·
9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran Pastor, Martyr, 1945
·
10 William Law, Priest, Spiritual Writer, 1761 was a Church of England priest who
lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the
required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch,
·
10 William of Ockham, Friar, Philosopher, Teacher of the Faith, 1347 was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher and
theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey.
·
11 George
Selwyn, first Bishop of New
Zealand, 1878
·
16 Isabella Gilmore, Deaconess, 1923
FIRST READING: Acts 4: 32 - 35 (RCL, Roman Catholic)
Acts 4:32 (NRSV)
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no
one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was
held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was
not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them
and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles'
feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Exodus 14: 10 - 30, 15:
20 - 21 (alt. for C of E)
Exod 14:10 (NRSV)
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians
advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the LORD. 11 They
said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have
taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us
out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, "Let us
alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to
serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." 13 But Moses said to
the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that
the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today
you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to
keep still."
15 Then the LORD
said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go
forward. 16 But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea
and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17 Then I
will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and
so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots,
and his chariot drivers. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,
when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot
drivers."
19 The angel of
God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the
pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20
It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was
there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the
other all night.
21 Then Moses
stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong
east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were
divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming
a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and
went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot
drivers. 24 At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud
looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25
He clogged {Sam Gk Syr: MT [removed] } their chariot wheels so that they turned
with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for
the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 {The Pursuers
Drowned} Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,
so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and
chariot drivers." 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at
dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the
LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the
chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed
them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on
dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right
and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD
saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on
the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the
Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his
servant Moses.
15:20 Then the
prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the
women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21 And Miriam sang
to them:
""Sing
to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he
has thrown into the sea."
PSALM 133 (RCL)
Psal 133:1 (NRSV)
How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live
together in unity!
2 It is like the
precious oil on the head,
running down upon
the beard,
on the beard of
Aaron,
running down over
the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the
dew of Hermon,
which falls on the
mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD
ordained his blessing,
life forevermore.
133 Ecce, quam bonum! (ECUSA
BCP)
1 Oh,
how good and pleasant it is, *
when
brethren live together in unity!
2 It
is like fine oil upon the head *
that
runs down upon the beard,
3 Upon
the beard of Aaron, *
and
runs down upon the collar of his robe.
4 It
is like the dew of Hermon *
that
falls upon the hills of Zion.
5 For
there the Lord has ordained the
blessing: *
life
for evermore.
Psalm 118: 2 - 4, 13 -
15, 22 - 24 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 118:2 (NRSV)
Let Israel say,
""His
steadfast love endures forever."
3 Let the house of
Aaron say,
""His
steadfast love endures forever."
4 Let those who
fear the LORD say,
""His
steadfast love endures forever."
13 I was pushed
hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD
helped me.
14 The LORD is my
strength and my might;
he has become my
salvation.
15 There are glad
songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
""The
right hand of the LORD does valiantly;
22 The stone that
the builders rejected
has become the
chief cornerstone.
23 This is the
LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in
our eyes.
24 This is the day
that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and
be glad in it.
SECOND READING: 1 John 1: 1 - 2: 2 (RCL)
1Joh 1:1 (NRSV) We
declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have
seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life-- 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and
testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and
was revealed to us-- 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that
you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the
Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our
joy may be complete.
5 This is the
message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in
him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him
while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if
we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we
confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we
make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 2:1 My little children, I am
writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of
the whole world.
h/t Montreal
Anglican
1:6, 8 and
10 begin with dissenting views, heresies (“If ...”). Claiming that one is in
unison with Christ while living evilly, unethically, is to live a lie ( 1:6);
but if we live ethically, in a godly way (as Christ does), we are in community
and Jesus’ sacrifice removes sin from us ( 1:7).
Claiming that one is perfect (“have no sin”, 1:8)
is to deceive oneself and deviate from God’s ways; but God will forgive us when
we admit our deviations, and eradicate our ungodliness. Claiming that one has
never deviated from God’s ways is to assert that God is wrong in saying that we
are subject to sin, to “make him a liar” (1:10):
one is not Christ-like. The author writes so that we may not deviate from
godliness, (which is the ultimate goal of Christian living) ( 2:1),
but should we sin, Jesus will intercede on our behalf with the Father, as our
“advocate”. Jesus, through the cross, brings us into unison with God – as he
does for all who will believe ( 2:2).
