· 10 William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1645 was an English bishop and academic. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633, during the personal rule of Charles I. Arrested in 1640, he was executed in 1645.
In matters of church polity, Laud was autocratic. Laudianism refers to a collection of rules on matters of ritual, in particular, that were enforced by Laud in order to maintain uniform worship in England and Wales, in line with the king's preferences.
· 12 Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx, 1167was an English
writer, abbot of Rievaulx (from 1147 until his death),
and saint.
OLD TESTAMENT: Jeremiah 31: 7 - 14 (all but Roman Catholic)
Jere 31:7 (NRSV) For thus says the LORD:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
"Save, O LORD, your people,
the remnant of Israel."
8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the
north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9 With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and E'phraim is my firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, "He who scattered Israel
will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
qsays the LORD.
Sirach 24: 1 - 12 (alt. for RCL)
24: 1 - 2, 8 - 12 (Roman Catholic)
Sir 24:1 (NRSV) THE PRAISE OF WISDOM
Wisdom praises herself,
and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.
2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,
and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
3 "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
4 I dwelt in the highest heavens,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I compassed the vault of heaven
and traversed the depths of the abyss.
6 Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,
and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7 Among all these I sought a resting place;
in whose territory should I abide?
8 "Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,
and my Creator chose the place for my tent.
He said, "Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel
receive your inheritance.'
9 Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
10 In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
11 Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting place,
and in Jerusalem
was my domain.
12 I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
PSALM 147: 12 - 20 (RCL)
Psalm 147: 12 - 15, 19 -
20 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 147:12 (NRSV) Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down hail like crumbs--
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the LORD!
84 Quam dilecta! (ECUSA
BCP)
1 How
dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! *
My soul
has a desire and longing for the courts of
the
LORD;
my heart
and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2 The
sparrow has found her a house
and
the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the
side of your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King
and my God.
3 Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will
always be praising you.
4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you!
*
whose
hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.
5 Those who go through the desolate valley will
find
it
a place of springs, *
for the
early rains have covered it with pools of water.
6 They will climb from height to height, *
and the
God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
7 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
hearken,
O God of Jacob.
8 Behold our defender, O God; *
and look
upon the face of your Anointed.
9 For one day in your courts is better than
a
thousand in my own room, *
and to
stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to
dwell in the tents of the wicked.
10 For
the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
he will
give grace and glory;
11 No
good thing will the Lord withhold *
from
those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord
of hosts, *
happy are
they who put their trust in you!
Note: vs.
9-12 are optional
Wisdom 10: 15 - 21 (alt. for RCL)
Wis 10:15 (NRSV) A holy people and blameless race
wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors.
16 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord,
and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.
17 She gave to holy people the reward of their labors;
she guided them along a marvelous way,
and became a shelter to them by day,
and a starry flame through the night.
18 She brought them over the Red Sea,
and led them through deep waters;
19 but she drowned their enemies,
and cast them up from the depth of the sea.
20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly;
they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name,
and praised with one accord your defending hand;
21 for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute,
and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.
Note:
This would normally be used if the Sirach reading is used for the OT.
NEW TESTAMENT: Ephesians 1: 3 - 14 (RCL)
Ephesians
1: 3 - 6, 15 - 19a (ECUSA)
Ephesians
1: 3 - 6, 15 - 18 (Roman Catholic)
Ephe 1:3 (NRSV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the
world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for
adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure
of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on
us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he
lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the
mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in
Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an
inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who
accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who
were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his
glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the
promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward
redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give
thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart
enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are
the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the
immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.
h/t Montreal
Anglican
It is through Christ’s death that we are set free, rescued (“redemption”, v. 7) and forgiven our deviations from God’s ways (“trespasses”). Being now “holy and blameless” (v. 4), we have intellectual knowledge of God (“wisdom”, v. 8) and are able to apply it (“insight”); so we can know and participate in his plan for creation – which he disclosed in the Christ-event (Christ’s life, death and resurrection.) This plan, which will come to fruition when God’s eternal purposes are completed, is to unite (“gather”, v. 10) all creation (“heaven” and “earth”) in Christ. In Christ, we Christians have been adopted by God (“inheritance”, v. 11), per his plan, so that we, forerunners (“the first”, v. 12) of many to “set our hope on Christ”, may live to praise God’s manifest power (“glory”). In Christ, the recipients of this letter, having heard the gospel and believed in him, were baptised (“marked with the seal of the ... Holy Spirit”, v. 13), incorporated into the Church. The inner sanctifying presence of the Spirit is a guarantee (“pledge”, v. 14) that God will carry his promise to completion.
GOSPEL: John 1: (1 - 9) 10 - 18 (RCL)
John 1: 1 - 5 (6 - 8) 9 -
14 (Roman Catholic)
John 1:1 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3
All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into
being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light
of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He
came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through
him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The
true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being
through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own,
and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who
believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were
born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we
have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and
truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I
said, "He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before
me.'") 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The
law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's
heart, who has made him known.
