24 The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
25 James Weldon Johnson, Poet, 1938
26 Isabel Florence Hapgood, Ecumenist and Journalist, 1929
27 Cornelius Hill, Priest and Chief among the Oneida, 1907
28 Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, c. 202 referred to by some as Saint Irenaeus, was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyon, France). He was an early Church Father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology.
29 Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles



OLD TESTAMENT:   Genesis 21: 8 - 21   (RCL)

Gene 21:8 (NRSV) The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Ha'gar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac." 11 The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring." 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Ha'gar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Be'er-she'ba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Do not let me look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Ha'gar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Ha'gar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him." 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Par'an; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.


Jeremiah 20: 7 - 13   (alt. for RCL)
Jeremiah 20: 10 - 13   (Roman Catholic)

Jere 20:7 (NRSV) O LORD, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, "Violence and destruction!"
For the word of the LORD has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
9 If I say, "I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,"
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
10 For I hear many whispering:
"Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!"
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
"Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him."
11 But the LORD is with me like a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
12 O LORD of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD;
praise the LORD!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.


PSALM 86: 1 - 10, 16 - 17   (RCL)

Psal 86:1 (NRSV) Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all day long.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication.
7 In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you will answer me.
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the child of your serving girl.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.


86   Inclina, Domine   (ECUSA BCP)

1      Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, *
     for I am poor and in misery.

2      Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; *
     save your servant who puts his trust in you.

3      Be merciful to me, O LORD, for you are my God; *
     I call upon you all the day long.

4      Gladden the soul of your servant, *
     for to you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

5      For you, O LORD, are good and forgiving, *
     and great is your love toward all who call upon you.

6      Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer, *
     and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7      In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *
     for you will answer me.

8      Among the gods there is none like you, O LORD, *
     nor anything like your works.

9      All the nations you have made will come and
        worship you, O LORD, *
     and glorify your Name.

10      For you are great;
you do wondrous things; *
     and you alone are God.


16      Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *
     give your strength to your servant;
     and save the child of your handmaid.

17      Show me a sign of your favor,
so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *
     because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.


Psalm 69: 7 - 10 (11 - 15) 16 - 18   (alt. for RCL)
Psalm 69: 7 - 9, 13, 16, 32 - 34   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 69:7 (NRSV) It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my kindred,
an alien to my mother's children.
9 It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10 When I humbled my soul with fasting,
they insulted me for doing so.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help 14 rescue me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress-make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to me, redeem me,
set me free because of my enemies.

32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the LORD hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.

Note: Verse numbering in most Psalters and in Roman Catholic Bibles is different from the above.


69   Salvum me fac   (ECUSA BCP)

8      Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, *
     and shame has covered my face.

9      I have become a stranger to my own kindred, *
     an alien to my mother's children.

10  Zeal for your house has eaten me up; *
     the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.

11  I humbled myself with fasting, *
     but that was turned to my reproach.

12  I put on sack-cloth also, *
     and became a byword among them.

13  Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, *
     and the drunkards make songs about me.

14  But as for me, this is my prayer to you, *
     at the time you have set, O Lord:

15  "In your great mercy, O God, *
     answer me with your unfailing help.

16  Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *
     let me be rescued from those who hate me
     and out of the deep waters.

17  Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up; *
     do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.

18  Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind; *
     in your great compassion, turn to me."

19      “Hide not your face from your servant; *
     be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.

20      Draw near to me and redeem me; *
     because of my enemies deliver me.


NEW TESTAMENT:   Romans 6: 1b - 11   (RCL)

Roma 6:1 (NRSV) Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

h/t Montreal Anglican


Paul has written of life before Christ: death was final, and “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” ( 5:20). He now asks rhetorically: are we to go on sinning in order to receive even more grace? (Is this the basis for Christian morality?) His answer is definitely not!, and another question (v. 2). Baptism makes the difference for Christians. In baptism, we die to sin. We are baptised into Christ's death, as well as into his resurrection. We too are raised from death by the Father, so that we may “walk” (v. 4) in the new life. Walking implies conscience-based ethical conduct. There is no room for wanton sin in such a life.

Just as we have been grafted on to Christ in his death, so we too will share with him through a resurrection like his (v. 5). We know that we ceased to be dominated by sin and divine wrath (“our old self”, v. 6) when we were baptised. This removed the effects of our waywardness, our enslavement to sin, but makes us ethically responsible for our actions. This is what baptism does (v. 7). Dying with Christ also includes living with him. Because Christ has risen, he will “never die again” (v. 9) – this is unique, once-for-all-time act, an anticipation of the age to come. And then the answer to the question in v. 2: Christ “died to sin” in the sense that sinless, he died rather than disobey the Father, and in the context of a sinful world. He was raised by the Father (v. 4) in order that he might live “to God” (v. 10, as he has always done.) So, as Christ is the model for our lives, and it is he upon whom our lives are grafted, we too must leave sin behind and be “alive to God” (v. 11) in Christ.

