·  22 Charlotte Digges (Lottie) Moon, Missionary in China, 1912. Henry Budd, Priest, 1875

·  25 THE NATIVITY OF JESUS CHRIST

·  26 Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr traditionally venerated as the Protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity,^[1] was according to the Acts of the Apostles a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings.

·  27 Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

·  28 The Holy Innocents

·  29 Thomas Becket, 1170was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion

OLD TESTAMENT  2 Samuel 23: 1 - 7   (RCL)

2Sam 23:1 (NRSV) Now these are the last words of David

The oracle of David, son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man whom God exalted,

the anointed of the God of Jacob,

the favorite of the Strong One of Israel

2 The spirit of the LORD speaks through me,

his word is upon my tongue.

3 The God of Israel has spoken,

the Rock of Israel has said to me

One who rules over people justly,

ruling in the fear of God,

4 is like the light of morning,

like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,

gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

5 Is not my house like this with God?

For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure.

Will he not cause to prosper

all my help and my desire?

6 But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away;

for they cannot be picked up with the hand;

7 to touch them one uses an iron bar

or the shaft of a spear.

And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.

Daniel 7: 13 - 14   (Roman Catholic)

Daniel 7: 9 - 10, 13 - 14   (C of E, alt. for RCL)

Dani 7:9 (NRSV) As I watched,

thrones were set in place,

and an Ancient One took his throne,

his clothing was white as snow,

and the hair of his head like pure wool;

his throne was fiery flames,

and its wheels were burning fire.

10 A stream of fire issued

and flowed out from his presence.

A thousand thousands served him,

and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.

The court sat in judgment,

and the books were opened.

13 As I watched in the night visions,

I saw one like a human being

coming with the clouds of heaven.

And he came to the Ancient One

and was presented before him.

14 To him was given dominion

and glory and kingship,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that shall not pass away,

and his kingship is one

that shall never be destroyed.

PSALM 132: 1 - 12 (13 - 18)   (RCL)

Psal 132:1 (NRSV) O LORD, remember in David's favor

all the hardships he endured;

2 how he swore to the LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3 "I will not enter my house

or get into my bed;

4 I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5 until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."

6 We heard of it in Eph'rathah;

we found it in the fields of Ja'ar.

7 "Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool."

8 Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your faithful shout for joy.

10 For your servant David's sake

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back

"One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

12 If your sons keep my covenant

and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, forevermore,

shall sit on your throne."

13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his habitation

14 "This is my resting place forever;

here I will reside, for I have desired it.

15 I will abundantly bless its provisions;

I will satisfy its poor with bread.

16 Its priests I will clothe with salvation,

and its faithful will shout for joy.

17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

18 His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,

but on him, his crown will gleam."

Verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above.

132   Memento, Domine     (ECUSA BCP)

1          Lord, remember David, *

     and all the hardships he endured;

2          How he swore an oath to the Lord *

     and vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:

3          “I will not come under the roof of my house, *

     nor climb up into my bed;

4          I will not allow my eyes to sleep, *

     nor let my eyelids slumber;

5          Until I find a place for the Lord, *

     a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6          “The ark! We heard it was in Ephratah; *

     we found it in the fields of Jearim.

7          Let us go to God's dwelling place; *

     let us fall upon our knees before his footstool.”

8          Arise, O Lord, into your resting-place, *

     you and the ark of your strength.

9          Let your priests be clothed with righteousness; *

     let your faithful people sing with joy.

10         For your servant David’s sake, *

     do not turn away the face of your Anointed.

11         The Lord has sworn an oath to David; *

     in truth, he will not break it:

12         “A son, the fruit of your body *

     will I set upon your throne.

13         If your children keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them, *

     their children will sit upon your throne for evermore.”

14         For the Lord has chosen Zion; *

     he has desired her for his habitation:

15         “This shall be my resting-place for ever; *

     here will I dwell, for I delight in her.

16         I will surely bless her provisions, *

     and satisfy her poor with bread.

17         I will clothe her priests with salvation, *

     and her faithful people will rejoice and sing.

18         There will I make the horn of David flourish; *

     I have prepared a lamp for my Anointed.

19         As for his enemies, I will clothe them with shame; *

     but as for him, his crown will shine."

Psalm 93   (C of E, alt. for RCL)

Psalm 93: 1, 2, 5   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 93:1 (NRSV) The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty;

the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength.

He has established the world; it shall never be moved;

2 your throne is established from of old;

you are from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD,

the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods lift up their roaring.

