 5:17-18. But is not clear whether it is God or the worshipper who remembers the sins


sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings”: These terms are probably meant to cover the four main types of sacrifice: respectively peace offerings, cereal offerings, holocausts, and sin offerings (including guilt offerings)

GOSPEL Mark 13: 1 - 8 (RCL, C of E)

Mark 13:1 (NRSV) As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" 2 Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4 "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" 5 Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, "I am he!' and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Notes h/t montreal.anglican.org

he and his first four disciples visit the Mount of Olives – a place mentioned in Zechariah 14:4 as being connected with events at the end of the era. They ask him: when will the Temple (“this”, v. 4) be destroyed? How will we know that the end of the era is near? Jesus gives them three indicators:
• false claimants to being God’s agent of renewal will appear, claiming “I am he!” (v. 6);
• international political conflicts (v. 8a) will occur, as will
• natural disasters.

Verses 3-37: On the end of the era. These verses are known as the little apocalypse.

The Mount of Olives is to the east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron valley.

Mark 13: 24 - 32 (Can. BAS, Roman Catholic)

Mark 13: 24 (NRSV) "But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 9 24 - 28

Hebr 924 (NRSV) For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Notes h/t montreal.anglican.org

Christ’s death as the sacrifice ratifies forever the new covenant, replacing the elaborate but temporary system of purification decreed under the Law of ancient Israel. The latter dealt with sin at the earthly level and on a repeated, temporal basis, but Christ’s sacrifice for us was “once for all” (9:28) and has eternal effects. The new community now awaits his reappearance from heaven, when he will take its members forever into God’s presence. This radical change was anticipated in the Old Testament. No further offering for human sin is necessary

While the author rejects repeated suffering by Jesus, he does not reject the eternal presence of his one sacrifice.

The appearance of Jesus will be like that of the high priest emerging from the Holy of Holies


GOSPEL Mark 12: 38 - 44 (RCL)
Mark 12: (38 - 40) 41 - 44 (Roman Catholic)

Mark 1238 (NRSV) As he taught, he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

notes

Now, as Jesus teaches in the synagogue, he warns of certain scribes (professional interpreters of the Law) who “walk around” ostentatiously, seek honor in public places (“marketplaces”) and seek prestige “in ... synagogues” (v. 39) and “at banquets”. (“Long robes”, v. 38, may be prayer shawls, normally worn only when praying. The “best seats”, v. 39, in the synagogue were near the Ark – where the scrolls were kept – and faced the congregation; the “places of honor” were couches at the host’s table.)
Certain scribes, as legal trustees of a widow’s estate, charged exorbitantly for their services. The fee was usually a part of the estate, but some took the “widows’ houses” (v. 40). Some kept up an appearance of piety. They will be judged harshly in the greatest court of all on Judgement Day. Jesus’ disciples are not to be like them

putting money into the treasury”: There were thirteen chests in the temple court, each one labelled with the purpose to which the funds would be put. The chests were shaped like an inverted trumpet – for protection against theft

“penny”: A labourer’s daily wage was 64 pennies


Mark 1: 14 - 20 (C of E)

Mark 1:14 (NRSV) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

NEW TESTAMENT: Revelation 21: 1 - 6a (RCL)

Reve 21:1 (NRSV) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away."
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.


Colossians 1: 1 - 14 (Can. BAS)

Colo 1:9 (NRSV) For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.


notes

Colossae or Colosse (also known as Chonae or Kona), was an ancient city of Phrygia, on the Lycus, which is a tributary of the Maeander River. It was situated about 12 miles above Laodicea, and near the great road from Ephesus to the Euphrates. The site, located in what is now Anatolia in Turkey, has never been excavated.
As the neighboring cities, Hierapolis and Laodicea, increased in importance, Colosse declined. There were many Jews living there, and a chief article of commerce, for which the place was renowned, was the collossinus, a peculiar wool, probably of a purple color


Letters written by Paul (or written in his name) often begin with his claim to apostleship

A careful reading of the letter reveals the author’s concern. Some Colossian Christians had become very attracted to the ascetical and religious practices of local folk religions. The exact nature of these practices is uncertain though it is clear that they contained a mixture of pagan elements and Jewish ascetical practices, combined with the worship of local and foreign deities. In an attempt to guarantee definitive protection from evil and union with God, they had blended these practices with a form of ‘angel worship.’ What resulted was a religious syncretism in which authentic Christian teachings of the gospel appeared intermingled with pagan and folk religious elements.

