·  Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ

·  17 Samuel Johnson, 1772, Timothy Cutler, 1765, and Thomas Bradbury Chandler, 1790, Priests

·  18 William Porcher DuBose, Priest, 1918 was an American priest and theologian in the Episcopal Church in the United States. He spent most of his career as a professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He is remembered on August 18 on the Episcopal Calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts.

·  20 Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, 1153 was a French abbot and the primary reformer for the Cistercian order.

·  23 Martin de Porres, 1639, Rosa de Lima, 1617, and Toribio de Mogrovejo, 1606, Witnesses to the Faith in South America…was a Spanish missionary Archbishop of Lima.

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 5: 1 - 7 (RCL)

Isai 5:1 (NRSV) Let me sing for my beloved

my love-song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,

and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

he expected it to yield grapes,

but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

and people of Judah,

judge between me

and my vineyard.

4 What more was there to do for my vineyard

that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes,

why did it yield wild grapes?

5 And now I will tell you

what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge,

and it shall be devoured;

I will break down its wall,

and it shall be trampled down.

6 I will make it a waste;

it shall not be pruned or hoed,

and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;

I will also command the clouds

that they rain no rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts

is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are his pleasant planting;

he expected justice,

but saw bloodshed;

righteousness,

but heard a cry!

Jeremiah 23: 23 - 29 (alt. for RCL)

Jere 23:23 (NRSV) Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, "I have dreamed, I have dreamed!" 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back--those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Ba'al. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 38: 4 - 6, 8 - 10 (Roman Catholic)

Jere 38:4 (NRSV) Then the officials said to the king, "This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm." 5 King Zedeki'ah said, "Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you." 6 So they took Jeremi'ah and threw him into the cistern of Malchi'ah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremi'ah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremi'ah sank in the mud.

8 So E'bed-me'lech left the king's house and spoke to the king, 9 "My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremi'ah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city." 10 Then the king commanded E'bed-me'lech the Ethiopian, "Take three men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremi'ah up from the cistern before he dies."

PSALM 80: 1 - 2, 8 - 19 (RCL)

Psal 80:1 (NRSV) Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock!

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth

2 before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh.

Stir up your might,

and come to save us!

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches;

11 it sent out its branches to the sea,

and its shoots to the River.

12 Why then have you broken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

13 The boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.

14 Turn again, O God of hosts;

look down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine,

15 the stock that your right hand planted.

16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down;

may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.

17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,

the one whom you made strong for yourself.

18 Then we will never turn back from you;

give us life, and we will call on your name.

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Note: Verse numbering in your Psalter may be different from the above.

80   Qui regis Israel     (ECUSA BCP)

1               Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; *

     shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.

2               In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, *

     stir up your strength and come to help us.

 

8               You have brought a vine out of Egypt; *

     you cast out the nations and planted it.

9               You prepared the ground for it; *

     it took root and filled the land.

10  The mountains were covered by its shadow *

     and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.

11  You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea *

     and its branches to the River.

12  Why have you broken down its wall, *

     so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?

13  The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, *

     and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.

14  Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven;

behold and tend this vine; *

     preserve what your right hand has planted.

15  They burn it with fire like rubbish; *

     at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.

16  Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, *

     and son of man you have made so strong for yourself.

17  And so will we never turn away from you; *

     give us life, that we may call upon your Name.

18  Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; *

     show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

Psalm 82 (alt. for RCL)

Psal 82:1 (NRSV) God has taken his place in the divine council;

in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

2 "How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked? [Se'lah]

3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan;

maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,

they walk around in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 I say, "You are gods,

children of the Most High, all of you;

7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,

and fall like any prince."

8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth;

for all the nations belong to you!

82   Deus stetit   (ECUSA BCP)

1               God takes his stand in the council of heaven; *

     he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:

2               “How long will you judge unjustly, *

     and show favor to the wicked?

3               Save the weak and the orphan; *

     defend the humble and needy;

4               Rescue the weak and the poor; *

     deliver them from the power of the wicked.

5               They do not know, neither do they understand;

they go about in darkness; *

     all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6               Now I say to you, ‘You are gods, *

     and all of you children of the Most High;

7               Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, *

     and fall like any prince.’”

8               Arise, O God, and rule the earth, *

     for you shall take all nations for your own.

Psalm 40: 1 - 3, 17   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 40:1 (NRSV) I waited patiently for the LORD;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He drew me up from the desolate pit,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

and put their trust in the LORD.

17 As for me, I am poor and needy,

but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

do not delay, O my God.

Note: Verse numbering is one higher in Roman Catholic Bibles.