4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,

more majestic than the waves of the sea,

majestic on high is the LORD!

5 Your decrees are very sure;

holiness befits your house,

O LORD, forevermore.

93  Dominus regnavit     (ECUSA BCP)

1  The Lord is King;

he has put on splendid apparel; *

 the Lord has put on his apparel

 and girded himself with strength.

2  He has made the whole world so sure *

 that it cannot be moved;

3  Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; *

 you are from everlasting.

4  The waters have lifted up, O Lord,

the waters have lifted up their voice; *

 the waters have lifted up their pounding waves.

5  Mightier than the sound of many waters,

mightier than the breakers of the sea, *

 mightier is the Lord who dwells on high.

6  Your testimonies are very sure, *

 and holiness adorns your house, O Lord,

 for ever and for evermore.

NEW TESTAMENT  Revelation 1: 4b - 8   (RCL, C of E)

                                    Revelation 1: 5 - 8   (Roman Catholic)

Reve 1:4 (NRSV) Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;

every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him;

and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.

So it is to be. Amen.

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

John begins and ends this book as a letter. Literally, it is “to the seven churches that are in Asia” (v. 4a), Asia being a Roman province in western Asia Minor, but “seven” symbolizes totality, so John may speak to all churches in the province, or to all everywhere. The salutation combines both Greek (“grace”) and Hebrew (“peace”) forms, and is from God, here described as being throughout time, meaning eternal . The salutation is also from “the seven spirits”: this may mean the Spirit of God (in Isaiah 11:2, the Spirt operates in seven ways) or the seven angels (Michael, Raphael, etc) closest to God (“before his throne”, v. 4) in contemporary Jewish thinking.
Further, it is “from Jesus Christ” (v. 5), who is:

·  “the faithful witness”: he revealed the Father perfectly in his earthly life, and crowned this by the sacrifice of his life;

·  “firstborn of the dead”: in his resurrection, he inaugurated a new era; and

·  “ruler ...”: being now exalted, he has power over all creation.

Vv. 5b-6 praise God:

·  Christ loves us continually and, by his death, he has freed us from sins; and

·  he has marked us as God’s, and has made us all “priests”, mediators between God and the rest of humanity.

“Amen”, a Hebrew word, means It is sure and trustworthy! or so be it!: it is both valid and binding. (In 3:14, Christ is called “the Amen”.) V. 7 combines two Old Testament prophetic sayings to predict the return of Christ at the end of the age. Those who put him to death and all unbelievers “will wail” for showing hostility to Christ and his Church: they will be condemned when Jesus comes us as judge. V. 8 tells us that, from A to Z, God is sovereign over all events of human history; his power is supreme (“Almighty”).

