23 Martin de Porres, 1639, Rosa de Lima, 1617, and Toribio de Mogrovejo, 1606, was a Spanish missionary Archbishop of Lima.Witnesses to the Faith in South America
24 Saint Bartholomew the Apostle
25 Louis, King of France, 1270 (also in the Philippines, alternative commemoration for Charles Henry Brent)
27 Thomas Gallaudet, 1902, and Henry Winter Syle, 1890 was the first deaf person to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in the United States.
OLD TESTAMENT: Jeremiah 1: 4 - 10 (RCL)
Jere 1:4 (NRSV) Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 7 But the LORD said to me,
"Do not say, "I am only a boy';
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
qsays the LORD."
9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me,
"Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant."
Isaiah 58: 9b - 14 (alt. for RCL)
Isai 58:9 (NRSV) If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
13 If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
14 then you shall take delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 66: 18 - 21 (Roman Catholic)
Isai 66:18 (NRSV) For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tar'shish, Put, and Lud--which draw the bow--to Tu'bal and Ja'van, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21 And I will also take some of them as priests and as Le'vites, says the LORD.
PSALM 71: 1 - 6 (RCL)
Psal 71:1 (NRSV) In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
3 Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.
71 In te, Domine, speravi (ECUSA BCP)
1 In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; *
let me never be ashamed.
2 In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; *
incline your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; *
you are my crag and my stronghold.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, *
from of the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.
5 For you are my hope, O LORD God, *
my confidence since I was young.
6 I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;
from my mother's womb you have been my strength; *
my praise shall be always of you.
Psalm 103: 1 - 8 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 103:1 (NRSV) Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits--
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
103 Benedic, anima mea (ECUSA BCP)
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
4 He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
5 He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6 The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
Psalm 117, Mark 16:15 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 117:1 (NRSV) Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
Resp. Mark 16:15 Go to every part of the world,
and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 12: 18 - 29 (RCL)
Hebr 12:18 (NRSV) You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death." 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear.") 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." 27 This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
h/t Montreal Anglican
The author contrasts the assembly of the Israelites when the old covenant (“something that can be touched”) was given with those who have entered the new covenant (vv. 22-24) brought from God (“mediator”, v. 24) by Jesus. On Mount Sinai, the Israelites were filled with awe and terror. Death by stoning was the Jewish form of capital punishment. In the story of the Golden Calf, Moses trembles with fear (v. 21). The old covenant was made on earth, but the new is in heaven (“Mount Zion ...”, v. 22). The community celebrating (“festal”) it includes all the Christian faithful, who “have [already] come ... to the city”, (“the firstborn”, v. 23) and the exemplars of the Old Testament (“spirits of the righteous”) who trusted in God despite not having the promises brought by Jesus.
The author has written: “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s ... he died, but through faith he still speaks” ( 11:4). The “sprinkled blood” (v. 24) of Jesus, his death and resurrection that established the new covenant, speaks much more definitively of forgiveness than Abel’s example. Then v. 25: greater punishment is in store for those who reject Jesus’ warning from heaven than for those who rejected his warning at Sinai (“on earth”).
In vv. 26-29, the author interprets God’s words spoken through the prophet Haggai as a reference to the Last Judgement. The kingdom that Christ has brought is unshakable, permanent, but those who “reject” (v. 25) him and his message will perish, be consumed with fire (v. 29), at the Last Day: God will “will shake not only the earth but also the heaven” (v. 26).
Verses 14-17: The necessity of pursuing peace and purity. [ NOAB] If the faithful tolerate “bitterness” (v. 15) or moral defilement, they will forfeit their inheritance, as Esau did. [ CAB]
Verse 15: There are similarities between this verse and the Septuagint translation of Deuteronomy 29:18: “Lest there be among you man, or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart has turned aside from the Lord your God, having gone to serve the gods of other nations; lest there be in you a root springing up with gall and bitterness”. [ NOAB] [ BLXX] Watch over one another to avoid straying from the faith. [ NJBC]
Verse 16: “like Esau, an immoral and godless person”: NJBC offers no fornicator or profane person like Esau. He says that fornicator may not refer to Esau. Esau’s profaneness is shown by his giving up his birthright for a single meal: see Genesis 25:29-34. JB translates this verse as And be careful that there is no immorality, or that any of you does not degrade religion like Esau, who sold ... . To degrade religion refers to the sin Esau committed when he surrendered the position that was his by birth, of being heir to the messianic promises.
