·
11 Clare, Abbess at Assisi, 1253 born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes
spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair, etc.) is an Italian saint and one of
the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in
the Franciscan tradition,
and wrote their Rule of Life
·
12 Florence Nightingale,
Nurse, Social Reformer, 1910
·
13 Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down, Connor, and
Dromore, 1667 was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved
fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes
known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of
expression, and he is frequently cited as one of the greatest prose writers in
the English language.
·
14 Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Seminarian and
Witness for Civil Rights, 1965
·
15 Saint Mary the
Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ
·
17 Samuel
Johnson, 1772, Timothy Cutler, 1765, and Thomas Bradbury
Chandler, 1790, Priests
·
18 William Porcher
DuBose, Priest, 1918
OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah
1: 1, 10 - 20 (RCL)
Isai 1:1 (NRSV)
The vision of Isai'ah son of A'moz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem
in the days of Uzzi'ah, Jo'tham, A'haz, and Hezeki'ah, kings of Judah.
10 Hear the word
of the LORD,
you rulers of
Sod'om!
Listen to the
teaching of our God,
you people of
Gomor'rah!
11 What to me is
the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD;
I have had enough
of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fed
beasts;
I do not delight
in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of
goats.
12 When you come
to appear before me,
who asked this
from your hand?
Trample my courts
no more;
13 bringing
offerings is futile;
incense is an
abomination to me.
New moon and
sabbath and calling of convocation--
I cannot endure
solemn assemblies with iniquity.
14 Your new moons
and your appointed festivals
my soul hates;
they have become a
burden to me,
I am weary of
bearing them.
15 When you
stretch out your hands,
I will hide my
eyes from you;
even though you
make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are
full of blood.
16 Wash
yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of
your doings
from before my
eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do
good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the
widow.
18 Come now, let
us argue it out,
says the LORD:
though your sins
are like scarlet,
they shall be like
snow;
though they are
red like crimson,
they shall become
like wool.
19 If you are
willing and obedient,
you shall eat the
good of the land;
20 but if you
refuse and rebel,
you shall be
devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of
the LORD has spoken.
Genesis 15: 1 - 6 (alt.
for RCL)
Gene 15:1 (NRSV)
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Do not
be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 2
But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue
childless, and the heir of my house is Elie'zer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram
said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is
to be my heir." 4 But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man
shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your
heir." 5 He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and
count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him,
"So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed the LORD; and the
LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Wisdom 18: 6 - 9 (Roman Catholic)
18:6 (NRSV) That
night was made known beforehand to our ancestors,
so that they might
rejoice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted.
7 The deliverance
of the righteous and the destruction of their enemies
were expected by
your people.
8 For by the same
means by which you punished our enemies
you called us to
yourself and glorified us.
9 For in secret
the holy children of good people offered sacrifices,
and with one
accord agreed to the divine law,
so that the saints
would share alike the same things,
both blessings and
dangers;
and already they
were singing the praises of the ancestors.
PSALM 50: 1 - 8, 22 -
23 (RCL)
Psal 50:1 (NRSV)
The mighty one, God the LORD,
speaks and summons
the earth
from the rising of
the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the
perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes
and does not keep silence,
before him is a
devouring fire,
and a mighty
tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the
heavens above
and to the earth,
that he may judge his people:
5 "Gather to
me my faithful ones,
who made a
covenant with me by sacrifice!"
6 The heavens
declare his righteousness,
for God himself is
judge. [Se'lah]
7 "Hear, O my
people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will
testify against you.
I am God, your
God.
8 Not for your
sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt
offerings are continually before me.
22 "Mark
this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you
apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23 Those who bring
thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
to those who go
the right way
I will show the
salvation of God."
Note: Verse numbering
in your Psalter may differ from the above.
50 Deus deorum (ECUSA
BCP)
1 The
Lord, the God of gods, has spoken;
*
he
has called the earth from the rising of the sun to
its setting.
2 Out
of Zion, perfect in its beauty, *
God
reveals himself in glory.
3 Our
God will come and will not keep silence; *
before
him there is a consuming flame,
and
round about him a raging storm.
4 He
calls the heavens and the earth from above *
to
witness the judgment of his people.
5 “Gather
before me my loyal followers, *
those
who have made a covenant with me
and
sealed it with sacrifice.”
6 Let
the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; *
for
God himself is judge.
7 Hear,
O my people, and I will speak:
“O Israel, I will
bear witness against you; *
for I
am God, your God.
8 I
do not accuse you because of your sacrifices; *
your
offerings are always before me.