Verse 1: “revelation”: Greek: apokalypsis. Hence the other name of this book, The Apocalypse. “Revelation” is used interchangeably with “prophecy” (v. 3). [ CAB]
Verse 4: “the seven churches”: JBC, who considers a late date for Revelation to be most likely, i.e. 90-96 AD, says that other churches also existed in the proconsular province of Asia at the time, among which were Colossae, Troas, Hierapolis, and Magnesia. Through “the seven churches”, John wished to reach all the churches of Asia, and perhaps the universal Church.
Verse 4: “Grace to you and peace ...”: A salutation used in all Pauline letters, and by the time this book was written, a traditional greeting among Christians, Both 1 Peter 1:2 and 2 Peter 1:2 wish readers “grace and peace”. [ NOAB]
Verse 4: “who is and who was and who is to come”: This phrase is also in v. 8. 4:8 contains a very similar phrase. In 11:17, the twenty-four elders sing: “you [Christ] have taken your great power and begun to reign”. 16:5 speaks of Christ as the one “who are and were”. The name of God, as is his person, is unchangeable. The description of God proceeds from a long tradition which goes back to Exodus 3:14 (“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’”). It tries to express the eternity of God by means of the human category of time. Such a title suits perfectly the beginning of a book revealing the meaning of the present in the light of the past and the future. [ JBC]
Verse 4: “seven spirits”: Both 3:1 and 4:5 speak of “the seven spirits of God”. [ CAB] In some modern translations, Isaiah 11:2, an oracle of an ideal king from David’s line, speaks of six modes of operation of the Spirit, but repeats fear; in the Septuagint translation, one of the occurrences of fear is replaced with piety. Tobit 12:15 says: “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of God”; 1 Enoch 90:21 says “...the Lord [of the sheep] called those men the seven first white ones ...”. It is also possible that the seven spirits are the seven (then known) planets, which were considered to be heavenly beings.
Comments: the seven angels (Michael, Raphael, etc) closest to God : Michael is mentioned in Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7. He is prominent in non-biblical works of the inter-testamental period. [ HBD] The seven archangels are named in the Greek version of 1 Enoch 20 as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel and Remiel. [ OCB] In the Old Testament, Gabriel is mentioned in Daniel 8:15-26 and 9:21-27. In Luke 1:11-20, 26-38 it is Gabriel who announces the births of John the Baptiser and of Jesus. It is tradition that associates this angel with the archangel whose trumpet blast will announce the return of Christ: see 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Matthew 24:31. [ HBD]
Verse 4: “before his throne”: This is a Hebraism for servants of God. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “faithful witness”: In John 18:37, Jesus testifies to the truth. See also 1 Timothy 6:13. [ CAB] For Jesus as perfectly revealing the Father, see John 3:11, 32. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “firstborn of the dead”: See also 1 Corinthians 15:20 (“the first fruits of those who have died”) and Colossians 1:18. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “ruler of the kings ...”: Christ’s resurrection is equivalent to his installation as universal king: see 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. See also 11:15; 19:16; Psalm 89:27. The glorification of Jesus, the consequence of his resurrection, confers on him all powers over those created: see Matthew 28:19; Romans 14:9; Philippians 2:11; Ephesians 1:20-23. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “To him who loves us”: See also John 13:1; 15:9; Romans 3:21-26; 8:37; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2, 25. Note the present tense: Christ’s love is perpetual and goes beyond the historical event of the redemption. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “freed us ...”: See also 6:9; 7:14; 12:11; 17:14; 19:13; Romans 5:10, 16; 6:10; Hebrews 7:27; 1 John 1:7; Galatians 2:20. Affirmed as an essential fact by the Christian creed (1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4), this liberation is often expressed in terms of purchase (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; Galatians 4:5) by the blood of Christ (Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:20; 1 Peter 1:18ff). [ JBC]
Verse 6: “kingdom, priests”: See also 5:10; 20:6; Isaiah 61:1-6, 1 Peter 2:9. Jesus’ work fulfills the promise of Exodus 19:6. Being a kingdom means being under God’s rule rather than Satan’s. All those who hear and obey God’s word are priests: mediators between God and the rest of humanity. [ NJBC]
Verse 7: This verse combines and adapts Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 12:10, and interprets them as prophecies of the return of the risen Jesus as judge: see Matthew 24:30. See also Exodus 13:21; 16:10; Acts 1:9 (Jesus’ Ascension); Matthew 26:64. [ NJBC]
Daniel 7:13 says, in part, “As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven”; Zechariah 12:10 says “And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
Verse 7: “those who pierced him”: i.e. those Jews who put Jesus to death. [ JBC]
Verse 7: “all the tribes of the earth ...”: All unbelieving nations are equally guilty; for in persecuting the Church they show their hostility toward Christ. Suffering sorrow, all will wail. [ JBC]
Verse 7: “So it is to be. Amen”: The repetition, in Greek and Hebrew, underlines the solemnity of the prophecy, in which the Christian community believes. [ JBC]
Verse 8: This is one of only two passages in Revelation in which God is explicitly identified as the speaker, the other being 21:5-8. [ NJBC]
Verse 8: “the Alpha and the Omega”: This expression also appears (concerning God) in 21:6. Equivalent expressions concerning Christ are found in 1:17 (“the first and the last”); 2:8 (“the first and the last”) and 22:13 (“the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end”). Isaiah 44:6 has said of God that he is “the first and ... the last”. Isaiah 41:4 and 48:12 also make this point: he is the initiator and the end of everything. [ JBC]
Verse 8: “Almighty”: The Septuagint translation speaks of the Lord God Almighty in Hosea 12:5, Amos 4:13; 9:5. God’s power is supreme. God began history, and he will terminate it, for all power resides permanently with him. [ JBC]

GOSPEL   John 18: 33 - 37   (all)

John 18:33 (NRSV) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" 35 Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

