· 5 Albrecht
Dürer, 1528, Matthias Grünewald, 1529, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker
in woodcut
and engraving1553,
Artists
OLD TESTAMENT: 2 Samuel 11: 26 - 12: 13a
(RCL)
2Sam 11:26
(NRSV) When the wife of Uri'ah heard that her husband was dead, she made
lamentation for him. 27 When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her
to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD,
12:1 and the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him,
"There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2
The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but
one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with
him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from
his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there
came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock
or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor
man's lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him." 5 Then
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, "As
the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; 6 he shall restore
the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says
the LORD, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you
from the hand of Saul; 8 I gave you your master's house, and your master's
wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if
that had been too little, I would have added as much more. 9 Why have you
despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck
down Uri'ah the Hit'tite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your
wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Am'monites. 10 Now therefore the
sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have
taken the wife of Uri'ah the Hit'tite to be your wife. 11 Thus says the LORD: I
will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take
your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie
with your wives in the sight of this very sun. 12 For you did it secretly; but
I will do this thing before all Israel,
and before the sun." 13 David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against
the LORD."
Exodus 16: 2 - 4, 9 -
15 (alt. for RCL)
Exodus 16: 2 - 4, 12 -
15 (Roman Catholic)
Exod 16:2 (NRSV) The whole congregation of the Israelites
complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to
them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land
of Egypt, when we sat by the
fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this
wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain
bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather
enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my
instruction or not.
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole
congregation of the Israelites, "Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard
your complaining.'" 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the
Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD
appeared in the cloud. 11 The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 12 "I have
heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, "At twilight you
shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you
shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and
in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of
dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance,
as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one
another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said
to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
PSALM 51: 1 - 12 (RCL)
Psal 51:1 (NRSV) Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Note:
Verse numbering in your Psalter may be different from the above.
51 Miserere mei, Deus (ECUSA
BCP)
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to
your
loving-kindness;
*
in your great compassion blot out my
offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my
wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.
.
4 Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak
*
and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my
birth, *
a sinner from my mother's womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep
within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be
pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again
*
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
Psalm 78: 3 - 4, 23 - 25,
54 (Roman Catholic)
Psalm 78: 23 - 29 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 78:3 (NRSV) [T]hings that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
24 he rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
54 And he brought them to his holy hill,
to the mountain that his right hand had won.
78 (ECUSA
BCP)
Part I Attendite, popule
23 So he commanded the clouds above *
and opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained down manna upon them to eat *
and gave them grain from heaven.
25 So mortals ate the bread of angels; *
he provided for them food enough.
26 He
caused the east wind to blow in the heavens *
and led out the south wind by his might.
27 He
rained down flesh upon them like dust *
and winge!d birds like the sand of the sea.
28 He
let it fall in the midst of their camp *
and round about their dwellings.
29 So
they ate and were well filled, *
for he gave them what they craved.
NEW TESTAMENT: Ephesians 4: 1 - 16 (RCL)
Ephe 4:1 (NRSV) I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg
you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with
all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3
making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of
your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all,
who is above all and through all and in all.
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure
of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it is said,
"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a
captive;
he gave gifts to his people."
9 (When it says, "He ascended," what does it
mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He
who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that
he might fill all things.) 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must
no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of
doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15
But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is
the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by
every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly,
promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.
Ephesians 4: 17, 20 - 24
(Roman Catholic)
Ephe 4:17
(NRSV) Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as
the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds.
