• 12 Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Social Reformer, 1910 was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. • 13 Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore, 1667 was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. • 14 Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Seminarian and Witness for Civil Rights, 1965 • 15 Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ • 16 • 17 Samuel Johnson, 1772, was a clergyman, educator, and philosopher in colonial British North America. He was a major proponent of both Anglicanism and the philosophy of George Berkeley in the colonies Timothy Cutler, 1765, and Thomas Bradbury Chandler, 1790, Priests • 18 William Porcher DuBose, Priest, 1918 was an American priest and theologian in the Episcopal Church in the United States. • 19 • 20 Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, 1153 was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order OLD TESTAMENT: 2 Samuel 18: 5 - 9, 15, 31 - 33 (RCL) 2Sam 18:5 (NRSV) The king ordered Jo'ab and Abi'shai and It'tai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Ab'salom." And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Ab'salom. 6 So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of E'phraim. 7 The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. 9 Ab'salom happened to meet the servants of David. Ab'salom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 15 And ten young men, Jo'ab's armor-bearers, surrounded Ab'salom and struck him, and killed him. 31 Then the Cu'shite came; and the Cu'shite said, "Good tidings for my lord the king! For the LORD has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you." 32 The king said to the Cu'shite, "Is it well with the young man Ab'salom?" The Cu'shite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man." 33 The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, "O my son Ab'salom, my son, my son Ab'salom! Would I had died instead of you, O Ab'salom, my son, my son!" 1 Kings 19: 4 - 8 (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL) 1Kin 19:4 (NRSV) But he [Elijah] himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Ho'reb the mount of God. PSALM 130 (RCL) Psal 130:1 (NRSV) Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. 130 De profundis (ECUSA BCP) 1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice; * let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication. 2 If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, * O LORD, who could stand? 3 For there is forgiveness with you; * therefore you shall be feared. 4 I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; * in his word is my hope. 5 My soul waits for the LORD, more than watchmen for the morning, * more than watchmen for the morning. 6 O Israel, wait for the LORD, * for with the LORD there is mercy; 7 With him there is plenteous redemption, * and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins. Psalm 34: 1 - 8 (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL) Psal 34:1 (NRSV) I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. Note: Verse numbering in Roman Catholic bibles is one greter than the above. 34 Benedicam Domi (ECUSA BCP) 1 I will bless the Lord at all times; * his praise shall ever be in my mouth. 2 I will glory in the Lord; * let the humble hear and rejoice. 3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord; * let us exalt his Name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me * and delivered me out of all my terror. 5 Look upon him and be radiant, * and let not your faces be ashamed. 6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me * and saved me from all my troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him, * and he will deliver them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; * happy are they who trust in him! NEW TESTAMENT: Ephesians 4: 25 - 5: 2 (RCL) Ephesians 4: 30 - 5:2 (Roman Catholic) Ephe 4:25 (NRSV) So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. h/t Montreal Anglican The author seems to be addressing new converts: “You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self ... to be renewed ... and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God ...” (4:22-24). He now says what conduct is expected of them, as “members of one another” (4:25), of one body, the Church. Do not harbour anger, for prolonged anger gives the devil a point-of-entry (4:26-27). If you lived by stealing (4:28), go beyond restitution: actively care for the poor. Speak to others in a way that emphasizes their goodness, and builds the community (4:29). An offence against a fellow member of the Church is an offense against the Spirit, who is working with him or her: do not cause the Spirit to be grieved, distressed (4:30). Cast