H/T Montreal Anglican

This is part of John’s account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Pilate has met with those Jews seeking his death outside his “headquarters”, the praetorium. He has asked: what charge, valid in Roman law, do you have to bring against him? (v. 29). V. 30 shows that they have none to propose. Pilate refuses to get involved by telling them to try him under Jewish law. They then make it obvious that they seek Jesus’ death.
Now Pilate goes inside the praetorium and asks Jesus: are you the leader of a revolutionary movement? In return, Jesus asks him: Is this question your idea, based on what you have heard, or did others put you up to it? Pilate shows his scorn for Jews; the religious authorities seek your death, but what grounds are there for killing you? In v. 36, Jesus begins to explain the nature of his kingship. Were he a rebel leader, his followers “would be fighting to keep me from being handed over” to the religious authorities, but he is no threat to Pilate’s authority. Pilate picks up on Jesus words “my kingdom”. Jesus is king of “truth” (v. 37); his subjects are those who belong to the truth. He was “born” and “came into the world” to establish the kingdom of God, the ultimate truth.
18:28-19:16: John’s account of the hearing before Pilate is unique, among the gospel accounts, in the following ways:

• mention of the Jewish leader’s avoidance of ritual impurity, and
• their denial that they have the right to execute Jesus. [ CAB]

18:28: “early in the morning”: Dawn would have been a common time for the Roman governor to conduct a hearing; however, the condemnation of Jesus several hours later (“about noon”, 19:14) seems out of order. Some scholars suggest a symbolic reference to the Passover lambs. [ NJBC]
18:28: “ritual defilement”: Entering a Gentile’s house would make them ritually unclean. [ NOAB] However, NJBC says that merely entering the praetorium in a legal setting would not have made them unclean. BlkJn agrees with NOAB.
18:28: “the Passover”: It began that evening – at the start of the next Jewish day. [ BlkJn]
18:29-31: The Jews tried religious cases, but could not administer the death penalty. [ NOAB]
18:29: “Pilate went out ...”: A Roman governor could conduct a trial according to his own rules, but a more formal charge than Jesus’ accusers give would be required. [ NJBC] However, Pilate’s words are the correct formal opening of a Roman trial. [ BlkJn]
18:30: Jesus’ death is to be brought about through the Romans, but on the basis of a prior understanding with Pilate rather than as the result of a direct accusation now. It is only when this attempt fails that accusations are laid. [ BlkJn]
18:31: “Take him yourselves ...”: Pilate tries to get out of his understanding with the Jews. Perhaps a subsidiary motive of the Jews was to discredit him as Messiah in view of Deuteronomy 21:23: “ anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse”. Jesus was so popular that they needed Pilate’s help if they were to dispose of Jesus. Jesus is discredited with his supporters (because he is not the sort of king they want) and is also misrepresented before Pilate, who becomes profoundly suspicious of the Jews’ motives and decides to interrogate Jesus away from his accusers. [ BlkJn]
18:32: “the kind of death he was to die”: i.e. crucifixion, rather than the Jewish method of stoning. John reminds his readers that Jesus has predicted how he would die: see 3:14 (“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up”) and 12:32 (“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth ...”). [ NOAB] Jews were permitted to execute Gentiles who violated the temple precincts. Some Roman historians think it unlikely that they would be permitted to carry out any other capital sentences, especially in Judea. Irony is at play here: in 8:34-37 Jesus has already charged “the Jews” with acting against their own law in seeking to kill him, and in 7:51 Nicodemus accuses them of condemning Jesus illegally, but now they show sudden concern for “your law” (v. 31). [ NJBC]
18:33: “Pilate”: Pilate was prefect of Judea from 26 to 36 AD.
18:33: “Are you the King of the Jews?”: Pilate cannot believe this claim could be made by, on behalf of, the man before him. (He has presumably been told of Jesus’ messianic claims before his arrest.)
18:35: Pilate’s suspicion of the high priests is already apparent. [ BlkJn]
18:36: Jesus puts into words the dilemma he has been in throughout his ministry: though conscious of an absolute authority, and of Davidic descent, he has known that to assert his authority by force would ruin the purpose for which he has come. [ BlkJn]
18:37: “‘You say that I am a king’”: Pilate and Jesus mean different things by kingship, so a direct answer is not possible. [ BlkJn]
18:37: “the truth”: For Jesus’ testimony to “the truth”, see 5:32; 8:40, 45, 46. 8:44 tells us that the Jews have rejected “the truth”. The disciples have received it from Jesus: see 14:6; 17:17, 19. [ NJBC] Here, it means reality. [ BlkJn]
18:37: “listens to my voice”: See also 10:3, 4, 16, 27 (Jesus the shepherd who gives his life). [ BlkJn]