1 John is an exhortation rather than a letter. Scholars debate whether 1 John was written before or after the gospel according to John. 1 John rejects any gnostic interpretation of John.
1:1-2:2:
“We”: The author uses “we” when associating himself with the guardians of the
tradition (including eyewitnesses of Jesus) and handing on the tradition to
others or when identifying himself with his readers in terms of their basic
Christian experience. He often uses "I" in direct address or
exhortation. [ NJBC]
To NJBC, the
original setting seems to have been for initiation into the community. Although
the New Testament does not contain a description of such a ceremony, he
suggests a parallel with the initiation into the Qumran community described in 1QS
(Rule of the Community) 1:18-3:22.
1:1:
“ what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our
hands”: As in the Gospel, testimony interrupts what “was from the beginning”. 1
John stresses the physical character of the revelation received by the
community. [ NJBC]
1:1:
“word of life”: The Greek translated “word” is logos, as in
John 1:1.
For Christ as the word and source of life, see John 1:14; 11:25; 14:6.
[ NOAB] Note 1 John 5:13:
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that
you may know that you have eternal life”. [ NJBC]
1:3:
The “fellowship” is reciprocal as with each other.
1:4:
“our joy may be complete”: An echo of (or is echoed in) John 15:11 and 16:24,
where Jesus' discourses are to complete the joy of the disciples. John 17:13 makes
this joy that of Jesus. [ NJBC]
1:5-7:
“light ... darkness”: Those who live in the “light” are those who live
according to God's commandments; those who live in “darkness” do not. The
ethical distinction between “light” and “darkness” is often found in the Qumran literature: see, for
example, 1QS (Rule of the Community) 3:13-4:26. [ NJBC]
1:5:
“message”: The Greek word, angelia, occurs here and in 3:11.
The verb form of the word is used for Mary's announcement of “I have seen the
Lord” in John 20:18.
It refers to the gospel preached by the Johannine teachers and
reminds the readers of what they have heard when they became Christians. [ NJBC]
1:6:
“walking in darkness” means habitual and intentional misconduct.
John 3:19 says
that before Christ came “... people loved darkness rather than light because
their deeds were evil” and 1 John 2:11 “whoever
hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not
know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness”. [ NOAB]
1:10:
“we make him a liar”: The secessionists are liars, as 2:22 suggests
in a rhetorical question: “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is
the Christ?”. See also 2:4; 4:20;
Psalms 14:1-2; 53:1-3.
[ NOAB]
2:1:
On not sinning as the ultimate goal of Christian living, Paul writes in
Romans 6:11:
“... you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ
Jesus”. [ NOAB]
2:1:
“advocate”: John 14:16-27 begins:
“... I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you
forever.” [ NOAB] This verse
represents a more primitive stage of the tradition: that Jesus is the advocate.
[ NJBC]
2:2:
“atoning sacrifice”: Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, as 4:10 also
states: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent
his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins”. [ NOAB]
2:3-5:
Obedience to God’s commandments tests whether we know God, and measures the
perfection/completeness of our love of God. In John 14:15,
Jesus says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. See also 14:21, 23; 15:10.
[NOAB]
2:6:
Jesus is the model for our obedience. [ NOAB]
GOSPEL: John 20: 19 - 31 (all)
John 20:19 (NRSV)
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of
the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus
came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20 After he
said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced
when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he
breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you
forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any,
they are retained."
24 But Thomas (who
was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25
So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said
to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my
finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not
believe."
26 A week later
his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the
doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with
you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my
hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but
believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus
said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
30 Now Jesus did
many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in
this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus
is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in
his name.
Later the same day, Jesus joins the disciples, gathered behind
locked doors. He shows them that he is the one who was crucified (v. 20).
Jesus confers on “the disciples” (not including Thomas, but perhaps a group larger
than the ten) “peace” (vv. 19, 21)
and “the Holy Spirit” (v. 22).
