and strips the forests bare.

9 And in the temple of the LORD *
all are crying, “Glory!”

10 The LORD sits enthroned above the flood; *
the LORD sits enthroned as King for evermore.

11 The LORD shall give strength to his people; *
the LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace.



NEW TESTAMENT: Acts 10: 34 - 43 (RCL)
Acts 10: 34 - 38 (Roman Catholic)

Acts 10:34 (NRSV) Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

h/t montreal Anglican

Peter is visiting Cornelius, an officer of the occupying Roman army and already a believer in God. Peter breaks Jewish law by visiting a Gentile. The Greek here is rough, full of grammatical errors, unlike the rest of Acts, so we may well have Peter's unedited words. He tells the assembled company that God does not favour Jews over others: anyone, whatever his nationality, who reveres God and lives in unison with him “is acceptable to him” (v. 35). In vv. 36-38, Peter summarizes Jesus’ earthly ministry; he applies prophecies found in Isaiah 52:7 and 61:1 to Christ. (Psalm 107:20 says “... he sent out his word ...”) Christ is Kyrios, “Lord of all” (v. 36). In baptism, the Father “anointed” (v. 38) Jesus “with the Holy Spirit” and with the “power” of God (but he was already integral with God’s very being.) The good news (“message”, v. 37) spread throughout Palestine (“Judea”); he “went about” (v. 38) “doing good” and combatting evil, doing deeds so powerful that it is clear that he was God’s agent: he is a model for all to follow.
He suffered death as one guilty of a capital offence, per Deuteronomy 21:23: he hung on a “tree” (v. 39) and was cursed. (By Jesus’ time, the “tree”, a pole, had acquired a cross-arm.) But, although cursed, the Father “raised him” (v. 40) and “allowed him to appear” to those chosen by God – to be “witnesses” (v. 41). In Luke 24:41-43, Jesus eats broiled fish with them, so he was clearly humanly alive again, i.e. physically brought back from death, resurrected. Jesus, the Kyrios, is the one appointed by God to set up the Kingdom and to judge both those who are alive, and those who have died, at Judgement Day (v. 42). Then v. 43: he fulfills many Old Testament prophecies: he is the one through whom sins are forgiven. Forgiveness is now available to “everyone who believes”, not just to Jews.

Verse 36: “he is Lord of all”: To be understood in the light of Romans 10:12: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.”. [NJBC]


GOSPEL: Matthew 3: 13 - 17 (all)

Matt 3:13 (NRSV) Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

John the Baptist has appeared, calling people to repentance, to turning back to God’s ways, to the way of life to which Israel committed herself at Sinai. He tells of the nearness of God’s kingdom, the time of complete fulfilment of God’s promises to humans. A new era, in which God rules, is almost here! John seeks to dissuade Jesus from seeking baptism but (in words that we do not fully understand) Jesus insists: for the present, being baptised by you is to perfectly fulfill the Father’s will. In being baptised, Jesus joins the community now walking in God’s ways. His baptism shows his continuity with God’s will seen in the Old Testament:
• the coming of the “Spirit of God” (v. 16), an Old Testament term, shows he is the Messiah;
• the words spoken by the heavenly “voice” (v. 17) are much like Isaiah 42:1: Jesus is the agent of God who will suffer for others – not the kind of Messiah people expected.
“Beloved” is not sentiment; rather it indicates God’s will. The “voice” (v. 17) says three things:
• Jesus really is God’s “Son”;
• he is chosen for ministry to God’s people, and
• God approves his coming for baptism and his joining with his people in preparing for the coming crisis.

Verse 17: “a voice from heaven”: This is the voice of God, just as the “kingdom of heaven” (v. 2, 4:17; 5:3; etc.) is the Kingdom of God. The words of the heavenly voice reflect the identification of Jesus with the messianic king of Psalm 2 and with the Servant of Isaiah 42. Whether Jesus already foresaw the suffering of that Servant as his inescapable role is not stated; perhaps he did. It is clear that Jesus worshipped, thought and lived in the atmosphere of Old Testament expectations. He inevitably understood his mission in the light of them