• 30 Saint Andrew the Apostle

December

• 1 Nicholas Ferrar, Deacon, 1637 was an English scholar, courtier, businessman and man of religion. Ordained as a deacon in the Church of England and having lost much of the family fortune in the Virginia Company, he retreated with his extended family in 1626 to the manor of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire.
• 2 Channing Moore Williams, Missionary Bishop in China and Japan, 1910
• 3 Francis Xavier, Missionary to the Far East, 1552 was a Navarrese Basque Roman Catholic missionary, born in Xavier, Kingdom of Navarre (now part of Spain), and a co-founder of the Society of Jesus.
• 4 John of Damascus, Priest, c. 760 was a Syrian monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem
• 5 Clement of Alexandria, Priest, c. 210
• 6 Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, c. 342

OLD TESTAMENT  Jeremiah 33: 14 - 16   (RCL, Roman Catholic)

Jere 33:14 (NRSV) The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called "The LORD is our righteousness."

PSALM  25: 1 - 10   (RCL)

Psalm 25: 1 - 4, 8 - 10, 14   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 25:1 (NRSV) To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, in you I trust;

do not let me be put to shame;

do not let my enemies exult over me.

3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;

let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD;

teach me your paths.

5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all day long.

6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me,

for your goodness' sake, O LORD!

8 Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,

and he makes his covenant known to them.

Note: Verse numbering may differ in your Psalter.

25   Ad te, Domine, levavi    (ECUSA BCP)

1          To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

my God, I put my trust in you; *

     let me not be humiliated,

     nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2          Let none who look to you be put to shame; *

     let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.

3          Show me your ways, O Lord, *

     and teach me your paths.

4          Lead me in your truth and teach me, *

     for you are the God of my salvation;

            in you have I trusted all the day long.

5          Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, *

     for they are from everlasting.

6          Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *

     remember me according to your love

     and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.

7          Gracious and upright is the Lord; *

     therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8          He guides the humble in doing right *

     and teaches his way to the lowly.

9          All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *

     to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

NEW TESTAMENT   1 Thessalonians 3: 9 - 13   (RCL)

1The 3:9 (NRSV) How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

1 Thessalonians 3: 12 - 4: 2   (Roman Catholic)

1The 3:12 (NRSV) And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. 4:1 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Paul predicted, when he was in Thessalonika, that some Christians there would be persecuted. This has now happened; he has sent Timothy to “strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, so no one would be shaken by these persecutions” (vv. 2-3). Timothy has now returned to Paul in Athens, and has conveyed to him “the good news of your faith and love” (v. 6). Indeed, their faith has encouraged Paul in facing persecution himself.
Now he considers their prayer for him to be a debt to be repaid (“in return”, v. 9). Even though he lives continually in gratitude to, and dependence on, God (“before our God”; “Night and day”, v. 10), “all the joy” (v. 9) their faith brings to him is hard to repay, but he does give thanks. He also prays that he may visit them (“see you face to face”, v. 10) to “restore” (or make good) lacks in their knowledge of the faith, to give them further instruction in specific areas (likely what will happen when Jesus comes again: see v. 13). In vv. 11-13, he prays, intercedes with God, on their behalf:

·  that he may visit them again (“direct ...”, v. 11);

·  that they may have a superabundance of love for their fellow Christians and for others (“all”, v. 12), as Paul, Timothy and Silvanus (“we”) have for them; and

·  that their very beings (“hearts”, v. 13) may become so God-like (“holiness”) that they may be totally free of sin (“blameless”) when Christ comes again with all those who belong to God (“his saints”) at the end of time.

At that time, says 4:13-17, Christ will bring the faithful dead with him; they will rise to be with God first; then those who are still alive will join them in heaven forever.

