0 Alcuin, Deacon, and Abbot of Tours, 804 21 John Eliot, Missionary among the Algonquin, 1690 was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the apostle to the Indians.” 22 23 Nicolaus Copernicus, 1543, was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center and Johannes Kepler, 1630, Astronomers 24 Jackson Kemper, First Missionary Bishop in the United States, 1870 25 Bede, the Venerable, Priest, and Monk of Jarrow, 735 is well known as an author and scholar, and his most famous work, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) gained him the title "The Father of English History". 26 Augustine, First Archbishop of Canterbury, 605 was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church 27 Bertha and Ethelbert, Queen and King of Kent, 616 FIRST READING: Acts 2: 1 - 21 (RCL) Acts 2: 1 - 11 (Roman Catholic) Acts 2:1 (NRSV) When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Par'thians, Medes, E'lamites, and residents of Mesopota'mia, Judea and Cappado'cia, Pon'tus and Asia, 10 Phryg'ia and Pamphyl'ia, Egypt and the parts of Lib'ya belonging to Cyre'ne, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cre'tans and A'rabs--in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine." 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Jo'el: 17 "In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' Genesis 11: 1 - 9 (alt. for RCL) Gene 11:1 (NRSV) Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shi'nar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." 5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the LORD said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech." 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Ba'bel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. PSALM 104: 24 - 34, 35b (RCL) Psalm 104: 1a, 24, 29 - 31, 34 (Roman Catholic) Psal 104:1 (NRSV) Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. 24 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. 26 There go the ships, and Levi'athan that you formed to sport in it. 27 These all look to you to give them their food in due season; 28 when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works-- 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. 35 Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD! Note: Verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above. 104 Benedic, anima mea (ECUSA BCP) 25 O Lord, how manifold are your works! * in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 26 Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number, * creatures both small and great. 27 There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan, * which you have made for the sport of it. 28 All of them look to you * to give them their food in due season. 29 You give it to them; they gather it; * you open your hand, and they are filled with good things. 30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; * you take away their breath, and they die and return to their dust. 31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; * and so you renew the face of the earth. 32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; * may the Lord rejoice in all his works. 33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; * he touches the mountains and they smoke. 34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; * I will praise my God while I have my being. 35 May these words of mine please him; * I will rejoice in the Lord. 37 Bless the Lord, O my soul. * Hallelujah! SECOND READING: Romans 8: 14 - 17 (RCL) Roma 8:14 (NRSV) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. h/t Montreal Anglicans Paul has told us that Christian living is centred in life “in the Spirit” (v. 9) rather than on the desires of the flesh, or self-centeredness. People are still subject to suffering, to bearing crosses and affliction, but not to condemnation. Not being condemned, we have hope. The Christian is under an obligation to Christ: to live according to the Spirit. Now he says that those who live in the Spirit are children of God. This implies a new relationship with God. The Christian, he says in v. 15, does not lose his or her freedom when baptised, but rather is adopted as a child of God. When we acknowledge God as “Father”, we speak in the Spirit. We are not only God's children, but also “heirs” (v. 17) having a hope for the future. (In the Old Testament, the land of Israel is God's inheritance for his people.) We are “joint heirs” with Christ in the sense that we will share in the Father's glory, as he does now. Verse 12: “debtors”: BlkRom says that we are under obligation to God, rather than being “debtors” – for there is no actual debt. The same Greek word is used in 1:14-15: “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish – hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Verse 13: It is still possible for a baptised Christian to be tempted to live immorally, “according to the flesh”. We should make use of the Spirit: this is the debt (in an accounting sense) that we owe Christ. [JBC] Verse 13: Paul says in 6:12-13: “... do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness”. See also Colossians 3:5 and Galatians 5:24. [CAB] Verses 14-15: Note Paul’s play on the word pneuma, here meaning spirit or Spirit. We are made “children” by the Spirit; we are not slaves. [NJBC] Verse 14: God’s action continues in the life of the believer. See also 2:4 (“... Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”); Galatians 5:18 (“... if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law”); 1 Corinthians 12:2. [CAB] Verse 14: The Spirit not only enables us to cast aside materialism and immorality, but also animates us and activates us in the carrying out of the mission Christ gave us. Verse 14: “children of God”: In Galatians 4:24-26, Paul tells us: “Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother”. [CAB] Verse 15: “slavery”: Paul speaks of the Christian as a slave in Romans 6:16, 1 Corinthians 7:22 and Ephesians 6:6, but only to make a specific point. Actually the Christian is a son or daughter (he writes in Galatians 4:7 “you are no longer a slave but a child”), empowered by the Spirit to call upon God himself as a Father. It seems to be the Holy Spirit that constitutes Christian adoptive sonship – because it is the Spirit that unites people to Christ and puts them in a special relationship to the Father. [NJBC] Verse 15: “spirit”: Paul may intend Spirit. [NJBC] Verse 15: “adoption”: The Greek word used here is also found in 8:23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5. [CAB] In 9:4, Paul uses it to describe Israel as chosen by God. This Greek word is not found in the Septuagint, probably because adoption was not common until more recent times among Jews. It was known in Hellenic society, and was quite common among the Roman aristocracy, as a means of acquiring a worthy heir. When a man had no heir, or only a dissolute one, he would choose someone to adopt – sometimes even a freed slave – who would become the heir both to the man's property and also to his reputation and station in the community. Paul’s use of the term shows that Christians have status with God. Verse 15: “When we cry”: NJBC offers which enables us to cry. As in 9:27, “cry” has the sense of cry aloud, proclaim. Verse 15: “Abba”: This is the Aramaic word of familiar address to a father. Paul also uses this word in Galatians 4:6. Jesus addressed the Father as Abba in his prayers: see Mark 14:36. [NOAB] In the Greek text of Luke 11:2, the Lord’s Prayer begins Abba. The early church used this title for the Father, as indeed does a Christian song sung today. Verse 16: In proclaiming that God is our Father, we are stating that we recognize ourselves to be adopted by God. The Spirit shares with us in this recognition, and is the mechanism by which we are active as sons. Verse 16: “children”: In Roman law, both a slave and a son belonged to the household, but a son (unlike a slave) had status. Our status puts us in a special relationship with the Father and the Son. Of course, a son is free, but a slave is not. Verse 17: “heirs of God”: Paul discusses the promise to Abraham, that he would be the “father of many nations”, in Chapter 4 (especially 4:17). It is now fulfilled. [CAB] Verse 17: “joint heirs with Christ”: Christ has already received a share of the Father’s glory; the Christian will receive a share. In Jesus’ time, a son inherited his father’s estate; God’s estate is his glory. [NJBC] GOSPEL: John 14: 8 - 17 (25 - 27) (RCL) John 14: 14 - 16, 23b - 26 (Roman Catholic) John 14:8 (NRSV) Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. 15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 23 Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. 25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Judas Iscariot has left to do his dastardly deed. Jesus now prepares his disciples for his departure. Belief in God includes belief in him (v. 1). He is going, through resurrection and ascension, to the Father, to prepare a place of permanent fellowship for them (vv. 2-3). Philip shows by his question in v. 8 that he still does not understand (“know”, v. 9) Jesus, for Jesus is the revelation of God. The Son is present (“dwells”, v. 10) in the Father, and the Father in the Son; the deeds Jesus has done are the Father’s. A master entrusted his agent to act on his behalf in every way. Jesus is the Father’s agent, empowered to act completely for the Father. Jesus says, in essence, if you do not buy this mutual presence, then trust in me on the basis of what I do: you are seeing the Father’s “works” (vv. 10-11). The faithful will continue these works. (The ones they do will be “greater”, v. 12, because Jesus has nullified sin.) By asking Jesus in prayer, as his agent (“in my name”, v. 14), God will do whatever the faithful ask. Fidelity to him is both loving and obeying (v. 15). Jesus is their first advocate, i.e. helper and counsellor. He will ask the Father to “give you another Advocate” (v. 16), “the Spirit of truth” (v. 17), i.e. the Holy Spirit. That the Spirit exists and what he does is known only to believers, not to “the world”. Philip (and others) may not understand now, but they will, for the Spirit will “teach ... [them] everything” (v. 26) and will help them recall Jesus’ message. What he teaches will be the same as what Jesus has taught. Jesus gives “peace” (v. 27, wholeness, well-being, tranquillity, concord with one another and with God), a permanent gift which will never be revoked. Verse 2: “my Father’s house”: Jesus has already spoken of this in 8:34-38 (“... The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever ...”). [BlkJn] Verse 2: “many dwelling places”: 1 Kings 6:5 describes the Temple in similar terms. [BlkJn] Verse 3: Previously Jesus has only hinted at the possibility