·        3 The Martyrs of Uganda, 1885–7 and 1977

4 Petroc, Abbot of Padstow, 6th century was a British prince and Christian saint.

Probably born in South Wales, he primarily ministered to the Britons of Devon(Dewnans) and Cornwall (Kernow), where he is associated with a monastery at Padstow, which is named after him 

·         

·        5 Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Bishop, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754  was a leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He organized Christianity in many parts of Germania and was made archbishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III

·        6 Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945

·        8 Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Nonjuror, Hymn Writer, 1711

·        9 Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, 597  was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries.

OLD TESTAMENT: 1 Samuel 3:1 - 10 (11 - 20)

3:1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ 5and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. 6The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ 7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ 11Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.’

15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ 17Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ 18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’

19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 5:12 - 15     (Roman Catholic, alt. for RCL)

12 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13For six days you shall labour and do all your work. 14But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. 15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.

Note: If the alternate RCL OT reading is used, then it should be accompanied by Psalm 81 below.

PSALM 139: 1 - 6,    (RCL)

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

   you discern my thoughts from far away.

3 You search out my path and my lying down,

   and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue,

   O Lord, you know it completely.

5 You hem me in, behind and before,

   and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

   it is so high that I cannot attain it.

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;

   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

   Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.

15   My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

   intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written

   all the days that were formed for me,

   when none of them as yet existed.

17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

   How vast is the sum of them!

18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;

   I come to the end—I am still with you.

139 Domine, probasti     (ECUSA BCP)

1 Lord, you have searched me out and known me; *

you know my sitting down and my rising up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places *

and are acquainted with all my ways.

3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *

but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

4 You press upon me behind and before *

and lay your hand upon me.

5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *

it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

12 For you yourself created my inmost parts; *

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

13 I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *

your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

14 My body was not hidden from you, *

while I was being made in secret

and woven in the depths of the earth.

15 Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;

all of them were written in your book; *

they were fashioned day by day,

when as yet there was none of them.

16 How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *

how great is the sum of them!

17 If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand; *

to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

Psalm 81:1 - 10     (alt. for RCL)

Psalm 81:2 - 7, 9, 10     (Roman Catholic)

1 Sing aloud to God our strength;

   shout for joy to the God of Jacob.

2 Raise a song, sound the tambourine,

   the sweet lyre with the harp.

3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,

   at the full moon, on our festal day.

4 For it is a statute for Israel,

   an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

5 He made it a decree in Joseph,

   when he went out over the land of Egypt.

I hear a voice I had not known:

6 ‘I relieved your shoulder of the burden;

   your hands were freed from the basket.

7 In distress you called, and I rescued you;

   I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

   I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

          Selah

8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;

   O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9 There shall be no strange god among you;

   you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

10 I am the Lord your God,

   who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

   Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

81 Exultate Deo      (ECUSA BCP)

1 Sing with joy to God our strength *

and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.

2 Raise a song and sound the timbrel, *

the merry harp, and the lyre.

3 Blow the ram's-horn at the new moon, *

and at the full moon, the day of our feast.

4 For this is a statute for Israel, *

a law of the God of Jacob.

5 He laid it as a solemn charge upon Joseph, *

when he came out of the land of Egypt.

6 I heard an unfamiliar voice saying, *

"I eased his shoulder from the burden;

his hands were set free from bearing the load."

7 You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; *

I answered you from the secret place of thunder

and tested you at the waters of Meribah.

8 Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: *

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9 There shall be no strange god among you; *

you shall not worship a foreign god.

10 I am the Lord your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *

"Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."

NEW TESTAMENT:  2 Corinthians 4: 5 - 12   (RCL)

                                     2 Corinthians 4: 6 - 11   (Roman Catholic)

5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12So death is at work in us, but life in you.

h/t montreal Anglican

It seems that there were people at Corinth who saw the reverses Paul suffered as evidence that he was not an authentic apostle, a true spokesman for Christ. Surely, they claimed, an apostle who displayed such weakness could not be a prime agent in spreading the good news.

But Paul (“we”) proclaims Christ rather than himself. He is their slave, one totally committed to God. God is the one who gives “light” (v. 6), understanding. (The quotation is from Genesis 1:3). The “light” shone in Paul’s life in his conversion experience. But while we have access to this understanding, we are fragile and weak like “clay pots” (v. 7) – so this amazing power must be from God.