Verse 1: “Athens”: For Paul’s visit to Athens, see Acts 17:16-34. [ CAB]
Verse 5: “the tempter”: As Satan has prevented Paul from visiting the Christian community at Thessalonika (see 2:18), he fears that the devil may have caused members of it to fall away from the faith. For Satan as the adversary of God’s kingly rule, see Matthew 4:1 (Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness); Romans 16:20; 2 Corinthians 11:14; 1 Timothy 1:20. “The tempter” and Satan are names for evil conceived as a personal will actively hostile to God. [ NOAB] See also 2 Corinthians 2:11. [ CAB]
Verse 5: “labour”: The Greek word, kopos, is almost a technical term to describe apostolic activity (also found in 1:3; 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:8; 2 Corinthians 6:5) – which ought not be to without fruit, not in vain (see 2:1 and Philippians 2:16) . [ NJBC]
Verse 7: “our distress and persecution”: See Acts 18:6, 12 (Paul in Corinth). [ NOAB] See also Acts 16:11-17:15 (at Philippi). 1 Thessalonians 2:14 indicates that the Christians at Thessalonika suffered at the hands of both Jews and Gentiles. [ CAB] But is Paul talking about earthly distress and persecution? To NJBC, the accumulation of terms is typical of apocalyptic language.
Verse 8: “stand firm”: Paul frequently writes about standing firm in the faith: see also 1 Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 5:1; Philippians 1:27. [ NJBC]
Verses 9-10: “before our God ... Night and day”: For the continual nature of Paul’s relationship with God, see also 1:2; 2:13; 5:17. See also 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 11; 2:13; Luke 18:1 (“Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart”). [NJBC]
Verse 10: “pray”: This prayer was answered some years later: Acts 20:1-2 tells us: “Paul sent for the disciples; and after ... saying farewell, he left for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions ... he came to Greece, where he stayed for three months”. Thessalonika was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. [ NOAB]
Verse 10: “whatever is lacking in your faith”: Chapters 4 and 5 make up for this in writing, perhaps partly. [ NJBC]
Verses 11-13: The ancient style of writing did not permit including a prayer in a letter, so Paul couches his prayer in the form of a blessing. [ NJBC]
Verse 11: This petition is addressed to “our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus”. The verb is in the singular, as if the Father and Jesus are to act as one. [ NJBC]
Verse 12: This petition is addressed to Christ, the risen and eschatological “Lord”. For Paul and his co-workers (“co-worker for God”, v. 2) see also 1:5-6 (“... you became imitators of us and of the Lord ...”). [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “coming”: The Greek word is parousia, literally meaning presence. It is a technical term used by Paul (in 2:19 and 4:15) and in some later New Testament writings (2 Thessalonians 2:1, 8, 9; Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 1:16). [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “hearts”: In Paul’s day the heart was considered to be the controlling centre of personality, not the organ of feeling and emotion as it is today. [ NOAB]
Verse 13: “holiness ... blameless”: Both are qualities of fully realized eschatological existence. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “saints”: or holy ones, those who belong to God. See also 4:17 and the Septuagint translation of Zechariah 14:5. [ NJBC]
Timothy was a co-worker on whom Paul relied heavily at times: see also 1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:10; Philippians 2:19-22. Per Acts 16:1, Timothy was the son of a Jewish Christian woman and a Gentile father from Lystra, and evidently became a Christian under Paul’s influence (1 Corinthians 4:17). He is joint sender of 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, 2 Corinthians, Philemon, Colossians and 2 Thessalonians. Church tradition says that he became Bishop of Ephesus.

