• 16 Ninian, Bishop in Galloway, c. 430 • 17 Hildegard, 1170 was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath.[ • 18 Edward Bouverie Pusey, Priest, 1882 • 19 Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690 was the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury, best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury. • 20 John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia, and his Companions, Martyrs, 1871 • 21 Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist • 22 Philander Chase, Bishop of Ohio, and of Illinois, 1852was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier in Ohio and Illinois. OLD TESTAMENT: Proverbs 1: 20 - 33 (RCL) Prov 1:20 (NRSV) Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. 21 At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 22 "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? 23 Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, 25 and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, 27 when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, 31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. 32 For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; 33 but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster." Isaiah 50: 4 - 9a (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL) Isai 50:4 (NRSV) The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens-- wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. 5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. 6 I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. 7 The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; 8 he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. 9 It is the Lord GOD who helps me; who will declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up. PSALM 19 (RCL) Psal 19:1 (NRSV) The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. 19 Caeli enarrant (ECUSA BCP) 1 The heavens declare the glory of God, * and the firmament shows his handiwork. 2 One day tells its tale to another, * and one night imparts knowledge to another. 3 Although they have no words or language, * and their voices are not heard, 4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, * and their message to the ends of the world. 5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; * it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course. 6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again; * nothing is hidden from its burning heat. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul; * the testimony of the LORD is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent. 8 The statutes of the LORD are just and rejoice the heart; * the commandment of the LORD is clear and gives light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean and endures for ever; * the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, * sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb. 11 By them also is your servant enlightened, * and in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can tell how often he offends? * cleanse me from my secret faults. 13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not get dominion over me; * then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, * O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. Wisdom of Solomon 7: 26 - 8:1 (alt. for RCL) 7:26 (NRSV) For she [Wisdom] is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness. 27 Although she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; 28 for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom. 29 She is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, 30 for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail. 8:1 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well. Psalm 116: 1 - 9 (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL) Psal 116:1 (NRSV) I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of She'ol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, save my life!" 5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6 The LORD protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. 9 I walk before the LORD in the land of the living. Note: Verse numbering in the ECUSA Psalter is different from the above. 116 Dilexi, quoniam (ECUSA BCP) 1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, * because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him. 2 The cords of death entangled me; the grip of the grave took hold of me; * I came to grief and sorrow. 3 Then I called upon the Name of the Lord: * "O Lord, I pray you, save my life." 4 Gracious is the Lord and righteous; * our God is full of compassion. 5 The Lord watches over the innocent; * I was brought very low, and he helped me. 6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul. * for the Lord has treated you well. 7 For you have rescued my life from death, * my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. 