·        10 Scholastica, sister of Benedict, Abbess of Plombariola, c.543  is a saint of the Roman Catholic Churchand the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Born in Italy, according to a ninth century tradition, she was the twin sister of Benedict of Nursia.

·        14 Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs, 869 and 885

·        14 Valentine, Martyr at Rome, c.269  officially Saint Valentine of Rome,^[3] was a widely recognized 3rd-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and since the High Middle Ages is associated with a tradition of courtly love.

·        15 Sigfrid, Bishop, Apostle of Sweden, 1045

·        15 Thomas Bray, Priest, Founder of the SPCK and the SPG, 1730

·        17 Janani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda, Martyr, 1977

Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13)
6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.

6:2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.

6:3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory."

6:4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

6:5 And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

6:6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.

6:7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out."

6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

6:9 And he said, "Go and say to this people: 'Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.'

6:10 Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed."

6:11 Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is utterly desolate;

6:12 until the LORD sends everyone far away, and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.

6:13 Even if a tenth part remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains standing when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

Psalm 138
138:1 I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;

138:2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.

138:3 On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.

138:4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth.

138:5 They shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.

138:6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he perceives from far away.

138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.

138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.


1 Corinthians 15:1-11
15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,

15:2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain.

15:3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,

15:4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,

15:5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

15:6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

15:7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

15:8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

15:11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Paul has heard that some at Corinth deny the physical resurrection of the body, claiming that only the spirit matters. Now he argues against this view. He says: I draw your attention to the “good news” that I proclaimed to you, which you “received” (v. 1), “in which ... you stand” and “through which ... you are being saved” (v. 2) – assuming that “you” embrace this “message” (and are doing it). I ask you to note the form of the words I used – unless (in not accepting the message fully) “you have come to believe” to no purpose. The most important tenets I handed on to you are: “Christ died for our sins” (v. 3), “he was buried” (v. 4, he really died), “was raised ...” and appeared to various persons and groups. His death, burial and rising again were “in accordance with the scriptures”, part of God’s plan. (Only the appearances to Peter, “Cephas”, v. 5, and to the “twelve” are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.) I, Paul says, was the last to see him: I, a monster (in appearance or as persecutor of the Church), the “least of the apostles” (v. 9). I, through “the grace of God” (v. 10), have achieved more than any other apostle. We all (“I or they”, v. 11) proclaim the same good news; this is how “you have come to believe”.

Comments: Paul has heard ...: Some at Corinth denied the resurrection of the body either on the grounds of Greek ( Platonic) philosophy (that only the immortal soul survives death, that all that matters is the spirit, and that the body hinders the soul’s activity) or that Christians are already raised. See also 4:8 and 2 Timothy 2:17b-18. The basis for our resurrection, Paul says, is Christ’s example: he physically rose from death. [ NOAB] There is no room for speculation, because we have Christ as a concrete example.

Verse 1: “Now I would remind you”: NJBC says that this is not necessarily in response to a question from Corinth. Paul usually begins “Now concerning ...” when he is replying to a question. Paul reminds the Christians at Corinth of something they ought never to have forgotten. [ Blk1Cor]

Verses 3-9: These verses appear to be a very early statement of faith, or creed, to which Paul added v. 6b: “though some have died”. “In accordance with the scriptures” may mean that Paul is saying that Christ fulfills, completes, salvation history, already partially presented in the Old Testament, or he may be thinking of particular passages. Some of these passages are presented below.

Verse 3: “I handed on to you ... what I ... had received”: In 11:23-27, Paul writes: “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread ...” . [ NOAB]

Verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”: This may refer to Isaiah 53:5: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” [ NOAB] The following depend on Isaiah 53: Luke 20:37; Acts 8:32-35; 1 Peter 2:22-25.

