• 27 William Reed Huntington, Priest, 1909
• 28 Johann Sebastian Bach, 1750, George Frederick Handel, 1759, and Henry Purcell, 1695, Composers
• 29 Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany
• 30 William Wilberforce, 1833 was an English politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he became an Evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform
•  
• and Anthony Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury, 1885, Prophetic Witnesses
• 31 Ignatius of Loyola, Priest and Monastic, 1556was a Spanish knight from a local Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and, on 19 April 1541, became its first Superior General.

August

• 1 Joseph of Arimathaea
• 2 Samuel David Ferguson, Missionary Bishop for West Africa, 1916

OLD TESTAMENT:  2 Samuel 11: 1 - 15   (RCL)

2Sam 11:1 (NRSV) In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Jo'ab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Am'monites, and besieged Rab'bah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, "This is Bathshe'ba daughter of Eli'am, the wife of Uri'ah the Hit'tite." 4 So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."

6 So David sent word to Jo'ab, "Send me Uri'ah the Hit'tite." And Jo'ab sent Uri'ah to David. 7 When Uri'ah came to him, David asked how Jo'ab and the people fared, and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uri'ah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." Uri'ah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uri'ah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, "Uri'ah did not go down to his house," David said to Uri'ah, "You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?" 11 Uri'ah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Jo'ab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing." 12 Then David said to Uri'ah, "Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uri'ah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, 13 David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Jo'ab, and sent it by the hand of Uri'ah. 15 In the letter he wrote, "Set Uri'ah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die."

2 Kings 4: 42 - 44   (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL)

2Kin 4:42 (NRSV) A man came from Ba'al-shal'ishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Eli'sha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat." 43 But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So he repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the LORD, "They shall eat and have some left.'" 44 He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.

PSALM 14   (RCL)

Psal 14:1 (NRSV) Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God."

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

there is no one who does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind

to see if there are any who are wise,

who seek after God.

3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;

there is no one who does good,

no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

who eat up my people as they eat bread,

and do not call upon the LORD?

5 There they shall be in great terror,

for God is with the company of the righteous.

6 You would confound the plans of the poor,

but the LORD is their refuge.

7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!

When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,

Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

14   Dixit insipiens     (ECUSA BCP)

1          The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” *

     All are corrupt and commit abominable acts;

     there is none who does any good.

2          The Lord looks down from heaven upon us all, *

     to see if there is any who is wise,

     if there is one who seeks after God.

3          Every one has proved faithless;

all alike have turned bad; *

     there is none who does good; no, not one.

4          Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers *

     who eat up my people like bread

     and do not call upon the Lord?

5          See how they tremble with fear, *

     because God is in the company of the righteous.

6          Their aim is to confound the plans of the afflicted, *

     but the Lord is their refuge.

7          Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come out of Zion! *

     when the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

     Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.

Psalm 145: 10 - 11, 15 - 18   (Roman Catholic)

Psalm 145: 10 - 18   (alt. for RCL)

Psal 145:10 (NRSV) All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,

and all your faithful shall bless you.

11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,

and tell of your power,

12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The LORD is faithful in all his words,

and gracious in all his deeds.

14 The LORD upholds all who are falling,

and raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16 You open your hand,

satisfying the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is just in all his ways,

and kind in all his doings.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

145   Exaltabo te, Deus     (ECUSA BCP)

10         All your works praise you, O Lord, *

     and your faithful servants bless you.

11         They make known the glory of your kingdom *

     and speak of your power;

12         That the peoples may know of your power *

     and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13         Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; *

     your dominion endures throughout all ages.

14         The LORD is faithful in all his words *

     and merciful in all his deeds.

15         The Lord upholds all those who fall; *

     he lifts up those who are bowed down.

16         The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, *

     and you give them their food in due season.

17         You open wide your hand *

     and satisfy the needs of every living creature.

18         The Lord is righteous in all his ways *

     and loving in all his works.

19         The Lord is near to those who call upon him, *

     to all who call upon him faithfully.

