·  13 Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore, 1667 was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell.

·  14 Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Seminarian and Witness for Civil Rights, 1965

·  15 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

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

OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis 32: 22 - 31 (RCL)

Gene 32:22 (NRSV) The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jab'bok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." 27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." 28 Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." 29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peni'el, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penu'el, limping because of his hip.

Isaiah 55: 1 - 5 (alt. for RCL)

Isaiah 55: 1 - 3 (Roman Catholic)

Isai 55:1 (NRSV) Ho, everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;

and you that have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price.

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

3 Incline your ear, and come to me;

listen, so that you may live.

I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast, sure love for David.

4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander for the peoples.

5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know,

and nations that do not know you shall run to you,

because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,

for he has glorified you.

PSALM 17: 1 - 7, 15 (RCL)

Psal 17:1 (NRSV) Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry;

give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.

2 From you let my vindication come;

let your eyes see the right.

3 If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,

if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;

my mouth does not transgress.

4 As for what others do, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5 My steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

incline your ear to me, hear my words.

7 Wondrously show your steadfast love,

O savior of those who seek refuge

from their adversaries at your right hand.

15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Note: Verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above

17   Exaudi, Domine    (ECUSA BCP)

1               Hear my plea of innocence, O Lord;

give heed to my cry; *

     listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.

2               Let my vindication come forth from your presence; *

     let your eyes be fixed on justice.

3               Weigh my heart, summon me by night, *

     melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.

4               I give no offense with my mouth as others do; *

     I have heeded the words of your lips.

5               My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law; *

     in your paths my feet shall not stumble.

6               I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; *

     incline your ear to me and hear my words.

7               Show me your marvelous loving-kindness, *

     O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand

     from those who rise up against them.

16             But at my vindication I shall see your face; *

     when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding

                        your likeness.

Psalm 145: 8 - 9, 14 - 21   (alt. for RCL)

Psalm 145: 8 - 9, 15 - 18   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 145:8 (NRSV) The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 The LORD is good to all,

and his compassion is over all that he has made.

14 The LORD upholds all who are falling,

and raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16 You open your hand,

satisfying the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is just in all his ways,

and kind in all his doings.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;

he also hears their cry, and saves them.

20 The LORD watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,

and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Note: Verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above

145   Exaltabo te, Deus    (ECUSA BCP)

8               The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, *

     slow to anger and of great kindness.

9               The Lord is loving to everyone *

     and his compassion is over all his works.

14             The LORD is faithful in all his words *

     and merciful in all his deeds.

15             The Lord upholds all those who fall; *

     he lifts up those who are bowed down.

16             The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, *

     and you give them their food in due season.

17             You open wide your hand *

     and satisfy the needs of every living creature.

18             The Lord is righteous in all his ways *

     and loving in all his works.

19             The Lord is near to those who call upon him, *

     to all who call upon him faithfully.

20             He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; *

     he hears their cry and helps them.

21             The Lord preserves all those who love him, *

     but he destroys all the wicked.

22             My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD; *

     let all flesh bless his holy Name for ever and ever.

NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 9: 1 - 5 (RCL)

Roma 9:1 (NRSV) I am speaking the truth in Christ--I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit-- 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Romans 8: 35, 37 - 39   (Roman Catholic)

Roma 8:35 (NRSV)  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

h/t Montreal Anglican

Paul has written that Gentiles, without aiming to be one with God, have achieved oneness, while Israelites, who tried to be godly, failed to be so. Why? Because their approach was based on the Law and “works” ( 9:32) rather than faith. By mangling two verses from Isaiah, he has argued that God intended that they fail ( 9:33). He has prayed that they (whom he knows first-hand for their “zeal for God”, v. 2) be included in God’s salvation. They do not recognize the way humans are related to God: as now revealed in Christ; rather, they have taken their own path: through the Law. They have failed to realize that the Law pointed forward to Christ (“end”, v. 4), in whom oneness with God is open to all.
Leviticus (thought to be written by “Moses”, v. 5) says that the Law-based path to life requires doing it, practising it perfectly: which Paul has already shown is impossible. But in Deuteronomy 30, Moses argues for a faith-based approach (“on your lips and in your heart”, v. 8) without excess of deeds (“ascend”, v. 6, “descend”, v. 7). In fact, Christ has gone all the way for you Israelites: he has come “down” (v. 6, been born into the world) and has been raised from “the dead” (v. 7). So “the word of faith” (v. 8) of which God’s righteousness (“the righteousness”, v. 6) speaks is the good news of Christ – that the way to salvation is through God’s love. If you acknowledge “Jesus is Lord” (v. 9) and mean it, and believe that the Resurrection really happened, you will be saved and attain oneness with God (“justified”, v. 10). (“Jesus is Lord”, v. 9, is perhaps the earliest creed of the Church.)
As Isaiah wrote, belief in “him” (v. 11) is the key; Paul takes “him” to mean Christ. As Joel wrote (v. 13) all who ask will be saved. (Paul takes “‘Lord’” as Christ.) But what of those Jews who did not heed Isaiah and Joel (v. 14), who neither believed, nor understood (“heard”), nor heard proclamation of Christ by one with authority (“sent”, v. 15)? Paul insists (quoting Isaiah again), that they have heard the “good news”, have had the opportunity to understand it, and have been properly proclaimed to, but they have declined belief – in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies (vv. 16-21).