Verse 4: “scriptures”: A reference to Hosea 6:2 (“After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him”), and perhaps to Psalm 16:8-11, including “My body rests also secure, for you do not give me up to Sheol”. [ NOAB]

Verse 4: “raised”:. Later Jewish tradition (i.e. after 200 AD) considered the third day to be the day of salvation: see Genesis Rabba 5b on Genesis 22:4-5, in Midrash Rabba. [ NJBC] Acts 2:25-28; 13:34-35 depend on this passage.

Verse 4: “raised”: Resurrection is no longer, as in the Old Testament, just a possible theory regarding survival after death. In Ezekiel 37 (the vision of the dry bones), the prophet expresses his hope that Israel will survive its national extinction in 587 BC. Also, in Isaiah 53:10-12, hope that the Servant of Yahweh will triumph over death seems to be expressed, but note that the unique character and mission of the Servant do not permit extension of this hope (if indeed it is expressed) to anyone apart from the Servant himself. The first clear hope of resurrection occurs in Daniel 12:2, written in the Maccabean period (about 170 BC). Isaiah 26:19, a verse in a relatively late part of the book, may express such a hope, but may be simply an expression of faith in Israel’s survival.

The notion of an eschatological new life in a new world seems to be a distinctively Israelite one, without influence from elsewhere in the Near East. For example, Egyptian thinking includes a return to existence in this world. In Israelite thinking, even the ungodly resist extinction: such is the dignity of the human person.

We do find another form of belief in survival in the book of Wisdom. (Wisdom was probably written in Alexandria, under Hellenic influence, in the first century BC.) The writer may have accepted the Greek idea of the immortality of the soul; however this notion does not take deep root in the thought of Judaism. It is possible that a few passages in the New Testament consider such immortality.

Verses 5-7: Those whom Paul mentions as appearing would be legally acceptable witnesses in a Jewish court; (he does not mention female witnesses). So it may be that those who denied physical resurrection were Jewish; they may have been influenced by Philo.

Verse 5: Luke 24:34 suggests that Jesus appeared to Peter, but does not clearly state it. Jesus appeared to the “twelve” less Judas Iscariot: see Matthew 28:16ff. See also: Mark 16:7 and Luke 24:34. This is the only place where Paul mentions “the twelve”, so he is probably quoting a formula, a body of words, he did not himself compose. [ Blk1Cor]

Verse 6: No appearance to “five hundred” is to be found in canonical or non-canonical writings.

Verse 6: “most of whom are still alive”: So eyewitnesses are available for questioning. [ NJBC]

Verse 7: “James”: An appearance to James, the Lord’s brother, is mentioned in the non-canonical Gospel of the Hebrews. [Blk1Cor] The James to whom Paul refers is probably the Lord’s brother because he visited him on a visit to Jerusalem (see Galatians 1:19). If so, Paul progresses from appearances to the disciples of Jesus, to James (never a disciple of Jesus, but his brother), to himself (who never met Jesus.) For James, see also Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55; Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18.

Verse 7: We do not know who “all the apostles” are. Paul has already mentioned “the twelve”, and he is unlikely to have repeated himself. [ JBC]

Verse 8: “one untimely born”: Two other interpretations are possible: first, the separation in time between his own experience of Christ and that of the other apostles, and second, the Greek word literally means a miscarried fetus, so it had a secondary meaning: an object of horror and disgust. Here it may be a term of contempt used by Paul’s opponents who denied his apostleship: see 1 Corinthians 9:1-18. In 2 Corinthians 10:10, Paul quotes his detractors as saying “‘his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible’”. [ Blk1Cor]

For other mentions of Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ, see 9:1 (“Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”); Galatians 1:15-16(“... when God ... was pleased to reveal his Son to me”) and Acts 9:3-6 (his conversion). [ NOAB] NJBC offers as if to an abortion. This may be a term of abuse used by Paul’s opponents, who mocked his physical appearance (see 2 Corinthians 10:10) and denied his apostleship.