NEW TESTAMENT:   Ephesians 3: 14 - 21   (RCL)

Ephe 3:14 (NRSV) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

H/T Montreal Anglican

The author, writing in Paul’s name, has told us of Paul’s insistence on Gentiles being the equal of Jews in the Church. He has written: “Gentiles have become fellow heirs” (v. 6), members of the same Church as Jews, sharers in Christ’s saving activity, as part of God’s plan. Because of his (Gentile) readers’ “faith in the Lord Jesus and ... [their] love toward all the saints” ( 1:15) and because they are sharers in the “boundless riches of Christ” (v. 8) and should not “lose heart over ... [his] sufferings” (v. 13), he now prays to the Father (v. 14), kneeling in solemnity, to God the source of life itself, of very existence (“name”, v. 15). (In Greek, patria, “family” is a pun on pater, “Father”, v. 14.)
His prayer includes four petitions:

·  for inward strengthening (“inner being”, v. 16) through the Spirit;

·  for the Risen Jesus to be the source of (“rooted”, v. 17), and basis for (“grounded”), their outward expression of love;

·  that God may give them the power to understand (as all can) the totality of Christ’s love (v. 18 – or of God’s saving plan for humans); and

·  to so know Christ’s love that they grow into full knowledge of God’s ways (v. 19).

(Stoic philosophy sought systematized knowledge of all, but for Christians experiential knowledge of God’s love is infinitely more than this.) The prayer concludes (vv. 20-21) with a doxology, praise to God, for whom there are no limits to achievement, and whose actions we can in no way limit: may his power, shown in Christ, be shown in the Church, in its life, for all to see.

Verses 1-21: A prayer for wisdom, interrupted by a parenthesis on Paul’s mission to the Gentiles (vv. 2-13). [ NOAB]
After v. 1, Paul digresses (v. 2-12). He continues with his intended thinking in v. 14. This passage depends on Colossians 1:23-29. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “Paul” was a “prisoner” because he had aroused the hostility of the Jews by advocating the equality of the “Gentiles” in the Church. See Acts 21:21, 28 for hostility towards him in Jerusalem. See also Acts 22:21-22. [ NOAB]
Verses 2-13 are a parenthesis on Paul’s role in the revelation of the mystery. [ NJBC]
Verse 2: “for surely you have already heard”: Literally if indeed you have heard, but in the sense that they have surely already heard. [ NJBC]
Verse 3: “the mystery was made known to me by revelation ... the mystery of Christ”: This notion is also found in Colossians 1:25-26: “I became its [the Church’s] servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints”. The word “mystery” here (but not in 5:23) refers to God’s age-long purpose, now disclosed to his chosen, to call Gentiles as well as Jews to share in Christ’s redemptive work. [ NOAB] See also 1QpHab (Qumran Habakkuk Pesher) 7:4-5; 1QH (Hymns) 9:21 ( Vermes: 1:21). [ NJBC]
Verse 3: “by revelation”: The author writes in 1:17: “ pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him”. See also Acts 9:3-4 (Christ appears to Paul on the road to Damascus). In Galatians 1:12, Paul writes that he “did not receive it [the gospel] from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ”. [ NOAB]
Verse 3: “as I wrote above ...”: i.e. in reference to the mystery of Christ mentioned in 1:9 and 2:13-17; however, some scholars see this as a reference to all the letters of Paul, so to them Ephesians was written by Paul. [ NJBC]
Verse 3: “in a few words”: The “words” are 1:8b-10: “With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth”. [ NOAB]
Verse 4: “understanding”: As stated in v. 6. [ NJBC]
Verse 5: “In former generations”: i.e. in Old Testament times.
Verse 5: “holy apostles”: In Colossians 1:26 says “the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints”. The author wishes to recall the solid foundation on which the church is built (see 2:20), and therefore underscores the role of apostles and prophets. [ NJBC]
Verse 8: “the very least”: In 1 Corinthians 15:9, Paul writes “I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God”. [ CAB]
Verse 9: “God who created”: At creation, God established his providential control of the cosmos, and only in the present era are his designs becoming known. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “rulers and authorities”: God’s wisdom put an end to their control (see 1QS (Qumran Rule of the Community) 4:18-23) through subjugation of all things to Christ.
Verse 14: “bow my knees”: The normal Jewish posture for prayer was standing (see Mark 11:25 and Luke 18:11, 13). See also Romans 11:4; 14:11, Philippians 2:10. In Isaiah 45:23, bowing the knee is a token of homage to the universal king.
The prayer completes the circle: from God as the source of life to God as the goal of humanity.
Verse 15: “family in heaven”: One scholar sees a Gnostic influence here. They believed that families or generations in heaven controlled the universe.
Verse 15: “name”: God, the creator of all the families of beings, established his power and control over all creation in the act of naming them: see Psalm 147:4, Isaiah 40:26, Genesis 2:19-20. [ NJBC]
Verse 18: “height and depth”: Paul uses these words in Romans 8:39. Some think that use of dimensions is as in Ezekiel 42; 47; 48, where dimensions of the Temple, and of Jerusalem, are spoken of at length. Similar dimensional data is given in Revelation 21:9-27. However, in the context of Ephesians, they may describe God’s plan of salvation or, more likely, the love of Christ – mentioned in the preceding and following verses. [ NJBC]
Verse 17: “Christ may dwell”: Usually Paul refers to the Holy Spirit as dwelling in people, but to him, the Risen Christ and the Holy Spirit are interchangeable in Romans 8:9-11 – because the Risen Jesus is the source of the Spirit (Acts 2:23).
Verse 21: “the church” and “Christ Jesus” are necessary complements of each other. [ NOAB]