“bearing fruit”: For the power of the gospel to achieve results

The Colossians are being asked to endure in the face of an ominous false teaching which threatens them: see 2:8-23: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ

They have not only come to faith in Christ (1:4), but they have also become characterised by love towards "the saints", which may simply mean other Christians, but could mean Jewish Christians in particular. 1:5 emphasises hope. Later we hear that this hope was being unsettled by some who were making it depend on fulfilling certain rites and rules. "Truth" appears twice in this context (1:5 and 1:6) because the intrusion of mistaken ideas is part of what has been unsettling the community. The writer is wanting to say that grace, shown through Christ, is enough.

h/t an montreal.anglican.org and Wikipedia.
BTW Colosse has not yet been excavated.


1 John 3: 1 - 3 (Roman Catholic)

1Joh 3:1 (NRSV) See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.


GOSPEL: John 11: 32 - 44 (RCL)

John 11:32 (NRSV) When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Laz'arus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."


Matthew 5: 1 - 12 (Roman Catholic)

Matt 5:1 (NRSV) When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

notes

Oriental teachers usually sat while teaching

The “mountain” is one of revelation

those who “mourn” include all who undergo life’s hard experiences, crushing disappointments, and bitter losses, and yet in conscious or mute faith turn to God for help.

the word “meek” means more than gentle, humble and trustful towards God even though outward conditions of life are not easy. It is the opposite of the self-centred, brazen attempt to be independent of God. It accepts life under God without complaint or bitterness. While in the psalm “the land” is the Promised Land (though the notions of faith and worship of God are not absent), here the phrase “the earth” (or land) is figurative: the “meek” will enter the Kingdom of God and will know all the privileges of fellowship with God.

h/t montreal.anglican.org/

Some years I have actually skipped church on All Saints Sunday because I have been afraid of hearing the standard horrible sermon on the beatitudes. What do I mean by horrible? "Let's all try to be more meek, shall we?" Or "Jesus is calling us to hunger and thirst for righteousness."
There is nothing wrong with being meek, or hungering and thirsting for righteousness, but Jesus is not exhorting those things in the beatitudes. These sentences are blessings, spoken in the indicative mood, like Walter Cronkite's closing line: "That's the way it is." Look at those verbs: "Blessed are... they shall be." The verbs are present and future indicatives all the way up until the exhortations, "Rejoice and be glad" (Matt 6:12). The words from Jesus are radical precisely because they are not commands, not exhortations, not encouragements to "become blessed." They are, instead, a statement of the world turned upside down, where those who mourn are comforted rather than abandoned or merely pitied, where those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are satisfied, not ignored or shouted down, where the meek inherit the earth rather than being ground into the dust
h/t maryhinkle.typepad.com

h/t http://montreal.anglican.org/comments

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 7: 23 - 28 (RCL)

Hebr 7:23 (NRSV) Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Platonism distinguished between
• a single, eternal ideal of earthly things and
• multiple transitory copies of the ideal on earth.
In vv. 23-24, the author sees “former [Temple] priests” as transitory (because individual high priests died) and Jesus as the eternal ideal (“he continues forever”, v. 24).

He has no need to sacrifice continually for his own sins and those of others (as, the author asserts, earthly high priests did) for he is “separated from sinners, and exalted” (v. 26), i.e. with the Father; in dying, he offered sacrifice “once for all” (v. 27) for our sins.

In the Qumran community, Melchizedek was regarded as an angelic, heavenly figure, and judge, who rescues the righteous.

‘king of righteousness’ ... ‘king of peace’”: These were popular etymologies of Melchizedek’s name. The author probably gives them because Melchizedek is regarded as a prototype of Jesus, the Messiah, and the messianic blessings include justice and peace:

Verse 11: “perfection”: V. 19 uses “perfect” with respect to the Law, so “perfection” here means cleansing from sin and the consequent ability to approach God, rather than priestly consecration, the meaning elsewhere in Hebrews.