aside all vices which are disruptive to the life of the Christian community; rather love “one another” (4:32), expressing generously the same forgiving that Christ first showed you. In the way you forgive and are loving, do it as God does (“be imitators”, 5:1): Christ loves us even to giving up himself to death for us. Old Testament priests made “offering and sacrifice to God” (5:2); now Christ is priest/mediator. We share in that priesthood, his sacrifice of love. 4:25: In Zechariah 8:16-17, Yahweh counsels: “Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath”. In Romans 12:4-5, Paul says: “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another”. See also Colossians 3:9. [NOAB] [CAB] 4:27: In Psalm 4:4, a psalmist advises: “When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent”. James 1:19-20 says: “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness”. [CAB] 4:29: Colossians 3:8 expresses a similar idea: “But now you must get rid of all such things – anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices”. [CAB] 4:30: “do not grieve the Holy Spirit”: Isaiah 63:10 tells us: “... they [the people of Israel] rebelled and grieved his holy spirit; therefore he became their enemy; he himself fought against them”; 1 Thessalonians 5:19 advises: “Do not quench [as in quenching a fire] the Spirit”. [CAB] All Christians together form a living temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells (see 2:21-22). [NJBC] 4:30: “seal”: A seal was a mark of ownership, e.g. of a slave. In Greek mystery religions, members marked themselves with the name of the deity to whom they belonged and who protected them. Here, baptism is a visible sign of incorporation into Christ. 4:31: The vices listed are all ones disruptive to communal life. Such a list of vices is common in contemporary moral tracts and elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g. Romans 1:29-31 and Galatians 5:19-21). See also 1QS (Rule of the Qumran Community) 4:9-11 and CD (Damascus Document) 4:17-19. [NJBC] 1QS 4:2-11 says: “These are their [the spirits of truth] paths in the world: to enlighten the heart of man, straighten out in front of him all the paths of justice and truth, establish in his heart respect for the precepts of God; it is a spirit of meekness, of patience, generous compassion, eternal goodness, intelligence, understanding, potent wisdom which trusts in all the deeds of God and depends on his abundant mercy; a spirit of knowledge in all the plans of action, of enthusiasm for the decrees of justice, of holy plans with firm purpose, of generous compassion with all the sons of truth, of magnificent purity which detests all unclean idols, of unpretentious behaviour with moderation in everything, of prudence in respect of the truth concerning the mysteries of knowledge. ... However, to the spirit of deceit belong greed, frailty of hands in the service of justice, irreverence, deceit, pride and haughtiness of heart, dishonesty, trickery, cruelty, much insincerity, impatience, much insanity, zealousness about wrong things, appalling acts performed in a lustful passion, filthy paths for indecent purposes, blasphemous tongue, blindness of eyes, hardness of hearing, stiffness of neck, hardness of heart in order to walk in all the paths of darkness and evil cunning. ...” [Martinez] CD 4:15-19 says: “These are Belial’s [Satan’s] three nets ... in which he catches Israel and makes them appear before them like three types of justice. The first is fornication; the second, wealth; the third, defilement of the temple. He who eludes one is caught in another and he who is freed from that, is caught in another ...” [Martinez] 4:32: Christian conduct is a corollary of Christian doctrine. See also Philippians 2:5-8 and Colossians 3:1-3. [NOAB] 5:1: “imitators of God”: As in Matthew 5:43-48. Paul speaks (elsewhere) of imitating Christ and him rather than of imitating God: see 1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1; Galatians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; Philippians 3:17. [CAB] 5:1: “children”: In Semitic usage, being children often indicates living by an example set by someone else. [JBC] There is perhaps a connection here to the Jewish bar Mitzvah, meaning son of the Law or Commandments. When a person celebrates his bar Mitzvah, he has concluded a period of study of the Law and takes on adult responsibility and devotion to God. Perhaps Paul (and the author) had this much more adult concept in mind. 5:2: “fragrant offering and sacrifice”: In Old Testament sacrifices, a fragrant odour ascending to God is often mentioned (e.g. in Exodus 29:18 and Leviticus 3:5). “Fragrant offering” and “sacrifice” are found together in the Septuagint translation of Psalm 39:7. [JBC] GOSPEL: John 6: 35, 41 - 51 (RCL) John 6: 41 - 51 (Roman Catholic) John 6:35 (NRSV) Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, "I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." Jesus has miraculously fed a large crowd, “about five thousand in all” (v. 10). But the crowd has misunderstood the food he offers; they have seen it as “bread from heaven” (v. 31) like the manna God gave their ancestors in the wilderness. Now Jesus says that he is both the “bread of life” (v. 35) and the water of life (as “hungry” and “thirsty” show). His is sustenance for all time, and beyond, for those who come to him and believe in him. He says, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (v. 41): that a human claims to be divine offends strict Jewish monotheism and is the cause of complaint, murmuring among the people. (Manna was God’s response to the murmuring of their ancestors in the wilderness.) They ask (v. 42): how can one who has human parents have come from heaven? Rather than answer the question, Jesus tells them (v. 44): only those whom God draws, calls, can believe in (“come to”) him; those who are called (and respond) will be raised, brought into full union with God, at the end of time. If you had heard and learnt the prophetic books of the scriptures, you would believe in me (v. 45). The way people are “taught by God” is through me, for I have “seen the Father” (v. 46). One who believes has “eternal life” (v. 47) beyond the end of the era. “Manna” (v. 49) was from heaven, but the bread I offer is more: it is “living” (v. 51): this is what “never be hungry ... [nor] thirsty” (v. 35) means. It (or I) offer life “forever” (v. 51). The bread of the Eucharist is “my flesh”. Verse 35: “hungry ... thirsty”: In 4:14, Jesus says to the Samaritan woman at the well: “‘... those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life’”. In 7:37-38, Jesus says: “‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink’”. Verse 36: “seen me”: In spite of “me” being present in most manuscripts, BlkJn omits this word. Though the crowd have seen his signs (see v. 26), they “do not believe” him, and so cannot believe in him, and see him as the answer to their needs. Verses 37-40: BlkJn offers: Everything which the Father gives me shall come to me, and him who comes to me I shall not reject; because I am come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that of everything that the Father has given me I shall not lose anything, but will raise it at the last day. He notes the curious alternation of neuter and masculine: Everything ... him ... anything ... it ... everyone him ..., and notes that the neuter seems to have a collective sense, designed to emphasize the corporate unity of believers. Verse 37: The Father gives to Jesus, and draws to him (see v. 44), those who come to him. Verse 39: “lose nothing”: In 17:12 and 18:9, at the end of his ministry, Jesus claims that this has been accomplished. [BlkJn] Verse 41: “the Jews”: Earlier, in 4:45, John has spoken of “the Galileans”, a more precise term. BlkJn suggests that Jesus may be suggesting that the Galileans are no better than the people of Jerusalem, whose lack of faith forms the theme of the last chapter. Verse 41: “complain”: The Israelites murmur against Moses in Exodus 15:24 and 16:2. God gives them manna: see Exodus 16:4-12. They continued to grumble at God’s gifts. Psalm 106:25 outlines the event. [BlkJn] Verse 42: John uses the first question to introduce the second one. The second is not found in the synoptic gospels. See Luke 4:22 and Mark 6:2ff. Verse 42: Matthew 13:55-56 also tells us of people’s familiarity with Jesus and his parents: after he has taught in the synagogue in his “hometown”, some wonder: “‘Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?’”. Verse 43: “Do not complain”: BlkJn offers Stop grumbling. Verse 44: “I will raise ...”: Some scholars consider this to be an editorial addition, perhaps part of the effort to bring together those who see eternal life as future and those (Johannine authors) who see eternal life as beginning now. Verse 45: The quotation is from Isaiah 54:13. [BlkJn] Note also Jeremiah 31:34: “No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more”. Verse 46: In the prologue to this gospel, we read in 1:18: “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”. See also 3:33 and 5:37. [NJBC] Verse 51: “came down”: The Greek verb, katabaino, is used in three tenses to emphasize three aspects of Christ’s descent from heaven: Verses Tense Emphasis vv. 33, 50 present his repeated coming to the faithful (as in the Lord’s Supper) vv. 38, 42 perfect his eternal status as the Incarnate vv. 41, 51, 58; 3:13 aorist his coming as an event in history (1:14) Verse 51: The last clause leads into the next section.