GOSPEL:   John 6: 1 - 21  (RCL)

                    John 6: 1 - 15  (Roman Catholic)

John 6:1 (NRSV) After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tibe'rias. 2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" 10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Caper'naum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

The stories of the feeding of the five thousand and of Jesus walking on the water are familiar to us from the other gospels, but John presents them a little differently. Most obviously, note “Sea of Tiberias” (v. 1): this was the official Roman name for the Sea of Galilee. John is concerned to locate the events precisely geographically and in time (“Passover”, v. 4), although “after this” (v. 1, also used elsewhere in the book) is somewhat vague. John tells us about certain signs (of which these stories are two) which he hopes will encourage belief, be a starting point for understanding Jesus, and show Christ for who he is.
The crowds are attracted by Jesus’ miracles (“signs”, v. 2) but faith in him is only skin-deep. Note the links to the story of the Exodus, of Israel’s deliverance and of the formation of the first Israel: the “mountain” (vv. 3, 15, Sinai), Jesus’ question to Philip and his answer (vv. 6-7, like Moses’ question to God and God’s answer – when God gives the people meat to eat), and feeding the crowd (vv. 11-13, like the gift of manna in the wilderness.) Philip thinks in material terms, as did Moses (v. 7), but Andrew is more resourceful (vv. 8-9). “Barley loaves” were the food of the poor.
V. 11 looks forward to the Last Supper; “given thanks” translates eucharistesas. In v. 14, the people misunderstand who Jesus is; they believe him to be “the prophet”. (In Deuteronomy 18:18, God tells Moses that he will raise a prophet like Moses who will speak what God commands. By Jesus’ time, people expected a prophet to come to usher in the age to come, the messianic age.) The people want to make him a king, a political Messiah, but Jesus refuses (v. 15). Note “Jesus had not yet come to them” (v. 17): John assumes that his readers already know the story. In v. 20, “It is I” translates the Greek phrase ego eimi – the words which God uses to identify himself to Moses in the Greek translation of Exodus 3:14.