Hebrews 5: 1 - 6 (Can. BAS, Roman Catholic)

Hebr 5:1 (NRSV) Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3 and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4 And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
"You are my Son,
today I have begotten you";
6 as he says also in another place,
"You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchiz'edek."
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchiz'edek.


GOSPEL: Mark 10: 46 - 52 (all)

Mark 10:46 (NRSV) They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimae'us son of Timae'us, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." 52 Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Jericho is the lowest permanently inhabited site on earth. It is also believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world.[3][4][5]
Described in the Hebrew Bible as the "City of Palm Trees", copious springs in and around Jericho have made it an attractive site for human habitation for thousands of years

After a few centuries, it was abandoned for a second settlement, established in 6800 BC, perhaps by an invading people who absorbed the original inhabitants into their dominant culture. Artifacts dating from this period include ten skulls, plastered and painted so as to reconstitute the individuals' features.[9] These represent the first example of portraiture in art history, and it is thought that these were kept in people's homes while the bodies were buried.

Jericho is mentioned over 70 times in the Hebrew Bible.


Jesus and his disciples are now nearing the end of their journey from Caesarea Philippi (in the north) to Jerusalem: “Jericho” is some 25 km (15 miles) from Jerusalem. We have seen the disciples’ misunderstanding and blindness to Jesus’ message. Mark has told us of the healing of an unnamed blind man (8:22-26), one who is healed gradually.

Jesus orders silence on the matter, but not here: his time is approaching. For the first time, a sane person immediately proclaims Jesus’ true identity.

his receptivity of God’s healing word, “has made you well” (also meaning has saved you from impending destruction.)


Mark is suggesting that understanding of Christ’s mission has grown

Verse 47: “Son of David”: This title designates Jesus as heir of the promise made to David through Nathan:

Verse 51: “What do you want me to do for you?”: Blind Bartimaeus has seen the nature of Jesus’ kingly authority better than James and John. [JBC] Jesus may be asking what kind of help do you want me to provide to you?. Bartimaeus makes his intent clear: he wishes to understand Jesus’ teachings and to be healed of blindness; he is not seeking the political independence of Israel

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 5: 1 - 10 (RCL)

Hebr 5:1 (NRSV) Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3 and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4 And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
"You are my Son,
today I have begotten you";
6 as he says also in another place,
"You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchiz'edek."
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchiz'edek.

Jesus has two qualifications of a priest: divine appointment (see 5:4) and the ability to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (see 4:15).

God ... has spoken to us by a Son, ... through whom he also created the worlds”. Note the plurals. The Greek word translated as “worlds”, aion, can also mean ages. There appears to be the concept of a number of worlds, the visible and the invisible, the latter being several heavens





Hebrews 4: 14 - 16 (Can. BAS, Roman Catholic)

Hebr 4:14 (NRSV) Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5:2: The Old Testament provides no atoning sacrifice for deliberate and defiant sins (see Numbers 15:30 and Deuteronomy 17:12), only for sins committed unwittingly – by the “ignorant and wayward”

King Melchizedek of Salem, a “priest of God Most High”, brings out “bread and wine” and blesses Abram, and in return receives a tithe from him) that this mysterious priest-king was greater than either Abraham or his descendant Levi.



5:2: “deal gently”: The Greek word corresponds to a term of Stoic philosophy signifying the right mean between passion and lack of feeling.

Learning through suffering is a common motif in Greek literature.

realities that endure because they belong to the heavenly sphere, which is characterized by permanence, as opposed to the transitory realities of earth.

h/t http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/archive/blnt5l.shtml for both nt notes

GOSPEL: Mark 10: 35 - 45 (RCL)
Mark 10: (35 - 41) 42 - 45 (Roman Catholic)

Mark 10:35 (NRSV) James and John, the sons of Zeb'edee, came forward to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36 And he said to them, "What is it you want me to do for you?" 37 And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." 38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" 39 They replied, "We are able." Then Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."