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 11: 29 - 12: 2 (RCL)

Hebr 11:29 (NRSV) By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Ra'hab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Bar'ak, Samson, Jeph'thah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented-- 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12: 1 - 4 (Roman Catholic)

Hebr 12:1 (NRSV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

h/t Montreal Anglican

The author has given examples of figures mentioned in Genesis and Exodus who lacked the promise of eternal life with Christ yet acted on faith in God; they acted “by faith” in doing God’s will. Now he tells of others who relied on God’s promise for the future. The author gives as examples of such actions the crossing of the “Red Sea”, the fall of “Jericho” ( 11:30) and Rahab hiding the Israelite spies – sent to scout out Jericho’s defences. (The people of this city were “disobedient”, 11:31, to God’s will.) In 11:32, several judges, a king and a prophet are named as examples. (For “obtained promises”, 11:33, the Revised English Bible has saw God’s promises fulfilled .) Daniel “shut the mouths of lions” so they did not eat him. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had faith that God would save them from a fiery death. (For “won strength out of weakness”, 11:34, the Revised English Bible has their weakness was turned to strength .) Elijah was God’s instrument in returning the widow’s son to life ( 11:35a).
The sufferings in 11:35b-38 are mostly those endured by faithful Israelites before and during the Maccabean revolt in the mid 100s BC; in some cases it is not known to whom the author refers. The world was not worthy of these exemplars of faith! ( 11:38a). For all of them ( 11:39), though God found their actions pleasing (“commended ...”), fulfilment of his promise did not occur at the time; rather it was delayed until the saving work of Christ was completed, i.e. in also saving us (“not, apart from us”, 11:40). So being “surrounded” ( 12:1) by all these exemplars of faith (“witnesses” to the efficacy of faith in God), let us “lay aside” anything that may hinder us in living a godly life (“the race”): in it, we look to Jesus as both forerunner (“pioneer”, 12:2) and fulfiller of our faith. He, we, and those who have gone before us run the race to attain eternal life (“joy”) and oneness with God – through suffering and shame

11:29: For the miraculous passage of the Israelites through the Reed (Red) Sea, see Exodus 14:21-31. [ NOAB]
11:30: For the miraculous destruction of Jericho, see Joshua 6:12-31. [ NOAB]
11:31: For the role of Rahab the prostitute in the taking of Jericho, see Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-25. [ NOAB]
11:32: The REB offers: Need I say more? Time is too short to tell ... See Judges 6-8 (Gideon); 4-5 (Deborah and Barak); 13-16 (Samson); 11-12 (Jephthah); 1 Samuel 16-30 (David); 2 Samuel 1-24; 1 Kings 1:1-2:11; 1 Samuel 15:1-16; 13. [ NOAB]
11:32: “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah”: Judges of ancient Israel. [ CAB]
11:33: “shut the mouths of lions”: In Daniel 6:22, Daniel tells the king: “My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong”. [ NOAB]
11:34: “quenched raging fire”: See Daniel 3. [ NOAB]
11:35a: The REB has Women received back their dead raised to life. See 1 Kings 17:17-24 (Elijah revives the widow's son) and 2 Kings 4:8-27 (Elisha raises the Shunammite's son). [ NOAB]
11:35b-38: 1 Maccabees 1:60-63 says that at the time of the desecration of the Temple in 167 BC: “According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers' necks. But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die”. See also 1 Maccabees 7:34; 2 Maccabees 6: 18-31; 7: 1-42. [ NOAB] [ NJBC]
11:37: See also 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 (Zechariah is stoned to death); Jeremiah 26:23 (Jehoiakim kills Uriah with a sword); 2 Maccabees 5:27 (Judas Maccabeus and his companions); 6:12-7:42 (the martyrdom of Eleazar and others). [ NOAB]
11:37: “sawn in two”: This tradition is found in Ascension of Isaiah 5:1-14. Both Tertullian and Justin Martyr mention it. [ JBC]
11:37: “tormented”: The Greek word is a technical term meaning stretched on a rack or wheel. This was the fate of some martyrs during the Maccabean revolt against the Syrians in the second century BC. See generally 2 Maccabees 5-7. [ CAB]
11:38: “and in caves”: The REB has hiding in caves. See 2 Maccabees 6:11; 10:6. [ NOAB]
11:40: “so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect”: NJBC says that those earlier in this chapter have now obtained what Christians still on earth possess only in an anticipatory way. He refers the reader to 6:11-12: “And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
12:1: “weight”: i.e. encumbrance. [ NOAB]
12:1: “clings”: In most manuscripts, the Greek word is euperistatos. It occurs only here in the New Testament; its meaning is only conjectured. The P⁴⁶ manuscript has euperipastos, meaning easily distracting. [ JBC]
12:1: “run ... the race”: Paul uses this image in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. [ NOAB]
12:2-3: Jesus is the model for endurance of hardship. [ NJBC]
12:2: “pioneer and perfecter”: 2:10 says “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings”. Christ is the prototype and consummator of God’s purpose for his people. [ NOAB]
12:2: “pioneer”: The Greek word, archegos, is translated as “Author” in Acts 3:15 and as “Leader” in Acts 5:31. [ NOAB]
12:2: “our faith”: Literally the faith. [ NOAB]
12:2: “for the sake of the joy”: This can also be translated as instead of joy, i.e. Jesus’ repudiation of earthly kingship (Matthew 4:8-10, his temptation in the wilderness, and John 6:15, after the feeding of the five thousand) or his self-emptying (Philippians 2:6-9); however the exhortation that the addressees persevere in view of the triumphant end of the race suggests that the author understands Jesus’ example in the same way. [ NJBC]
12:3-13: Discipline is the quality which is required of those who “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (v. 1), as Jesus demonstrated and as scripture affirms, and as children reared by responsible parents have experienced. Through athletic-like training (v. 11), discipline now leads to a future peace and the reward of “righteousness”. There is no room for moral lameness or flabbiness in the demanding life of the faithful. [ CAB]
12:5-6: The quotation is Proverbs 3:11-12. [ NOAB]
12:8: “all children”: i.e. all children of God: see v. 6. [ NOAB]
12:9: “the Father of spirits”: God is the author of humanity’s spiritual being: see Numbers 16:22; 27:16; Zechariah 12:1. [ NOAB] [ NJBC]
12:12: This is a quotation of Isaiah 35:3. [ NOAB]

