·
24 Óscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, 1980
·
26 Richard Allen,
First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1831
·
27 Charles Henry Brent,
Bishop of the Philippines, and of Western New York, 1929
·
28 James Solomon Russell,
Priest, 1935
·
29 John Keble, Priest, 1866 was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him.[1]
·
30 Innocent of Alaska,
Bishop, 1879 was a Russian Orthodox missionarypriest, then the first Orthodox bishop and archbishop in the
Americas, and finally the Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia. Remembered for his missionary work, scholarship, and
leadership in Alaska and the Russian Far East during the
19th century, he is known for his abilities as a scholar, linguist, and
administrator, as well as his great zeal for his work.
OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 55: 1 - 9 (RCL)
Isai 55:1 (NRSV)
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the
waters;
and you that have
no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and
milk
without money and
without price.
2 Why do you spend
your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for
that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully
to me, and eat what is good,
and delight
yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your
ear, and come to me;
listen, so that
you may live.
I will make with
you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure
love for David.
4 See, I made him
a witness to the peoples,
a leader and
commander for the peoples.
5 See, you shall
call nations that you do not know,
and nations that
do not know you shall run to you,
because of the
LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has
glorified you.
6 Seek the LORD
while he may be found,
call upon him
while he is near;
7 let the wicked
forsake their way,
and the
unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to
the LORD, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God,
for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts
are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways
my ways, says the LORD.
9 For as the
heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways
higher than your ways
and my thoughts
than your thoughts.
Exodus 3: 1 - 15 (ECUSA)
Exodus 3: 1 - 8a, 13 -
15 (Roman Catholic)
Exod 3:1 (NRSV)
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jeth'ro, the priest of
Mid'ian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Ho'reb, the
mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of
fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not
consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great
sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the LORD saw that he
had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses,
Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then he said, "Come no
closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are
standing is holy ground." 6 He said further, "I am the God of your
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the LORD
said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have
heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their
sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to
bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with
milk and honey, to the country of the Ca'naanites, the Hit'tites, the
Am'orites, the Per'izzites, the Hi'vites, and the Jeb'usites. 9 The cry of the
Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.
10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out
of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to
Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 He said, "I will
be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when
you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this
mountain."
13 But Moses said
to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of
your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, "What is his name?'
what shall I say to them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I
AM."
He said further, "Thus you shall say to
the Israelites, "I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God also said to
Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "The LORD, the God of
your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has
sent me to you':
This is my name
forever,
and this my title
for all generations.
PSALM 63: 1
- 8 (RCL)
Psal 63:1 (NRSV) O
God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts
for you;
my flesh faints
for you,
as in a dry and weary
land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked
upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your
power and glory.
3 Because your
steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will
praise you.
4 So I will bless
you as long as I live;
I will lift up my
hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is
satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth
praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of
you on my bed,
and meditate on
you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have
been my help,
and in the shadow
of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings
to you;
your right hand
upholds me.
Note: Verse numbering
in your Psalter may differ from the above.
63 Deus, Deus
meus (ECUSA
BCP)
1 O
God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *
my
soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
as in
a barren and dry land where there is no water.
2 Therefore
I have gazed upon you in your holy place, *
that
I might behold your power and your glory.
3 For
your loving-kindness is better than life itself; *
my
lips shall give you praise.
4 So
will I bless you as long as I live *
and
lift up my hands in your Name.
5 My
soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *
and
my mouth praises you with joyful lips,
6 When
I remember you upon my bed, *
and
meditate on you in the night watches.
7 For
you have been my helper, *
and
under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
8 My
soul clings to you; *
your
right hand holds me fast.
Psalm 103: 1 - 4, 6 -
8, 11 (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,
6 The LORD works
vindication
and justice for
all who are oppressed.
7 He made known
his ways to Moses,
his acts to the
people of Israel.
8 The LORD is
merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and
abounding in steadfast love.
11 For as the
heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his
steadfast love toward those who fear him;
NEW TESTAMENT: 1 Corinthians 10: 1 - 13 (all but Roman Catholic)
1
Corinthians 10: 1 - 6, 10 - 12 (Roman
Catholic)
1Cor 10:1 (NRSV) I
do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all
under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into
Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and
all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that
followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased
with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things
occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do
not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, "The people
sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." 8 We must not
indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand
fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them
did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain as some of them
did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them to
serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the
ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that
you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to
everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your
strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may
be able to endure it.