Jesus answers: you do not know the implications of what you ask. In the Old Testament, one’s “cup” (v. 38) is one’s lot assigned by God, be it blessing or condemnation. Here, Jesus is speaking of his suffering and death. To be baptised with Jesus’ baptism is to share fully in God’s ways. James and John confidently answer yes (v. 39) and accept all the consequences. Only the Father knows whom he has called to special places in the kingdom.

Jesus answers: you do not know the implications of what you ask. In the Old Testament, one’s “cup” (v. 38) is one’s lot assigned by God, be it blessing or condemnation. Here, Jesus is speaking of his suffering and death. To be baptised with Jesus’ baptism is to share fully in God’s ways. James and John confidently answer yes (v. 39) and accept all the consequences. Only the Father knows whom he has called to special places in the kingdom.

John the Baptizer calls people to baptism “with water”, thereby symbolizing recognition and confession of sin together with acceptance of God’s judgement and forgiveness.

Verse 43: “servant”: The Greek word is diakonos. A “slave”, doulos, ranked below a diakonos. Here the deacon is the highest order of ministry. By the time of 1 Timothy 3:8-13, and perhaps in Philippians 1:1, diakonos had become an ecclesiastical technical term, though elsewhere in the letters generally accepted as being by Paul diakonos means servant or minister in a general sense.

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 4: 12 - 16 (RCL)
Hebrews 4: 1 - 3, 9 - 13 (Can. BAS)
Hebrews 4: 12 - 13 (Roman Catholic)

Hebr 4:1 (NRSV) Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
""As in my anger I swore,
"They shall not enter my rest,' " though his works were finished at the foundation of the world. 4 For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works." 5 And again in this place it says, "They shall not enter my rest." 6 Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he sets a certain day-""today"-saying through David much later, in the words already quoted,
""Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God {Gk [he] } would not speak later about another day. 9 So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; 10 for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.
12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

h/t montrealanglican
4:12: “two-edged sword”: This recalls the angel placed by God at the entrance to the Garden of Eden to keep out evildoers (Genesis 3:24), and especially the word of God as a sword bringing death, from which there is no escape
4:13: These are properties only God has.

4:13: “to whom we must render an account”: Another possible translation is about whom we are speaking, but the NRSV translation is better suited to the context. A further possible rendering is with whom the Logos (Word) is present, on our behalf. It then fits with John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. [NJBC]
4:14: “great”: The author may use this adjective to show his superiority to a Jewish high priest. Philo calls the Logos the great high priest. [NJBC]
4:14: “high priest”: Jesus has two qualifications required of a priest: he is divinely appointed (see 5:4) and he is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses”. See also 2:17-18.
4:14: “heavens”: There appears to be here the concept of several heavens, as in 2 Corinthians 12:2 (“the third heaven”);
4:14: “confession”: 3:1 speaks of Jesus as “the apostle and high priest of our confession”. 10:22-23 suggests that the author is thinking of baptism: “let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful”.
4:16: “throne of grace”: See also 8:1 (“the throne of the Majesty in the heavens”) and 12:2 (“the throne of God”). 1:8 speaks of Jesus’ throne, but the similarity of v. 16 and 10:19-22 show that the author is thinking of the confident access to God that is assured by the redemptive work of Jesus. A scholar has written: “through Jesus Christ, the true high priest, God’s throne has become the throne of grace”. [NJBC]


GOSPEL: Mark 10: 17 - 31 (RCL)
Mark 10: 17 - 30 (Can. BAS)
Mark 10: 17 - 27 (28 - 30) (Roman Catholic)

Mark 10:17 (NRSV) As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" 20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."
28 Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." 29 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."


