The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple
3 The Dorchester Chaplains: Lieutenant George Fox, Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode, Lieutenant Clark V. Poling and Lieutenant John P. Washington, 1943
4 Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 also known as Saint Anschar, was an Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a mission to bring Christianity to Northern Europe, and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North
5 Roger Williams, 1683, and Anne Hutchinson, 1643, Prophetic Witnesses, was a Puritan spiritual adviser, mother of 15, and important participant in the Antinomian Controversy that shook the infant Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638
6 The Martyrs of Japan, 1597 were Christians who were persecuted for their faith in Japan, mostly during the 17th century.
7 Cornelius the Centurion

OLD TESTAMENT:  Micah 6: 1 - 8   (RCL)

Mica 6:1 (NRSV) Hear what the LORD says:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD,
and you enduring foundations of the earth;
for the LORD has a controversy with his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 "O my people, what have I done to you?
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of slavery;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember now what King Ba'lak of Mo'ab devised,
what Ba'laam son of Be'or answered him,
and what happened from Shit'tim to Gil'gal,
that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."
6 "With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?


1 Kings 17: 8 - 16   (C of E)

1Kin 17:8 (NRSV) Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink." 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." 12 But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." 13 Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth." 15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.


Zephaniah 2: 3, 3: 12 - 13  (Roman Catholic)

Zeph 2:3 (NRSV) Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the LORD's wrath.

12 For I will leave in the midst of you
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD--
13 the remnant of Israel;
they shall do no wrong
and utter no lies,
nor shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.
Then they will pasture and lie down,
and no one shall make them afraid.


PSALM 15   (RCL)

Psal 15:1 (NRSV) O LORD, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?
2 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
and speak the truth from their heart;
3 who do not slander with their tongue,
and do no evil to their friends,
nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
but who honor those who fear the LORD;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
5 who do not lend money at interest,
and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved.


15   Domine, quis habitabit?   (ECUSA Psalter)

1      Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? *
     who may abide upon your holy hill?

2      Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, *
     who speaks the truth from his heart.

3      There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend; *
     he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.

4      In his sight the wicked is rejected, *
     but he honors those who fear the Lord.

5      He has sworn to do no wrong *
     and does not take back his word.

6      He does not give his money in hope of gain, *
     nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

7      Whoever does these things *
     shall never be overthrown.


Psalm 36: 5 - 10   (C of E)

Psal 36:5 (NRSV) Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!


Psalm 146: 6 - 10   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 146:6 (NRSV) who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD!


NEW TESTAMENT:   1 Corinthians 1: 18 - 31   (RCL)
                                      1 Corinthians 1: 26 - 31   (Roman Catholic)

1Cor 1:18 (NRSV) For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29 so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

The “message” of Christ crucified, risen and alive is God’s power to us, but to those who hear the good news and reject “the cross” it is nonsense. This, Paul says, God prophesied through Isaiah (v. 19). He has decried divisions in the church at Corinth; he now recognizes two groups of humans: the “wise” (v. 19) and “those who believe” (v. 21). Are, he asks rhetorically, the Jewish “scribe” (v. 20) and the rationalist (“debater”) – both possessors of worldly wisdom – truly wise? Through the coming of Christ, God has shown worldly wisdom to be folly, for (v. 21) one can’t “know God through wisdom”, i.e. in a philosophical way. Knowing God is experiential. In fact, God chose to save believers through the apparent folly of what Paul preaches (“our proclamation”). To “demand signs” (miracles, v. 22) is to refuse to trust in God; “Jews” refused Christ due to their particular expectations in a messiah. To “desire wisdom” is to construct a religion whose demands one is prepared to accept. (The “Greeks” in v. 22 are unbelieving non-Jews.) God’s ways are not human ways (v. 25).