20 That is not the
way you learned Christ! 21 For surely you have heard about him and were taught
in him, as truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught to put away your former way of
life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, 23 and to be renewed in
the spirit of your minds, 24 and to clothe yourselves with the new self,
created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak
the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
h/t Montreal Anglican
The author has told his readers of the present exalted
state of Christ and the Church, the new unity of God’s people, and the Church
as an established growing structure where God dwells. Now he tells us the
obligations of being members of this new humanity. Paul did spend time in
prison in connection with preaching Christ. The author now urges his readers to
live a life “worthy of ... [their] calling” as Christians. Unity is paramount,
and is to be fostered by the virtues of “humility” (v. 2),
“gentleness”, “patience” and loving forbearance, the source of which is the
Spirit. In vv. 4-7,
he lists seven ways in which Christians live in unity. God, transcendent
(“above all”) and all-pervasive (“through ... and in all”) brings these
characteristics. As “Father”, he bonds us together as children, brothers, and
sisters. But, in our oneness, we have diverse gifts. The author interprets
Psalm 68:18
as telling of Christ’s victory over alien spiritual powers (“captive”, v. 8):
when he ascended, became exalted, he conquered them. Christ also “descended”
(v. 9)
in being born a human being. (In Ephesians, all that is non-human is above.)
When he ascended, he gave various gifts: apostleship, prophecy, etc. (v. 8).
Together those so endowed were equipped to minister and to build up the Church
(v. 12),
so “all of us” (v. 13)
may work towards common beliefs (“faith”) and perfection in being Christ-like.
The maturing process requires adherence to true doctrine (v. 14),
and “speaking” (v. 15)
and doing God’s “truth” lovingly, emulating Christ, with each member using his
or her gifts “properly” (v. 16).
Verse 2: “humility”: This virtue is not found in Greek lists of virtues; Christ raised humility to a virtue by his example.
Verse 2: Colossians 3:12-13: “As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”. [ NOAB]
Verse 2: “patience”: Towards others – by being slow to retaliate. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant” and in Galatians 5:22: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”.
Verse 3: The source of unity is the Holy Spirit.
Verse 3: “bond of peace”: In Colossians 3:14, unity is bound together by love. [ CAB]
Verse 4: “one body”: i.e. one externally visible community. [ JBC]
Verse 4: “one Spirit”: i.e. one inner source. [ JBC]
Verse 4: “one hope”: The Holy Spirit is the pledge of the unified community at the end of time. [ JBC] 1:14 says that the Holy Spirit “is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people”. [ NJBC]
Verse 5: “one Lord”: This is especially important because of the Gentile background of the readers, and the author’s stress on the subjugation of all powers, both good and evil, to Christ (see 1:20-22). [ NJBC] Paul says that Christians pledge obedience to one master in our baptismal confession of faith. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “one faith”: Teachings to which all members subscribe; the acceptance of authentic apostolic traditions (“you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone”, 2:20), which can be distinguished from false doctrines (v. 14).
Verse 5: “one baptism”: The common initiation of members. See also Colossians 2:9-12: “... In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision ...”.
Verse 6: The author uses the word “all” four times for emphasis.
Verse 6: “one God”: See also Romans 3:30 (there is one God for Gentiles as well as for Jews), 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; Galatians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19. [ CAB] The emphasis on monotheism is also found in Deuteronomy 6:4: Jews prayed twice each day: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord ...” They believed that the eschatological era would bring a great revelation of God’s oneness to the world. Zechariah 14:9, in the Septuagint translation, says: “On that day there shall be one Lord, and his name shall be one.” [ JBC]
Verses 7-16: Christian unity amid diversity of spiritual gifts. [ NOAB]
Verse 8: The verse quoted here may have originally referred to God’s victorious ascent of Mount Zion, followed by a procession of defeated enemies, from where he was to receive tribute; but through its liturgical use at Pentecost, particularly in conjunction with the reading from Exodus 19, it came to be interpreted as a reference to Moses’ ascent of Mount Sinai. While in the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text the ascending victor was to receive gifts from people, in Ephesians and in the Aramaic paraphrase of the Targum he gives gifts to people. (It is Moses who gives the Law to the people of Israel.) The author of Ephesians therefore adapts a rabbinic midrash to Christ. [ JBC]
Verse 9: “lower parts”: Some scholars think that this is a reference to Hades, the abode of the dead. In defence of this being a reference to the Incarnation, in 1:20-22, 3:9-10 and 6:10-20 all beings that are not human are seen as being above. The “lower parts” are contrasted with the place(s) “on high” (v. 8). [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “heavens”: The concentric hemispheres ancients thought were over the flat earth. Christ is exalted above all of them. Being thus exalted, he was able to “fill all things” with himself.