Verse 17: “eternal life”: This is a synonym for the kingdom of God. See 9:43-47. See also Luke 10:25. [NOAB]
Verse 18: “No one is good but God alone”: For God as good, see also Psalm 118:1-4 (Septuagint translation); 1 Chronicles 16:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13; Ezra 3:11. This is a strange statement, given the relationship between Jesus and God. This may be a testy reaction on Jesus’ part or a pedagogical device on Mark’s part regarding the identify of the Son of God. [NJBC] Only God is absolute goodness. [BlkMk]
Verse 19: The commandments are in Exodus 20:12-16 and Deuteronomy 5:16-20. [NOAB]
Verse 19: “You shall not defraud”: NJBC makes two suggestions:
• This may be a summary of the ninth and tenth commandments, or
• It may be a reference to the Korban controversy (7:9-13).
A child could, per the aural torah, declare possessions to be korban, i.e. an offering to God. He still enjoyed the use of them. At that time, the Commandment to “Honour your father and mother” was interpreted as giving parents a right to a child’s possessions. Making possessions korban circumvented a child’s obligations to his parents under the Law. Some later Jewish teachers agreed with Jesus.
BlkMk suggests that “do not defraud” is based on Leviticus 19:11, 13: “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another ...”. The citations of the commandments are not from the Septuagint, and therefore the tradition probably goes back to a Semitic original or the gospel as orally transmitted.
Verse 20: “I have kept all these since my youth”: BlkMk offers as to all these things I have been careful since my youth. The man’s answer is modest and proper. The idea is not sinless perfection.
Verse 21: BlkMk offers was attracted to him even though the Greek literally means “loved him”. The man is all that he claims to be.
Verse 21: “sell what you own ...”: See also Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:33-34; 18:22; Acts 2:45; 4:32-35. Jesus spoke against abuse, not possession, of property. (In Luke 12:15, he condemns greed.) True life is not having possessions! [NOAB]
In Luke 12:33-34, Jesus says: “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
To NJBC, this is better taken as a challenge to this particular man than as a general principle of Christian life or even as the basis for a superior religious state. What was so hard in this case was the invitation to forego even the privilege of almsgiving for the sake of sharing in Jesus’ life-style of dependence on God while proclaiming the coming of his kingdom.
BlkMk suggests that this may have been an invitation to join the intimate group of disciples, who could not be burdened by possessions. Mark no doubt thinks of it as a general rule for Christians, since he appends the following verses, particularly vv. 29-30.
Verse 23: As earlier, when Jesus has been speaking publicly, he further instructs the disciples in private. 4:10-20 begins: “When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables” and 4:34 says: “he did not speak to them [the crowds] except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples”. [NJBC]
Verse 24: It was supposed that wealth made possible the performance of religious duties. Jesus’ point is that by nature people do not submit to God’s rule. Note v. 15: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom as a little child will never enter it.” But sincere submission is essential to salvation. [NOAB]
Verse 24: “the disciples were perplexed”: Their bafflement stems from Jesus’ reversal of the idea that riches are a sign of divine favour. [NJBC] In Job 42:10, Yahweh restores Job’s fortunes as a sign of his return to favour.
Verse 25: A proverbial expression denoting a human impossibility. [NOAB] There is a similar rabbinic proverbial expression involving an elephant.
Verse 26: “saved”: To be saved is to enter the kingdom of God. [NOAB]
Verse 27: “for God all things are possible”: God expresses the same idea in Genesis 18:14, when Abraham asks how Sarah is to bear a child late in life. [JBC]
Verse 28: See also 1:16-20 (Simon and Andrew respond immediately to Jesus’ call to follow him). [NOAB] Note the contrast between the disciples and the rich man.
Verse 30: “in this age”: Only here is discipleship said to offer rewards in this life. To some scholars, “with persecutions” indicates that the church for which Mark was writing was being persecuted. If so, it must have been a local (rather than empire-wide) persecution.
Verse 31: See also Matthew 20:16 and Luke 13:30. NJBC sees this as saying: the rewards of discipleship greatly surpass its sacrifices, both now and in the future.