The parallels are Matthew 14:13-27, Mark 6:32-51 and Luke 9:10-17. Jesus walking on the water is not found in Luke.
Some scholars question the order of chapters 4, 5 and 6 as we have them. Geographically, the sequence should be 4 then 6, then 5.
In 2 Kings 4:42-44, Elisha performs a similar feeding miracle. The gift of manna is recorded in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11. [ CAB]
Verse 1: “After this” and the fact that the verbs in v. 2 are in the imperfect imply that there had been an interval during which Jesus had performed many “signs” (v. 2) not recorded in this gospel. [ BlkJn]
Verse 1: “Sea of Tiberias”: Herod Antipas founded the city of Tiberias about 20 AD, to honour Tiberias Caesar; the lake was renamed after the city. [ NOAB]
Verse 3: Unlike Mark, John does not tell us that the hour is late and the people are distressed. [ NJBC] These details are not pertinent to his purpose of writing the gospel.
Verse 3: “the mountain”: BlkJn offers hill country.
Verse 4: “the Passover, the festival of the Jews”: Either John is writing for a Gentile audience unfamiliar with Judaism, or the word Passover was also used in Christian circles. This is the second Passover mentioned in this gospel. The first is mentioned in 2:13. [ BlkJn]
Verses 5-7: Moses’ question to God and God’s answer are in Numbers 11:13-23.
Verse 7: “Philip”: He is also mentioned in 1:43-51 (his calling); 12:20-22 (“Greeks”, Gentiles, wish to see Jesus); 14:1-11 (Jesus is the way to the Father). [ BlkJn]
Verse 7: “Six months’ wages”: Literally two hundred denarii. The normal pay for a labourer was one denarius per day. [ JBC]
Verse 9: Andrew’s resourcefulness is only found in John. It is a rare insight into the personality of a disciple. [ JBC]
Verse 11: A scholar suggests that John omits the breaking of the bread because Jesus’ legs were not broken on the cross. 19:32-33 tells us: “Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs”.
Verse 11: “took ... given thanks ... distributed”: This is the eucharistic language of the Church. [ NOAB] The word eucharistesas occurs in the stories of the Last Supper: see Mark 14:23; Matthew 26:26; Luke 22:17, 19. See also 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 15:36; Didache 9. [ BlkJn]
Verse 12: “were satisfied”: Literally were filled. [ BlkJn]
Verse 12: “so that nothing may be lost”: The careful avoidance of any waste of the bread was natural for a Jew, but also characteristic of the Eucharist. Only Gentiles would let dogs eat from the table: see Mark 7:28 (the Syrophoenician or Canaanite woman) and Matthew 15:27. [ BlkJn]
Verse 13: “they gathered them up”: An act of reverential economy towards a gift from God. [ NOAB] In Didache 9:4, the same word is used for gathering the eucharistic bread. This is a symbol of the gathering of the church.
Didache 9:4 says “As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being gathered together became one, so may Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever and ever.”
Verse 13: “twelve baskets”: One for each disciple (assuming all were present). [ NOAB] [ JBC]
Verse 14: “the prophet”: Deuteronomy 18:18 actually refers to an order of prophets. People believed that the line of prophets that had ended with Malachi in the 400s BC would be restored before the end of the era.
1QS (Rule of the Qumran Community) 9:10-11 says: “They [the men of the Community] should not depart from any counsel of the law ... until the prophet comes...” [ Martinez]
CD (Damascus Document) 6:8-11 says: “And the nobles of the people are those who have arrived to dig the well with the staves that the sceptre decreed, to walk in them throughout the whole age of wickedness ... until there arises he who teaches justice at the end of days. ...” [ Martinez]
Verse 14: “the prophet”: The crowd may have been thinking of Elijah, whose return had been prophesied in Malachi 4:5, but we cannot expect theological precision from an excited crowd. [ BlkJn]
Verse 15: “make him king”: The true nature of Jesus’ kingship is only revealed at his trial. [ NJBC] The devil offers to make him king during his temptation in the wilderness: see Luke 4:1-13 and Matthew 4:1-11. See also 18:33-37 (Pilate questions Jesus) and 19:12-15.
Verse 15: “he withdrew”: The fourth sign ends like the third (see 5:13), with Jesus quietly leaving the scene, conscious that he had failed to produce the effect he intended. [ BlkJn]
Verse 15: “by himself”: Did the disciples share in the people’s enthusiasm? Matthew 14:22 and Mark 6:45 both imply that Jesus forced the disciples to cross the lake again immediately.
To BlkJn, the misunderstanding of Jesus’ action marks the end of his attempt to lead a mass movement into the Kingdom of God. The alternative course which he now begins to follow, and which led to the Cross, will be foreshadowed in the discourse, 6:26ff.
Verse 17: “dark”: This symbolizes the lost and bewildered state of the disciples, “when Jesus had not come to them”. Recall 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it”. Nicodemus comes “by night” ( 3:2). In 8:12, Jesus says: “‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life’”. See also 11:10; 12:35-36; 13:30 (Judas goes out into the night). [ BlkJn]
Verse 18: The topography of the land around the Sea of Galilee renders it subject to sudden storms. [ JBC]
Verse 19: “Jesus walking on the sea”: This recalls God’s control of the waters in the act of creation (see Genesis 1:1-10) and the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt by the miraculous crossing of the sea. For God’s power over the sea, see also Psalms 74:12-15; 93:3-4. It was through God’s control over the sea that the first Israel emerged (see Exodus 14:19-15:21; Psalms 77:16-20; 107; Isaiah 51:10-11). John implies that Jesus is the new Moses; in the following verses, he is seen to be greater than Moses, for he has the power to bring forth the new Israel. [ JBC] The synoptic gospels emphasize the disciples’ lack of faith; John does not.
Verse 19: “on the sea”: BlkJn offers by the lake on the basis that the same preposition and construction is found in v. 21 (where he translates “reached the land” as got by the land ) – so to him this is not a miracle: Jesus returns towards Capernaum by land while the disciples travel by boat. He argues that John used a source independent from Mark (where in 6:48 this construction does mean on the lake – NRSV: “on the sea”). BlkJn sees a pattern to this gospel in which the sign at Cana, a miracle, corresponds to the Feeding of the Five Thousand while the Cleansing of the Temple, not a miracle, corresponds to this story.
Verse 19: “terrified”: BlkJn offers sailed for “rowed”. The disciples are “terrified” because they are off a lee shore, and likely to be driven on to it.
Verse 20: “It is I”: It being dark, Jesus may be merely identifying himself: the disciples would know his voice. But it is never safe to assume that John does not intend a deeper meaning, so perhaps we should see here another instance of Jesus identifying himself theologically, as the Logos. [ BlkJn]
Verse 21: The disciples are lost at sea, and probably far off course (per the other gospels) but after Jesus appears, the boat “immediately” reaches “the land to which they were going”. Probably this is another miracle. [ JBC]