Verse 11: “gifts”: In 1 Corinthians 12:28, Paul says: “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues”. Those who have certain gifts are recognized by fellow Christians. In Ephesians, Christ is the dispenser of gifts but in Corinthians, it is the Holy Spirit. In Pauline theology, the Risen Christ and the Holy Spirit are closely related in their actions. [ JBC]
Verse 11: Apostles and prophets are mentioned in 2:20 as foundations of the church, and as recipients of the revelation of Christ in 3:5. [ NJBC]
Verse 11: “evangelists”: They include Philip the deacon (see Acts 21:8) and Timothy (see 2 Timothy 4:5). Evangelists are preachers of the gospel. [ JBC]
Verse 11: “pastors”: The word in Greek is literally shepherds . Only Jesus called himself a shepherd in the New Testament; he passed on pastoral tasks to others. See 1 Peter 2:25; Hebrews 13:20; John 10:2; Mark 6:34; 14:27; Matthew 25:32; John 21:15-17. Teachers are mentioned as a group in 1 Corinthians 12:28; Acts 13:1 and James 3:1. [ CAB]
Verse 14: “no longer be children”: In 1 Corinthians 3:1, Paul tells his first readers: “... brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.”. See also 1 Corinthians 14:20. [ JBC]
Verse 14: “tossed to and fro”: At the time this was written, false bodies of doctrine posed a threat to the unity of the Church. [ NJBC]
Verse 15: “speaking”: The verb in Greek means both speaking and doing. [ NOAB]
The following verses are an appeal to renounce pagan ways, and an exhortation to ethical conduct. Learning about Christ has implications for daily living.
GOSPEL: John 6: 24 - 35 (all)
John 6:24
(NRSV) So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper'naum looking for Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they
said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them,
"Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw
signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food
that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of
Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."
28 Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of
God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you
believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him, "What sign
are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work
are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is
written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Then Jesus said
to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread
from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world." 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never
be thirsty.
Jesus and the disciples have escaped the crowds, but only for a while. Rather than tell them of his walking on water (which they would misunderstand), he does not answer them. He tells them that they are seeking him not because they understand the spiritual meaning of the food, but for another free meal (v. 26). He says: raise your sights above material things, to eternal ones, to what I, “the Son of Man will give you” (v. 27). The Father has shown me to be authentic (“seal”). I will give you nourishment for ever. But they have only grasped that the food is miraculous, a work of God, so they ask: how can we do such miracles? (v. 28) Jesus answers: only one “work of God” (v. 29) is essential: to trust in me. Again, they misunderstand; they ask: what proof will you give us? (v. 30). Moses gave us manna from heaven in the wilderness (v. 31); you have only given us earthly food. We expect the Messiah to give us manna again. In v. 32, Jesus tries to clear up the misunderstandings:
· it was God, not Moses who gave you manna;
· the Father gives bread now; and
· manna met physical needs but “true bread” is
more than that.
Then v. 33:
Jesus himself is the true bread, the “bread of God”: he “comes ... from heaven
and gives life ...”. They still do not grasp that he is the bread,
Finally, he says: I am the sustenance of life itself, of very existence, for
those who trust in me; I will fill their every need.Verse 26: The crowd’s eagerness for free food resembles the Samaritan woman’s eagerness for water. She asks, in part, “give me this water, so that I may [not] ... have to keep coming here to draw water” ( 4:15). [ BlkJn]
Verse 27: BlkJn points out that Jesus does not deny the importance of working to put bread on the table: that “... not ... but” is a Hebraism. Another example: Hosea 6:6: when God says, through the prophet, “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice” he is not denying the value of sacrifice.