Verse 17: Esau is an example not only of deviation from the faith but also of the impossibility of repentance after that sin. In 6:4-6, the author says “ For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt”. [ NJBC]
Verse 17: “chance to repent”: Per the NRSV footnote, chance to change his father’s mind is also a possible rendering. See Genesis 27:30-40 (Esau seeks Isaac’s blessing). [ NOAB]
Verses 18-19: See Exodus 20:18-21 (After God gives the Ten Commandments, the people are terrified by his display of natural phenomena – but he does not say “‘I tremble with fear’”); Deuteronomy 4:11-12; 5:22-27. [ NOAB]
Verse 20: In Exodus 19:12-13, Moses tells the people what Yahweh has told him: “‘You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain’”. [ NOAB]
Verse 21: In Deuteronomy 9:19, Moses says “ For I was afraid that the anger that the Lord bore against you was so fierce that he would destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also”. [ NOAB] That Moses said ‘”I tremble with fear’” is not in the Bible, but is inferred. Further, Deuteronomy 9:19 is part of Moses’ speech given when the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, rather than at Sinai. [ JBC]
Verse 22: The author speaks of those who are still on the journey to heaven, yet since they already possess the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice, he can speak of them as having already arrived. [ NJBC] He shows the now and not yet of Christian experience in this world. [ JBC]
Verse 22: “the heavenly Jerusalem”: In 11:10, the author says that Abraham “looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God”; Galatians 4:26 (the allegory of Hagar and Sarah; Sarah “corresponds to the Jerusalem above”); Revelation 21:2 (“the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God”); 2 Esdras 8:52 (“... it is for you that paradise is opened, the tree of life is planted, the age to come is prepared, plenty is provided, a city is built ...”). [ NOAB] [ JBC]
Verse 23: “the firstborn”: These may be either the angels of v. 22 or the entire assembly of the Christian faithful. [ NJBC] They may also be the Old Testament exemplars of Chapter 11. [ JBC]
Verse 23: “the spirits of the righteous made perfect”: In 11:39-40, the author says “Yet all these [exemplars of the Old Testament] , though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect”. [ JBC]
Verse 24: The blood of Abel cried out for vengeance (see Genesis 4:10); that of Jesus brings access to God. Genesis 4:10-11 says: “the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand”. In 10:19, the author writes “... we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus”. [ NJBC]
Verse 24: “the sprinkled blood”: 9:14 says: “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!”. See also 13:20.
Verse 24: “Abel”: After Cain kills Abel, Yahweh says: “‘What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand’” (see Genesis 4:10). [ NOAB]
Verse 25: The author argues from the lesser to the greater, as he does in 2:2-4: “For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will”. [ JBC]
Verse 25: “who warns”: NOAB says that the Greek can also be translated as who is.
Verses 26-29: “At that time” is at the time of the giving (making) of the covenant at Mount Sinai. Since then, through Haggai, God has promised to shake both the earth and the heaven. The author takes this as a promise to shake out from all that he has created all that are ungodly. At the end of time, after the shaking, only the unshakable will remain; the unshakable will be the faithful. So “we” (v. 28), being faithful, “are receiving”, i.e. both have received and are heading towards the fullness of, membership in the kingdom of God, “a kingdom that cannot be shaken” from fidelity. So “let us give thanks” (v. 28), thereby worshipping God properly, i.e. reverently and with due awe. In v. 29, the author switches metaphor: from shaking out to “fire”. In refining gold, heating the ore separated the gold from the dross, the faithful from the ungodly. So Comments says In vv. 26-29, the author interprets God’s words spoken through the prophet Haggai as a reference to the Last Judgement .
Verse 26: The quotation is from Haggai 2:6, 21. [ CAB]
Verse 29: See also Deuteronomy 4:24; 9:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8. In Matthew 3:12, John the Baptizer says of Christ: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire”. [ NOAB]
Hebrews 12: 5 - 7, 11 - 13 (Roman Catholic)
Hebr 12:5 (NRSV) And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children--
"My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
or lose heart when you are punished by him;
6 for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
and chastises every child whom he accepts."
7 Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?
11 Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
GOSPEL: Luke 13: 10 - 17 (RCL)
Luke 13:10 (NRSV) Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." 15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
Luke 13: 22 - 30 (Roman Catholic)
Luke 13:22 (NRSV) Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" He said to them, 24 "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, "Lord, open to us,' then in reply he will say to you, "I do not know where you come from.' 26 Then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' 27 But he will say, "I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!' 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. 29 Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
In the story of the healing of the crippled woman, Jesus shows what it means to be a citizen of God’s kingdom – through his actions. That he heals a woman and refers to her as a ”daughter of Abraham” (v. 16), a full member of Jewish society, is remarkable: the kingdom is equally open to women and the sick. In Jesus’ day, physical and mental ailments were seen as the work of evil forces (“Satan”); the very being of someone with a serious ailment was thought to be hostile to God. The woman does not ask to be cured; no one asks on her behalf; Jesus notices her (“Jesus saw her”, v. 12). Her response to his saving action is to praise God (v. 13). Anyone could speak in the synagogue: the “leader” (v. 14) speaks to the “crowd”, but his words are directed at Jesus. He is blind to God’s kingdom.
Jesus’ rebuttal is clever, for while untying an ox or a donkey on the sabbath was forbidden in one part of the Mishnah (a Jewish book of laws), it was permitted in another. Jesus has “set free” (v. 12), untied, the woman who was tied to Satan. If you untie animals on the sabbath, why not humans? Honour and “shame” (v. 17) were, and are, important in Near Eastern cultures. Realizing that Jesus is right, the “leader” (v. 14) and other “opponents” (v. 17) are shamed before the crowd, who rejoice in this wonder-worker. The kingdom is open to all when they turn to God.
