·
22 Eric Liddell, Missionary to China, 1945
·
23 Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr of Smyrna, 156 was a 2nd-century Christian bishop of Smyrna.[1] According to
the Martyrdom of Polycarp he died a martyr, bound and burned
at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him.[2] Polycarp is
regarded as a saint and Church Father in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. His
name 'Polycarp' means 'much fruit' in Greek
·
25 John Roberts,
Priest, 1949
·
26 Emily Malbone Morgan,
Prophetic Witness, 1937
·
27 George Herbert, priest, 1633 was a Welsh-born poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is
associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devotional lyricists."[2] He was born
into an artistic and wealthy family and largely raised in England. He received
a good education that led to his admission to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1609. He went there with the intention of becoming a
priest, but he became the University's Public Orator and attracted the
attention of King James I. He served in the Parliament of England in 1624 and briefly in 1625.[3]
·
28 Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, 1964, and Elizabeth Evelyn
Wright, 1904, Educators
OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis
45: 3 - 11, 15 (RCL)
Gene 45:3 (NRSV)
Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?"
But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said
to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said,
"I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be
distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me
before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two
years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor
harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and
to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but
God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler
over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him,
"Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down
to me, do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Go'shen, and you shall
be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your
flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you
there--since there are five more years of famine to come--so that you and your
household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.
15 And he kissed
all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with
him.
21 The sons of
Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons according to the instruction of Pharaoh,
and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each one of them he gave a
set of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and
five sets of garments. 23 To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys
loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain,
bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his
brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Do not
quarrel along the way."
25 So they went up
out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 And they
told him, "Joseph is still alive! He is even ruler over all the land of
Egypt." He was stunned; he could not believe them. 27 But when they told
him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them, and when he saw the
wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob
revived. 28 Israel said, "Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I must go
and see him before I die."
1 Samuel 26: 2, 7 - 9,
12 - 13, 22 - 23 (Roman Catholic)
1Sam 26:2 (NRSV)
So Saul rose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, with three thousand
chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph.
7 So David and
Abi'shai went to the army by night; there Saul lay sleeping within the
encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the
army lay around him. 8 Abi'shai said to David, "God has given your enemy
into your hand today; now therefore let me pin him to the ground with one
stroke of the spear; I will not strike him twice." 9 But David said to
Abi'shai, "Do not destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the
LORD's anointed, and be guiltless
12 So David took
the spear that was at Saul's head and the water jar, and they went away. No one
saw it, or knew it, nor did anyone awake; for they were all asleep, because a
deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them.
13 Then David went
over to the other side, and stood on top of a hill far away, with a great
distance between them.
22 David replied,
"Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and get it.
23 The LORD rewards everyone for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for
the LORD gave you into my hand today, but I would not raise my hand against the
LORD's anointed.
Genesis 2: 4b - 9, 15 -
25 (C of E)
Gene 2:4 (NRSV) In
the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of
the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for
the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to
till the ground; 6 but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole
face of the ground- 7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground,
{Or [formed a man] (Heb [adam] ) [of dust from the ground] (Heb [adamah] )} and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living
being. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he
put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow
every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life
also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
15 The LORD God
took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And
the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the
garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
18 Then the LORD
God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a
helper as his partner." 19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every
animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to
see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature,
that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the
air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man {Or [for Adam] } there
was not found a helper as his partner. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep
to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up
its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man
he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
""This
at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my
flesh;
this one shall be
called Woman, {Heb [ishshah] }
for out of Man
{Heb [ish] } this one was taken." 24 Therefore a man leaves his father and
his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 And the man
and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.
PSALM 37: 1 - 11, 39 -
40 (RCL)
Psal 37:1 (NRSV)
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious
of wrongdoers,
2 for they will
soon fade like the grass,
and wither like
the green herb.
3 Trust in the
LORD, and do good;
so you will live
in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight in
the LORD,
and he will give
you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way
to the LORD;
trust in him, and
he will act.
6 He will make
your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of
your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before
the LORD, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over
those who prosper in their way,
over those who
carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from
anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret--it
leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked
shall be cut off,
but those who wait
for the LORD shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little
while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look
diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11 But the meek
shall inherit the land,
and delight
themselves in abundant prosperity.
39 The salvation
of the righteous is from the LORD;
he is their refuge
in the time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps
them and rescues them;
he rescues them
from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take
refuge in him.
Note: Verse numbering
in your Psalter may differ from the above.
Can. BAS omits vs.
39-40.
37 (ECUSA BCP)
Part I Noli aemulari
1 Do
not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 For
they shall soon wither like the grass, *
and like the green grass fade away.
3 Put
your trust in the Lord and do
good; *
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
4 Take
delight in the Lord, *
and he shall give you your heart’s desire.
5 Commit
your way to the Lord and put your
trust in him, *
and he will bring it to pass.
6 He
will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
and your just dealing as the noonday.
7 Be
still before the Lord *
and wait patiently for him.
8 Do
not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
9 Refrain
from anger, leave rage alone; *
do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.
10 For evildoers shall be cut off, *
but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land.
