· 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
· 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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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