1QH 18:14 ( Vermes: 10:14) says: “Be blessed, Lord, God of compassion and of abundant favour, because you have made me know these things so that I may recount your marvels, and I do not keep silent day and night.” [ NJBC]
Verse 3: “with every spiritual blessing”: 1QSb (Qumran Rule of the Blessings) 1:5 says: “May he bestow upon you all the blessings ... in the congregation of the holy ones.” [ NJBC]
Verse 3: “in the heavenly places”: Can also be translated among heavenly beings. This expression is found only in this letter (see also 1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12); it refers to the unseen world behind and above the material universe. [ NOAB]
Verse 4: “he”: i.e. God.
Verse 4: “he chose”: The notion of selection was developed extensively in pre-Christian Judaism. See 1QH (Qumran Hymns) 13:10; 15:23; 1QS (Rule of the Community) 1:4; 11:7; 1QSb (Qumran Rule of the Blessings) 1:2; 1QM (War Scroll) 10:9. [ NJBC]
Verse 4: “in Christ”: This phrase occurs frequently throughout this letter in contexts referring to the unity of Jews and Gentiles (e.g. 2:13; 3:11).
Verse 6: “to the praise of his glorious grace”: i.e. the Father’s. This is repeated in briefer form referring to Christ (in v. 12) and to the Holy Spirit (in vv. 13-14). [ NOAB]
Verse 6: “the Beloved”: The identification of Christ as God’s Beloved recalls the baptism scene in the synoptic gospels, in which a voice from heaven identifies Jesus as “the Beloved” (see Mark 1:11 and parallels). Also in these scenes, the voice says “I am well pleased” or I take pleasure: see v. 5. [ NJBC]
Verse 7: “redemption through his blood”: See also 1:14; 4:30; Mark 10:45; 14:24; Romans 3:24; 8:23; Colossians 1:14, 20. [ NOAB]
Verse 7: “the riches of his grace”: The Hebrew equivalent is common in the Qumran literature in various forms (e.g. 1QH (Hymns) 9:32, Vermes: 1:32)
Verse 9: “mystery”: Everywhere in Ephesians (except 5:32) and throughout Colossians, “mystery” refers to God’s age-long purpose, now disclosed to his chosen, to call Gentiles as well as Jews to share in Christ’s redemptive work ( 3:4-6). [ NOAB] In late Judaism, everything is regulated according to God’s mysteries. The God of knowledge is in control of all things because the unalterable course of events was decreed by him before all eternity (see 1QS (Qumran Rule of the Community) 3-4, especially 3:9-10). Not only the human world (see 1QH (Hymns) 9:15) but also the angelic (1QM (War Scroll) 14:14) and the cosmic (see 1QH (Hymns) 9:11-15) have been determined by him. These mysteries have been revealed by chosen interpreters (see 1QH (Hymns) 9:21 and 1QpHab (Habakkuk Pesher) 7:4-5). [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “fullness of time”: In Galatians 4:4, the concern is chronological time, but here it is the gatherings of all times. In 2 Esdras 4:37, when the seer asks how long it will be before the souls of the righteous dead are raised, the archangel Jeremiel replies: “‘When the number ... is completed; for he [God] has weighed the age in the balance, and measured the times by measure, ... and will not move or arouse then until that measure is fulfilled.”. In Acts 1:7, after the apostles ask “‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’”, Jesus replies “‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority’”. [ NOAB] [ CAB]
Verse 10: “gather up all things in him”: See also 1:20-23; Philippians 2:9-11. [ CAB]
Verse 11: See also Numbers 26:55 (the apportioning of the Promised Land to the tribes) and Colossians 1:12 (“giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light”). [ CAB]
Verses 11-14: The position in God’s plan of the recipients of the letter: they are beneficiaries of God’s plan in Christ. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “you also”: You Gentiles, as well as we Jews.
Verse 13: “heard ... believed ... marked with the seal”: A reflection of missionary reports such as those in Acts 8:12-17 (Philip baptises); 10:34-48 (Peter speaks at Cornelius’ house); 19:2 (followers of John the Baptizer at Ephesus are baptised). [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “marked with the seal”: Stamped with ownership (as a slave was). The author says in 4:30: “... do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption”. See also 2 Corinthians 1:22 and Revelation 7:3-4.
Verse 14: “pledge”: In 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Paul writes: “But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment”. The Holy Spirit, already given, is an advance installment of what is in store for Christians (see also 2 Corinthians 5:5). God will finish what he has begun (see Romans 8:16-17, 23 and Philippians 1:6). [ CAB]
Matthew 2: 13 - 15, 19 -
23 (ECUSA)
Matthew 2: 1 - 12 (alt. for ECUSA)
Matt 2:1 (NRSV) In the time of King Her'od, after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we
observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." 3 When
King Her'od heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem
with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the
people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him,
"In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 "And you, Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
7 Then Her'od secretly called for the wise men and learned
from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem,
saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found
him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 9 When they
had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that
they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child
was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with
joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and
they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they
offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned
in a dream not to return to Her'od, they left for their own country by another
road.