23 Consider
this well, you who forget God, *
lest
I rend you and there be none to deliver you.
24 Whoever
offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving
honors me; *
but
to those who keep in my way will I show
the salvation of
God."
Psalm 33: 12 - 22 (alt.
for RCL)
Psalm 33: 1, 12, 18 -
22 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 33:1 (NRSV)
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.
Praise befits the
upright.
12 Happy is the
nation whose God is the LORD,
the people whom he
has chosen as his heritage.
13 The LORD looks
down from heaven;
he sees all
humankind.
14 From where he
sits enthroned he watches
all the
inhabitants of the earth--
15 he who fashions
the hearts of them all,
and observes all
their deeds.
16 A king is not
saved by his great army;
a warrior is not
delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse
is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great
might it cannot save.
18 Truly the eye
of the LORD is on those who fear him,
on those who hope
in his steadfast love,
19 to deliver their
soul from death,
and to keep them
alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits
for the LORD;
he is our help and
shield.
21 Our heart is
glad in him,
because we trust
in his holy name.
22 Let your
steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in
you.
33 Exultate,
justi (ECUSA
BCP)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord! *
happy
the people he has chosen to be his own!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven, *
and
beholds all the people in the world.
14 From where he sits enthroned he turns his
gaze *
on
all who dwell on the earth.
15 He fashions all the hearts of them *
and
understands all their works.
16 There is no king that can be saved by a
mighty army; *
a
strong man is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The horse is a vain hope for deliverance; *
for
all its strength it cannot save.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who
fear him, *
on
those who wait upon his love,
19 To pluck their lives from death, *
and
to feed them in time of famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord; *
he is
our help and our shield.
21 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, *
for
in his holy Name we put our trust.
22 Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,
*
as we
have put our trust in you.
NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews
11: 1 - 3, 8 - 16 (RCL)
Hebrews 11:
1 - 2, 8 - 12 (13 - 19) (Roman Catholic)
Hebr 11:1 (NRSV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen. 2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we
understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is
seen was made from things that are not visible.
8 By faith Abraham
obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an
inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he
stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land,
living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same
promise. 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose
architect and builder is God. 11 By faith he received power of procreation,
even though he was too old--and Sarah herself was barren--because he considered
him faithful who had promised.12 Therefore from one person, and this one as
good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and
as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."
13 All of these
died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw
and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the
earth, 14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking
a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind,
they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a
better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith
Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the
promises was ready to offer up his only son, 18 of whom he had been told,
"It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you." 19 He
considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead--and
figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
In the Revised English Bible, 11:1 reads
“Faith gives substance to our hopes and convinces us of the realities we do not
see”. Through faith we know that, at creation time, the invisible was
transformed into the visible by God’s command (“the word of God”, v. 3)
and that the course of history (“worlds”) was set by God. The author now gives
examples of Old Testament figures who lacked the “promises” (v. 13)
we have but even so had faith in God; they “received [God’s] approval”
(v. 2).
“Abraham” (v. 8)
trusted that he would have a land to inherit; he didn’t know “where he was
going”. He (as we do) lived a temporary life on earth (“in tents”, v. 9)
as he “looked forward” (v. 10)
to living permanently (“foundations”) in “the city”, the heavenly Jerusalem, “a
better country” (v. 16).
In this he is seen to resemble the Christian believer. (Most translations say
that Sarah received the “power of procreation”, v. 11).
Through the faith of Abraham and Sarah, many “descendants were born” (v. 12).
These figures (exemplars) saw that Christ would come (v. 13).
(In Genesis, actually only Abraham said he was a stranger and a
foreigner .) God is proud (“not ashamed”, v. 16)
of them for electing to exercise trust in him; he has prepared a place for them
in heaven.
Author's note:
Sometimes I have material left over when I edit Comments down to fit the available space. This page presents notes that landed on the clipping room floor. Some may be useful to you. While I avoid technical language in the Comments (or explain special terms), Clippings may have unexplained jargon from time to time.
A hypertext Glossary of Terms is integrated
with Clippings. Simply click on any highlighted word in the text and a pop-up
window will appear with a definition. Bibliographic references are also
integrated in the same way.
Isaiah 1:1,10-20
Scholars recognize chapters 40-66 as
being written later; they see differences in historical background, literary
style, and theological emphases in these chapters. Chapters 24-27 and 34-35 also
date from later periods. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “The vision of Isaiah”: For other visions by prophets,
see 6:1-13 (Isaiah’s
calling and commissioning); Jeremiah 1;
Ezekiel 1-3.