5:19: “one man’s disobedience ... one man’s obedience”: i.e. Adam’s disobedience and Jesus’ obedience. [ NOAB]

5:20: This is explained in 7:7-13. With the giving of the Law, there were then specific rules which could be broken – and broken they were. Waywardness existed before the Law was given, and it then increased. [ NOAB]

5:21: “dominion”: Paul writes in v. 14: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace”. [ CAB]

6:1: As in 3:1-20, Paul anticipates questions which might come from his readers. and then proceeds to answer them. This form of rhetoric, developed in Greek philosophical debate, was called diatribe. See also 3:5; 4:1; 7:7; 9:14, 30. [ CAB]

6:1: That the question is raised repeatedly (see also 3:8 and 6:15) shows that people did not understand Paul's theology. Another way of putting the question is: if God brings about salvation of humans through Christ, as a sheer gift, why try to live an upright life? In 3:8, the question is phrased as: “And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), ‘Let us do evil so that good may come’?” and in 6:15: “Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace?”. [ CAB]

6:2: “who died to sin”: See also 5:12-21. [ NJBC]

6:3: “Do you not know”: A frequent phrase in Paul’s writings, usually indicating something his readers already know well. It is also found in 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:2; 9:24. [ CAB]

6:3: “baptised into Christ Jesus”: It is possible that this reflects the imagery of baptism by immersion, but it certainly speaks of a movement of incorporation by which one is born to life in Christ.

6:3: “baptised into his death”: In Galatians 2:20, Paul writes: “... it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”, and in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed ... always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies”. [ CAB]

6:4: A basic Christian confession of faith from the earliest traditions of the Church. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 expresses the same ideas: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures ...”, as does Colossians 2:12: “when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead”. [ CAB]

6:4: “buried”: The Greek word is synthapein, literally meaning co-buried. [ NJBC]

6:4: “glory of the Father”: In the Old Testament (see Exodus 16:7, 10), exodus miracles are ascribed to Yahweh’s kabod (glory); so too here is the rising of Christ. [ NJBC]

6:4: “walk”: A favourite Pauline expression borrowed from the Old Testament (see 2 Kings 20:3, Hezekiah prays to Yahweh, and Proverbs 8:20) to designate the conscious ethical conduct of the Christian. [ NJBC]

6:4: “newness of life”: See also Galatians 2:20. Through baptism, we are identified with the glorified Christ, enabling us to live actually with the life of Christ. [ NJBC] [ CAB]

6:4: “we too might walk in newness of life”: Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7: “ we walk by faith, not by sight” and in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”. [ CAB]

6:5-8: Paul says of the baptised Christian what he says of Christ himself in vv. 9-10. [ NJBC]

6:5: “been united with him”: Another syn word in Greek: synphytoi, literally grown together, as when a young branch is grafted onto a tree, it grows together with the tree and is nourished by it. [ NJBC]

6:5: “we will certainly ...”: For Paul, the resurrection of Christians is a future event, an eschatological one, but the renewal of Christian life is a present reality. [ NJBC]

6:6: “our old self”: NJBC offers the self we once were.

6:6: “was crucified with him”: See also Galatians 2:20. In Galatians 5:24, Paul writes: “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”, and in Galatians 6:14: “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”. [ NJBC]

6:6: “the body of sin might be destroyed”: NJBC offers to do away with our sinful self. Probably the whole human is intended, both the former orientation of one’s very being and physical tendency to sin.

6:6: “no longer be enslaved to sin”: See also Galatians 2:20 and 2 Corinthians 5:17, quoted above. We have a new orientation. [ CAB]

6:7: There are two possible meanings:

    The Jewish notion that death of a guilty person ends all litigation, or
    One who has died has lost the very means of sinning. [ NJBC]

Both infer that a person’s status has changed.

6:8: “we have died with Christ”: i.e. through baptism. [ NJBC]

6:8: “we believe”: New life is not something seen in the normal sense, but with the eyes of faith; however, as v. 4 suggests, we already enjoy a share in this life. In 2 Corinthians 4:11-12, Paul writes: “For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you”. [ NJBC]

6:9: “Christ ... will never die again”: The parallel for the Christian is that he/she is freed from the finality of death. [ NJBC]

6:10: “he died to sin”: In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul puts the point a little differently: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. [ NJBC]

6:10: “he lives to God”: Since his resurrection, Christ enjoys a new relationship with the Father, into which he also introduces all who are baptised. In Galatians 2:19, Paul says: “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ”. [ NJBC]

6:11: “consider yourselves”: NJBC offers think of yourselves. He goes on to interpret the verse as saying: deepen your faith continually to become psychologically aware of your union with God.