·  Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman

·  21 Albert John Luthuli, Prophetic Witness in South Africa, 1967

·  22 Saint Mary Magdalene

·  24 Thomas a Kempis, Priest, 1471 was a canon regular of the late medieval period and the most probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion

·  25 Saint James the Apostle

·  26 The Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (traditionally identified as Anne and Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary the mother of Jesus, according to the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions.^{[citation needed]} The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the apocryphal Gospel of James.

·  27 William Reed Huntington, Priest, 1909

OLD TESTAMENT:  2 Samuel 7: 1 - 14a   (RCL)

2Sam 7:1 (NRSV) Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." 3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.

Jeremiah 23:  1 - 6   (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL)

Jere 23:1 (NRSV) Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.

5 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."

PSALM 89: 20 - 37   (RCL)

Psal 89:20 (NRSV) I have found my servant David;

with my holy oil I have anointed him;

21 my hand shall always remain with him;

my arm also shall strengthen him.

22 The enemy shall not outwit him,

the wicked shall not humble him.

23 I will crush his foes before him

and strike down those who hate him.

24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;

and in my name his horn shall be exalted.

25 I will set his hand on the sea

and his right hand on the rivers.

26 He shall cry to me, "You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation!'

27 I will make him the firstborn,

the highest of the kings of the earth.

28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,

and my covenant with him will stand firm.

29 I will establish his line forever,

and his throne as long as the heavens endure.

30 If his children forsake my law

and do not walk according to my ordinances,

31 if they violate my statutes

and do not keep my commandments,

32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod

and their iniquity with scourges;

33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,

or be false to my faithfulness.

34 I will not violate my covenant,

or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;

I will not lie to David.

36 His line shall continue forever,

and his throne endure before me like the sun.

37 It shall be established forever like the moon,

an enduring witness in the skies." [Se'lah]

Psalm 89: Part II   Tunc locutus es     (ECUSA BCP)

20         I have found David my servant; *

     with my holy oil have I anointed him.

21         My hand will hold him fast *

     and my arm will make him strong.

22         No enemy shall deceive him, *

     nor any wicked man bring him down.

23         I will crush his foes before him *

     and strike down those who hate him.

24         My faithfulness and love shall be with him, *

     and he shall be victorious through my Name.

25         I shall make his dominion extend *

     from the Great Sea to the River.

26         He will say to me, “You are my Father, *

     my God, and the rock of my salvation.’

27         I will make him my firstborn *

     and higher than the kings of the earth.

28         I will keep my love for him for ever, *

     and my covenant will stand firm for him.

29         I will establish his line for ever *

     and his throne as the days of heaven.”

30         “If his children forsake my law *

     and do not walk according to my judgments;

31         If they break my statutes *

     and do not keep my commandments;

32         I will punish their transgressions with a rod *

     and their iniquities with the lash;

33         But I will not take my love from him, *

     nor let my faithfulness prove false.

34         I will not break my covenant, *

     nor change what has gone out of my lips.

35         Once for all I have sworn by my holiness: *

     ‘I will not lie to David.

36         His line shall endure for ever *

     and his throne as the sun before me;

37         It shall stand fast for evermore like the moon, *

     the abiding witness in the sky.’”

Psalm 23   (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL)

Psal 23:1 (NRSV) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

3 he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil;

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff--

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

my whole life long.

23   Dominus regit me    (ECUSA BCP)

1          The Lord is my shepherd; *

     I shall not be in want.

2          He makes me lie down in green pastures *

     and leads me beside still waters.

3          He revives my soul *

     and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

4          Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil; *

     for you are with me;

     your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5          You spread a table before me in the presence of those

                        who trouble me; *

     you have anointed my head with oil,

     and my cup is running over.