[ NOAB]
Verse 1: “Isaiah”: The name means The Lord gives salvation .
[ NOAB]
Verse 1: “in the days ...”: This may be an editorial expansion. [ NOAB] The reigns of these kings
are described in 2 Kings 14-20.
[ CAB]
Verses 2-20: God’s diagnosis and prescription for Israel’s ailment. [ CAB]
Verses 2-3: A poetic exhortation reminiscent of God’s address to the
heavenly host in 40:1-2.
[ NOAB] These verses are
reminiscent (perhaps a forerunner) of the wisdom tradition:
- To “know” and to “understand” are used without
grammatical objects
- The father-son relationship
- Use of a proverb (v. 3a),
and
- Some of the vocabulary.
Verse 2: “children”: In Jeremiah 3:19-22,
we also read of Judah as God’s “children”. [ NOAB] Rebellious children are
likely to come to grief!
Verse 3: “ox ... donkey”: In ancient minds, both animals were
proverbial for stupidity and stubbornness. Israel does not even recognize its
master. [ NJBC]
Verse 3: “Israel”: i.e. Judah. “Israel” was the traditional name of
Judah. [ CAB]
Verse 3: “know”: Failure to “know”, to “understand”, is the cause
of the disaster, as is also stated in 5:13 and 6:9-10(“...
Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand”).
Knowledge here is profound, identifying comprehension of the right relationship
with God; it is a recurring prophetic theme: see also Jeremiah 1:5;
Hosea 2:20; 4:1, 6; 5:4.
[ NOAB] [ NJBC]
Verses 4-9: These verses are in a different metre, so may have a
different origin from the preceding and following verses. They are linked to
vv. 2-3 by
“children”. They are an appeal to a people heedless of the significance of
Judah’s devastation by the armies of Tilgath-Pileser III (734-733 BC) or of
Sennacherib (701 BC – see 36:1).
[ NOAB] NJBCfavours 701 BC, after Hezekiah's
rebellion against Sennacherib.
Verse 4: “nation ... people ... offspring ... children”: Note the
increasing intimacy of the words describing Judah. The effect is to heighten
the culpability expressed in the qualifying words. Judah's sin is the rejection
of trust in Yahwehthrough
power politics (i.e. covenanting with Egypt in order to rebel against Assyria).
[ NJBC]
Verse 4: “Holy One of Israel”: God’s unapproachable separateness,
which he has bridged by his election of Israel as his people, an act of grace:
see Hosea 8:1 and
Jeremiah 3:20.
See also 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 37:23.
[ NOAB]
Verses 5-6: As a result of divine punishment that has already come,
Israel is depicted as a sick and wounded human body. [ CAB] She is covered with bloody
wounds from head to foot, as a son chastised with a rod. See also
Proverbs 10:12; 13:24; 20:30; 22:15; 23:13-14; 26:3; 29:15;
Isaiah 10:5-6.
[ NJBC]
Verses 7-9: Destruction of the cities and seizure of lands has already
begun. Sennacherib invaded Judah between 705 and 701 BC, and claims to have
destroyed 46 walled cities. [ CAB]
Verse 8: Jerusalem has not yet been seized. Her lonely isolation is
compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, cities destroyed by God for the depravity of
their inhabitants, [ CAB] but
(v. 9)
there is a difference: being God’s son, Jerusalem is not totally destroyed.
Verses 9,10: “Sodom ... and ... Gomorrah”: For the story of these two
cities, and their fate, see Genesis 18:16-19:28;
Jeremiah 23:14;
Ezekiel 16:46-58.
[ NOAB]
Verses 10-20: For Judah’s superficiality, see also Amos 5:21-24 and
Jeremiah 6:20,
where Yahweh asks through the prophet: “Of what use to me is frankincense that
comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are
not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me”. [ NOAB]
Verse 10: “teaching”: The Hebrew word is torah, which is
often translated as law; [ NOAB]
however the sense of the word here is, as in the Wisdom literature, generalized
instruction of a son by a father in the ways of God. See also 2:3; 5:24; 8:16; 30:9.
[ NJBC]
Verses 11-15: The sanctuary originally designed for the exclusive
honouring of Yahweh has
now become a royal chapel devoted to enhancing the prestige and wealth of the
ruler and his rich supporters, who together exploit the poor and seize their
lands. [ CAB]
Verse 14: In Leviticus 26:30,
God tells Israel, through a spokesman, that if they continue to disobey him “I
will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars; I will heap
your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols. I will abhor you”. [ NOAB]
Verses 16-17: The leaders of Judah have forgotten the basic intent of
the covenant: to create and sustain a people who are mutually supportive and
are concerned for all of God’s people. [ CAB]
See also Exodus 22:21-22 and
Amos 5:6-7.