Jesus continues to teach about what it means to follow him. The man kneels as to a master; such a show of piety is abnormal. (People stood to pray.) Perhaps Jesus’ response (v. 18) is a careful one. Rabbis (teachers) were not usually addressed as “good”; only God is good. The man insists that he has always kept those of the Ten Commandments which deal with relationships among people (vv. 19-20), and Jesus believes him (“Jesus ... loved him”, v. 21), but what about his relationship with God? Jesus seems to recognize that the man puts his trust in his own piety and wealth, in his achievements, but wealth stands in the way of his gaining oneness with God – so Jesus tests him (v. 21). The man’s shock and departure (v. 22) show that Jesus is correct. Wealth was seen as a sign of God’s favour, but in the man’s case, it gets in the way of true discipleship.
But we cannot save ourselves – only God can save us (v. 27). It is “impossible” for humans to enter the Kingdom through their own efforts, even when blessed with God-given possessions, as v. 25 says in a grotesque image. Peter’s words in v. 28 carry with them a question: what is the reward of those who are faithful now? Jesus answers: those who have given up their possessions and natural family for the sake of him and of his mission will receive much: in this life, they will share in the Christian community (although they may suffer); in the “age to come” (v. 30, in the kingdom), they will have eternal life. Finally v. 31: the “first” are those who have status now; the “last” are those who have left everything. In entering the kingdom, the “last” will be God’s obvious choice for admission.

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 1: 1 - 4, 2: 5 - 12 (RCL)
Hebrews 1: 1 - 4, 2: 9 - 11 (Can. BAS)
Hebrews 2: 9 - 11 (Roman Catholic)

Hebr 1:1 (NRSV) Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

2:5 Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. 6 But someone has testified somewhere,
"What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
or mortals, that you care for them?
7 You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned them with glory and honor,
8 subjecting all things under their feet."
Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, 9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying,
"I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."

Comments h/t montrealanglican.org
The author contrasts the old and new ways of God: that of “long ago” and that “in these last days” (1:2), our era, the one between Christ’s first and second coming. God spoke then to the ancestors of Israel, our spiritual ancestors; in this era he speaks to us; then he spoke through “prophets” (1:1, including Moses); now he speaks through “a Son” (1:2), the one who is Son. A priest mediated and purified. Christ shared in (and mediated) creation of the “worlds” (in Jewish cosmology, the earth and the heavens) and is “heir” of God. Jesus (“He”, 1:3) shows us something of God’s greatness, and is an exact image, icon, of God. He continues to sustain all that is created. Jesus purified us of our sins through his death; he was then exalted in returning to the Father. Since before time and now he is “much superior to angels” (1:4), to other heavenly beings, being God.
In Judaism, angels controlled the world (2:5), and priests were seen as angels. The quotation in 2:6-8 is Psalm 8:4-6; to the author, who wrote Psalms is immaterial (2:6): the psalm is the word of God. These verses say humans are superior to nature, but here they are used to refer to Jesus, possibly because “human beings” was translated son of man in the contemporary translation. All creation is under our control (2:8) but now we only see this in Jesus: he for a time humbled himself in becoming human, so that he might die for the sake of all. Jesus’ exaltation (“crowned”, 2:9) is a consequence of his death. Then 2:10: it was in accordance with God’s plan to save all people that Jesus should complete God’s action (“make ... perfect”); Jesus is the forerunner for all of us in being with God forever.

Note 2:1-3, the reason for writing the book: we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. If Christ’s message is valid, and deviations from God’s ways lead to punishment, how can we escape judgement if we ignore salvation through Christ?

1:2: “through whom he also created ...”: Christ was mediator (agent) in creation. In the Old Testament (and the Apocrypha), this is the role of personified Wisdom: in Proverbs 8:30-31, Lady Wisdom says: “was beside him [God], like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race”. See also Wisdom of Solomon 7:22. [NJBC]

1:2: “worlds”: Several worlds, both visible and invisible. The invisible worlds are the heavens.
1:3-4: Possibly a liturgical hymn. Similar wording occurs elsewhere in the New Testament. [NJBC]

1:3: “reflection”: The Greek word can also mean radiance. NJBC notes that reflection is more likely here; it is an echo of Wisdom of Solomon 7:26. Again, “exact imprint” is also found in Wisdom of Solomon 7:26 (translated as “spotless mirror” in the NRSV).
1:3: “sustains”: The Greek word also has the sense of guides. Jesus’ sonship and priesthood are the basis for salvation.