6          Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days

                        of my life, *

     and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

NEW TESTAMENT:   Ephesians 2: 11 - 22   (RCL)

                                      Ephesians 2: 13 - 18   (Roman Catholic)

Ephe 2:11 (NRSV) So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision"--a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands-- 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually {Gk [in the Spirit]} into a dwelling place for God.

h/t Montreal Anglican

The author has reminded his readers that we have our saving faith through God’s gift – of our faith and of his love for us. Through our faith, we realize that God’s gift exists. Being Christ’s, we are to do good works. He now addresses himself to those who are “Gentiles by birth” (v. 11). He reminds his non-Jewish readers that they were, at one time, “without Christ” (v. 12), without hope of union with God, not being parties to God’s pacts with Israel. They had no “hope” of union with God, and were “without God”, with no true knowledge of him. “But now” (v. 13) they, once “far off”, distant from God’s ways, have been brought hope through the cross (“the blood of Christ”). Christ is what unifies Gentiles and Jews; he has made us all one group; he has eliminated the enmity between us. (Jews were not permitted to have contact with Gentiles, for fear of being defiled ritually.) Cultural differences are no longer relevant – what matters is that we are “one new humanity” (v. 15): the division is gone. Christ has brought the two groups together “in one body” (v. 16, the Church). His message was (and is) one of “peace” (v. 17) – to Gentiles (“far off”) and to Jews (“near”). We both come into his presence (“access”, v. 18) through Christ, participating in the action of the Holy Spirit, “to the Father”. So we are all fellow members of God’s heavenly and earthly community (“saints”, v. 19). (A “household” included all: parents, children and slaves.) Christ started this “household”; he is the “cornerstone” (v. 20) of it. Those who preceded us, “apostles and [Christian] prophets”, laid the foundation; it is a sacred “structure” (v. 21), edifice, “temple”, the Church, continually growing spiritually.

Epistles that all scholars accept as Pauline emphasize unity in diversity , but Ephesians seems to stress that cultural diversity, the distinction between Jew and Gentile, is a thing of the past. See also Colossians 3:11.
In Romans 5:10-11 and 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Paul tells us that reconciliation primarily brings union with God.
Verse 11: CAB notes that, in that the terms “the uncircumcision” and “the circumcision” reflect a Jewish categorization of world humanity, the author is Jewish and Gentile readers are envisioned. These terms also appear in Colossians 3:11.
Verse 11: “‘the uncircumcision’”: This term carried a connotation of shame for not being God’s people.
Verse 11: “‘the uncircumcision’ ... ‘the circumcision’”: Since the distinction between Jew and Gentile is removed in Christ, these terms are obsolete. [ NOAB]
Verse 12: “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel”: The author uses the analogy of citizenship to describe the Gentiles’ estrangement from the people of God. [ NJBC]
Verse 12: “covenants of promise”: In the sense that they are everlasting (see Isaiah 55:3; Ezekiel 37:26).
Verse 12: “without God”: See also Paul’s speech in front of the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:22-31).
Verse 12: “hope”: messianic, and of resurrection.
Verse 13: For non-Jews having the same benefits as Jews through Christ, see also Galatians 6:16. For non-Jews having access to the covenants of promise, see also Galatians 3:14. [ CAB]
Verse 13: “far off ... near”: This is a sort of commentary on the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 57:18-19: “I have seen his ways and healed him; I have comforted him, giving him true comfort; peace without measure to those who are far off and those who are near. The Lord said, ‘I will heal them’”. (The NRSV translation is similar.) In the original meaning, it was the Diaspora Jews who were far off, but rabbinic commentary applied the verse to Gentile converts: a proselyte was “brought near” to the covenant. [ JBC] The terms are also used in v. 17.
Note also Zechariah 6:15: “Those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord”. In letters which are generally accepted as Pauline, the reconciliation accomplished through the death of Christ brought peace and union with God: see Romans 5:10-11 and 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. In Ephesians, this understanding of reconciliation is expanded to include peace and unity between Gentiles and Jews. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “by the blood of Christ”: See also Mark 10:45; 14:24; Hebrews 9:11.
Verses 14-16: See also Colossians 1:15-20. Some say that this is a Christological hymn concerning the person and work of Christ. For other Christological hymns, see Philippians 2:6-11; 1 Peter 3:18-19, 22; John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:16. [ CAB]
Verse 14: Paul makes the point that “there is no longer Jew or Greek ...” in Galatians 3:28. See also Romans 1:6. [ CAB]
Verse 14: “dividing wall”: In the Temple, there was a physical barrier (a low wall) between the Court of Israel and that of the Gentiles. Gentiles crossed this line on pain of death. [ NOAB] For Peter’s speech at Cornelius’ house about Jewish relations with Gentiles, see Acts 10:28ff.
Verse 15: Paul wrote that the old humanity has been alienated from God ever since Adam sinned, and that the new humanity is reconciled to Christ through the cross (Romans 5:12-17). But this seems not to be what the author of Ephesians is emphasizing.
Verse 16: “in one body”: See also Colossians 1:22. [ NJBC]
Verse 18: “access”: The word prosagoge denoted in Oriental courts the introduction of a person into the kings’ presence. [ JBC]
Verse 19: Christ unites separated children, Jews and Gentiles, and brings them into the intimacy of God’s family, his “household”. [ JBC] Note the Trinitarian formula. The Qumran community referred to itself as the “household of God”.
Verse 19: “citizens”: The imagery of v. 12 reappears.
Verse 19: “members of the household of God”: In 5:1, Christians are called “beloved children”. They are entitled to “the riches of his glorious inheritance” ( 1:18) that their father “lavished on us” ( 1:7-8). [ NJBC]
Verse 20: “apostles and prophets”: See also 3:5; 4:11; Acts 13:1 (the apostles and prophets in the church at Antioch). [ NOAB] Apostles and prophets receive special gifts. [ JBC]
Verse 20: “cornerstone”: This is a messianic term. See Isaiah 28:16 and Matthew 21:42. [ NOAB] 1 Corinthians 3:11 says that the “foundation is Jesus Christ”. [ NJBC]
Verses 21,22: “holy temple ... dwelling place”: See also 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 1 Peter 2:4-5. [ NOAB]
Verse 21: CAB notes a shift in imagery for the Church: from “body” (v. 16) to “household” (v. 19) to a structure like a growing temple. I note a similar development in David’s lineage in 2 Samuel 7.
Verse 21: The church as building metaphor merges with the body image to create the picture of a building constructed of living stones that grow and develop into God’s dwelling place, the Temple. The body image is also found in 4:15-16. 2 Peter 2:4-5 says: “Come to him, a living stone,... and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house”. The Qumran community also understood itself as the temple of God. [ NJBC]
One scholar suggests that this passage is told in story form in the parable of the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32).

