·        7 Tikhon, Patriarch of Russia and Confessor, 1925

·        8 William Augustus Muhlenberg, Priest, 1877. Anne Ayres, Religious, 1896

·        9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theologian and Martyr, 1945

·        10 William Law, Priest, 1761. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Scientist and Military Chaplain, 1955

·        11 George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand, and of Lichfield, 1878

·        12 Adoniram Judson, Missionary to Burma, 1850  was an American Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist^[1] missionary, who served in Burmafor almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America to support missionaries.

·        14 Edward Thomas Demby, 1957, and Henry Beard Delany, 1928, Bishops

·        15 Damien, Priest and Leper, 1889, and Marianne, Religious, 1918, of Molokai

.

OLD TESTAMENT:  Isaiah 43: 16 - 21   (all)

Isai 43:16 (NRSV) Thus says the LORD,

who makes a way in the sea,

a path in the mighty waters,

17 who brings out chariot and horse,

army and warrior;

they lie down, they cannot rise,

they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

18 Do not remember the former things,

or consider the things of old.

19 I am about to do a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

20 The wild animals will honor me,

the jackals and the ostriches;

for I give water in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

21 the people whom I formed for myself

so that they might declare my praise.

PSALM 126   (all)

Psal 126:1 (NRSV) When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, 

we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

"The LORD has done great things for them."

3 The LORD has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like the watercourses in the Neg'eb.

5 May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves.

126   In convertendo   (ECUSA BCP)

1  When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, *

 then were we like those who dream.

2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *

 and our tongue with shouts of joy.

3  Then they said among the nations, *

 "The Lord has done great things for them."

4  The Lord has done great things for us, *

 and we are glad indeed.

5  Restore our fortunes, O Lord, *

 like the watercourses of the Negev.

6  Those who sowed with tears *

 will reap with songs of joy.

7  Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *

 will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.

NEW TESTAMENT:  Philippians 3: 4b - 14   (RCL)

                                     Philippians 3: 8 - 14   (Roman Catholic)

Phil 3:4 (NRSV) If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Phar'isee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul has warned his readers about those who try to convince them that being a Christian requires acceptance of Jewish law, including circumcision. True circumcision is of the heart – and not of the “flesh”, i.e. following legal precepts, as in Judaism. Inner circumcision is what is required of us.

He cites his own experience as an example. In early life, he was as true to Judaism as anyone could be: he was circumcised; he is from the elite tribe (“Benjamin”, v. 5), as Jewish as one can be (“a Hebrew born of Hebrews”); like other Pharisees, he knew the Law well and applied it in daily life. He zealously persecuted Christians and faultlessly kept the Law. And yet, knowing Christ has made him realize that a Jewish, law-based, approach to God is a “loss” (vv. 7-8) for Christians: it obstructs God’s free gift of love. True “righteousness” (v. 9) comes through “faith in Christ”, not self-assessment of godliness, per legal precepts. He has cast aside all his Jewishness in order to realize the gain Christ offers (v. 8).

He wants to “know Christ” (v. 10) as risen and living. This involves attaining oneness with him through sharing his sufferings and participating in his death. Out of this, he will come to know “the power of his resurrection”. He is still working on understanding Christ completely (v. 12), an obligation he has – for Christ has chosen him (“made me his own”).

He has made progress not on his own, but through God’s grace (v. 13); however he has left his past behind and eagerly seeks what lies ahead. As the winner in a Greek foot race was called up to receive his “prize” (v. 14), so he seeks God’s call to share in eternal life. (“Heavenly” is literally upward.)

Verse 1: Scholars think that Philippians is actually made up of several letters. A piece of evidence for this is the abrupt change in tone and content: one letter appears to end with v. 1a, and another to begin with v. 1b. This letter, which was probably written later, extends to 4:1b. [ NJBC]

Verse 1: “the same things”: i.e. what Paul has written about in previous chapters (i.e. in previous letters) which have caused disharmony in the community. [ NOAB]

Verse 2: “dogs”: Paul uses strong language in speaking of the Judaizers. In Jewish circles, this term was reserved for Gentiles, the unclean, and outsiders. [ NJBC] Paul’s attitude towards those who considered circumcision a requirement for being a Christian is clear: he writes in Galatians 5:12: “I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!”. It is likely that these people were Jewish Christians. The effect of their activities was to divide the community, by suggesting that those who were circumcised were elite.