As God “breathed” life into Adam, the proto-human, so Jesus now
breathes the new, spiritual, life of recreated humanity into his followers.
Aided by the Spirit, they continue Jesus’ judicial role in the world, forgiving
the sins of the faithful and holding others blameworthy (“retain”, v. 23)
for their actions. Thomas is expected to believe without having seen, but he
demands: show me the evidence! (v. 25)
The next Sunday, the community gathers again (v. 26).
Upon seeing, Thomas makes the most complete affirmation of faith of anyone in
the gospel (v. 29).
Henceforth the faith of all Christians in all ages will rest on the testimony
of the first believers. Vv. 30-31 tell
us John’s purpose in writing the book. His eyewitness account is intended to
help us, who were not witnesses of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and
ascension to “come to believe” and thus “have life in his name”, eternal life.
Verses 19-23: Apart from in the longer ending of
Mark (Mark 16:14-18),
which a number of important manuscripts lack, and the mention of an appearance
“to the twelve” (see1 Corinthians 15:5),
the only parallel to this story is Luke 24:36-51,
where Jesus shows himself to “the eleven and their companions”. The following
contacts with the Lucan story are noted:
|
John
|
Luke
|
||
|
v. 19
|
“stood among them”
|
“stood among them”
|
|
|
v. 20
|
“then the disciples rejoiced”
|
“while in their joy they were
disbelieving”
|
|
|
v. 20
|
“he showed them his hands and his
side”
|
“Look at my hands and my feet” [BlkJn]
|
Verse 19: “evening”: In John’s time, Sunday was a normal
day of work, so the community would meet for Eucharist during the evening. So
this passage would have a special resonance for the worshipping community, as
they met for their weekly commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection. When Paul
visited Greece, Christians celebrated the Eucharist in the evening: see
Acts 20:7-11.
[ BlkJn]
Verse 19: The “disciples” may have been a larger group
than the remaining eleven (less Thomas). [ JBC]
Verse 19: “the doors ... were locked”: For “fear of the
Jews”; this fear is also mentioned in 7:13 and 19:38.
It is not clear why at this time Jesus’ followers should fear them.
Verse 19: “Jesus came and stood among them”: For the
spiritual qualities of Jesus’ resurrected body, see 1 Corinthians 15:35-56.
Verse 19: “Peace be with you”: Exchanging the peace was
a usual Jewish greeting (see Judges 6:23; 19:20;
Tobit 12:17)
but the repetition of the words in vv. 21 and 26 suggests
a reference back to 14:27 (“
... my peace I give to you”) and 16:33 (“...
in me you may have peace”). [ BlkJn]
Verse 20: “rejoiced”: This fulfils the promises of
renewed joy: see 14:19 and 16:16-24.
[ NJBC] This contrasts with
Luke 24:37:
there the stress is on terror and amazement. [ JBC]
Verse 21: “Peace”: Also a promised gift, as Jesus says
in 14:27:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the
world gives ...”. [ NJBC]
Verse 21: “‘so I send you’”: In 13:20,
Jesus says: ‘Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives
me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me’”. See also 5:23 and 17:18.
[ NJBC]
Verse 22: The commissioning of the disciples also
appears in other post-resurrection appearances: see Luke 24:47-48;
Matthew 28:19-20a.
Jesus confers on the disciples the mission of which he has spoken: in 17:18,
as he prays to the Father, Jesus says “As you have sent me into the world, so I
have sent them into the world”. See also 4:38 and 13:16.
[ NJBC]
According to BlkJn, 7:39 says
that the Holy Spirit would be received after Jesus’ glorification; 15:26 and 16:7 say
that the Holy Spirit would be received after Jesus returned to the Father. The
ascension has now happened.
Verse 22: “he breathed on them”: The same image is used
to describe the communication of natural life in Genesis 2:7 (the
second creation story). Here it is used to express the communication of the
new, spiritual, life of re-created humanity. [NOAB] In Greek, pneuma means
both breath and spirit. In Genesis 2:7,
God breathes into the nostrils of Adam, giving him earthly life; [ JBC] the Septuagint translation
uses pneuma here. See also Ezekiel 37:9 (the
valley of dry bones) and Wisdom of Solomon 15:11.
