· 6 Nicholas,
Bishop of Myra, c. 342 was a
historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek[5]
Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor
· 7 Ambrose, Bishop
of Milan, 397 was a bishop of Milan who became one
of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was consular
prefect of Liguria
and Emilia, headquartered in Milan,
before being made bishop of Milan
by popular acclamation in 374. Ambrose was a staunch opponent of Arianism, and
has been accused of fostering persecutions of Arians, Jews, and pagans.
OLD TESTAMENT Baruch 5: 1 - 9 (all)
5:1 (NRSV) Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction,
O Jerusalem,
and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.
2 Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from
God;
put on your head the diadem of the glory of the
Everlasting;
3 for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
4 For God will give you evermore the name,
"Righteous Peace, Godly Glory."
5 Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;
look toward the east,
and see your children gathered from west and east
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that God has remembered them.
6 For they went out from you on foot,
led away by their enemies;
but God will bring them back to you,
carried in glory, as on a royal throne.
7 For God has ordered that every high mountain
and the
everlasting hills be made low
and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,
so that Israel
may walk safely in the glory of God.
8 The woods and every fragrant tree
have shaded Israel
at God's command.
9 For God will lead Israel
with joy,
in the light of his glory,
with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.
Malachi 3 1 - 4 (alt. for RCL)
Mala 3:1 (NRSV) See, I am sending my messenger to prepare
the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.
The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight--indeed, he is coming, says
the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can
stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; 3
he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the
descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present
offerings to the LORD in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah
and Jerusalem will be pleasing to
the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
PSALM Luke 1: 68 - 79 (RCL)
Luke 1:68 (NRSV) "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed
them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from
of old,
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the
hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of
our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and
righteousness
before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most
High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Note: The
C of E would use the version in Common Worship; the ACC would use this or the
one of the versions in the Canadian BAS and ECUSA would use one of the
canticles in the BCP (Benedictus, or the Song of Zechariah - see
Canticle 16 below)
Psalm 126 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 126:1 (NRSV) When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Neg'eb.
5 May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
16 The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus (ECUSA
RCL)
Luke 1: 68-79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
*
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of
old,
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
*
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father
Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the
prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
*
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of
death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Spirit: *
as
it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Note:
Canticle 4 may be used instead.
NEW TESTAMENT Philippians 1: 3 - 11 (RCL)
Philippians
1: 4 - 6, 8 - 11 (Roman Catholic)
Phil 1:3 (NRSV) I thank my God every time I remember you,
4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5
because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am
confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it
to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this
way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share
in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and
confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you
with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer, that your love
may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to
determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and
blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
h/t Montreal
Anglican
In the verses following the salutation of the letter, Paul thanks God for
the Christians at Philippi, “praying with joy” (v. 4,
a pervasive quality of the book), because of their participation (“sharing”, v.
5)
in spreading the good news, “from the first day”, since their conversion. Paul
is “confident” (v. 6)
that God (“the one”) will finish what God has begun among them by “the day of
Jesus Christ”, i.e. when he returns at the end of the era. Paul is particularly
close to the Philippians because they “share” (v. 7)
in Christian community, “in God’s grace”, with him: in suffering, and in
defending and confirming the good news. (At his trial, Paul will have the
opportunity to defend the gospel and show its power, v. 16).
He longs to be with them with deep affection (“compassion”, v. 8).Vv. 9-11 are his prayer for them: may they grow in love of God through knowing more of the Christian reality, marked by keen awareness of its meaning (“insight”), that they may discern the difference being Christians makes (“best”), so that when Christ comes again, they may be ready – having achieved a right relationship with God (“harvest of righteousness”, v. 11), through being in and with Christ, thus augmenting God’s “glory”, the showing forth of his inherent absolute goodness, and being ideally suited to praising God, rendering him homage, for it.
Verse 1: “Timothy”: According to 2:19-24, Timothy was Paul’s accredited representative. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “the saints ...”: Christians are “saints” in that they constitute “in Christ” God’s holy people. [ NJBC] The Greek word is hagios, meaning holy.
Verse 1: I note that the salutation includes bishops and deacons but not priests, so this letter predates the development of the office of priest as we know it. In the secular Greek-speaking world, episcopos (bishop) denoted oversight or administration and diakonos (deacon) had the sense of minister or attendant. The diakonoi may have seen to the relief of the poor, though Paul also views preaching as a diaconal ministry. While remote from the use of these terms in the later church, their mention here marks the dawn of permanent ministry. [ NJBC]
Verse 4: “joy”: A frequent theme in this book; see also 1:18, 25; 2:2, 17, 18, 28, 29; 3:1; 4:1, 4, 10. [ NJBC]
Verse 5: “sharing”: The word in the Greek is koinonia . See also 1:7; 2:1; 3:10; 4:15. The Christians at Philippi have shared with Paul through their contributions ( 4:14-16) and by suffering for the gospel ( 1:29-30). [ NJBC]
Verse 5: “first day”: Acts 16:12-40 tells of the conversion of the first Christians at Philippi. [ JBC]
Verse 6: See also 1 Corinthians 1:7 [ CAB] (although Paul may be indulging in irony).