Verse 2: “the evil workers”: Evidently those referred to in 1:15 (“Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill”), 1:17 (“the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment”) and 2:21 (“All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ”). [ CAB]

Verse 2: “those who mutilate the flesh”: As the NRSV footnote says, the Greek means literally the mutilation. Paul contrasts the mutilation with the circumcision. He may be thinking of what the prophets of Baal did to themselves in 1 Kings 18:28, where the prophets of Baal “cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them”. [ NJBC] The reference to those who preach the necessity of circumcision is bitter and ironical. [ NOAB] The language is the same as in Galatians 5:12. [ CAB]

Verse 3: “the circumcision”: In Romans 2:28-29, Paul says: “real circumcision is a matter of the heart”. Paul thinks of the Old Testament: Jeremiah 4:4 (“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts”); 31:31 (“I will make a new covenant ...”); Deuteronomy 10:16 (“circumcise the foreskin of your heart”); 30:6; Leviticus 26:41; Ezekiel 44:7. The idea is also found in 1QS (*Qumran Rule of the Community) 5:5, 26. Only inward circumcision is valid for the eschatological era. Circumcision of the heart is a new moral life. See also Galatians 6:14-15 and Colossians 2:11-13. [NOAB]

1QS 5:4-5 says “... No one should walk in the stubbornness of his heart and his eyes and the musings of his inclination. Instead he should circumcise in the Community the foreskin of his tendency and of his stiff neck in order to lay a foundation of truth for Israel, for the Community of the eternal covenant”.

Verse 3: “the flesh”: i.e. outward states or rites.

Verses 5-6: In Galatians 1:14, Paul tells us about himself: “I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors”. [ CAB]

Verse 5: “on the eighth day”: Genesis 17:12 and Leviticus 12:3 state that a boy must be circumcised eight days after birth. [JBC]

Verse 5: “Benjamin”: This tribe was elite because, of all the brothers, only Benjamin was born in the Promised Land. Also, Saul, Israel’s first king, was from the tribe of Benjamin. [ JBC]

Verse 5: “a Hebrew born of Hebrews”: There are three possible interpretations:

• NOAB suggests: though living in Tarsus, a Greek city, Paul’s family spoke Aramaic, the language of Palestine. Acts 21:40 tells us that “he addressed them in the Hebrew language”, i.e. Aramaic. See also Acts 22:2. [ NOAB]
• Paul is speaking of his lineage, i.e. he is a Hebrew of Hebrew parents, rather than a convert or a son of a convert
• He is using a Semitic superlative, meaning roughly the ultimate (or superlative) Hebrew. (Recall the Broadway play Fiddler on the Roof and the song Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles, and note “king of kings” in Ezra 7:12; Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16.) While this interpretation is the most likely, one cannot be completely certain because the Greek translated “born of”, ex, does not occur in Revelation 17:14. [Alan Perry]

Verse 5: “Pharisee”: Pharisees closely observed the Law and applied it to everyday life. [ NJBC]

Verse 6: “persecutor”: The ultimate in zeal! See also Acts 8:3; 9:1-2 (Paul’s conversion); 22:4-5; 26:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13. [ NOAB]

Verses 7-8: Paul puts it in book-keeping terms. [ NJBC]

Verse 8: “knowing Christ”: Such knowledge and personal experience transforms a person into the likeness of the one who is known. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul writes: “... 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”. [ NJBC]

Verse 8: “suffered the loss of all things”: See also Matthew 13:44-46 (the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price). [ NJBC]

Verse 8: “rubbish”: The Greek word can mean excrement . It is something disposed of irrevocably. [ NJBC]

Verse 9: See also Romans 3:21-31: “But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe ...”. [ CAB]

Verse 9: “be found in him”: i.e. to be identified with Christ at the eschatological judgement. [ NJBC]

Verse 9: “in Christ”: Per the NRSV footnote, another rendering is of Christ, meaning either Christ’s faithful obedience until death (see Romans 5:18-21 and Philippians 2:6-8) or the entire ministry of Jesus. [ NOAB]

Verse 9: “the righteousness from God based on faith”: To Paul, in living by the Law one attempts to achieve one’s own righteousness: in Romans 10:3, he says of Jews: “being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God's righteousness”. True righteousness is a gift received in faith: in Genesis 15:6, we read that Abraham “believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness’. [ CAB]

Verses 10-11: To know Christ as risen and living is to have “power”: to suffer like him and to possess the sure hope of rising and living with him. [ NOAB]

Verse 10: “to know Christ”: i.e. to experience him as life-giving Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 3:17. [ NJBC]

Verse 10: “by becoming like him in his death ...”: In Romans 6:3-5, Paul asks: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his”. [ CAB]

Verse 12: Though we have God’s gift, we still need to work towards true godliness. [ NOAB]

Verse 12a: Perhaps Paul’s adversaries claimed that perfection can be achieved in this life.