Verses 9-10: The existence of the Corinthian church is proof of Paul’s apostleship. [ NJBC]

Verse 9: “I am the least of the apostles”: See also Ephesians 3:8 (“Although I am the very least of all the saints ...”) and 1 Timothy 1:15 (“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost”). [ Blk1Cor]

Luke 5:1-11
5:1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,

5:2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

5:3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

5:5 Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets."

5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.

5:7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

5:9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken;

5:10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who are partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."

5:11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

This is a story of commitment to Jesus – to his message and his destiny. Luke first mentions Simon (Peter) in 4:38; now Jesus calls him to be a disciple. In the preceding chapter, we read of hostility to Jesus; we also learn what preaching the good news of the kingdom of God involves. We can see the similarity of this passage to stories in Mark and John:

  vv. 1-3 are like Mark 4:1-2;

  vv. 4-9 are like the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus in John 21:1-11;

  vv. 10-11 are like Mark 1:18-20.

Perhaps Luke has taken parts of two sources used by Mark and John and merged them into one story, but perhaps he is using a story not found in other gospels.

The “lake of Gennesaret” (v. 1) is the Sea of Galilee. Gennesaret is the plain on its southwestern shore. The “word of God” in Luke and Acts is the Christian message. Are Peter and Jesus in one boat and “James and John” (v. 10) in the other, or they are all in the same boat? The question probably arises because Luke has merged two stories. Reading on through the gospel, we come to realize that Luke has a great respect and appreciation for Peter – called “Peter” for the first time in v. 8, but not again until 6:14, when Jesus chooses twelve of his disciples. In v. 8, Peter responds to Jesus’ action with personal self-judgement – because he recognizes in Jesus more-than-human power. In v. 5, in calling him “Master” (equivalent to teacher), Peter is willing to obey Jesus’ command out of duty; then in v. 8 he calls him “Lord”, showing his belief. V. 10 is a milestone (“from now on”). The Greek verb zogron (“catching”) was commonly used of teachers: they caught their students and thereby brought them new life. Peter, James and John make a total commitment (“left everything”, v. 11).

© 1996-2019 Chris Haslam

Luke 5:1-11

For possible parallels, see Comments. Matthew 4:18-22 is also a possible partial parallel. [ CAB]

Verse 1: “word of God”: This phrase occurs 14 times in Acts (e.g. 4:31; 16:32). There it generally means the Christian message. [ NJBC]

Verse 4: “Put out ... catch”: The verbs are all in the plural, as they are in vv. 5-9. [ NJBC]

Verse 8: “Peter”: Luke has a great respect for him. Of the synoptic gospels, only Luke has Jesus’ prayer for Peter (see 22:31-32) and Jesus’ appearance to Peter alone (see 24:34). Luke has not recorded the negative remarks about Peter found in Mark8:32-33 (“Peter took him [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke him ... he rebuked Peter”) and Mark 14:37. Luke describes Peter’s role in founding the church in Acts.

Verse 10: “catching people”: God’s word is the bait.

Verse 11: For totality in Luke, see also 5:28 (“left everything”); 12:33 (“Sell your possessions”); 14:33; 18:18-23. [ NJBC]

It is noteworthy that Luke has already told us of “Simon” in 4:38, clearly following Mark. According to Mark, he was already a disciple. But v. 10 seems to be Peter’s calling. Further, he is called “Simon Peter” in v. 8, but elsewhere in this gospel the name Peter is not used until it is bestowed by Jesus (in 6:14). Also (as noted in Comments), Luke seems to have mingled two traditions: Galilean (Mark 1:16-20) and Jerusalem (John 21:1-14). A further suggestion of this is that, first, early in the passage, as far as “Put out into the deep water”, the impression is that Jesus and Simon are the only two in the boat, and that there are no nets in it (see v. 2), but second, from this point on, plural verbs are used of other people than, and excluding, Jesus in the boat. and the nets are let down (although the plural is not used consistently).

Again, the last words of v. 10 and the first of v. 11 suggest that one tradition related an individual call to Simon, while the other was of the call to the first four disciples together. [ BlkLk]

© 1996-2019 Chris Haslam