6:11: “in Christ Jesus”: As in 2 Corinthians 5:17, life in Christ is the new sphere of existence, a totally transformed way of looking at life and the world. [ CAB]

GOSPEL:   Matthew 10: 24 - 39   (RCL)
                    Matthew 10: 26 - 33   (Roman Catholic)

Matt 10:24 (NRSV)  "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beel'zebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household.
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Jesus continues to prepare the twelve for the continuation of his mission. He is both “teacher” and “master”. His disciples are students. There is so much to learn that they should never set themselves up as authorities independent of him. He has been called “Beelzebul”, (v. 25, the prince of demons); his disciples will be called worse. Do not be intimidated. At the end of the era, all ungodly and godly behaviour, now hidden, will be made known (v. 26). Now is the time to proclaim all that Jesus has told his disciples privately (v. 27). Do not fear your persecutors for they can only end your physical life; rather hold God in awe, for he can “destroy” (v. 28) you totally if you do not do his will. God cares for the life of even a sparrow (v. 29, sold as food in the market), so “do not be afraid” (v. 31) of losing the real life. Honest and forthright witness – and outright refusal to do so – will have eternal consequences (vv. 32-33). At the Last Day, Jesus will testify to the Father for those who have witnessed faithfully; he will declare those who turn against the gospel unworthy of life in the Kingdom.

Jesus gives a new interpretation to Micah 7:6, a verse thought to foretell the breakdown of society as the end-times approach (vv. 34-36). Spreading the gospel will have unfortunate side-effects. There will be tension and division (even within families) between those who accept Jesus’ message, and the demands it makes, and those who oppose his way. Christians must put loyalty to him above family loyalties (v. 37). Following Jesus involves the risk of death (“cross”, v. 38). Finally, a paradox: if one aims to preserve one’s earthly life, one will lose all (“life”, v. 39), but one who dies for Jesus will find true life, eternal life.

Verses 24-25: The background of these verses is the Jewish scholastic system of the time. When a student had learnt all he could from a teacher, he either studied under another teacher or set himself up as a teacher himself – with a distinctive philosophy/theology or school of thinking.

Verse 24: “above”: BlkMt offers superior.

Verse 25: The subordinate (“disciple” or “slave”) cannot expect better treatment than his superior receives. Jesus the teacher and master has been ridiculed and opposed; the Cross lies ahead. The apostles can expect similar treatment, and must be ready to suffer what he suffers. [ BlkMt]

Verse 25: “the master of the house”: Jesus is the master of the household of those committed to the Kingdom. [ BlkMt]

Verse 25: “Beelzebul”: He is obviously related to “Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron”, to whom Ahaziah sends messengers to seek a cure after he falls and is injured (see 2 Kings 1:2) and whom Elijah repudiates (see 2 Kings 1:6). [ BlkMt] In 12:24, Jesus is accused of working with the prince of demons (Satan).

Verses 26-33: See also Luke 12:2-9.

Verse 26: Unlike the Essenes [probably meaning the Qumran community] (and later the Gnostics), Jesus was opposed to secret doctrines known only to initiates.

Verse 26: On Judgement Day, all that is “secret” now (e.g. the wickedness of opponents, the loyalty or cowardice of disciples) will “become known”. [ BlkMt]

Verse 28: Hebrews 10:29-31 speaks of the “punishment ... deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God ...” and then states: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. This verse seems to presuppose the Hellenistic idea of the immortality of the soul. 1 Timothy 6:16 says: “It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion”.

Verse 28: The disciples must not fear hostile people and so become silent or distort their witness. [ BlkMt]

Verse 28: “destroy”: It is possible that the Greek means torment rather than annihilate.

Verse 28: “the soul”: i.e. one’s true self. [ BlkMt]

Verse 28: “hell”: The Greek word is Gehenna. This was the valley of Hinnon (ge’Hinnon) outside Jerusalem where garbage (rubbish) was gathered and burned. Per 2 Kings 23:10, Hinnon had been the site of child sacrifice: see also Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5-6. It provided a physical reminder of the place of eternal punishment. See 1 Enoch 27:2; 90:24-26; 2 Esdras 7:36. [ JBC]

Verses 29-33: See also 6:26-33.

Verse 29: “sparrows”: Sparrows were the cheapest form of life.

Verse 29: “apart from your Father”: BlkMt offers without your Father’s knowledge.

Verses 32-33: See also vv. 40-42, Mark 8:38 and Luke 9:26.

Verse 32: “acknowledges ... acknowledge”: BlkMt offers confesses ... confess.

Verse 33: Here the Father is the judge at the end of time.

Comments : Jesus gives a new interpretation to Micah 7:6: Micah 7:5-6 says: “Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a loved one; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your embrace; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; your enemies are members of your own household. But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me”.

Verses 34-38: While to Jesus the family has a basic role in society, a family is what God means it to be only if and when it is loyal to God. In 12:46-50, Jesus is told that his mother and brothers wish to see him. “Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!’”. The stronger tie is to his mission. [ BlkMt]