1:3: “at the right hand ...”: Jesus fulfills Psalm 110:1: “The LORD says to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool’”. Glorification is always mentioned immediately after mention of the resurrection. [NJBC]

1:4: “name”: In Semitic thought, a change in name indicated a change in the person who received it. Here the new name is Son: see v. 5. [NJBC]

1:5-14: A demonstration, based on quotations from the Old Testament, that while angels are in divine service, Christ is superior to them. [CAB]

2:1-4: Christ being superior to angels places a greater obligation on those to whom the faith has been handed down by eye witnesses to Jesus’ life. Failure to keep to the faith will have dire consequences. [NOAB]


GOSPEL: Mark 10: 2 - 16 (RCL)
Mark 10: 2 - 12 (13 - 16) (Roman Catholic)

Mark 10:2 (NRSV) Some Phar'isees came, and to test him they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" 3 He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" 4 They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her." 5 But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. 6 But from the beginning of creation, "God made them male and female.' 7 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."
10 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.


Comments

h/t montrealanglican

Jesus is now in Judea (or east of the Jordan, in Perea.) Mosaic law permitted a man to divorce his wife (but not a woman her husband) for cause, but the grounds were unclear. The Pharisees were divided re the legality of divorce as well as the grounds for it, so their question is a trap. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 says (in part) that a man may simply “write a certificate of dismissal” (v. 4), without legal proceedings. (That book was seen as Moses’ teaching.) In vv. 5-8, Jesus says: Moses allowed divorce as a concession to human weakness, but God’s original plan was that marriage be for life: man and wife are “one flesh”; my stance is God’s plan, not Mosaic law. In this plan, remarriage is either literally “adultery” (vv. 11-12) or a deviation from God’s ways. (Sometimes a wife, in effect, divorced her husband. Elsewhere Jesus accepts that a man may divorce an unfaithful wife.)
Vv. 13-16 tell about the kingdom of God and the kind of people who will be admitted to it. People wish Jesus to “touch” (v. 13) their children, to lay hands on them and bless them (v. 16). Jesus is “indignant” (v. 14) at the disciples’ inability to understand him and the nature of the Kingdom. Children are receptive; a child has no status and makes no claim to power. Whoever is not receptive to God’s gifts will not enter the kingdom. There is no place there for human status and power.

NEW TESTAMENT: James 5: 13 - 20 (RCL)

Jame 5:13 (NRSV) Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Eli'jah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 4: 13 - 17, 5: 7 - 11 (Can. BAS)
James 5: 1 - 6 (Roman Catholic)

Jame 4 (NRSV) 13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money." 14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin. 5:1 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

comments

v1. James directs his words to the rich, not to the wealthy as such, but to the unrighteous who, through their exploitation of the poor, have grown fat on the suffering of others. James tells them that they might as well start lamenting now because what goes around, comes around.
v2-3, James has a word of judgment for the unrighteous rich, a judgment that is even now beginning to bite. For a first century man the symbols of wealth were fine clothing and a bulging purse. Yet, wealth is transitory, it dissipates before our very eyes. Even worse, wealth stolen from the poor will condemn the rich in the coming day of judgment. Why hoard wealth for the a coming day when it will only serve as evidence for the prosecution?
v.4. In the following verses James details the charges against the arrogant rich, First, not only have they failed to show compassion toward the poor, they have actually exploited them. The evil rich have used the sweat of the poor to gain wealth for themselves. They have not paid just wages. The law of God demands a just recompense for a worker's expended effort. To do otherwise is to cause a hurt which, in the end, reaches the ear of God. The Scriptures are clear on this issue and thus the wealthy have no excuse. "He murders his neighbor who deprives him of his living, and he who defrauds a hireling of his wages is a shedder of blood"

