· 20
Frederick Douglass, Prophetic Witness, 1895 was
an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer,
and statesman.
· 23
Polycarp,
Bishop and Martyr of Smyrna, 156 was a 2nd-century Christian bishop
of Smyrna.[2]
According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp he died a martyr, bound and
burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him
OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis 15: 1 - 12, 17 - 18 (all)
Gene 15:1 (NRSV) After these things the word of the LORD
came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield;
your reward shall be very great." 2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what
will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is
Elie'zer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring,
and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir." 4 But the word of the
LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very
own issue shall be your heir." 5 He brought him outside and said,
"Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count
them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6
And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you
from Ur of the Chalde'ans, to give
you this land to possess." 8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to
know that I shall possess it?" 9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer
three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a
turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 He brought him all these and cut them
in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds
in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them
away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon
Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking
fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the
LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this
land, from the river of Egypt
to the great river, the river Euphrates,
PSALM 27 (RCL)
Psalm 27: 1, 7 - 9, 13 -
14 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 27:1 (NRSV) The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh--
my adversaries and foes--
they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.
4 One thing I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
6 Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his
face!"
Your face, LORD, do I seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 If my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will take me up.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
Note:
Verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above.
27 Dominus illuminatio (ECUSA BCP)
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear? *
the Lord
is the strength of my life;
of whom
then shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh,
*
it was
they, my foes and my adversaries, who
stumbled
and fell.
3 Though an army should encamp against me, *
yet my
heart shall not be afraid;
4 And though war should rise up against me, *
yet will
I put my trust in him.
5 One thing have I asked of the Lord;
one thing I seek; *
that I
may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of
my life;
6 To behold the fair beauty of the Lord *
and to
seek him in his temple.
7 For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe
in
his shelter; *
he shall
hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling
and set
me high upon a rock.
8 Even now he lifts up my head *
above my
enemies round about me.
9 Therefore I will offer in his dwelling an
oblation
with sounds of great gladness; *
I will
sing and make music to the Lord.
10
Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call; *
have
mercy on me and answer me.
11 You
speak in my heart and say, "Seek my face." *
Your
face, Lord, will I seek.
12 Hide
not your face from me, *
nor turn
away your servant in displeasure.
13 You
have been my helper;
cast me not away; *
do not
forsake me, O God of my salvation.
14 Though
my father and my mother forsake me, *
the Lord
will sustain me.
15 Show
me your way, O Lord; *
lead me
on a level path, because of my enemies.
16
Deliver me not into the hand of my adversaries, *
for false
witnesses have risen up against me,
and also
those who speak malice.
17 What
if I had not believed
that I should see the goodness of the Lord *
in the
land of the living!
18 O
tarry and await the Lord's pleasure;
be strong, and he shall comfort your heart; *
wait patiently for the Lord.
NEW TESTAMENT: Philippians 3: 17 - 4: 1 (all)
Phil 3:17
(NRSV) Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live
according to the example you have in us. 18 For many live as enemies of the
cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with
tears. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is
in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship
is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be
conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make
all things subject to himself. 4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I
love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my
beloved.
Paul has written: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death” ( 3:10). He has not yet fully understood Christ, but he presses on ( 3:12) towards the goal of being with Christ when he comes again. This is how “mature” ( 3:15) Christians should think: they have not yet achieved full understanding.
Now Paul offers himself as an example of centering oneself in Christ, in his sufferings. (At the time, Paul was in prison.) Observe those who follow his (our) example! He warns against “many” ( 3:18) who centre on other things: at the end of the age, sadly they will be destroyed. Who are they? Perhaps self-centred people, but more likely Christians who insist on keeping Jewish dietary laws (“belly”, 3:19) and on circumcision: to boast in this is to glory in an organ which should be modestly covered (“shame”). These are “earthly things”, made obsolete by Christ’s coming. Society looks to Rome for citizenship but we look to “heaven” ( 3:20).
Our bodies, now mortal, will enter eternal life in a changed form, to achieve union with Christ ( 3:21). Per Psalm 8, the Messiah will be sovereign over all (“subject to himself”); Christ is the Messiah. Do not deviate from the true faith! ( 4:1).
3:12-14: Though righteousness is God’s gift, Christians are not relieved of the obligation of serious effort towards being godly. [ NOAB]
3:12-14: “goal ... prize ... heavenly”: Paul is thinking of Greek foot races; the “goal” is their finishing post. The word translated “heavenly” literally means upward. Winners were called to ascend a podium to receive a “prize”, i.e. a “crown” ( 4:1). [ NOAB] [ NJBC]
3:13: “Beloved”: literally brothers.
3:13: “forgetting what lies behind”: i.e. leaving behind past achievements. [ NJBC]
3:14: “heavenly call”: Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “... the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever”, and in Romans 5:2: “... we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God”.
3:15: “mature”: In 1 Corinthians, Paul distinguishes between immature and mature Christians. In 1 Corinthians 2:6 he writes: “... among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age ...”. In 1 Corinthians 14:20, he urges members of the community to grow spiritually: “... do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults”. See also Hebrews 5:13-14. [ JBC]
3:17: “join in imitating me”: Paul also invites imitation of him in 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:7, 9; 1 Corinthians 4:16. He is able to do this because he himself is an imitator of Christ: he advises in 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”. [ JBC]
3:18: “enemies of the cross of Christ”: Comments uses the interpretation in NJBC. By preaching the necessity of circumcision, the “enemies” deny the efficacy of the Cross, thus voiding Christ’s costly self-sacrifice: Paul writes in Galatians 2:21: “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing”. However, NOAB does not consider these people to be those who expect Christians to adopt Judaic practices by being circumcised, “those who mutilate the flesh” ( 3:2). CAB says that the “enemies” are likely those who do not wish to make the Cross the centre of the Christian message. See also 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:2; 11:26.