Consider yourselves, Christians at Corinth (v. 26): few of you are what the world would have chosen: few are worldly wise, “powerful” or aristocratic. But God’s way is to choose those of apparently little account (“foolish”, “weak”, v. 27) to show the apparently important that they are wrong, to “shame” them. This is God’s paradoxical way (v. 28); he does away with boasting. Christ’s living in human form started a new way of being human (v. 30): we are set apart for his purposes (“sanctification”) and no longer controlled by evil (“redemption”) so that we become one with God (“righteousness”) – so that we can (as God commanded through Jeremiah) “boast in the Lord” (v. 31). Christ is true wisdom.

Believers must detach themselves from the standards of fallen humanity – the cause of the divisions at Corinth – if they are to understand the way God relates to them. [ NJBC]

Verse 18: The fact of acceptance or rejection of humanity is the basis of division of humanity into two groups. God has not predestined some to salvation and others to condemnation. In the future, the status of a member of either group may change. In 5:5, writing of a sexually immoral man, Paul says “you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord”. Note also 10:12: “So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall”. [ NJBC]

Verse 18: “the cross”: Paul writes in 2:1-2: “When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

Verse 19: The quotation is Isaiah 29:14 in the Septuagint translation. There Yahweh, through the prophet, counsels King Ahaz to accept the advice of “wise” counsellors: to trust in God to deliver Judah from the Assyrians. [ NOAB]

Verses 20-25: Proud, self--centred humans want God to be at their disposal, but God’s way of dealing with human sin through the cross of Christ stands in contrast to human power and wisdom. Those who have been “called” (v. 24) by the message of the cross find in it God’s “power” and “wisdom”. [ CAB]

Verse 20: The questions are inspired by Isaiah 19:11; 33:18; 44:25; Job 12:17. [ NJBC]

Verse 21: “the wisdom of God”: Not a divine plan, but the organization and beauty of creation. In Romans 1:19-20, Paul writes: “For what can be known about God is plain to them [those who suppress the truth], because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made”. [ NJBC]

Verse 21: “the world did not know God through wisdom”: Rational speculation, which in the world passes for wisdom, had failed to perceive that God has acted through a suffering saviour. [ NJBC]

Verse 22: “demand signs”: i.e. demand miracles. In so doing, Jews refuse to trust in God, thus camouflaging their contentment with the status quo. [ NJBC]

Verse 22: “Greeks”: The Greek word is ethnoi, the same word translated as “Gentiles” in v. 23, so Paul means non--Jews in general. In Galatians 3:28 he writes: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus”. [ NJBC]

Verse 23: “stumbling block to Jews”: Because of their particular messianic expectations. [ NJBC]

Verse 23: “foolishness to Gentiles”: Because of their rationalism. [ NJBC]

Verse 24: “those who are the called”: Even though Paul uses kletoi, the called ones, he speaks of those who hear and accept the good news. Paul often calls members of the Church the called ones. In Romans 8:28, he writes: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose”. See also 2:2 and Romans 1:6-7. [ NJBC]

Verse 24: “Christ ...”: The authentic humanity of Jesus makes visible God’s intention for humans and radiates an attractive force that enables response. [ NJBC]

Verse 28: See also Romans 9:24-26.

Verse 31: Paul cites Jeremiah 9:23-24 rather freely, as he does in 2 Corinthians 10:17. See also Galatians 6:14. [ NOAB]
h/t Montreal Anglican



GOSPEL:   Matthew 5: 1 - 12   (all but C of E)

Matt 5:1 (NRSV) When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus ascends a mountain in Galilee where he speaks to his “disciples”, his followers, in the Sermon on the Mount – but the “crowds” hear too: see 7:28, the end of the Sermon. He speaks of the new era he has come to initiate. Vv. 3-12 are known as the Beatitudes, from the Latin for blessed. To be “blessed” is to be happy. All the qualities are expected of the faithful, for the consequence is the same: they will enjoy God’s end-time rule. In fact, the Kingdom has already begun, but is not yet completed. They will attain (and are attaining) eternal life.