[ NOAB]
Verses 18-25: The option is open to renew the covenant and rebuild
responsibility with the community; otherwise the prospect is divine judgement,
which will take the form of invasion by an enemy power. Ironically, the
faithlessness and corruption of the city has converted those who should be
God’s people into “my enemies” (v. 24),
on whom his wrath will now fall. The result of this fiery outpouring will be
purification (“smelt away your dross”, v. 25)
but not destruction. [ CAB]
Verse 18: “argue it out”: Job 23:7 says
“There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted
forever by my judge” [ NOAB]
Verse 19: Judah may repent and return: in Jeremiah 7:5-7,
we read: “... if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act
justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the
widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other
gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land
that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever”. [ NOAB]
Verse 20: The alternative is destruction: in Jeremiah 7:22-24, Yahweh says through the prophet:
“... in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did
not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.
But this command I gave them, ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you
shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may
be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but, in the
stubbornness of their evil will, they walked in their own counsels, and looked
backward rather than forward”. [ NOAB]
Verse 24: “I will pour out my wrath”: 49:26 says:
“I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with
their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Saviour, and your
Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob”. [ NOAB]
Verse 24: “Mighty One of Israel”: This recalls Israel’s patriarchal
traditions: see also Genesis 49:24 (“Mighty
One of Jacob”); Psalm 132:2, 5.
[ NOAB]
Verse 25: “as with lye”: NOAB says
that thoroughly is also a possible translation. NJBC says that a different vowel
is intended in the Hebrew, so he offers in a furnace.
Verses 26-27: The self-serving kings will be replaced by earlier forms
of leadership: “judges” and “counsellors”, who will be concerned for the
welfare of all. “The city of righteousness” will be a transformed community
where things are set to right, so that God’s intended order and mutual support
of the people will prevail. [ CAB]
Verse 26: There will be a new creation. Amos 9:11 says
“On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its
breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old”. See
also Revelation 3:12; 21:1-4 (“...
I saw a new heaven and a new earth ...”). [ NOAB]
Verses 27-28: NJBC sees
these verses as a later addition, probably an editorial comment on the
foregoing. While v. 26supposes
universal conversion of Jerusalem, here a distinction is made between the lot
of those who are converted and those who are not.
Verses 28-31: But those who oppose God, those who desert his ways, and
those who value personal gain above responsibility for all of God’s people will
be destroyed. [ CAB]
Verses 29-31: Judah is faithless; the comparison is based on one of
Isaiah’s rare references to pagan religious practices. See also 57:5 and
Ezekiel 6:1-14.
[ NOAB] However, NJBC says that a possible
interpretation is that Isaiah is condemning the rich for coveting the property
of others. Wisdom
literature includes comparison of the wicked with vegetation: see
Job 15:30-35 and
Psalm 37:35-37.
Verse 29: “oaks ... gardens”: i.e. pagan worship
Psalm 50:1-8,22-23
This psalm appears to be part of a
covenant-renewal liturgy and
may have close ties to prophetic circles. God, the overlord, raises charges
against his vassal, Israel, for violating the covenant. [ NJBC]
Superscription: “A Psalm of Asaph”: Asaph was appointed by David to share
in leading worship, and sang and/or played at the dedication of the Temple
Solomon built. See 1 Chronicles 6:31-48.
Verses 1-6: For God taking Israel to court, see also Jeremiah 2:9-13:
“Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children's children ...”. [ NJBC]
Verses 1,4: “the earth ... the heavens”: They are often witnesses to
God’s trial of his covenant people in the Old Testament: see, for example,
Isaiah 1:2.
To ancient people, the firmament was a giant pudding bowl over
the earth; beyond it was a hierarchy of “heavens”.
Verse 3: 18:8 says
of Yahweh: “Smoke went up from
his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth
from him”. See also Habakkuk 3:4.
[ NOAB]
Verse 5: “sacrifice”: For sacrifice in a covenant context, see also
Genesis 31:51-54 (Laban
and Jacob enter into a covenant with Yahweh which is sealed with meals
and sacrifice).