Verse 22: “‘Receive the Holy Spirit’”: In 15:26 and 16:7,
Jesus says that when he has returned to the Father, he will send the Holy
Spirit. In v. 17 he
has told Mary Magdalene that he has not yet ascended, so in that he now gives
the disciples the Holy Spirit, the ascension has now happened. So in John,
Jesus’ resurrection, his ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit all
happen in the same day. But to John (and other New Testament authors)
chronology is of secondary importance. In common with the authors of the
synoptic gospels, John insists on the connection between the resurrection and
the animation of the Church by the Holy Spirit. [ JBC] Note the connection between the
granting of authority and receipt of the Holy Spirit. See 16:7 for
the continuation of Jesus’ ministry by the Holy Spirit.
In 7:39 Jesus
says that the Holy Spirit will only be given after Jesus’ glorification and
in 16:7 he
says that he will send the Holy Spirit after he has returned to the Father;
however here Jesus appears to grant the Holy Spirit before he has been exalted.
Scholars have puzzled over this for centuries. The most likely explanation is
that early Christians were less concerned with chronological sequence than we
are – they saw Jesus’ resurrection, he appearances, his exaltation, and the
gift of the Holy Spirit as one event. Only later did they begin to be described
as separate events. As support for this apparent lack of chronological sense,
note that while Luke describes the Ascension as occurring at Pentecost in
Acts 1:3-10,
he describes Jesus’ decisive parting from the world on Easter Day in Luke 24:51.
Verse 23: Through the Holy Spirit, the Church continues
the judicial role of Christ (see 3:19; 5:27; 9:39)
in the matter of sin (see Matthew 16:19; 18:18;
Luke 24:47).
(In Matthew 16:19,
“bind” and “loose” are technical rabbinic terms: “bind” means forbid;
“loose” means permit.) [ JBC]
Verse 23: “forgive ... retain”: BlkJn notes that these
expressions are not used elsewhere in John and not at all in the Matthean
parallels (Matthew 18:18; 16:19).
He notes that Matthew 16:19 (“whatever
you bind on earth will be bound in heaven ...”) recalls Isaiah 22:22,
so he suggests that both this verse in John and the parallels in Matthew may be
variants of a common original. This original, which might well have been in
Aramaic, may have followed Isaiah in speaking of the conferral of authority
as opening and shutting. In this case, John and
Matthew provide different interpretations of what Jesus said, with John’s
version arising out of the ambiguity in the Aramaic words, for there the
word to shut also means to seize or to
hold. Given hold for shut, loose ( release, set
free) for open follows naturally. In support of this hypothesis, BlkJn notes that the Greek verb
translated retain is not used here in any of its normal
senses, so it may be a Semitism.
Verse 25: This verse reminds us of 4:48:
“Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
Verse 25: “nails”: Criminals were usually tied to the
cross, rather than being nailed through the palms of the hands.
Verse 25: “nails”: The usual custom was to tie the
criminal to the cross, but Jesus was nailed to it.
Verse 27: Jesus’ invitation to Thomas contrasts with his
prohibition to Mary Magdalene in v. 17.
[ JBC]
Verse 28: We are not told whether Thomas actually
touched Jesus. Before Jesus’ ascension, he forbade Mary Magdalen to touch him.
[ JBC]
Verse 28: Thomas’ words became a common confession of
faith in the early Church. [ JBC]
Verse 28: “Lord and ... God”: In the Septuagint translation, theos
kyrios translates the name of the God of Israel (Hebrew: Yahweh
Elohim). theos kyrios was also a name used as a
designation of a god in the Hellenic world. It became a common Christian
confession of faith. [ JBC]
Verse 29: 1 Peter 1:8-9 tells
readers: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do
not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and
glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of
your souls”. [ CAB]
Verse 30: “signs”: John tells us of six signs in
chapters 2-12.
The seventh is Jesus’ resurrection. [ NJBC]
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