GOSPEL   Luke 21: 25 - 36   (RCL)

                   Luke 21: 25 - 28, 34 - 36   (Roman Catholic)

Luke 21:25 (NRSV) "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Jesus has foretold the destruction of the Temple (v. 6). Some have asked him when this will occur and what will indicate that it is about to happen (v. 7). Given that “all the people were spellbound by what they heard” ( 19:48) and that the religious authorities “kept looking for a way to kill him” ( 19:47), the destruction must have spiritual meaning. Jesus tells of events commonly expected at the end of the era, and adds some which are specifically Christian. First, Christians will be persecuted by religious and civil authorities (v. 12). Then there will be “wars and insurrections” (v. 9), but “the end will not follow immediately” (as people expected). Disastrous natural phenomena, cause for great distress, will occur (v. 11), and when Jerusalem is surrounded by armies (v. 20), the city will soon fall: either physically or spiritually. Again the end will be delayed: the killing and deportation of citizens will continue “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (v. 24), i.e. until non-Jews have had the opportunity to come to Christ.
Now Jesus foretells unnatural events (“signs ...”, v. 25) and the resulting confusion among nations and people, not knowing what will happen next. But the “Son of Man” (v. 27), the ideal human, Christ, will come from heaven (“in a cloud”, a symbol of divine presence, as at the Transfiguration) with power to control events. Then “redemption” (v. 28), God’s acts of freeing his chosen people, will be near. Just as the leafing of trees shows that “summer is ... near” (v. 30), so the occurrence of all these events will show that “the kingdom of God is near” (v. 31): this time will be evident to the faithful. The signs will be as striking as is seen in fig trees: in winter, they look dead but in spring they sprout. In spite of the delay, the era will end before all those alive now have died (v. 32). Jesus’ “words” (v. 33) are even more eternal than creation (“heaven and earth”). Finally, he advises vigilance: do not be so “weighed down” (v. 34) with day-to-day earthy matters that you are unprepared for the final call (“that day”). It will be for all those who survive all disasters (v. 35). Pray that God may give you the strength to resist all evils, so that you may “stand before” (v. 36) Christ, be deemed worthy by him.

Verses 5-38: This section opens up two windows:

• Through one, the reader may look back on 19:47-21:4 and see the consequences of the religious leaders’ rejection of Jesus and his teaching in the Temple.
• Through the other window, the reader looks beyond the events of Luke 22-23 and sees God’s vindication of the rejected Son of Man and Jesus’ strengthening of his disciples, who will be rejected because of their allegiance to him. [ NJBC]