8 I will walk in the presence of the Lord * in the land of the living. NEW TESTAMENT: James 3: 1 - 12 (RCL) Jame 3:1 (NRSV) Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. h/t Montreal Anglican The author is a teacher (“we who teach”) and so has written this book, a treatise on Christian conduct. The code of ethics for teachers is stricter than for others. V. 2 says: he or she “who makes no mistakes” lives a “perfect” Christian moral life, but none of us achieve this. The tongue is small, as are the horse’s bit (v. 3) and the ship’s “rudder” (v. 4), but through this small part of the whole, the teacher, rider and pilot guide – and exercise will. Teachers are tempted to boast (v. 5b). Any deviation from the truth taught by a teacher can have horrific consequences! The meaning of v. 6 is obscure; perhaps it is saying: the tongue can be used evilly; when it is, it adds to the evil in an already corrupt world, affecting all humankind. An Old Testament wisdom book says that, were it not for sin, we would not die. The “cycle of nature” is successive generations: a person is born and later dies. The devil is the agent of evil; hence the “tongue ... is ... set on fire by hell”. During creation, animals were given to us to tame (v. 7), but the tongue cannot be tamed: it is capable of continually spreading evil, perhaps like a poisonous snake (v. 8). It can be used for good and for evil: we honour God with it, but we also curse fellow humans (“made in the likeness of God”, v. 9). It should only be used for good. In nature, any one “spring” (v. 11) only produces good or bad water. Fig trees and grapevines only yield what God has intended – so we should only speak good. The devil (“salt water”, v. 12) only yields evil. The author rebukes two besetting sins of the teacher: intemperate speech (vv. 1-12) and arrogance (vv. 13-18). [NOAB] The office of teacher was a position of great honour in the early church. Paul ranks them third in his list of those whom “God has appointed in the church” (in 1 Corinthians 12:28), and says that teaching is a gift (in Romans 12:6-8). Acts 13:1 mentions those who were teachers at Antioch. See also Ephesians 4:11-13. The author echoes the warnings of Jesus in Matthew 5:19; 23:6-8. [NJBC] The tongue is the instrument of the teacher. It is also the strongest muscle in the body. Verse 1: “judged with greater strictness”: See Matthew 12:26-27; 15:11-18. Verse 2: Admonitions regarding a loose tongue were common in Judaism and early Christianity. See Psalm 120:2; Proverbs 10:19; 21:23; Sirach 19:16; 25:8; 2 Corinthians 12:20; 1 Timothy 5:13. [CAB] Admonitions are also found in Greek writings, e.g. Dionysius the Elder wrote: “Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.” Verse 2: “all of us make many mistakes”: A well-known theme in Scripture: see also Ecclesiastes 7:20; Sirach 19:16; 1 John 1:8, 10; 2 Esdras 8:35. [NJBC] Counsel regarding the right and wrong use of speech is common in wisdom literature: see Proverbs 15:1-4, 7, 23, 26, 28; Sirach 5:11-6:1; 28:13-26. It is also found in 1QS (Rule of the Qumran Community) 7:4-5; 10:21-24. [NJBC] Verse 2: “perfect”: The word in the Greek is teleios, meaning morally perfect (or complete) as a Christian. It is also found in Matthew 5:48 (“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”); Colossians 1:28 (NRSV: “mature”); 4:12. [NJBC] Verse 5: “boasts”: Sirach 20:7 advises: “The wise remain silent until the right moment”. [CAB] Verse 5b: The idea of a great conflagration coming from a small fire was common in Greek moralizing. Verse 6: “the tongue is a fire”: Sirach 28:22-23 says: “It [the tongue] has no power over the godly; they will not be burned in its flame. Those who forsake the Lord will fall into its power; it will burn among them and will not be put out. It will be sent out against them like a lion; like a leopard it will mangle them.” Verse 6: “a world of iniquity”: The Greek may mean the sum total of iniquity. [NJBC] Verse 6: “sets on fire the cycle of nature”: NJBC offers setting on fire the wheel of birth but notes that the meaning is uncertain. Similar phrases are found in Hellenistic literature, especially in connection with Orphic rites. Verse 7: In Genesis 1:26, God gives humans dominion over fish, reptiles, birds, and animals. [CAB] The animals are in the same order here as in Genesis 9:2 (God to Noah); Deuteronomy 4:17-18 (do not make idols) and 1 Kings 4:33 (Solomon). [NJBC] Verse 8: “deadly poison”: Psalm 140:3 says that evildoers “... make their tongue sharp as a snake's, and under their lips is the venom of vipers”. See also Romans 3:13. [CAB] Verse 9: “those who are made in the likeness of God”: See Genesis 1:26; 9:6 (“ in his own image God made humankind”); Sirach 17:3; Wisdom of Solomon 2:23. [CAB] [NJBC] Verse 11: The imagery is characteristic of Palestine, where springs are of great importance in the dry season. We seem to have moved from Hellenistic ways of speaking (in v. 6) to Jewish ones. [NJBC] Verse 11: “fresh and brackish water”: In 2 Esdras 5:9, the combination of sweet and brackish water is seen as a sign of the coming of the end-times: “Salt waters shall be found with the sweet, and all friends shall conquer one another; then shall reason hide itself, and wisdom shall withdraw into its chamber”. [NJBC] Verse 12: This is similar to Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:16: he says that you shall identify false prophets “by their fruits”. He asks: “Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?”. See also Luke 6:44-45. [CAB] GOSPEL: Mark 8: 27 - 38 (all) Mark 8:27 (NRSV) Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesare'a Philip'pi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28 And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Eli'jah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29 He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. 