GOSPEL:  Mark 6: 30 - 34, 53 - 56   (RCL)

                   Mark 6: 30 - 34   (Roman Catholic)

Mark 6:30 (NRSV) The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennes'aret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

In vv. 7-13, Jesus has sent out the disciples, giving them authority over evil forces in people. The twelve have “proclaimed that all should repent” of their deviations from God’s ways; they have “anointed with oil many who were sick” and have cured them. After diverting to the story of John the Baptist’s death (an example of what discipleship may cost), Mark returns to the main story.
Jesus debriefs the disciples (v. 30). In 3:20, Jesus has no time to eat; here (v. 32) neither do the disciples: such is Jesus’ popularity as healer and wonder-worker. Note Mark’s emphasis on the crowd: many recognize them (vv. 33, 55), hurry to meet them as they disembark, are “like sheep without a shepherd” (v. 34, aimless, leaderless); they rush here and there bringing the sick; they beg Jesus (v. 56). He has compassion on them, begins to teach them, and heals the sick.
In vv. 35-44, Jesus feeds five thousand people in this “deserted place” (v. 36, literally desert). Jesus says to the disciples, “You give them something to eat”. He continues to train them to carry out his mission, but they take what he says literally. This event recalls God’s feeding his people in the wilderness; it points forward to their expectation of life in God’s kingdom: a banquet at which the Messiah will preside. In vv. 45-52, Jesus walks on water, further demonstrating his divine power – here over unruly seas.
The fringes on Jesus’ cloak (v. 56) show that he obeys God’s commandments. In touching his cloak, the sick make him ritually unclean, but those who touch him are “healed”, made well – and have their sins forgiven. In the following verses, Mark tells us that the religious authorities are more concerned with legalistic ritual purity than with the needs of the common people.