Romans 10:5-15
9:30: See also 3:22; 10:6, 20; Galatians 2:16; 3:24; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews 11:7. [ NOAB]
9:32-33: Paul’s conflation of Isaiah 28:16 and 8:14 has the effect of making the Old Testament say almost the opposite of what it actually says! [ NJBC]
Isaiah 8:14-15 says: “He [the Lord of hosts] will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; ... he will become a rock one stumbles over – a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”.
Isaiah 28:16 says: “thus says the Lord GOD, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One who trusts [in it] will not panic’”.
In Isaiah 8:14-15, the “rock” is an impediment to Israel, but in Isaiah 28:16, the “stone” is a symbol of salvation; here in Romans they are interpreted as Christ. See also Matthew 21:42. Belief (or trust) in Christ brings salvation: in 10:10-11, Paul writes: “... one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’”. [ NOAB] Paul really mangles the verses from Isaiah!
The same conflation is found in 1 Peter 2:6-8, Mark 12:10 (parallels: Matthew 21:42 and Luke 20:17) and Acts 4:11.
10:1: Paul also prays that Jews may be included in salvation in Romans 1:16. [ NJBC]
10:2: “zeal for God”: See also Acts 21:20; 22:3; Galatians 1:14 (Paul’s zealousness as a Jew); Philippians 3:6 (Paul’s credentials as a Jew); John 2:17; 1 Maccabees 2:26-27. [ NJBC]
10:3: They try to establish righteousness with respect to the Law – their own righteousness – but not directly God’s, leaving their fate in his hands.
10:4: There are three possible meanings:

• The law of Moses, with its demands and consequences, is no longer in effect: Christ is the termination of the law. (See also Galatians 3:23-26.)
• In Christ, the Law is brought to its proper conclusion and fulfilment. (See also Matthew 5:17.)
• The Law functions to drive people to ask for deliverance; this is available in Christ.

Paul may intend all three meanings. NJBC sees the third meaning as the most likely: the final and purposive goal of the Law is Christ. He notes that in 9:31-33 there is pursuit of oneness with God; one pursues a goal.
10:5: The quotation is from Leviticus 18:5. Paul also quotes it in Galatians 3:12. Paul emphasizes “does”. One must actually practise the Law completely to find life through it – which Paul has shown is impossible: see 3:9-10. [ NOAB] Note that Paul accepts a common understanding of his time: that Moses wrote Leviticus.
10:6: “Do not say in your heart”: From Deuteronomy 8:17 and 9:4 ( Septuagint translation). Both passages issue a warning against trust in one’s own achievements. [ CAB] Paul takes the speaker as being the righteousness of God [ BlkRom]; in Deuteronomy, the speaker is Moses; he tells what God has commanded him to say.
10:6-8: “Who will ascend into heaven?”: This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 30:12. In these verses, Paul generally quotes Deuteronomy 30:11-14; however, “Who will descend into the abyss” is probably based on Psalm 107:26 while Deuteronomy 30:13 asks: “Who will cross to the other side of the sea ...?”.
10:6: “(that is, to bring Christ down)”: CAB offers another interpretation: to bring into effect God’s salvation.
10:7: “Who will descend into the abyss?”: Based on Psalm 107:26. The “abyss” was the place of the dead, where disobedient spirits awaited judgement. Revelation 9:1 says: “... the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit”.
10:7: “(that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)”: CAB offers another interpretation: to bring about the final stage of God’s salvation. Perhaps 1 Peter 3:19 tells us what Jesus did between his crucifixion and his resurrection: “... he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison”, i.e. to those who had died.
10:8: The quotation is Deuteronomy 30:14. Faith-based grace was (and is) available to the Israelites. In the original context, Moses says that God’s word of love and justification is God’s gift, not something humans can achieve or do.
10:8: In 2:29, Paul says: “... a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart – it is spiritual and not literal”. See also 6:17.
10:9: In 2 Corinthians 4:5, Paul writes: “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake”. [ NJBC]
10:9: “Jesus is Lord”: This affirmation of faith also appears in 1 Corinthians 12:3 and Philippians 2:11. [ NJBC]
10:9: “God”: i.e. the Father.
10:10: “justified”: The Greek word is translated as “righteousness” in 9:30 and 10:3-6. [ NOAB]
10:11: Again the quotation is from Isaiah 28:16. [ NOAB]
10:12: “the same Lord is Lord of all”: Jesus is the risen Lord of Jew and Greek: in 9:5, Paul writes: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen”. See also 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Philippians 2:9-11. [ NJBC]
10:13: In the Old Testament, those who call “on the name of the Lord” are sincere and pious Israelites: see Joel 2:32. Early Christians often applied Old Testament references to “Lord” to Jesus. In the original context, they refer to God.
10:14-21: Paul says that Israel did not take advantage of the opportunity offered to it by the prophets and the gospel; so the fault lies with Israel. The opportunity to believe in Christ was offered to all, but especially to Israel; it cannot claim that it did not hear the gospel. Paul proposes for himself four difficulties or objections, perhaps echoing comments from missionary sermons among Jews, and to each he proposes a brief answer by quoting the Old Testament:

• How can people believe the gospel unless it has been fully preached? (vv. 14-15)
• But it has not been fully accepted by everyone! (vv. 16-17)
• But perhaps the Jews did not hear it! (v. 18)
• Perhaps they did not understand! (vv. 19-21) [ NJBC]

10:15: The quotation is Isaiah 52:7, a text originally referring to the good news announced to Jews left in ruined Jerusalem that deliverance from Babylonian captivity was coming and that Jerusalem’s restoration was close at hand. In Paul’s hands, the “good news” has overtones of his good news, the gospel. So to him, the goods news has indeed been preached to Israel. [ NJBC]
10:16: The quotation is Isaiah 53:1, in which Isaiah saw a refusal to believe comparable to the one in Paul’s time. In Isaiah’s time, despite the prophet’s preaching, not all Jews accepted his message. [ NJBC]
10:18: The quotation is Psalm 19:4, in which the psalmist sings of nature proclaiming the glory of God everywhere. Paul accommodates the words to the preaching of the gospel: properly authorized preachers have done their job, so Israel has had the opportunity to believe in Christ. [ NJBC]
10:19: The quotation is Deuteronomy 32:21, in which Yahweh, through Moses, tries to educate Israel and announces that it will be humiliated by unbelievers (the Babylonians). In quoting this verse, Paul implies a comparison of Israel’s situation in his time with what it was at the time of the Exile. How much greater should Israel’s humiliation be now than then. Gentiles understand the good news, but Jews generally do not. [ NJBC]
10:20-21: The quotations are Isaiah 65:1 and 65:2. In the original context, the same people are envisaged by both verses, but Paul, influenced by the Septuagint translation (which has ethnos, nation in v. 1 and laos, people, in v. 2) splits the two verses such that they apply to different peoples: in v. 1 he applies “nation” to Gentiles and in v. 2 “people” to Jews. [ NJBC] (The NRSV follows the Septuagint in Isaiah 65:1-2.) So, to Paul, authentic preachers did speak in an intelligible way, so Israel had a proper opportunity to understand. [ NJBC]
10:20: “who did not seek me”: Recall that in 9:30 the Gentiles “did not strive” for godliness.

GOSPEL: Matthew 14: 13 - 21 (all)

Matt 14:13 (NRSV) Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16 Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." 17 They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." 18 And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

This story is in a section on instructing the disciples about their mission. It is a story of miracles – there is no limit to what God can do – and of the power of faith: the disciples can do the seemingly impossible if they have sufficient faith.
Jesus has just fed the crowd, in the miracle of the loaves and fish. He compels the disciples to embark (v. 22); presumably the miracle has aroused popular enthusiasm – in terms of political freedom – rather than faith. Because the Sea of Galilee is shallow, storms arise rapidly. It was “early in the morning” (v. 25); from the Greek, we know it was before dawn. Walking on water was beyond the disciples’ experience, so they are afraid that they are seeing a ghost. The three miracles are: Jesus walking on water, Peter doing the same, and the wind ceasing abruptly – that Matthew mentions it (v. 32) shows that he believed it to be a miracle. Jesus brings outward and inner calm, and a deeper faith. The disciples acknowledge him as “Son of God” (v. 33) for as God did at the time of creation, Jesus controls the waters, then believed to be chaotic and evil. Jesus is God’s agent of renewal.

The parallels are Mark 6:45-52 and John 6:15-21.
Verse 22: “go on ahead to the other side”: It seems that Jesus sends the disciples to Gentile territory, on eastern shore of the Lake of Galilee, but they land at Gennesaret, on the northwestern shore (see v. 34).
Verse 23: “he went up the mountain ... to pray”: A model for Christians, who need periods of silent, personal prayer as well as prayer in common. [ NJBC]
Verse 24: “was far from the land”: Literally was many stadia from the land. A stadion was about a fifth of a kilometre (220 yards). [ NOAB]
Verse 25: “early in the morning”: Literally in the fourth watch of the night, i.e. between 3 am and 6 am. [ NOAB]
Verse 25: “walking toward them on the sea”: In Canaanite myth and the Old Testament, the Lord overcomes the waves of death (see Psalm 77:19; Job 9:8; Isaiah 43:16; Sirach 24:5-6). [ NJBC] In Genesis 1:6-7 and Psalm 89:9-10, God controls the water. [ CAB]
Verses 27-32: Jesus shares in the divine power to save. [ NJBC]
Verses 29-31: This insertion into Matthew’s Marcan source gives prominence to Peter, as do other Matthean special traditions ( 16:17-19 and 17:24-27). [ NJBC] Peter’s conduct shows impulsive love and faith weakened by doubt. See also on Thomas in John 20:28-29.
Verse 33: Here the disciples understand and believe, unlike in the Marcan parallel.