Verses 5-36: The parallels are Mark 13:1-37 and Matthew 24:1-36. [ NOAB]
Many of the events to occur at the end of the age are to be found in 2 Esdras, but 2 Esdras is probably partly Jewish and partly Christian, and parts may have been written after Jesus spoke these words.
Verse 5: “adorned with beautiful stones”: The second Temple was begun after the return from exile (c. 520 BC), and was modest. Herod began construction of the third Temple in 20 BC; it was finished in 63 AD, and destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD at the end of the Jewish revolt. It was still under construction in Jesus’ day. The stones were some 11 m (35 feet) long x 5.5 m (18 feet) wide x 3.6 m (12 feet) high. The Temple was begun by Herod the Great. [ NOAB] [ CAB]
Jesus’ prediction of its destruction is also found in Mark 14:57-58; 15:29; Matthew 26:61; Luke 19:43-44; John 2:19; Acts 6:14. [ NOAB] Jesus stands in the tradition of Old Testament prophets who had predicted this event: see Micah 3:12 and Jeremiah 26:18. However, in that other events mentioned in this passage seem to be meant symbolically, so may this event. [ NJBC]
Micah 3:12 says: “... Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height”. Jeremiah 26:18 quotes Micah with one variant. Early Christians saw the destruction of the Temple as fulfilling Jesus’ prediction. [ NJBC] Note that Jerusalem was completely flattened in the 130s AD.
Verse 7: See also 17:20 (where the Pharisees ask this question) and Acts 1:6 (“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”). [ NOAB]
Verse 8: In 17:23, Jesus warns: “They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit”. See also John 8:24. [ NOAB]
Verse 8: “I am he!”: This alludes to the Old Testament revelation formula: see Exodus 3:14 (to Moses); Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 41:4; 43:10. See Mark 13:21-23 and 1 John 2:18 for prediction of false christs/messiahs.
Verse 9: “the end will not follow immediately”: For descriptions of the end time, see Daniel 8:17; 9:25; 11:35, 40; 12:4, 9, 13. [ JBC]
Verse 10: “kingdom against kingdom”: See also Isaiah 19:2; Ezra 5:12; 1QM (Qumran War Scroll) 1:2. Similar language is found in 2 Chronicles 15:6. [ NOAB]
1QM 1:2 says: “The sons of Levi, the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin, the exiled of the desert, will wage war against them.” [ Martinez]
Verse 11: “great earthquakes”: Joel 2:10 says that on the day of Yahweh there will be earthquakes and other signs. See also Revelation 6:12.
Verses 12-19: See also 10:17-22 (the return of the Seventy). [ NOAB]
Verse 12: “hand you over”: The Greek verb is paradidomi , a term used later of Jesus’ betrayal. The mention of the sufferings of Jesus’ disciples looks forward to Jesus’ own sufferings. [ NJBC] In John 16:2, Jesus foretells: “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God”. [ NOAB]
Verse 12: “kings and governors”: Pilate and Herod Antipas would be good examples. [ NJBC] See also Acts 25:24 (Festus consults Agrippa about Paul). [ NOAB]
Verse 13: In Philippians 1:12-13, Paul says “I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ”. [ NOAB]
Verse 15: “words and a wisdom”: 12:11-12 ascribes this inspiration to the Holy Spirit; [ NOAB] John 16:13-15 enlarges on the same thought.
Verse 16: “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers ...”: The idea of the end-times as a time of personal divisions was commonplace in Jewish apocalyptic writings: see 2 Esdras 5:9; 6:24; Jubilees 23:19; 2 Baruch 70:3. [ NJBC] See 12:52-53: there Jesus gives a similar prediction. [ NOAB]
Verse 17: In John 15:18-21, Jesus says: “... they will do all these things to you [i.e. hate you and persecute you] on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. [ NOAB]
Verse 18: Jesus says, in 12:7: “even the hairs of your head are all counted”. [ NOAB]
Verse 19: “gain your souls”: In Matthew 10:22, Jesus says “the one who endures to the end will be saved”. See also Revelation 2:7. [ NOAB]
Verses 20-22: See also 19:41-44; 23:28-31; 17:31. [ NOAB]
Verses 20-21: The destruction of the city is predicted in Daniel 9:27; 12:11; 1 Maccabees 1:57. [ JBC]
Verses 20,25: “surrounded by armies ... signs in the sun, ...”: See also Zephaniah 1:15. The “armies” are Roman legions. [ NOAB]
Verse 22: “vengeance”: This is God’s vengeance. It is the same vengeance that produces the vindication of God’s faithfulness at the expense of an unfaithful people. It also produces the vindication of the people called in God’s name in the presence of the Gentiles. For an example of the theological pattern involved here, see Deuteronomy 32:20, 35, 36, 39. [ NJBC]
Verse 23: See also John 15:18-21. [ NOAB]
Verse 24: See also Isaiah 63:18; Daniel 8:13; Revelation 11:2. [ NOAB]
Verse 24: “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled”: In Matthew 20:16, Jesus says: “‘the last will be first, and the first will be last’”. See also Romans 11:25. [ NOAB] We can only guess at what is meant here. One possibility is: the spiritual opportunity God had previously given to Jews is now extended to non-Jews. See also Mark 13:10.
Verses 25-26: Images of cosmic signs, and of the Son of Man are found in the Old Testament, but here they are brought together, with the second coming of Jesus, “the Son of Man”, as the key event. His glorious arrival will be the final proof of God’s victory over the forces of evil. The Old Testament texts echoed are Isaiah 13:10; 34:4; Jeremiah 4:23-26; Ezekiel 32:7; Amos 8:9; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; Haggai 2:6, 21, but in no instance does such an image precede the coming of the Son of Man. The list of portents is a way of saying that all creation will signal his coming. [ NJBC] See also 2 Esdras 7:39 and Revelation 6:12-13. [ NOAB]
Verse 25: Darkness day and night was considered a sign of the coming of divine judgement: see Isaiah 13:10. [ JBC]
Verse 25: “roaring of the sea”: See the Septuagint translation of Psalm 64:8. [ BlkLk]
Verse 26: “faint from fear”: See also Deuteronomy 28:28 and 2 Baruch 72:2. [ BlkLk]
Verses 26,29: “the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ... the fig tree”: See also Revelation 6:13. The fig tree is a symbol of life out of death.
Verse 27: “they will see ‘the Son of Man coming ...’”: Daniel 7:13 says “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.” An NRSV footnote says that “human being” is son of man in the Aramaic original. See also Mark 8:38; Matthew 10:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. [ NOAB] Whether Jesus spoke of himself as “the Son of Man” is debated, but see Mark 14:61-62. [ NJBC] See also Micah 1:3ff.
Verse 28: “redemption”: The Greek word is apolytrosis . It is also used in 2:38; Ephesians 1:7, 14; 4:30; Romans 3:24; 8:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 1:14. Apolytrosis literally means buying back, but it is rooted in the Old Testament idea of redemption, God’s powerful act of freeing his chosen people in need. [ JBC]
Verse 29: “fig tree”: Joel 2:22 uses the image of fig tree’s blossoming to signify divine blessing. No tree looks as dead as a fig tree in the Palestinian winter. [ JBC]
Verse 32: The delay of Christ’s second coming troubled early Christians, because::