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared
to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and
flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Her'od is about to search
for the child, to destroy him." 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and
his mother by night, and went to Egypt,
15 and remained there until the death of Her'od. This was to fulfill what had
been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called
my son."
19 When Her'od died, an angel of the Lord suddenly
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
and said, 20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land
of Israel, for those who were
seeking the child's life are dead." 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child
and his mother, and went to the land
of Israel. 22 But when he heard
that Archela'us was ruling over Judea in place of his
father Her'od, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he
went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town
called Nazareth, so that what had
been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a
Nazore'an."
“Flesh”, humanity, per Isaiah 40:6-8, was seen as weak, imperfect and transitory. Christ does an amazing thing: he becomes a human being (albeit, being God, a perfect one). The author is a witness to the divine presence shown in Jesus (“glory”, v. 14). John the Baptizer was the first of this gospel’s witnesses of the Christ-event, God become human.
From all that is in God (“fullness”, v. 16), we have received gift after gift (“grace upon grace”). The Mosaic Law was given by God, and Christ brought the full revelation of God’s ways. Judaism said that God could not be seen (v. 18). (Even Moses, in Exodus 33:30-44, was not permitted to see God’s face.) It is through Christ, who is in complete intimacy with the Father, that we have been given access to the Father.
Verse 1: “In the beginning ... was with God”: This also recalls the traditions of Wisdom being with God at creation (see Proverbs 8:30 and Wisdom of Solomon 7:25), but John goes beyond the stance of wisdom literature, which carefully avoids showing Wisdom as equal with God.
Verse 3: He was the sole agent of creation: see Genesis 1:1; Proverbs 8:27-30; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2. [ BlkJn]
Verse 4: Apart from him, both physical and spiritual life would recede into nothingness. In 5:39-40, Jesus says “‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life’” and in 8:12 “‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life’”.
Verse 5: “The light shines in the darkness”: Wisdom of Solomon 7:29-30 speaks of a beauty that surpasses the sun and stars; sin cannot prevail over Wisdom. [ NJBC]
Verse 5: “darkness”: i.e. total evil in conflict with God – it cannot overcome God.
Verses 6-8: John the Baptist was commissioned by God (he is the “messenger of the covenant” in Malachi 3:1) to point to Jesus (vv. 19-34). John the Baptist is a witness. [ NJBC]
Verse 9: “The true light”: The real (authentic, divinely given reality), underived light contrasted not with false light but with those such as John the Baptist: he was a lamp. In 5:35, Jesus says “‘He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light’”. [ NOAB]
Verse 11: “his own people”: The Jews. Recalls the rejection of Wisdom in 1 Enoch 42:2: “Wisdom went out to dwell with the children of the people, but she found no dwelling place; (so) Wisdom returned to her place and she established herself among the angels.” [ NJBC]
Verse 12: “he gave power ...”: This may have originally referred to Wisdom finding a dwelling in the souls of the righteous (see Sirach 1:9-10), and has been recast to reflect the soteriology of the Gospel. 2:23 says “When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing” and 3:18 says “Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God”. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “born ... of God”: 3:3-8 attributes divine rebirth to the activity of the Holy Spirit. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “the Word became flesh”: This goes beyond the Old Testament images of divine glory and Wisdom dwelling in Israel (Exodus 25:8-9; Joel 3:17; Zechariah 2:10; Ezekiel 43:7; Sirach 24:4, 8, 10). The word translated here as flesh” is sarx. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “we have seen”: The witness of John and the Johannine community. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “glory”: This is God’s glory as seen in Jesus and Jesus’ pre-existent glory with the Father. AS Jesus looks up to heaven, he says to the Father: “So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed”, and a little later: “Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” ( 17:5, 24). [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “grace”: Redeeming love.
Verse 14: “truth”: Faithfulness to his promises.
Verse 15: This verse alludes to John the Baptizer’s words in v. 30: “This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”. [ NJBC]
Verse 16: “fullness”: Of God’s grace (“compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love”, Psalm 106:45) or mercy (“your abundant mercy”, Psalm 51:1). [ NJBC]
Verse 16: “grace upon grace”: This either means exhaustless or infinite, or that the grace of the old covenant replaced by that of the new. [ NOAB]
Verse 17: This verse supports the interpretation of v. 16 that sees the old grace replaced by the new.
Verse 18: In this gospel, the claims of others to knowledge of God are consistently rejected. [ NJBC]
Verse 18: “seen”: 14:9 speaks of seeing and knowing God: “Jesus said to him [Philip], ‘Have I been with you all this time, ... and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?’”. [ NOAB]
Verse 18: “close to the Father’s heart”: Complete communion (see vv. 1-2). [ NOAB]
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