of the disciples following him: in 12:26, he says: “‘Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also’”. See also 13:36. Because the disciples follow his example, particularly in mutual love, they can eventually be with him, whereas the Pharisees cannot: see 7:33-36; 8:21; 13:33. [BlkJn] Verse 5: “Thomas”: Thomas expresses their bewilderment with characteristic bluntness: see also 11:16 (“‘Let us also go, that we may die with him’”) and 20:24-25. [BlkJn] Verse 6: “‘I am the way’”: He is the sole means of access to the Father: Jesus says in Matthew 11:27: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”. See also Luke 10:22; John 1:18; 3:3 (to Nicodemus); 6:46; Acts 4:12 (Peter’s speech before the Council) Romans 5:2; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 10:20. [BlkJn] [NOAB] Verse 6: “‘I am ... the truth, and the life’”: Jesus is all-sufficient because he is both God and human. [BlkJn] Verse 6: “the truth”: 1:14 says “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”. Verse 6: “the life”: See also 1:4; 6:35 (“‘I am the bread of life’”), 6:48; 11:25 (“‘I am the resurrection and the life’”). Verse 7: On Jesus being God, 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. In 10:30, Jesus says “‘The Father and I are one’”. Verse 7: “‘If you know me’”: They can know him since he is a human. Verse 7: “you do know him”: BlkJn offers you are getting to know him. Because they know Jesus, they are getting to know the Father. Verse 8: Moses makes a similar reasonable request in Exodus 33:18: “‘Show me your glory, I pray’”. Philip's misunderstanding, like Thomas’, helps Jesus to make his meaning clear. [BlkJn] Verse 10: For Jesus as agent of the Father, see also, for example, 3:34; 7:17-18; 8:28, 47; 12:47-49. [NJBC] Verse 10: “Do you not believe that ...”: BlkJn translates the Greek in a more understandable way: You believe, do you not, Verse 10: “on my own”: The Greek literally means from myself. BlkJn translates it as on my own authority. Verse 11: “I am in the Father and the Father is in me”: The unity of the Father and the Son is a recurrent theme in this part of the book: see also vv. 7, 9, 20 and 16:15; 17:21-23. [BlkJn] Verse 12: See also Luke 17:6 (“‘faith the size of a mustard seed”) and Matthew 17:20. [NJBC] Verse 12: “‘Very truly, I tell you”: In the Greek, “Very truly” is Amen, Amen. This double amen is characteristic of, and peculiar to, this gospel and is used to introduce solemn, almost oracular, declarations. See also 1:51; 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; 10:1, 7; 12:24; 13:16, 20, 21, 38; 16:20, 23; 21:18. [BlkJn] Verse 12: “works”: i.e. miracles. [BlkJn] Verse 13: For variants, see Matthew 7:7-8; 18:19; 21:22; and in Johannine writings, see John 15:7, 16; 16:23, 24, 26; 1 John 3:21-22; 5:14-15. Sometimes Jesus will answer the request, and sometimes the Father will answer when asked in Jesus’ name. At times the Father is addressed directly, and at times neither Father nor Son is specified (but one presumes that the Father is meant). [NJBC] Verse 13: “in my name”: This means ask as Jesus’ representative, while on his business, rather than invoking Jesus as a kind of magic spell. The meaning here is the same as when Jesus speaks of having come in his Father’s name in 5:43 and 10:25, and when Acts tells us that the apostles performed miracles in Jesus’ name: see Acts 3:6 (healing of a man lame from birth), 16; 4:10; 16:18 (a slave girl is cured). [BlkJn] Verse 16: “give you another Advocate”: BlkJn offers give you another as your Champion. The Greek word translated Advocate is parakletos, sometimes transliterated as Paraclete. While in 1 John 2:1 it refers to Christ, in John it refers to the Holy Spirit: see also v. 26 and 15:26; 16:7. The Greek word is derived from a verb meaning call to one’s side. The Latin word advocatus has the same meaning, but there is a distinction to be made between the Greek and Roman judicial systems. In a Roman court, an advocatus pleaded a person’s case for him, but a Greek parakletos did not: in the Greek system, a person had to plead his own case, but he brought along his friends as parakletoi to influence the court by their moral support and testimony to his value as a citizen. BlkJn argues that the sense in John is of giving help – as is usually the sense in the New Testament, e.g. “console” in 2 Corinthians 1:4 and “exhort” in Romans 12:8. A Champion is one who supports by his presence and his words. Verse 17: “whom the world cannot receive”: REB and BlkJn translate the Greek as whom the world cannot accept. To receive the Spirit, people must abandon their hostility to God. Verse 17: “sees him ... knows him ... knows him”: BlkJn offers perceive him ... recognise him ... recognise him. Verse 17: “abides with you”: The Greek word is the same one translated as “stay” in 1:38-39, where two disciples stay with Jesus. [BlkJn] Verses 18-20: The Holy Spirit imparts Christ’s life and unites believers to God. In his speech on the Day of Pentecost, Peter says: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear” (Acts 2:33). [NOAB] Verse 20: “On that day”: i.e. the day of Christ’s resurrection. Then they will realize that they have been incorporated into the divine society of the Father and the Son. They will then share in the divine life. [BlkJn] Verses 21-24: Fellowship with Christ is dependent on the love which issues in obedience. [NOAB]