But Paul still keeps going, despite setbacks (vv. 8-9). He realizes in his weakness (“carrying ...”, v. 10) that he needs the salvation made available through Jesus’ death, so that he may be alive in Christ, but he is always prone to failure. God intends that Paul suffer duress (“death”, v. 12), so that the good news may be known

Paul’s sufferings bring him closer to Christ, and enable him in demonstrating the authentic humanity that Christ embodied during his time on earth.

Verses 1-2: Paul develops the point he introduced in 3:12: “Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness”. [NJBC]

Verse 1: “by God’s mercy”: Before his conversion (see 3:5-6), Paul had persecuted Christians: see 1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13, 23. [ NJBC]

Verse 1: “we do not lose heart”: NJBC offers we are not fainthearted. Paul’s opponents “say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.’” ( 10:10). [ NJBC]

Verse 2: Probably an oblique reference to the methods of the “false apostles” of 11:4, 13. Paul has called them “peddlers of God’s word” in 2:17. [ NOAB] He has renounced practising cunning and falsifying the good news, while the “false apostles” continue these “shameful things”. To NJBC, “shameful hidden things” are things one hopes will never be brought to light.

Verse 2: “practice cunning”: NJBC offers operating without scruple. By writing 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul has laid himself open to the charge of unscrupulous readiness to adopt any means to achieve his end.

Verse 2: “falsify God’s word”: NJBC offers adulterating the word of God.

Verse 3: See also 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Verse 3: “veiled”: See also 3:15, 18; 2:15. [ NOAB] A concession that his preaching has been partly ineffective implies an accusation, possibly that he failed to make many Jewish converts: see 3:14-15. [ NJBC]

Verse 4: “the god of this world”: Satan or Beliar: see 6:15. (Beliar was an evil spirit in the intertestamental literature; he was under, or identified with, Satan.) [ NOAB] See also 1 Corinthians 1:20; 2:6, 8; 3:18; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 2:2; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11. [ CAB] NJBC thinks it likely that the genitive here is one of content, so the god who in this world is a good translation. See also Philippians 3:19. Sin plays the same role in Romans 3:9; 6:6-23.

Verse 5: “Jesus Christ as Lord”: Paul appropriates a confessional formula: see also 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:10-11; Romans 10:9. [ NJBC]

Verse 5: “your slaves”: Elsewhere, Paul calls himself a “servant of Jesus Christ”: see Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 3:5; 4:1; 2 Corinthians 6:4; Galatians 1:10; Philippians 1:1. See also Titus 1:1. [ CAB]

Verse 6: “‘Let light shine out of darkness’”: Paul may also be thinking of Isaiah 9:2; 42:6-7; 49:6 and 60:1-2, a passage which tells of the light going forth to the Gentile nations. [ CAB] See also John 1:4-5.

Verse 6: “who shone in our hearts”: Recalls Paul’s own conversion experience on the road to Damascus: see Acts 9. [ CAB]

Verse 7: “clay jars”: A reference to the weakness of the body, and indeed to all human limitations. Recall Genesis 2:7: “the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being”. [ NOAB]

Verses 10-11: In his sufferings and perils, Paul shares in Jesus’ death; but it is given to him also to share in the life of the risen, victorious Christ. [ NOAB]

Verse 10: “visible in our bodies”: This includes everything others see in us: our comportment, our attitude, our joy in the certain hope we have, our attempts to live a moral life free from materialistic influences.

Verse 12: Paul dies, i.e. suffers, that the Corinthians and others may know the life in Christ. [ NOAB]

Verse 13: Paul quotes Psalm 116:10. The psalmist has faith in the midst of troubles. Our faith leads to confession of it. [NOAB]

Verse 15: As the gospel of God’s grace (see 6:1) advances, “more and more people” respond in faith with thankfulness. [NOAB]

GOSPEL: Mark 2:23 - 3:6    (RCL)

                   Mark 2:23 - 28 (3:1 - 6)     (Roman Catholic)

23 One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ 25And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ 27Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’

3:1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ 4Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. 5He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

2:1-3:6 present stories about the growth of opposition to Jesus. When Jesus has dined with people whose trades made them ritually unclean, scribes have questioned why he associates with such outcasts. He has told them that he comes to those in need of purification and not to those who think themselves godly. When others have questioned why his disciples do not fast, he has told them that while he is on earth is a time for joy and not for mourning.