3:19: “destruction”: In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul presents the paradox of the Cross: “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”. [ JBC]
3:19: “belly”: This refers to zeal for Jewish food laws or to selfishness in general. In Romans 16:18, Paul writes: “... such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites”. [ NJBC]
3:19: “their glory is in their shame”: To boast in circumcision (vv. 2-3) is to glory in something which one modestly covers: Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:23: “those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect”. [ NJBC]
3:19: “earthly things”: In Galatians 4:9, Paul asks those who are tempted to desert the faith and the Way: “Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again?”. [ JBC]
3:19: It is also possible that the “many” see Paul’s imprisonment as a setback in their social status – in the context of the residents of Philippi. [ CAB]
3:20: “our citizenship is in heaven”: We already have it! The Greek word translated “citizenship” carries with it the notion of being active as a citizen. See also Galatians 4:24-27 (the allegory of Hagar and Sarah) and Ephesians 2:19 (“... citizens with the saints ...”). [ NJBC] To CAB, Paul’s use of the word “citizenship” indicates that his opponents see his imprisonment as a setback in terms of their status in society.
3:20: “it is from there ...”: In Acts 1:11, after the Ascension two messengers from God tell the disciples: “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven”. See also Acts 3:21; 2 Timothy 4:1. [ CAB]
3:21: “that it may be ... glory”: In Romans 8:23, Paul speaks of waiting for “adoption, the redemption of our bodies”. 1 Corinthians 15:49 says “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven” and 15:51 “... we will all be changed”. See also Romans 8:19-21, 29-30; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5; Colossians 3:1-4. [ NOAB]
3:21: “make all things subject to himself”: An allusion to Psalm 8:6 (“You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet”), a verse that to Paul tells of the messianic reign of Christ. See also Ephesians 1:22; Hebrews 2:6-9; 1 Peter 3:22. [ NJBC]
4:1: “joy and crown”: Paul asks rhetorically in 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20: “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Yes, you are our glory and joy!”. [ NOAB]
GOSPEL: Luke 13: 31 - 35 (RCL)
Luke 13:31
(NRSV) At that very hour some Phar'isees
came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Her'od wants to kill
you." 32 He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, "Listen,
I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third
day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my
way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'
34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often
have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood
under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you.
And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
"Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Now “some Pharisees” (v. 31), in perhaps the only favourable mention of them in the gospels, advise him to leave Herod Antipas’ territory (“here”, i.e. Galilee and Perea). (Herod the Great died soon after Jesus was born.) To Jesus, Herod is “that fox” (v. 32): destructive, tricky, sly, politically motivated. Herod will not cut short Jesus’ earthly ministry. His journey to Jerusalem “must” (v. 33), in accord with the Father’s will, continue day-by-day; in and at his resurrection (“third day”, v. 32), he will complete, consummate, his mission of restoring mankind to the relationship God intended at creation.
Jerusalem, not Herod, has first claim on God’s messengers! (v. 33b). This city is to be the place of, and the agent of, his murder. In vv. 34-35, Jesus laments over the city and (probably) its religious leaders (“house”). Perhaps v. 34b speaks of Jesus’ extensive effort to bring Judeans to him, of efforts not recorded in the gospels. The city’s residents, rejecting him now, will not see him again until they shout “Blessed ...” (v. 35) as he rides triumphantly into the city on the first Palm Sunday.
Verse 32: “today and tomorrow, and on the third day”: NOAB says that Jesus did not mean “third” literally; rather, he means a short and limited time. The NRSV translates the Greek literally, but BlkLk translates it as day by day, and one day soon. He says that there is an Aramaic idiom behind the Greek which does not refer to two actual days but to an indefinite short period followed by a still indefinite, but certain, event. This idiom is also at work in Hosea 6:2: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him”.
Verse 32: “finish”: The same Greek word is found in John 5:36 (“complete”); 17:4, 23; 19:28; Hebrews 2:10; 5:9. It signifies the perfection of Christ’s redemptive mission. [ JBC]
Verse 33: “today, tomorrow, and the next day”: As a sequel to his interpretation given for v. 32, BlkLk suggests that the meaning may be every day.
Verse 33: “it is impossible ...”: NOAB says that this is bitter irony. For the motif of the rejected prophet, see Nehemiah 9:26-31. [ NJBC]
Verse 33: “prophet”: In 4:24-27, Jesus says “... no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown ...”. In 7:16, when Jesus restores a man to life, those gathered proclaim: “‘A great prophet has risen among us!’”. In 7:39, a Pharisee argues that Jesus is not a prophet. In 24:19, on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas speaks of Jesus as “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people”. [ JBC]
Verses 34-35: The parallel is Matthew 23:37-39. [ NOAB]
Verse 34b: Comments: of efforts not recorded in the gospels : Luke 4:44 says: “So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea”; however, the text is uncertain. In some manuscripts and in the parallels (Matthew 4:23 and Mark 1:39), Galilee appears rather than Judea. If “Judea” is correct, this is the only express mention of Jesus’ early ministry in Judea outside the Gospel according to John. [ NOAB]
Verse 34: “hen”: An image of loving care and protection. [ NJBC]
Verse 35: “your house”: The Old Testament background seems to be Jeremiah 22:1-9 where house means the king’s household of leaders. [ NJBC]
Verse 35: “Blessed ...”: See 19:38 (Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem) and Psalm 118:26 (“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord ...”). At the time, this psalm was ascribed messianic significance. [ JBC] Zechariah 9:9 says: “ Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey”.
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