The “poor in spirit” (v. 3) are probably detached from wealth and dependant on God alone. Those who “mourn” (v. 4) the reign of evil forces on earth will be “comforted” and strengthened in the Kingdom. The “meek” (v. 5), people who do not press for personal advantage, will share in God’s rule. Those who “hunger” (v. 6, who ardently pursue God’s will and purpose for his people), and do so single-mindedly and sincerely, “the pure in heart” (v. 8), will come to know God intimately (“see God”). The “merciful” (v. 7) are those who pardon and love others (especially the poor). The “peacemakers” (v. 9), those who seek shalom, the total state of well-being God provides through Christ, “will be called children of God”, for they share in God’s work. Finally vv. 10-12: those spreading the good news, striving to reconcile the world to God, will be persecuted because of the message they carry (as were Old Testament “prophets”). They too should “rejoice and be glad” for God will reward them. Jesus tells his audience that the values for admission to the Kingdom are the reverse of those valued by materialists.

The parallel is Luke 6:17, 20-23. [ NOAB] By comparing Matthew’s version with Luke’s, and hypothesizing that the two gospels share a common source of Jesus’ sayings (known to scholars as Q for Quelle, the German word for source), it is likely that only three of the beatitudes were actually said by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: vv. 3, 4 and 6. The last one (vv. 10-12) may well come from Matthew’s time: when Christians were beginning to face persecution. The other beatitudes may have been said by Jesus on other occasions.

Comments: the “crowds” hear too: 7:28 says “Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching”.

Verse 1: “he sat down”: Teachers in the Near East then usually sat while teaching. See also Luke 4:20-21 (Jesus reads from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth). [ NOAB] As Moses first instructed the Israelites from the “mountain” in Sinai (see Exodus 19), so Jesus teaches his followers from a “mountain”. [ CAB] The “mountain” is one of revelation. [ NJBC]

Verses 2-10: While in Luke Jesus addresses those who hear him on this particular occasion, here he speaks more generally, e.g. to “poor in spirit” wherever (and whenever) they may be. See also Romans 15:26 (“the poor among the saints”) and Galatians 2:10 (the Council of Jerusalem). [ CAB]

Verses 3-11: “Blessed are”: The book of Revelation contains seven beatitudes: see Revelation 1:3 (“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it”); 14:13 (“Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord”); 16:15 (“Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed”); 19:9 (“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb”); 20:6 (“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection”); 22:7 (“Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book”); 22:14 (“Blessed are those who wash their robes”). [ BlkMt]

Verse 3: “poor in spirit”: Isaiah 66:2 says: “... this is the one to whom I will look, to the humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word”. See also Isaiah 11:4; 57:15; 61:1. [ NOAB] [ BlkMt] Another interpretation: those who feel a sense of spiritual emptiness in the general religious environment of Jesus’ day.

Verse 4: BlkMt says that those who “mourn” include all who undergo life’s hard experiences, crushing disappointments, and bitter losses, and yet in conscious or mute faith turn to God for help. They will be comforted by God’s comforting, renewing, strengthening presence and help. Their sorrow will be turned into joy as God’s rule is established in the world. Isaiah 61:1 says: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners”. [ BlkMt]

Verse 4: “those who mourn”: They mourn to see evil reign on earth. [ NJBC]

Verse 5: As foretold in Psalm 37:11: “... the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity”. “Meek” means slow to anger, gentle with others, connoting a form of charity. [ NJBC] BlkMt says that the word “meek” means more than gentle, humble and trustful towards God even though outward conditions of life are not easy. It is the opposite of the self--centred, brazen attempt to be independent of God. It accepts life under God without complaint or bitterness. While in the psalm “the land” is the Promised Land (though the notions of faith and worship of God are not absent), here the phrase “the earth” (or land) is figurative: the “meek” will enter the Kingdom of God and will know all the privileges of fellowship with God.