Now he challenges the law stipulating what may be done on the sabbath. Pharisees attack Jesus through his disciples for both exceeding the distance a Jew might walk on the sabbath, and for doing work on this day. Per Exodus 34:21, harvesting was not permitted on the sabbath; they construe “plucking heads of grain” as work prohibited on that day.

In v. 25, Jesus answers a question with a question: surely you recall that David broke the Law by eating bread from the altar, and by permitting his “companions: to do likewise? (v. 25-26). Then v. 27: human needs are more important than observing the sabbath, so “the Son of Man” (v. 28, in Mark: Jesus) has sovereign power (“lord”) even over the sabbath law, a basic Jewish principle.

3:1-6 show that Jesus is powerful in deed and word. The man’s illness is not life-threatening, so healing him on the sabbath would contravene Jewish practice. Jesus’ question (v. 4) is about a universal principle. “They” (v. 2) would agree that on this day an action in accord with the Law is good, but for them, this is not the question. To Jesus, healing is saving lives, part of God’s intervention in the world; to miss an opportunity to restore health is akin to killing. So “they” are faced with a dilemma: “they were silent” (v. 4).

Jesus is angry (the only time in the gospels) because they, seeking to get him, are fixed in their thinking. In v. 6, the Pharisees conspire with the “Herodians”, a secular group, to “destroy him”: a strange partnership with only one aim in common.

The parallels are Matthew 12:1-14 and Luke 6:1-11. [ NOAB]

2:23: “pluck heads of grain”: This was permitted: Deuteronomy 23:25 says “If you go into your neighbour's standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbour's standing grain.” So what the disciples do is permitted except on the sabbath. [ NJBC]

2:24: One may wonder what pious Pharisees were doing shadowing Jesus and his disciples on the sabbath! But to emphasize this is to miss the point of this section. [ NJBC]

2:25: Jesus’ Old Testament analogy does not deal with the chief point at issue: the breaking of the sabbath. [ NJBC]

2:26: “Abiathar” is mentioned in 2 Samuel 15:35. Actually, at the time of this event, his father Ahimelech was high priest. Abiathar was high priest during David’s monarchy. See also 1 Samuel 22:2-33 and 1 Kings 2:26-27. Abiathar is not mentioned in the parallel accounts.

2:26: “bread of the Presence”: Leviticus 24:5-9 states that twelve cakes were to be set out in two rows before God in the tent and later consumed by the priests. In 1 Samuel 21:1-6, the priest gave the sacred bread to David because there was no other bread there. David did not take it by force or even on his own initiative. [ NJBC]

2:27: See Exodus 23:12 and Deuteronomy 5:14 for the commandment to refrain from work on the sabbath. By Jesus’ time, the religious authorities had defined “work”. This verse is not in the parallel accounts. Here, Jesus’ words are inconsistent with Jewish practice, so it is possible that Mark interpreted his source to meet the needs of an early (non-Jewish) church. [NJBC]

3:1: “Again” indicates that the “synagogue” is the one at Capernaum mentioned in 1:21-28. [ NJBC]

3:4: In Matthew 12:11, the question is more limited; there it is confined to Jewish practice.

3:5: “with anger”: For other references in Mark to Jesus’ emotions, see 1:41 (pity), 1:43 (stern warning); 7:34 (sighing); 8:12(sighing); 10:14 (indignant),10:21 (love). [ NJBC]

3:5: “hardness of heart”: See also 6:52 and 8:17

3:3-4: Jesus applies the principle he has enunciated in 2:27: he equates acts to meet human needs with acts “lawful on the sabbath”. [ NOAB]

3:6: The Pharisees and the Herodians are indeed strange bedfellows. The Pharisees stressed personal purity and separation from the surrounding (corrupt) culture; the Herodians appear to have been supporters of the puppet state created by the Roman authorities. [ CAB] 12:13 also associates the Herodians with the Pharisees in plotting against Jesus. [ NOAB] The Herodians were friends and supporters of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee; they did not constitute a sect or party like the Pharisees, Sadducees or John the Baptist’s disciples. [ NJBC] This verse concludes the first section of Mark, the revelation of Jesus’ authority in Galilee.

3:6: “conspired”: From 2:12 to 3:16, the feelings about Jesus move from the amazement of the crowd to overt hostility against Jesus. [ NJBC]