·
18 Cyril, Bishop of
Jerusalem, Teacher of the Faith, 386 s the head bishopof the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has
been Theophilos III. The Patriarch is styled "Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Holy Land, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion." The
Patriarch is the head of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, and the religious leader of about 130,000 Eastern Orthodox
Christians in the Holy Land,[2] most of them Palestinians.
·
19 Joseph of
Nazareth
OLD TESTAMENT: Numbers 21: 4 - 9 (RCL)
Numb 21:4 (NRSV)
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of
E'dom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5 The people spoke against
God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in
the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable
food." 6 Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they
bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and
said, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray
to the LORD to take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the
people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set
it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live." 9 So
Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent
bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
2 Chronicles 36: 14 -
16, 19 - 23 (Roman Catholic)
2Chr 36:14 (NRSV)
All the leading priests and the people also were exceedingly unfaithful,
following all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of
the LORD that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
15 The LORD, the
God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he
had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; 16 but they kept
mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his
prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against his people became so great that
there was no remedy.
19 They burned the
house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with
fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon
those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to
his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the
word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremi'ah, until the land had made up for its
sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy
years.
22 In the first
year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by
Jeremi'ah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he
sent a herald throughout all his kingdom and also declared in a written edict:
23 "Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given
me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at
Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the
LORD his God be with him! Let him go up."
PSALM 107: 1 - 3, 17 -
22 (RCL)
Psal 107:1 (NRSV)
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast
love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed
of the LORD say so,
those he redeemed
from trouble
3 and gathered in
from the lands,
from the east and
from the west,
from the north and
from the south.
17 Some were sick
through their sinful ways,
and because of
their iniquities endured affliction;
18 they loathed
any kind of food,
and they drew near
to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried
to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them
from their distress;
20 he sent out his
word and healed them,
and delivered them
from destruction.
21 Let them thank
the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful
works to humankind.
22 And let them
offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
and tell of his
deeds with songs of joy.
107
Part I Confitemini
Domino (ECUSA BCP)
1 Give
thanks to the Lord, for he is
good, *
and
his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let
all those whom the Lord has
redeemed proclaim *
that
he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
3 He
gathered them out of the lands; *
from
the east and from the west,
from
the north and from the south.
17 Some
were fools and took to rebellious ways; *
they
were afflicted because of their sins.
18 They
abhorred all manner of food *
and
drew near to death's door.
19 Then
they cried to the Lord in their
trouble, *
and
he delivered them from their distress.
20 He
sent forth his word and healed them *
and
saved them from the grave.
21 Let
them give thanks to the Lord for
his mercy *
and
the wonders he does for his children.
22 Let
them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and
tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
Psalm 137: 1 - 6 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 137:1 (NRSV)
By the rivers of Babylon--
there we sat down
and there we wept
when we remembered
Zion.
2 On the willows
there
we hung up our
harps.
3 For there our
captors
asked us for
songs,
and our tormentors
asked for mirth, saying,
"Sing us one
of the songs of Zion!"
4 How could we
sing the LORD's song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you,
O Jerusalem,
let my right hand
wither!
6 Let my tongue
cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not
remember you,
if I do not set
Jerusalem
above my highest
joy.
NEW TESTAMENT: Ephesians 2: 1 - 10 (RCL)
Ephesians
2: 4 - 10 (Roman Catholic)
Ephe 2:1 (NRSV)
You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once lived,
following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the
air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of
us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of
flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ --by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated
us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to
come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God-- 9 not the result of works, so that
no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
h/t Montreal
Anglican
Paul has written of the
recipients of this letter, of how they reacted to hearing the good news: they
believed, and “were marked with the seal of the ... Holy Spirit” ( 1:13)
in baptism. He has heard of their faith and of their love for fellow
Christians. May they receive “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” ( 1:17)
as they come to understand God more and more, coming to know the hope and the
inheritance that are theirs through their calling, and the greatness of God’s
power available to believers of all cultures.