Paul warns Christians at Corinth that some
of them are not on the path to eternal life: “if you think you are standing,
watch out that you do not fall”! (v. 12) He uses events
from the Exodus to illustrate their plight: the Israelites were the Church’s
spiritual “ancestors” (v. 1); they too were
under God’s protection (“under the cloud”). Stretching the metaphor, they were
“baptised” (v. 2) in passing
through the Reed (Red) Sea. Their “spiritual food” (v. 3) was manna; ours is
the bread of the Eucharist. Their “spiritual drink” (v. 4) was the water
from the rock. Now Christ gives to us; back in Moses’ day, the rock gave to
them: hence “the rock was Christ”. Further, as the rock was with them, Christ
is with us. (A Jewish legend says that the rock “followed them”.) Even so, Paul
says, God showed his anger to many of them, by killing them. To him, these
events happened (“occurred”, v. 6) and “were written
down” (v. 11) so we may avoid
evil ways: do not “play” (v. 7), i.e. “indulge in
sexual immorality as some of them did” (v. 8); do not test God
(by your self-centeredness). When many Israelites tested God (by complaining
about the food he provided), they were “destroyed” (vv. 9-10). (Rabbis believed that a special angel, “the destroyer”
existed.) We live in the last era (“ages”, v. 11) of human history.
The “testing” (v. 13) some Corinthians
have failed is what humans normally endure; you could have resisted, for God
does not test us beyond what we can bear.
Verse 1:
“under the cloud”: As in Psalm 105:39:
“He [ Yahweh] spread a cloud
for a covering, and fire to give light by night”.
Verse 1:
“cloud”: See Exodus 13:21:
“The Lord went in front
of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a
pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day
and by night”. [ NOAB]
Verse 1:
“sea”: Exodus 14:22 tells
us that at the Reed Sea: “The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the
waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left”. [ NOAB]
Verse 2:
“baptised into Moses”: A purely Christian interpretation. In Galatians 3:27 and
Romans 6:3,
Paul uses the phrase “baptized into Christ”. [ NJBC]
Comments: Reed (Red) Sea: The words translated “Red Sea” in
the Old Testament are yam suph, meaning literally sea of
reeds; Hebrew did not distinguish between a sea and a lake.
Verses 3-4: See Exodus 16:4-35; 17:6;
Numbers 20:7-11 (Moses
strikes the rock at Meribah); Deuteronomy 8:3.
[ NOAB]
Verse 4:
“the spiritual rock that followed them”: The Jewish legend is based on an
interpretation of Numbers 21:17-20:
the Hebrew not being too clear, these verses can be read as saying that the
rock (and/or the well) accompanied the people of Israel through to Moab. [ NJBC]
Verse
4: “the rock was Christ”: Paul sees the rock as a symbol of Christ, perhaps as
the work of the pre-existent Christ. [NOAB]
Verse 5:
“ they were struck down in the wilderness”: God punishes the Israelites in
Numbers 14:29-30.
There Yahweh tells Moses and Aaron: “‘I will do to you the very things I heard
you say: your dead bodies shall fall in this very wilderness; and of all your
number, ... from twenty years old and upward, who have complained against me,
not one of you shall come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except
Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun”’. [ NOAB]
Verse 6:
“examples”: The Greek word can also be translated by the technical term types.
Verse 7:
“Do not become idolaters”: Exodus 32:4 tells
of the moulding or engraving of the Golden Calf. the quotation is like
Exodus 32:6.
[ NOAB] Some Corinthian
Christians joined in pagan cult meals: see 8:10 and 10:14-22.
[ NJBC]
Verse 7:
“rose up to play”: The quotation is like Exodus 32:6:
“... the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel”. [ NOAB] One sense found in Jewish
tradition is that this refers to indulgence in sexual immorality. [ NJBC]
Verse 9:
For the revolt of the Israelites against Moses and Aaron, see Numbers 16:13-14, 41-49.
