NEW TESTAMENT: 1 Corinthians 10: 1 - 13 (all but Roman Catholic)
1 Corinthians 10: 1 - 6, 10 - 12 (Roman Catholic)

1Cor 10:1 (NRSV) I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Notes

Thanks to Montreal Anglican

Paul warns Christians at Corinth that some of them are not on the path to eternal life: “if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall”! (v. 12) He uses events from the Exodus to illustrate their plight: the Israelites were the Church’s spiritual “ancestors” (v. 1); they too were under God’s protection (“under the cloud”). Stretching the metaphor, they were “baptised” (v. 2) in passing through the Reed (Red) Sea. Their “spiritual food” (v. 3) was manna; ours is the bread of the Eucharist. Their “spiritual drink” (v. 4) was the water from the rock. Now Christ gives to us; back in Moses’ day, the rock gave to them: hence “the rock was Christ”. Further, as the rock was with them, Christ is with us. (A Jewish legend says that the rock “followed them”.)

the spiritual rock that followed them”: The Jewish legend is based on an interpretation of Numbers 21:17-20: the Hebrew not being too clear, these verses can be read as saying that the rock (and/or the well) accompanied the people of Israel through to Moab


There Yahweh tells Moses and Aaron: “‘I will do to you the very things I heard you say: your dead bodies shall fall in this very wilderness; and of all your number, ... from twenty years old and upward, who have complained against me, not one of you shall come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun”

GOSPEL: Luke 13: 1 - 9 (all)

Luke 13:1 (NRSV) At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Silo'am fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."
6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, "See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 8 He replied, "Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Notes

Comments: It was commonly believed that pain and premature death were signs of God’s adverse judgement: In John 9:2-3, Jesus rejects the idea that a man was born blind because of his or his parents’ sinful ways. This belief was common amongst both Jews and Hellenists.


when Pilate used Temple funds to build an aqueduct into Jerusalem, some Jews opposed it. Pilate used a ruse to murder some Jews: his soldiers mingled with the crowd, and beat them down with clubs they had concealed. The obvious interpretation would be in accord with what is known of Pilate’s character

Jesus says, there is no link between early death and sin; however, these deaths do show the fate of those who fail to “repent” (vv. 3, 5), to turn to God