GOSPEL: Luke 12: 49 - 56 (RCL)

                  Luke 12: 49 - 53 (Roman Catholic)

Luke 12:49 (NRSV) "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided:

father against son

and son against father,

mother against daughter

and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, "It is going to rain'; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, "There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Luke presents several sayings of Jesus. V. 49 is one saying. “Fire” here is a symbol of purification and separation of the godly from the ungodly. (Gold was separated from the host rock in a fire that had been “kindled”.) He wishes that he was called on to exercise judgement now. In Mark 10:38, Jesus says to James and John: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” This is the sense of “baptism” in v. 50: Jesus is under great “stress” until his “baptism” is completed in suffering death and being raised again. Vv. 51-53 are another saying. After the word “peace”, it helps understanding to add at any cost. Micah used notions like those in vv. 52-53 to tell of the total corruption of the people. Jesus has come for division between godly and ungodly people. Vv. 54-56 present yet another saying. The “crowds” are able to “interpret” (v. 56) signs of impending weather, but they, in spite of seeing signs in the “present time”, fail to see their implications for the end of the era.

These sayings are all sayings on the end of the era. [ NOAB] We are accountable for our behaviour. [ CAB]
Verses 49-53: CAB says that these verses depict the domestic conflicts that will result from commitments made to Jesus. To NJBC, these verses give the rationale for opposition to Jesus, his disciple, and within the Church.
Verse 49: “fire”: In separating the dross from the genuine, fire is also a symbol of judgement. In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptizer says that Jesus “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”. See also Matthew 7:19 (“Beware of false prophets ...”). See also Mark 9:48 and Luke 3:16. [ NOAB]
Verse 50: In Mark 10:38-39, in answer to the request of James and John to share in his power, Jesus says “‘Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’”. There the cup is a symbol of death. In John 12:27, Jesus says “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour”. [ NOAB] [ BlkLk] In obedience to God’s will, Jesus goes on his journey to Jerusalem and his exodus, resolutely facing all opposition. [ NJBC]
Verses 51-53: In Matthew 10:34-36, Jesus says “‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.’”. See also Luke 21:16 and Micah 7:6. [ NOAB] At Jesus’ baptism, in 2:14, a voice from God says “‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’”, so there will be some whom God favours, and others whom he does not. [ BlkLk] Recall Simeon’s words to Mary in 2:34-35: “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too’”. [ NJBC]
Verse 52: “From now”: Literally, from the period now beginning. The Greek phrase also appears in also 22:69. [ BlkLk]
Verses 54-56: Matthew 16:2-3 is similar. The crowds, because of their hypocrisy, refuse to see God’s key moment of salvation history, present in Jesus’ kingdom ministry. The “present” is the period of the kingdom. Winds from the “west” blew off the Mediterranean, bringing rain; those from the south blew off the desert. [ NOAB] Those concerned with various kinds of portents cannot see the significance of God’s work through Jesus in “the present time”. [ CAB]
Verses 57-59: Matthew 5:25-26 is similar. [ NOAB] Now is the time to make amends for your waywardness. Do so before you appear before the judge! It is essential to come to terms with one’s situation now, lest severe punishment await one in the future. [ CAB]
Verse 58: “magistrate”: The Greek word is constantly used for an officer charged with collecting debts. [ BlkLk]
Verse 59: “penny”: The Greek word is lepton. The lepton was the smallest Greek coin in circulation. (In Matthew 5:26 and Mark 12:42, the widow’s offering at the Temple, the word translated “penny” is quadrans; there were two lepta to a quadrans. In Luke 12:6, the word translated “penny” is assarion; there were eight lepta to an assarion.) [ NOAB]