11 In a little while the wicked shall be no
more; *
you shall search out their place, but they
will not be there.
12 But the lowly shall possess the land; *
they will delight in abundance of peace.
41 But the deliverance of the righteous comes
from the Lord; *
he is
their stronghold in time of trouble.
42 The Lord will help them and rescue them; *
he
will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them,
because
they seek refuge in him.
Psalm 103: 1 - 4, 8,
10, 12 - 13 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 103:1 (NRSV)
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is
within me,
bless his holy
name.
2 Bless the LORD,
O my soul,
and do not forget
all his benefits--
3 who forgives all
your iniquity,
who heals all your
diseases,
4 who redeems your
life from the Pit,
who crowns you
with steadfast love and mercy,
8 The LORD is
merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and
abounding in steadfast love.
10 He does not
deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us
according to our iniquities.
12 as far as the
east is from the west,
so far he removes
our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has
compassion for his children,
so the LORD has
compassion for those who fear him.
Psalm 65 (C of E)
Psal 65:1 (NRSV)
Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall
vows be performed, 2 O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh
shall come.
3 When deeds of
iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our
transgressions.
4 Happy are those
whom you choose and bring near
to live in your
courts.
We shall be
satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds
you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our
salvation;
you are the hope
of all the ends of the earth
and of the
farthest seas.
6 By your {Gk
Jerome: Heb [his] } strength you established the mountains;
you are girded
with might.
7 You silence the
roaring of the seas,
the roaring of
their waves,
the tumult of the
peoples.
8 Those who live
at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the
gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9 You visit the
earth and water it,
you greatly enrich
it;
the river of God
is full of water;
you provide the
people with grain,
for so you have
prepared it.
10 You water its
furrows abundantly,
settling its
ridges,
softening it with
showers,
and blessing its
growth.
11 You crown the
year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks
overflow with richness.
12 The pastures of
the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird
themselves with joy,
13 the meadows
clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck
themselves with grain,
they shout and
sing together for joy.
NEW TESTAMENT: 1
Corinthians 15: 35 - 38, 42 - 50 (RCL)
1 Corinthians
15: 45 - 49 (Roman Catholic)
1Cor 15:35 (NRSV)
But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do
they come?" 36 Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37
And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare
seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he
has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
42 So it is with
the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is
imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in
weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a physical body, it is raised a
spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45
Thus it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being"; the
last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is
first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the
earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust,
so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who
are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will
also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50 What I am
saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Paul has written:
“Christ has been raised from the dead ... so all will be made alive in Christ”
(vv. 20-23)
when he comes again. Will we have the same kind of bodies then as we have now?
By analogy from nature (vv. 36-38),
Paul points out that:
·
seeds need to die in order to have new life;
·
they change state following death: plants have different bodies (forms)
from seeds;
·
God chooses the body of a plant; and
·
seeds look alike but are changed into a variety of plants.
There are various kinds
of bodies, “flesh” (v. 39)
and “glory” (vv. 40-41),
so there may be more meanings of these terms than we know.
In resurrection, our
state is changed: before it, we are subject to decay (“perishable”, v. 42)
and death (“dishonour”, “weakness”) and have a “physical body” (v. 44);
after it, we will be immortal (“imperishable”) and have “glory”, “power”, and a
“spiritual body”, . So there must be two modes of existence, and two bodies.
There are two prototypes: “the first man, Adam” (v. 45)
and “the last Adam”, Christ. Adam received life; Christ is “life-giving”. The
“first” was earthly, physical, “a man of dust” (v. 47),
and the “last” heavenly, so the physical came first (v. 46)
contrary to what some claimed. Correspondingly we bear the image of (have the
same kind of body as) Adam now; and will have bodies like Christ’s (vv.48-49).
In our present state (“flesh and blood”, “perishable”, v. 50)
we cannot participate (fully) in God and in immortality (“the imperishable”) .
Revelation 4 (C of E)
Reve 4:1 (NRSV)
After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first
voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up
here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2 At once I
was in the spirit, {Or [in the Spirit] } and there in heaven stood a throne,
with one seated on the throne! 3 And the one seated there looks like jasper and
carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. 4
Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are
twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.
5 Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of
thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the
seven spirits of God; 6 and in front of the throne there is something like a
sea of glass, like crystal.
Around the throne,
and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in
front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living
creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face,
and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living
creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside.
Day and night without ceasing they sing,
""Holy,
holy, holy,
the Lord God the
Almighty,
who was and is and
is to come." 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and
thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10
the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and
worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the
throne, singing,
11 "You are
worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory
and honor and power,
for you created
all things,
and by your will
they existed and were created."
GOSPEL: Luke 6: 27 - 38
(RCL, Roman Catholic)
Luke 6:27 (NRSV)
"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who
hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If
anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who
takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who
begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 "If you
love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love
those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit
is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom
you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners,
to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend,
expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be
children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 "Do not
judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to
you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put
into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
Now he interprets his teachings to potential followers (“you that
listen”) in radical terms. He speaks to those now hated: bring before God
(“bless”, “pray for”, v. 28)
those who persecute you, and offer no resistance to anyone who deprives you of
your most basic possessions, “your coat” (v. 29)
and “your shirt”. Reciprocating the love and loving actions already shown and
taken by others is basic human behaviour (the cultural norm) and so does not
warrant God’s notice (“credit”, vv. 32-33).