In this rich passage, found only in Luke, the evangelist shows in action the meaning of God’s kingdom, which he will illustrate through parables in vv. 18-21. [ NJBC]
Verse 11: “with a spirit”: In 4:33-37, Jesus cures “a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon”. [ JBC]
Verse 12: “saw her”: Jesus always had an eye for the needy. [ JBC]
Verse 13: “he laid his hands on her”: Jesus heals and blesses, in accordance with Old Testament usage: see Genesis 48:14-20 (Jacob lays his hands on Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and blesses them) and Leviticus 9:22 (Aaron blesses the people). In the New Testament, see also Mark 1:41 (Jesus heals a man of leprosy) and 5:23 (Jairus asks Jesus to lay his hands on his daughter, that she may be made well again and live). For laying on hands for healing, see also Mark 6:5; 7:32; Luke 4:40; for laying on hands in blessing, see also Mark 10:13, 16; Luke 24:50. Jesus does not use the imposition of hands for exorcism; but this and absolution make the chief uses of the action in the liturgy of the early Church. [ BlkLk]
Verse 14: “because Jesus had cured on the sabbath”: On this subject, see also:
Matthew 12:10-12: Jesus cites the example of saving a sheep on the Sabbath as showing that doing good on this day is in accord with the law.
Luke 6:6-11: on the Sabbath Jesus heals “a man [in a synagogue] whose right hand was withered”. When criticised, he asks “is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?”.
Luke 14:1-6: Jesus sees a man with dropsy. He asks religious leaders whether it is “ lawful to cure people on the sabbath” – they do not reply. He cures the man. He then cites the example of “a child or an ox that has fallen into a well”, and asks whether they would not “pull it out on the sabbath day”. Again they are silent.
John 5:1-18: Jesus heals a paralysed man at the Beth-zatha pool on the Sabbath. [ NOAB]
Verse 14: The “leader of the synagogue” recalls one of the Ten Commandments: see Exodus 20:9-10. [ NOAB] Detailed rules with regard to the kind of work allowed on the Sabbath, according to the urgency of the injury, were published by the rabbis. A prohibition is found in CD (Damascus Document) 8:22-23: No man shall help an animal in its delivery on the Sabbath day. And if it falls into a pit or ditch, he shall not raise it up on the Sabbath. [ BlkLk]
Verses 15,16: “untie his ox ... whom Satan bound ... be set free ...”: BlkLk offers for these verses: Jesus answered him and said, “Hypocrites, does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or ass from the manager and lead him away and water him? This woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has tied up – see! – eighteen years, was it not right that she should be untied from her bonds on the sabbath days?”. “Untie” (v. 15) and “set free” (v. 16) are translations of the same Greek verb; “bound” is a translation of the opposite Greek verb. BlkLk’s translation brings out the sense of what Jesus said better than the NRSV. REB goes part way in making the sense clear.
Verse 15: “untie his ox ...”: Per the Mishnah (Shabbath 7:2), tying and loosing knots are among the 39 kinds of work forbidden on the sabbath, but Shabbath 15:1-2 exempts certain kinds of knots. [ JBC]
Verse 15: “lead it away”: CD (Damascus Document) 11:5-7 says that a stubborn animal can be led up to “a thousand cubits” (i.e. half a kilometre) on the sabbath. [ JBC]
Verse 16: “daughter of Abraham”: In 19:9, Jesus declares the chief toll collector, Zacchaeus, to be a “son of Abraham”. [ NJBC]
Verse 16: “whom Satan bound”: Satanic forces are in conflict with God’s purpose for salvation in his covenant with Abraham, and are the concern of his saving activity. In Matthew 12:24, the Pharisees attribute Jesus’ healing power to evil forces hostile to humankind. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is tempted by the devil (“Satan”) to misuse his powers to his own advantage. The devil and “Satan” are names for evil conceived of as a personal will actively hostile to God. [ NOAB]
Verse 16: “be set free from this bondage ...”: What Jesus does on the sabbath is truly a celebration of its deep meaning, i.e. release from the effects of the fallen order. The sabbath’s purpose, according to Jesus, is fulfilled not by forbidding works of compassion, but by encouraging them. Jesus has released her, a captive, from bonds of evil ( 4:18). [ NJBC]
Verse 17: “wonderful things”: BlkLk offers glorious deeds and says that the Greek word is fairly widely used in the Septuagint. Luke is the only evangelist to use the word. It is found in the Septuagint translation of Sirach, e.g. Sirach 44:1.
Verse 18: “He said therefore ...”: To try to avoid being seen only as a wonder-worker (“all the wonderful things he had been doing”, v. 17), Jesus asks (rhetorically): “‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it?’”. BlkLk says that it is Luke who ties together material from one source (up to and including v. 17) with material from the sayings source known as Q (vv. 18-21).
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