The parallels are Matthew 14:13-15, 34-36 and Luke 9:10-11. (There is no parallel to vv. 53-56 in Luke.)
I suggest that the creators of the Revised Common Lectionary have made an unfortunate choice in skipping v. 35-44 (the Feeding of the Five Thousand). Reading these verses helps to understand today’s reading. I note that the Feeding of the Five Thousand (from John) is the gospel next week. Mark’s version is the most complete.
The miracle of manna is described in Exodus 16:12-35. “Deserted place” occurs in vv. 31, 32, 35; “bread” (or an equivalent word) occurs in vv. 37, 38, 41 and 44; eating is mentioned in vv. 31, 36, 37, and 42-44. Eating and bread also occur in 6:52; 7:3, 27 and 8:14-21.
Verse 30: “apostles”: NJBC suggests that Mark may use “apostles” here because he has just used “disciples” to refer to the followers of John the Baptist in the previous verse. However, I note that apostoloi, literally those sent out , is particularly appropriate: they are those who have “done and taught”. Apostoloi may be used here in its non-technical sense, so emissaries is a good translation. [ BlkMk] See also just before the story of the death of John the Baptist, i.e. 6:6b-13, Jesus’ instructions to his followers for spreading the good news.
Verse 32: “they went away in the boat”: Mark seems to think of Jesus going from the western or north-western shore of the lake to a place on the eastern shore. [ BlkMk]
Verse 34: “like sheep without a shepherd”: In Numbers 27:16-17, Moses asks Yahweh: “‘Let the Lord , the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint someone over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd’”. Ezekiel 34:5 says: “they [the people of Israel] were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals”. See also 1 Kings 22:17 (Micaiah). [ NOAB]
Verses 35-44: Jesus is Messiah, saviour of his people. [ NJBC] The miraculous feeding of the people of Israel in the Sinai desert is described in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11. The procedure and language correspond with those of the Christian communal meal of the New Covenant evident in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 2:46-47; 27:35-36. [ CAB] This story also points back to Elisha’s feeding of one hundred men in 2 Kings 4:38-44. The parallels in the other gospels are Matthew 14:15-21; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-15. The Feeding of the Four Thousand is found in Mark 8:1-10 and Matthew 15:32-39. [ NJBC]
Verse 36: Where Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd are could hardly be described as a “deserted place”, for there were several towns in the neighbourhood, so it is likely that there is a link here to the story of the gift of manna. [ NJBC]
Verse 37: “two hundred denarii”: i.e. What labourers earned in 200 days: a lot of money. The disciples come close to being hostile. [ NJBC] They misunderstand Jesus.
Verse 38: “fish”: Why “fish”? NJBC says that the most likely interpretation is they anticipate the sea creatures that, according to 2 Esdras 6:52 and 2 Baruch 29:4, will be part of the messianic banquet. [ NJBC] BlkMk says that there was a rabbinic belief that the sea-monster Leviathan would be given to the people as food at the messianic banquet. Bread and fish are used in early Christian art as symbols of the Eucharist.
Verses 39,40: “in groups”: The Greek literally means banquets or drinking parties. [ BlkMk] The point is that the crowd are orderly and act with decorum (hardly what one expects for empty stomachs!), thus contributing to the idea of the messianic banquet. [ NJBC]
Verse 40: “of hundreds and of fifties”: Groupings by hundreds and fifties is also found in Exodus 18:21 and in the Qumran War Scroll. [ BlkMk]
Verse 41: “he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves”: In 14:22, we read that at the Last Supper: “he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it”. This meal in the wilderness points forward to the Last Supper, which in turn points to the messianic banquet. [ NJBC] Jesus may well have used the usual Jewish prayer at the beginning of a meal. The father in a Jewish family “broke the loaves”. [ BlkMk]
Verse 43: “broken pieces”: The same Greek word appears in the context of the Eucharist in Didache 9 and in 1 Clement 34:7. [ HenMk] Perhaps “twelve” is symbolically linked with Israel. [ NJBC] It was considered good etiquette to collect the large pieces of left-over food after a Jewish banquet. [ BlkMk]
Verse 44: “five thousand men”: This is far more than Elisha fed. [ NJBC]
Verses 45-52: Jesus is Son of God. [ NJBC]
Verses 53-56: For belief in Jesus’ power to heal, see also Matthew 4:24; Mark 1:32-34; 3:10; Luke 4:40-41; 6:18, 19. [ NOAB] The enthusiastic reception given to him by the general populace contrasts with the carping attitude of the opponents in the following controversy: 7:1-23. [ NJBC]
Verse 53: In v. 45, the disciples set out to go to Bethsaida, at the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee; but somehow they disembark at Gennesaret, near the western tip of the Sea and some 12 km from their intended destination. (The Sea is 13 km, 8 miles, wide.) Mark appears to explain this by saying that the disciples strained at the oars against an “adverse wind” (v. 48), but it is likely that his sources differed as to where they landed. [ NJBC]
Verse 56: “begged”: Is Jesus still trying to avoid the crowds? [ JBC]
Verse 56: “fringe”: These are the four blue twisted threads (cords or tassels) at the corners of his cloak. In Numbers 15:38-40 God tells Moses to tell the Israelites: “to make fringes on the corners of their garments ... and to put a blue cord on the fringe at each corner. ... when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes”. See also Deuteronomy 22:12. That Jesus wore this fringe indicates his observance of Mosaic law. [ NOAB]
Verse 56: “touched it”: The woman with haemorrhages was cured by touching his cloak: see 5:24-30. While those who touched him were healed, their touch made him ritually unclean. [ CAB]