Verse 6: In a prophetic section, Isaiah 55:1-2 says: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” See also John 4:14; 6:48-51. [ NOAB]

Verse 7: “the merciful”: i.e. those who are understanding, gentle, forgiving, and quick to relieve the suffering and need of others. God will deal mercifully with those who have shown mercy to their fellow humans. See also 18:21-35 and James 2:13. [ BlkMt] Alternatively, those who pardon their neighbours (see 6:12, 14-15; 18:35), who love (see 9:13; 12:7; 23:23), especially who love the needy (see 25:31-46), and even love their enemies (see 5:44-47). [ NJBC]

Verse 7: Comments: who pardon: See 6:12 (“forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”, the Lord’s Prayer), 6:14-15 (“‘... if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you ...’”); 18:35. [ NJBC]

Verse 7: They will receive mercy on the Day of Judgement. [ NOAB]

Verse 8: “pure in heart”: This is not synonymous with chastity, but includes it. Psalm 24:3-4 says that those who “shall ascend the hill of the Lord” are “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully”. See also Hebrews 12:14. [ NOAB] To CAB, it concerns clarity of insight about God’s will for his people, as stated in Proverbs 3:3-6. NJBC points out that while in the Old Testament this term refers to ritual and moral impurity being cleansed (see Psalm 24:4; 51; Isaiah 1:10-20), in Matthew purity of heart stands close to justice and includes covenant fidelity, loyalty to God’s commands, and sincere worship. BlkMt says that “the pure in heart” are those who are single--minded in complete loyalty to God and his purposes. This is the opposite of those who are “double-minded and unstable in every way” (see James 1:7ff).

Verse 8: “see God”: See also 1 Corinthians 13:12 (“... now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face ...”); 1 John 3:2 (“... when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is”); Revelation 22:4 (“they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads”). [ NOAB]

Verses 9-12: “peacemakers”: The faithful community will work to reconcile others to God. [ CAB] The term “peacemakers” is based on the Old Testament word shalom, a many--sided concept involving total well--being. In Matthew, peacemaking is closely related to love of neighbour – and thus to the beatitude of the merciful (v. 7). [ NJBC] BlkMt says that “peacemakers” are those whose attitudes, words, and actions preserve friendship and understanding where it exists and restore it where it is destroyed by human friction and strife.

Verse 9: “children of God”: BlkMt offers Sons of God, a literal translation of the Greek. He says that sons of often means having the nature and showing the spirit of someone. By bringing good will, understanding, and reconciliation into damaged human relationships they do God’s work and will be recognized as his sons.

Verse 10: 1 Peter 3:14 says: “... even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed ...” and 1 Peter 4:14 says “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you”. [ NOAB]

Verse 10: “persecuted”: This means ridiculed, denounced, ill--treated, and perhaps even injured and threatened with death.

Verse 10: “for righteousness’ sake”: i.e. because they are dedicated to God’s will and by their confession, way of life, and open witness show their dedication to God’s righteous cause. [ BlkMt]

Verse 11: “revile you and persecute you ...”: Do not be intimidated or surprised if you are reviled or persecuted. Do not give any basis in attitude or action for such hostile charges and ill--treatment. [ BlkMt] In Matthew 23:37, Jesus says “‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!’”. See also 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 and Acts 7:52 (Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin). [ NOAB]

Verse 12: If you have given no basis for such charges or ill--treatment, you may “be glad” even when being persecuted. You do not earn your salvation, for it is a gift from God; however faithfulness is necessary to qualify for salvation. [ BlkMt]

Verse 12: “they persecuted the prophets”: You are in a noble succession if you are persecuted, for Israel persecuted Old Testament prophets (as Hebrews 11:32-38 says). God cared for his “prophets”; he will preserve and reward his ill--treated followers. [ BlkMt]

All of the reward verbs are in the future tense, except the first and the last. Thus future eschatology is in view. [ NJBC]

John 2: 1 - 11   (C of E)

John 2:1 (NRSV) On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.