• Matthew 10:23 says that the Son of Man will come before the Twelve have finished their initial preaching.
• From Mark 9:1; 13:30, we gather that at least some of Jesus’ contemporaries should have lived to see Christ’s second coming.
• John 21:20-23 (part of the appendix to the gospel) awkwardly tries to account for the fact that, contrary to expectation, the “beloved disciple” did die before Christ’s coming.

As time progressed, many Christians died and people doubted whether the resurrection of the dead would really happen: see 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. Paul explained that Christ was the “first fruits” of the resurrection and at his second coming the dead would be made alive: see 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 and 1 Thessalonians 3:13.
2 Peter proposes several reasons for the apparent delay (see 3:3-9), but insists that the Day of the Lord may still come at any time: see 3:10. See also Ezekiel 12:21-28.
The writer of Revelation likewise believed and promised that Jesus would come “soon”: see, for example, 1:1, 3; 22:6-7, 10, 20.
No New Testament passage refers to Jesus’ second coming as such. In John 14:3, Jesus says he will come again, and the writer of Hebrews ( 9:28) says that Christ will appear a second time. Usually, however, the reference is simply to the coming of the Son of Man or Christ as Lord which, like the coming of the Kingdom of God, the Day of Judgement, and the resurrection of the dead, was expected in the not too far distant future, at the end of the present era.
Verse 32: “all things”: i.e. the whole process of salvation history.
Verse 33: See also 16:17. Jesus, to meet a violent death in Jerusalem, utters words of eternal significance.
Verses 34-36: For parallels to these exhortations, see 8:11-15 (the explanation of the Parable of the Sower); 11:5-8; 12:22-31, 45; 18:1-8 (the Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge). [ NJBC] The terminology is so akin to Paul’s that perhaps Luke is using a fragment from some lost epistle written by Paul or one of his disciples: for v. 34, see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; for v. 34a, see 1 Thessalonians 5:7; for v. 36, see 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10, 18. Even the rare Greek word agrypneo appears here and in 1 Thessalonians.
Verse 34: See also Mark 4:19. [ NOAB]
Verse 36: See also Matthew 7:21-23; Mark 13:33 (“‘Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come’”); 2 Corinthians 5:10 (“... all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil”). [ NOAB]