31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." 34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Jesus travels north from the Sea of Galilee to the villages around Caesarea Philippi, a prominent pagan town. He asks: who does popular opinion say I am? There are various opinions, but the Messiah is not one of them (v. 28). Now he asks the disciples: “who do you say ... I am?” (v. 29). Peter’s answer, for the disciples, is pious, but misleading and incomplete. Jews expected the Messiah to come in power, to free them from Roman domination, but they did not expect the Messiah to suffer (v. 31). (Were it to be widely known that he is the Messiah, his time on earth might end before he has done all that he has come to do.) This is the first prediction of Jesus’ Passion. Jesus “must” suffer, for it is in God’s plan. Jesus’ mission is now stated completely, so he speaks about it “openly” (v. 32). He rebukes Peter for his shallowness, seeing his reply as inspired by the devil, as not being godly (v. 33). What will happen to Jesus has implications for those who follow him: • we must cast aside self-centeredness (“deny themselves”, v. 34) and submit to divine authority (as a prisoner submitted to Roman authority when he carried the cross-arm to his execution); • we must be willing to die for the cause - real life, true self, comes from God (vv. 35-37); and • we should not be ashamed of the way he is treated and his message in this wayward (“adulterous”, v. 38) world; for such an attitude will detract from Christ’s glory, his godly show of power, when he comes as judge at the end of the era. The parallels are Matthew 16:13-27 and Luke 9:18-26. The identification of Jesus is acceptable as far as it goes, but it needs amplification/explanation: people need to know how the passion and death of Jesus fit with the identification as the Jewish messiah. [NJBC] Verse 27: “Caesarea Philippi”: Modern Baniyas. [JBC] Verse 28: The same list of possibilities as at the execution of John the Baptist: see 6:14-16. [NOAB] Verse 29: In John 6:67-69, Peter tells Jesus: “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God”. [NOAB] Both Messiah and Christ mean anointed one. Though various figures were anointed in ancient Israel, the term messiah came to be applied to kings. Some contemporary writings (especially Psalms of Solomon 17) used it to describe Israel’s future leader in the period before the eschaton (end-times) and during it; he would fulfill Israel’s hopes based on God’s promises. [NJBC] Verse 31: This is the first prediction of the Passion in Mark. For other predictions, see 9:30-32 and 10:33-34. [CAB] Verse 31: “Son of Man”: This term seems to have had two meanings to Jesus’ listeners: • Jesus calls himself a typical human being in accordance with the common meaning of son of, i.e. patterned after • Jesus linked himself with the prophesied figure of Daniel 7:13-14 – hence Jesus as the glorified heavenly judge. (In the NRSV, Daniel 7:13 speaks of “one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven”; in the Aramaic original, it is one like a son of man who comes: see NRSV footnote.) Jesus often speaks at two levels simultaneously. Jesus nowhere discloses fully his understanding of the term. He could intend both meanings to apply to him. His way was to oblige his hearers to determine their own personal attitudes to him, as part of the process of understanding his words. Verse 31: “undergo great suffering”: Jesus identifies himself with the suffering Servant of Isaiah. Isaiah 53:3 says “He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account”. Verse 31: “rejected”: The sense is repudiated religiously. Jeremiah 8:9 says that fools who rely on human wisdom repudiate God. God repudiates Israel for her folly or infidelity: see Jeremiah 6:30; 7:29; 14:19. Here Jesus is repudiated by people. Note that in Mark, the Pharisees play no explicit part in Jesus’ condemnation and death. [JBC] Verse 31: “three days”: Hosea 6:1-2 says that the third day is the decisive turning point: “Come, let us return to the LORD ... After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him”. Jonah 1:17 tells us that Yahweh saves Jonah by having him spend time in the belly of a fish; 2:10 tells us that after three days Yahweh has the fish spew him out. Verse 33: “Get behind me, Satan!”: Jesus sees in Peter’s words a continuation of Satan’s temptation. [NOAB] Jesus indicates that the false view of his messiahship is a temptation: see Job 1-2. Having grasped that Jesus is the Messiah, Peter sees messiahship in a contemporary Jewish way: the Messiah was not expected to suffer. [NJBC] Verse 34: “cross”: Jesus sees acceptance of his message with its promise as also bringing destruction. Only those who in faith accept the threat of destruction will find life. In Matthew 10:38-39, Jesus says: “... whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it”. See also Matthew 5:11-12; 16:24; Mark 10:29-31; Luke 9:24-25; 14:27; 17:33; John 12:25. Verse 35: “life”: Greek: psyche; one’s very being, true self. [JBC] The value of the true self is described in vv. 36-37. Verse 38: “adulterous”: A term used by Old Testament prophets to describe Israel’s turning away from God: see Jeremiah 3:8; Ezekiel 23:37; Hosea 2:2-10. [JBC]