Now he speaks of the time before their conversion, a time when,
encumbered by sin, they were “dead” ( 2:1)
spiritually. It was thought that the “air” ( 2:2)
was the domain of demons, so the “ruler of the power of the air” is the devil;
they were subservient to him. He still holds sway over the “disobedient”, those
who have rejected the call to faith. (By implication, Christians are no longer
his slaves.) “All of us” ( 2:3),
both Jews and Gentiles, once lived self-centred lives, apart from God’s
redemptive power. We were “children”, descendants of Adam – in danger of God’s
“wrath” against those who sin (as they still are). (Colossians 3:6 says
“the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient”.) We were in a state
apart from God’s love for humankind in Christ. But, says 2:4,
even then, when we were spiritually “dead”, God loved us greatly, so greatly
that he brought us life together, raised us together and
enthroned us together – “with Christ” ( 2:5).
(In the Greek, each of these verbs begins with syn, as in synergy .)
Christians have been given a new status, a new life, and new freedom, in order
that, by living in this way, we may be channels through whom God shows his
gifts to us to the world. We are saved by God’s freely given inestimable gift
of love (“grace”, 2:7).
Our salvation is already happening through the medium of our “faith” ( 2:8),
but even “this” (salvation) is a gift from God, rather than a result of our
efforts (“works”, 2:9).
God’s plan has always included making Christians what we are: “created in
Christ ... for good works” ( 2:10):
being saved, we do “good works”.
Verses 1-10: As with 1:11-14,
there is a problem here in interpreting we and you.
Though the we may be Jewish Christians and the you Gentile
Christians, there is no clear allusion to the Jewish-Gentile distinction before
vv. 11-12.
All unambiguous uses of we in this letter refer to all
Christians ( 2:14; 3:20 and
frequently in chapters 4-6),
and we should be taken here in the same way. The author
uses you when the recipients of the letter are addressed
directly. [ NJBC]
Verses 1-22: Christ’s benefits, for both Gentiles and Jews. [ NOAB]
Verses 1-3: The Qumran literature speaks of a period when the spirit of
darkness would be allowed to exercise authority over humanity: see 1QS (Rule of
the Community) 3:20-23 and 11QMelch (Melchisedek). This period would continue
until evil is destroyed and righteousness prospers: see 1QS (Rule of the
Community) 4:18-23; 1QM (War Scroll) 13:14-16; 17:5-9. [ NJBC]
Verse 1:
“dead”: See also v. 5.
Colossians 2:13 says
“... when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God
made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses”. [ NOAB]
Verse 2:
“following the ruler of the power of the air”: In 6:11-12 the
author writes: “Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies
of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places”. Colossians 1:13 says
that “He [the Father] has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred
us into the kingdom of his beloved Son”. [ NOAB]
Verse 3:
“passions of our flesh ... desires of flesh”: These are not references to
sexual desires but a general reference to the human being as he exists in his
own selfish nature, apart from God’s redemptive power. See also vv. 11, 14. 5:29 says
“... no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for
it, just as Christ does for the church”. See also 5:31and 6:12.
[ CAB]
Verse 3:
“by nature children of wrath”: i.e in our natural condition as descendants of
Adam, as in Romans 5:12 (“
just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin,
and so death spread to all because all have sinned”). [CAB]
Verses 5-6: “made us alive”: What was said of Christ in 1:20 is
now said of all Christians: they are raised and enthroned with him in the
heavenly heights. [ NJBC]
Verse 6:
The believer participates in Christ’s exaltation: in 1:3 the
author writes: “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”. See
also 1:20-21.
[CAB]
Verse 7:
“grace”: i.e. God’s unmerited favour shown to humankind in Christ. [ NOAB]
Verses 8-10: While in letters generally accepted to be Pauline the dichotomy
is between faith and works, here it is between God’s grace and human good
deeds. [ NJBC]
Verses 8-9: A formula summarizing Paul’s theology. See also Romans 3:21-28;
1 Corinthians 1:22-29.
[ CAB]
Verse 8:
In Romans 5:1 Paul
tells us: “... since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ”. See also Romans 11:6;
Galatians 3:18, 21-22; 5:4.
[ CAB]
Verse 8:
“saved through faith”: Paul never says saved because of faith. [ NOAB]
Verse 10: The consequence of God’s justifying grace is that the old life
described in vv. 2-3 is
transformed into the new life in Christ. The new life is a way of life
producing good works. In Galatians 6:15,
we read: “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new
creation is everything!”. [ CAB]
Verse 10: “good works”: Good works are the result, not the cause, of
salvation. [ NOAB]
Verse 10: “beforehand”: This ascribes the whole matter to God. [ NOAB]
GOSPEL: John 3: 14 - 21
John 3:14 (NRSV)
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of
Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 "For God
so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in
him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 "Indeed,
God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that
the world might be saved through him. 18 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. 19 And this is the
judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate
the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly
seen that their deeds have been done in God."
Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, has come to
Jesus, (because he has recognized that Jesus is “from God”, v. 2), to ask: “How can
anyone be born [again] after having grown old?” (v. 4) Jesus has
answered: to be part of God’s plan launched through him, one needs to be
transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be baptised into Christ (v. 5). God’s Spirit
works in ways that humans cannot fully understand; Jesus is the only source of
knowledge about heaven: he has been there. Nicodemus fails to understand even
what Jesus tells him in earthly terms, by analogy. Jesus continues with an
analogy (v. 14). Moses' bronze
serpent preserved from death those who (through this symbol) trusted in God. In
a similar way, thanks to God’s great gift of “his only Son” (v. 16, “the Son of Man”,
v. 14), whoever believes
in Christ will have “eternal life” (v. 15), participation in
God’s life, life in the age to come. Jesus took on human form to save all who
will listen (however sinful), not to condemn anyone, but those who willfully
refuse to believe are, through the act of rejecting him, condemning themselves
(v. 18). When Christ
came, there are those who preferred “darkness” (v. 19), “evil”: they
avoided the light, the truth, lest their wickedness be exposed. But there are
others who “do what is true” (v. 21): they seek out
truth, i.e. God, and act accordingly as they follow his ways. Others see their
example.
The reading should probably include v. 13.
Verse 13: As the NRSV says in a footnote, many manuscripts append who
is in heaven to this verse. While this chapter begins with Jesus
speaking, it seems to merge into teaching by John. This verse (as does v. 12)
reflects the standpoint of the Church after the Ascension; however it is
possible to understand this verse as a saying of Jesus. The double meaning was
no doubt intended by John. If this verse is a continuation of the conversation
with Nicodemus, it is necessary to assume that a step in the argument has been
omitted. BlkJn suggests
that what Jesus actually said was “No one has ascended into heaven” so there is
no one on earth who can speak from his own experience of heavenly things, “except
the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” This negates the claims of
other visionaries to have knowledge of what is in heaven, e.g. in 1 Enoch 70:2 and 71:1
Enoch ascends into heaven, where he is identified with the Son-of-Man figure in
Daniel 7:13 (NRSV:
“human being”). Note that 1
Enoch is not in the canon.
Is who is in heaven original? It is difficult to
interpret, requiring the assumption that this verse reflects the standpoint of
an age later than that of the ministry of Jesus. BlkJn considers this clause to be
original on the basis that the more difficult reading is more likely to be
correct. It is found in the majority of Greek manuscripts, and early Syriac
versions include variants on it.
Verse 14: This verse at last answers Nicodemus’ question: “How can these
things be?” (v. 9).The
Son of Man is a type of the
bronze serpent in Numbers 21:9-11.
See also Wisdom of Solomon 16:5-7.
There the bronze-serpent event turns Israel towards the Torah and towards God as saviour.
[ NJBC] It may be noted that in
Palestinian Aramaic and in Syriac the verb which is equivalent to “be lifted
up” has the special meaning of be crucified . John intends
this double meaning here and in other passages where the word occurs,
i.e. 8:28; 12:32, 34.
[ BlkJn]
Verses 16-21: John now speaks in his own person, as in 1:1-18.
It is a meditation inspired by the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. [ BlkJn]
Verse 16: Luther called this verse “the Gospel in miniature”. [ NOAB]
Verse 16: “gave his only Son”: i.e. to death (see Romans 8:32 and
Galatians 1:4, 2:20).
There may be typology here
too: Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, a much loved only son. [ NJBC]
Verses 17-20: God’s purpose is to save; individuals judge themselves by hiding
their evil deeds from the light of Christ’s holiness. [ NOAB]
Verse 21: “do what is true”: In the Qumran literature, doing the
truth is an idiom for being righteous. Responsiveness to the truth is
a function of one’s righteousness. In a passage that occurs in the context of a
teaching about purification by the Spirit, we find, “In agreement with man’s
birthright in justice and truth, so he abhors injustice; and according to his
share in the lot of injustice he acts irreverently in it and so abhors the
truth.” (1QS (Rule of the Community) 4:24-25).
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