Verse 27: “food”: The Torah was familiarly known as bread. In 4:34, Jesus tells his disciples: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work”. [ BlkJn]
Verse 27: “endures for eternal life”: BlkJn offers lasts until eternal life. The preposition is eis; its literal meaning is into. “Endures” translates menei , which literally means remains. Note other occurrences of menei: 8:35 (“the son has a place there forever”); 12:34 (“the Messiah remains forever”), and (particularly helpful): 1 John 2:17 (“the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever”).
Verse 27: “eternal life”: In 4:13-14, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well: “‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life’”. See also Isaiah 55:2. [ NJBC]
Verse 27: “Son of Man”: Elsewhere in John, “Son of Man” means a messenger from heaven to make God known (see 3:13) and the judge at the end of time (see 5:27). Here Jesus is speaking in Jewish terms: a son of man, whose coming was prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14 (“one like a son of man”, *Septuagint translation). People saw this figure as the coming Messiah: when he comes, he will glorify the people of Israel by transforming them into the everlasting kingdom of God. To us (as to John), Jesus is the embodiment of salvation, the mediator where heaven and earth meet.
Verse 27: “seal”: The Father has shown Jesus’ authenticity at his baptism. See also 3:17-21; 3:33; 5:19. [ NJBC]
Verse 28: “works”: The Greek word is the same as is translated “work” in v. 27, but the sense is slightly different: here do, there work for . [ BlkJn] Jesus speaks of himself as doing the “works” of the one who sent him in 9:4. See also 3:21; Revelation 2:26; CD (Damascus Document) 2:14-15. [ NOAB] CD 2:14-15 says: “And now, my sons, listen to me and I shall open your eyes so that you can see and understand the deeds of God, so that you can choose what he is pleased with and repudiate what he hates ...”
Verse 29: “believe in him ...”: You are to have obedient trust in the one God “has sent”. [ NOAB]
Verse 30: Faith cannot be proved! Recall 1 Corinthians 1:22: “Jews demand signs”. [ BlkJn]
Verse 30: “are you performing”: This verb has a future sense. [ BlkJn]
Verse 31: The quotation is a conflation of Exodus 16:4-5 and Psalm 78:24. For the gift of manna in the desert, see also Exodus 16:14,15; Numbers 11:7-9; Psalm 105:40. [ NOAB] That manna would be given again is predicted in a number of places, of which one is 2 Baruch 29:8: “The treasury of manna shall again descend from on high and they will eat it in those years.” A second gift of manna is also mentioned in Midrash Rabba Ecclesiastes 1:9. [ NJBC]
Verse 32: BlkJn says that Jesus’ saying is very compressed, almost to obscurity. Jesus implies that manna was not really “bread from heaven” and adds that there is a real bread from heaven (of which manna was the type).
Verse 33: The genders in the Greek are such that “that which” can be equally translated as he who. The ambiguity may be intended. There is a three-fold contrast:
- manna fed, for a time, only the Israelites – and they later died (see 4:49)
- the real bread feeds, for ever, all peoples – and gives them eternal life (see 4:27)
Verse 34: “give us this bread”: Like the Samaritan woman, who asks, “... give me this water, so I may never be thirsty ...”. There is a touch of irony in this request; the Jews do not really believe, and yet unconsciously they echo not only the Samaritan woman’s words at the well but also the Lord’s Prayer. [ BlkJn]
Verse 35: The Eucharist is not yet clearly in view; the thought here is rather of the moment of conversion than of the continuing life nourished by the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. [ BlkJn]
Note the progression from “bread from heaven” (v. 31) to “bread of God” (v. 33), to “bread of life” (v. 35). “Bread of life” is mentioned in one contemporary work, Joseph and Aseneth: an angelic being gives a heavenly substance to the pious on earth. In 16:8-9 of that book, it is likened to manna in the desert. See also Sibylline Oracles 3:746. [ NJBC]
No comments:
Post a Comment