erses 7-9: Three references to the coming of Christ stand in contrast to the preceding passage on seeking riches in vain. [NOAB]
Verse 7: “Be patient”: The verb indicates self-restraint, which enables the sufferer to refrain from retaliation or precipitous action. This phrase summarizes the whole section. Be patient not only when faced by outrageous injustice (vv. 4-6) but in the ordinary trials of life (vv. 9, 12-14, 19). [NJBC]
Verse 7: “the coming of the Lord”: For the second coming of the Lord, see also 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 8-9; Matthew 24:3; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28. [NJBC]
Verse 7: “the early and the late rains”: Deuteronomy 11:14 and Joel 2:23 mention both rainy seasons. [NJBC]
Verse 8: “Strengthen your hearts”: 1 Thessalonians 3:13 says :”... may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints”. [NJBC]
Verse 8: “the coming of the Lord is near”: See also Philippians 4:5 (“... The Lord is near”); Hebrews 10:25 (“as you see the Day approaching”), 37 (“... in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay”); 1 John 2:18 (“... it is the last hour! ...”); Revelation 22:10 (“... the time is near ...”), 12 (“I am coming soon”), 20. [NJBC]
Verse 9: Note the abrupt change to seeing the coming of the Lord as that of a judge. [NJBC]
Verse 10: “As an example ... take the prophets”: The prophets are represented as martyrs: see also Matthew 23:29-31. In Acts 7:42, Stephen quotes Amos: “‘Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?’”. [NJBC]

h/t montreal.anglican.org

GOSPEL: Mark 9: 38 - 50 (RCL)
Mark 9: 38 - 43, 45, 47 - 48 (Roman Catholic)

Mark 9:38 (NRSV) John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." 39 But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
42 "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
49 "For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."


comments


The disciples have argued over who of them is the greatest. Jesus has told them not to seek position or prestige. Now he rebukes them for attempting to stop an exorcist curing in his name. Jesus explains his tolerance (v. 39): such a person will be slow to speak ill of him. God does work through those who are not followers of Jesus. V. 40 generalizes this, in the form of a proverb. The “reward” (v. 41) is entry into the Kingdom and the blessed state of union with God awaiting us there. Those who treat Jesus’ followers with kindness will be so rewarded.

On the other hand, putting an obstacle (“stumbling block”, v. 42) in the way of immature Christians (“little ones”), causing them to sin, will lead to condemnation on Judgement Day. (The “great millstone” was drawn by a donkey in grinding wheat; “the sea” was the place of chaos.) Vv. 43-47 speak of actions by members of the community, the body. Anyone who shakes the faith of others (“causes you to stumble”), however he or she does it, should be cast out, for the sake of the community. Hell was seen as the place of unquenchable fire and “where their worm never dies” (v. 48), per Isaiah 66:24. Discipleship is demanding. In vv. 49-50, “salt” has three meanings:
# in v. 49, it means purified, as ore is purified to metal in a furnace; before Christ comes again, we will be purified through persecution and suffering;
# In v. 50a, “salt” is a seasoning agent; the disciples are the salt of the earth, the agents of spirituality; if we lose our effectiveness in proclaiming God’s word, what use are we?
# In v. 50b, “salt” is distinctive character: this matters, but so does harmony in the community.


Verse 42: “little ones”: This may be a reference to the child/servant of vv. 36-37 or to the exorcist.

Verse 43: “hell”: The Greek word is Gehenna. This was the valley of Hinnon (ge’Hinnon) outside Jerusalem where garbage (rubbish) was gathered and burned. According to 2 Kings 23:10, Hinnon had been the site of child sacrifice: see also Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5-6. It provided a physical reminder of the place of eternal punishment. See 1 Enoch 27:2; 90:24-26; 2 Esdras 7:36. [JBC]

Verses 43-47: Some scholars see these verses as referring to short-comings within an individual, rather than of the effect of members on the community. The “hand” is often the member of the body that does the wrong deed; the “foot” goes in the direction of temptation (in Jewish teaching, a moral life is spoken of as a journey); per Job 31:1, the eye can provoke one to sin. The message is: Do not fail to control your own actions and impulses; God will punish such undisciplined behaviour.

Verses 44, 46: In some manuscripts these verses are present and are the same as v. 48; however, they are omitted from the most reliable manuscripts. [JBC]

Verse 47: “to enter the kingdom of God” is to live. See 10:15, 23-25.




Note that the NRSV and most other modern translations omit vs. 44 & 46.