Verse 6: “the day of Jesus Christ”: When his task of subduing the world to God’s glory is complete ( 3:21), Christ will come to hand over the Kingdom to the Father: see 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. [ NJBC] See also 1 Corinthians 1:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Peter 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Verse 7: “in my imprisonment”: Literally: in my bonds . [ JBC] V. 13 makes clear that Paul is in prison for the faith, and not for a crime. Paul being in chains is a special grace rather than an evil: see also 2 Corinthians 4:7-15; 6:3-10. The Christians at Philippi share in this grace not merely through their concern and tangible support for Paul but also because as a community they have similarly suffered for spreading the good news. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “determine what is best”: Literally: assess the things that differ to your advantage. [ JBC]
Verse 11: “harvest of righteousness”: i.e. the eschatological right-standing with God already granted to believers: see Romans 5:1. Christian ethical life is entirely the fruit of this new relationship. [ NJBC]
Verse 11: “for the glory and praise of God”: See also Romans 15:7; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 4:15.
GOSPEL Luke 3: 1 - 6 (all)
Luke 3:1 (NRSV) In the fifteenth year of the reign of
Emperor Tibe'rius, when Pon'tius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Her'od was
ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Iturae'a and
Trachoni'tis, and Lysa'nias ruler of Abile'ne, 2 during the high priesthood of
An'nas and Ca'iaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechari'ah in the
wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the
book of the words of the prophet Isai'ah,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
As did classical Greek authors, Luke places an event
(John’s ministry) in the context of rulers, here both secular and religious.
(V. 1a
gives the most precise dating of the start of Jesus’ ministry in the gospels,
i.e. 26-29 AD.) “Herod” here is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great.
“Caiaphas” (v. 2),
Annas’ son, is now high priest but his father retains his prestige (and power).
The Greek translated “the word of God came” (v. 2)
is the same as in Jeremiah: Luke sees John as continuing Jeremiah’s role of
announcing judgement at the end of the era and a new pact with God, available
to all. John travels throughout the Jordan Valley, preaching return to God’s
ways and being ethically and spiritually renewed, here (vv. 4-6)
expressed through metaphor. (These verses are from Isaiah 40:3-5.)
Luke makes one change in the quotation: “his” (v. 4)
emphasizes that it is Jesus for whom he prepares the way. To Luke, “all flesh”
(v. 6),
all people, not only Jews, will have the opportunity to be rescued from sin.
John is the inaugurator of the gospel’s new time of grace: God’s gracious word will not allow human perversity the last word in salvation history.
Comments: classical Greek authors: Three Old Testament books are set in history by references to rulers (see Isaiah 1:1; Jeremiah 1:3 and Hosea 1:1), but JBC considers Luke’s style to be closer to that of classical Greek authors, such as Thucydides.
Verse 1: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius”: Tiberius ruled jointly, and then alone from 14-27 AD. Two methods of counting years were used. Per the Roman method, Jesus began his ministry between 28 and 29 AD and per the Syrian method, between 27 and 28 AD. (The Syrian method counted an initial partial year as a whole year.) [ JBC]
Verse 1: “Pilate”: He was prefect or procurator with final authority over Judea and Samaria from 26 to 36 AD. [ JBC] He is also mentioned in 13:1; 23:1-6, 11-13, 20-24, 52; Acts 3:13; 4:27; 13:28.
Verse 1: “Herod ... Philip”: When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided. His sons then ruled parts of it: Herod Antipas ruled Galilee from 4 BC to 39 AD [ JBC] and Philip ruled “Ituraea and Trachonitis”, both north and east of the Sea of Galilee. Luke says much about Herod Antipas, none of it good: see 3:19; 9:7, 9; 13:31; 23:7-15; Acts 4:27. “Abilene” was west of Damascus.
Verse 2: “Annas ... Caiaphas”: The Roman authorities influenced the choice of high priest. Annas was high priest 6-15 AD; Caiaphas (see also Matthew 26:3 and John 11:49) held this office 18-37 AD. For this “high-priestly family”, see Acts 4:6. In 20:5, the high priests reject John’s baptism. Their response to Jesus is even more hostile: see 9:22; 19:47; 20:1-2, 19; 22:2, 4, 52, 66; 23:4, 10, 13-14; 24:20.
Verse 2: “the word of God came ...”: The words used in the Septuagint translation of Jeremiah 1:1 are identical. Luke’s first readers would have recognized the phrase. John resembled Old Testament prophets: see Matthew 3:4; 2 Kings 1:8 (Elijah); Zechariah 13:4. The parallels Luke draws between Jeremiah and John are:
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Jeremiah
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John
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Consecrated before birth
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Announces judgement at the end of time
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Announces messianic glory
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Announces a new and final covenant available to even the
least important people
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Verse 3: Christians understood John the Baptist to fulfill Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; 4:5 (“Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes”). For John’s influence outside Christianity, see Acts 18:25; 19:1-7. There are still followers of John in Iraq.
Verse 3: “baptism”: At the time, per the Mishnah, it was the practice to baptise converts to Judaism, but John’s call was to Israelites. Ceremonial purification by water has deep biblical roots: 1 Samuel 7:6 says: “... they [the Israelites] gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord”.
Verses 4-5: Mark omits these verses.
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