[ NOAB] The Israelites also
“spoke against God and against Moses” (concerning food) in Numbers 21:4-6;
some Israelites were killed by the serpents God sent. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “the destroyer”: Rabbis believed that there was a special
destroying angel, based on Exodus 12:23 (“...
the Lordwill pass through to
strike down the Egyptians ...”); Number 16:41-50;
2 Samuel 24:16 (“...
when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it ...”); 1
Chronicles 21:15; Wisdom of Solomon 18:20-25,. [NJBC]
Verse 11: “example”: As in v. 6, the Greek word is tupoi (*types)
[ NJBC]
Verse 11: “the ends of the ages”: The first age (era) was
from creation to Christ’s incarnation; the second (and last) is from the
incarnation to his second coming. [ JBC]
GOSPEL: Luke 13: 1 - 9 (all)
Luke 13:1 (NRSV)
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, "Do
you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse
sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you
will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower
of Silo'am fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all
the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you
will all perish just as they did."
6 Then he told
this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came
looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, "See
here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still
I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 8 He replied,
"Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure
on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it
down.'"
Jesus has said that he will return
to judge humankind at an unexpected time. Those who know of Christ’s coming and
use what God gives wisely will be rewarded with God’s abundance. Those who know
but do not prepare will be condemned. Those who do not know and behave wantonly
will be lightly reprimanded. ( 12:35-48).
It was commonly believed that pain and premature death were signs of God’s
adverse judgement. Now we read of two events where people died prematurely and
unexpectedly: one group (“the Galileans”, v. 1)
doing God’s will, killed intentionally as they sacrifice to him in the Temple;
the other group (“those eighteen”, v. 4,
possibly construction workers) killed accidentally. In both cases, Jesus says,
there is no link between early death and sin; however, these deaths do show the
fate of those who fail to “repent” (vv. 3, 5),
to turn to God.
In the parable (vv. 6-9),
Jesus elaborates on his call for repentance. (The fig tree symbolizes some
Jews, possibly the religious leaders.) Jesus expects those who hear him
to bear fruit (v. 9),
to do his will. If they do not do so immediately, God in his mercy gives them
some extra time (“one more year”, v. 8)
to do so. If they still fail to do so, they will be destroyed. In Matthew 3:10,
Jesus speaks of such a tree being “cut down and thrown into the fire”. So
the perishing (vv. 3, 5)
is spiritual, at the end of the age.
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
Comments: It was commonly believed that pain and premature
death were signs of God’s adverse judgement: In John 9:2-3,
Jesus rejects the idea that a man was born blind because of his or his parents’
sinful ways. This belief was common amongst both Jews and Hellenists. [ NOAB]
Verses 1-6: Here suffering represents God’s judgement and is a call to
repentance, lest spiritual catastrophe overtake his hearers. [ NOAB]
Verse 1: To me, for Luke to be so indirect as he is in this verse
is unusual. I have used the most obvious interpretation in Comments,
but BlkLk offers another.
The contemporary historian Josephus,
in Antiquities of the Jews 18:3:2, says that when Pilate used
Temple funds to build an aqueduct into Jerusalem, some Jews opposed it. Pilate
then used a ruse to murder some Jews: his soldiers, in civilian dress, mingled
with the crowd, and beat them down with clubs they had concealed. The obvious
interpretation would be in accord with what is known of Pilate’s character.
Verse 2: “sinners”: The Greek word literally means debtors .
[ BlkLk]
Verse 4: “tower of Siloam”: Probably a tower that guarded the
aqueduct bringing water to the pool of Siloam, to the south of the
north-eastern corner of Jerusalem. [ JBC]
See Clipping above on v. 1.
Verses 6-9: See also Matthew 21:18-20 (Jesus
curses the empty fig tree); Mark 11:12-14, 20-21.
[ NOAB] For an Old Testament
antecedent, see Isaiah 5:1-7 (the
song of the unfruitful vineyard). In Joel 1:7,
the locusts kill God’s fig trees. See also Hosea 9:10.
[ JBC]
Verse 6: “fig tree”: One may well ask what a fig tree is doing in a
vineyard. Whoever this tree stands for, it doesn’t belong in the vineyard.
Verse 7: “Cut it down”: In Matthew 3:10,
Jesus says: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree
therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”;
Matthew 7:19;
Luke 3:9.
[ NOAB]
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
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