Even lending when you expect to be repaid is not enough (v. 34);
rather love others by doing for them as you would wish they would do for you
(v. 31,
the Golden Rule), even when you are fairly sure they will do nothing for you
(“enemies”, v. 35).
In doing so, you will be doing as God does; he gives even to those who reject
his love (“ungrateful”, grace-less) and work against him (“wicked”), without
expecting recompense. Further, abstain from critical attitudes to others,
“forgive” (v. 37)
those indebted to you, and “give” (v. 38)
freely. God will reward you very plenteously for your generosity.
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
Verses 35-36: The diatribe-style questions are really
an objection. [ NJBC] He
imagines an objector whom he refutes with an epithet common to that literary
form, “Fool!”. Nature itself shows that the death of a seed is not an obstacle,
but a condition for its passage to a higher and richer life. [ JBC]
Verse 35: “With what sort of body do they come?”: This question was first
raised in Judaism in 2 Baruch,
a book written some 30 years after 1 Corinthians. [ NJBC]
Verse 39: God provides every being with a body adapted to the
circumstances of its existence. [ JBC]
Verses 40-41: “glory”: The Greek word is doxa. It has a range of
meanings, including brightness, radiance and reflection (of
God’s power). [ JBC] It is true
that earthly beings do not manifest their “glory” by emitting (or reflecting)
light. The sun, moon and stars do not shine with equal brightness. [ Blk1Cor]
Verse 40: “heavenly bodies”: In Jewish tradition, stars were considered to
be animate beings: see 1 Enoch 18:13-16
and Philo. [ NJBC]
Verse 42: “perishable ... imperishable”: NJBC offers in corruption and in
incorruption.
Verse 43: “power”: The Greek word, dynamis, is an eschatological term. [ Blk1Cor]
Verse 44: “physical”: The Greek word is psychikon, the
instrument of the psyche, which is the principle of mortal
existence.Blk1Cor translates
it as natural, in the sense of as found in nature .
“Being” (v. 45)
translates psyche, which could be conceived as a purely material
principle of animation: see Philo.
In the Septuagint translation
of Genesis 2:7,
God makes Adam “a living being”, psyche. Earthly being would
have been a less ambiguous expression, but Paul has already used it (and its
antithesis) in another sense in v. 40.
[ NJBC]
Verse 44b: Paul begins to answer the question: how do we know that there is
in fact a resurrection body? The form of his thesis implies that he has some
common ground with his opponents which he can use as a starting point. In order
to reconcile the two accounts of creation, Philo distinguished the heavenly man
of Genesis 1 from
the earthly man of Genesis 2,
and argued that the second historical man was a copy of the first ideal man.
Paul accepts the distinction but maintains (obviously with Christ in mind) that
the relationship should be understood differently. [ NJBC]
Verse 44b: “spiritual body”: This is a transformed mode of being, not
merely a resuscitation of the physical corpse. [ CAB] It is the human body as
adapted by the Spirit of God for a completely different mode of existence. [ NJBC]
Verse 45: “the last Adam”: In Jewish theology, the end of the world will
be like the beginning, so Adam has a role in the end-times: see 1 Enoch 85-90; Apocalypse of Moses 21:16;
39:2; 41:1-3. So Paul is able to present Christ as “the last Adam”. Through his
resurrection, he became Lord (Paul says in Romans 14:9:
“For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both
the dead and the living”) so he is “life-giving”. [ NJBC]
Verse 45: “The first man, Adam”: By adding “Adam” to the citation of
Genesis 2:7b,
Paul accepts the historical character of Adam, but in adding “first” he departs
from Philo’s view (given above). [ NJBC]
Verse 46: To Philo, the
heavenly man of Genesis 1 was
both incorporeal and incorruptible, so his body could be described as
“spiritual”, but to Paul “spiritual” could only describe the risen body of
Christ. [ NJBC]
Verses 48-49: Paul reiterates the thoughts of vv. 21-22 but
from a slightly different perspective. Adam and Christ both represent a
possibility of human existence, possibilities that are real since all are what
Adam was and can become what Christ is. [ NJBC]
Note Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though
reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one
degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit”. [ JBC]
Verse 50: Jeremias, the great scholar, sees the two parts of this verse as
complimentary, because he takes “flesh and blood” as meaning the living, and
“the perishable” as meaning those who have already died, but it is perhaps more
likely that “the perishable” explains why “flesh and blood” are incompatible
with an eternal kingdom. [ NJBC]
Luke 8: 22 - 25 (C of E)
Luke 8:22 (NRSV)
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let
us go across to the other side of the lake." So they put out, 23 and while
they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the
boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. 24 They went to him and
woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he
woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a
calm. 25 He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were afraid and
amazed, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even
the winds and the water, and they obey him?"
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