Verse 14: “the prize”: Paul thinks of himself as being like an athlete in a Greek footrace. The winner received a victor’s crown at the finishing post. [ NOAB]

Verse 14: “the heavenly call”: It is to ascend and join with Christ in eternal life. This is the moment of perfection. [ NJBC]

GOSPEL:   John 12: 1 - 8   (RCL)

John 12:1 (NRSV) Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Beth'any, the home of Laz'arus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Laz'arus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscar'iot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

John 12:1-8

Jesus has raised Martha’s and Mary’s brother, “Lazarus”, “from the dead”, because Martha trusts that Jesus is the Messiah. Many people are making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. The religious authorities, aware that Jesus has performed “many signs” ( 11:47), and afraid that the Romans will destroy the Temple and the nation because of him, ask that anyone knowing where he is tell them so they can arrest him.

Now Jesus returns to Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, a mere three kilometres (two miles) east of Jerusalem. “Perfume made of pure nard” (v. 3, spikenard oil), was derived from the roots of a plant grown in the Himalayas. If the guests were reclining on couches, Jesus’ feet would be accessible for anointing, but a respectable Jewish woman would hardly appear in public with her hair unbound. Judas’ reaction points forward to Jesus’ arrest ( 18:1-11). “Three hundred denarii” (v. 5) was close to a year’s wages for a labourer. Anointing was the last step before burial, but not for executed criminals. Perhaps in v. 7 Jesus means that Mary bought the perfume so as to have it ready for his burial, that what she did has a meaning she does not realize, and that the perfume is not wasted. Perhaps v. 8 says: the poor are constantly in need, but Jesus’ impending death is unique. There is a place for spontaneous love of Jesus.

he parallels are Mark 14:3-9 and Matthew 26:6-13. Luke records a similar event in 7:36-50. [ JBC]

In full knowledge of a plot against his life ( 11:53, 57), Jesus returns to the vicinity of Jerusalem.

Verse 1: “Six days before the Passover”: BlkJn argues that the “dinner” (supper, the main meal of the day) was on Sunday evening. Mark tells us that this meal took place two days before the Passover, i.e. after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Luke places it (or a similar event) in a Pharisee’s house, presumably in Galilee, long before the Passion.

Verse 1: “Bethany”: 11:18 tells us that “... Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away”. [ NOAB]

Verse 1: “the home of Lazarus”: “Home” is not in the Greek. BlkJn offers where was Lazarus. The mention of “Martha” in v. 2 suggests that the dinner was in her house. The reference to “Lazarus” in v. 2 as merely one of the party is consonant with this but contrasts with NRSV’s translation “the home of Lazarus”. Mark tells us that the meal was “in the house of Simon the leper”; Luke also says that the host’s name was Simon.

Verses 2-3: “Martha ... Mary”: The contrast between Martha the worker and Mary the thinker is presented in Luke 10:38-42: “... Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks ...”. Jesus considers both to be worthy. [ BlkJn]

Verse 3: Comparison of the vocabulary in the three gospels is interesting:

• Mark, Luke and John have the same Greek word for “perfume” and “ointment”
• While Mark and Luke mention “an alabaster jar”, John says “a pound”
• Mark and John have the same words for “nard”; Luke does not name the ingredient of the ointment
• Both Mark and John say that the ointment is “costly” [ BlkJn]

Verses 7-8: Mark 14:6-8 is fuller and much clearer in meaning: “‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial’”. So if John borrowed from Mark, he has not only abbreviated his source, but also obscured the meaning. [ BlkJn]

Verse 8: “You always have the poor with you”: A paraphrase of Deuteronomy 15:11: “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land’”. [JBC]

© 1996-2019 Chris Haslam