Verse 6: “Selah”: This word is probably a liturgical direction,
added to the original text of the psalm. It may mean lift up,
either to indicate the lifting up of the voices of the singers in a doxology,
or to call for lifted-up instrumental music in an interlude in
the singing. [ NOAB]
“Selah” is one of the greatest
puzzles of the Old Testament. Its meaning seems to be connected with rising or
lifting. But it is not clear whether the congregation rises or lifts up its
hands, head, or eyes, or whether the music rises at the indicated points. The
word probably indicates that the singing should stop to allow the congregation
an interlude for presenting its homage to God by some gesture or act of
worship. [ ICCPs]
Verses 8-13: They have brought animal sacrifices in abundance, but this
is not what God wants. In 40:6,
a psalmist says of Yahweh:
“Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear”.
This idea is also found in 51:16, 17;
Amos 5:21-24;
Hosea 6:6.
[ NOAB]
Verses 14-15: God’s demand is rather for thanksgiving and prayer. [ NOAB]
Verse 14: “thanksgiving ... vows”: Two types of communion
sacrifice which established union between God and the offerer. [ NJBC]
Verse 15: “Call on me”: Calling on the Lord’s name often accompanied
sacrifice: see also 1 Kings 18:26 (the
prophets of Baal call on Baal’s name) and 1 Chronicles 21:26 (David
calls on Yahweh’s name). [ NJBC]
Verses 16-21: The heart of the case Yahweh brings against the people:
failure to keep the laws of the covenant. [NJBC]
Verse 16: “the wicked”: Probably the accused, i.e.
Israel. [ NJBC]
Verses 18-21: Some of the charges are based on the Ten Commandments.
Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16
10:32: “enlightened”: i.e. baptized.
10:34: “plundering of your possessions”: CAB says that this is a reference
to seizure of possessions by the Roman authorities.
10:35-36: The ground of their “confidence” (faith) concerning the
future was, and must remain, the fulfilment of God’s promise conveyed through
the prophets who spoke of the speedy deliverance of his people. [ CAB]
10:37-38: The quotation from prophetic books is per the Septuagint translation. “‘In
a very little while’” is from Isaiah 26:20 (NRSV:
“for a little while”); the rest of the quotation is Habakkuk 2:3-4.
(The author inverts the first and second lines of v. 4.) [ NJBC]
11:1-40: These verses spell out the biblical precedents of this
“confidence” (see 10:35),
but also the relative limits of it in the experience of men and women of faith
before the coming of Christ. [ CAB]
11:1: Scholars interpret this verse in various ways:
- NOAB says
that, instead of defining faith comprehensively, the author describes
those aspects of it that bear upon the argument.
- CAB says
that the explanation of “faith” here conforms in style to the definitions
in Greek philosophical writings, and that the crucial terms “conviction”
and “assurance” carry philosophical meaning as to how ultimate reality can
be known. But the writer has made a crucial addition: “faith” is also
oriented toward the future and is grounded in the hope of fulfilment of
God’s purpose. The “assurance” is that the heavenly realities, which
humans have “not seen”, will be revealed to God’s faithful people, just as
the “ancestors” (v. 2)
looked forward to this reality.
- NJBC says
that the meanings of the words hypostasis (“assurance”)
and elenchos (“conviction”) are much disputed. He
considers that the words mean reality and demonstration.
(The REB seems to
agree.) “Faith” then is the reality of good things and events hoped for,
the proof of things one cannot see, the latter being the
heavenly world, and the former, those of that world. At least in 1:3 (NRSV:
“very being”), hypostasis clearly means reality or substance.
11:3: This verse seems to break the continuity of the argument,
for it deals with the author’s faith and that of his addressees, rather than
that of the ancients, but it exemplifies the second aspect of faith mentioned
in v. 1.
[ NJBC]
11:3: “worlds”: It is surprising that the NRSV uses this word
and the REB universe,
for while the Greek aion can mean either world or age,
it always carries with it a sense of time. Course of history fits
the context here. [Abbott Conway] The course of history is here seen as
disclosing an eternal world which exists in the heavens but is “not visible” as
yet to humans. [ CAB]
11:3: “word of God”: It was the instrument for shaping creation:
Genesis 1:3 begins
“Then God said”. See also Psalm 33:6 and
Wisdom of Solomon 9:1.
[ CAB]
11:4-38: These verses present Old Testament figures and events as
examples of faith, who were faithful in spite of not having the promises we
have: Abel (v. 4),
Enoch (v. 5),
Noah (v. 7),
Abraham (vv. 8-19),
Isaac (v. 20),
Jacob (vv. 21-22),
Moses (vv. 23-28),
those who passed through the Reed (Red) Sea (v. 29),
the capture of Jericho (v. 30),
Rahab (v. 31), judges of
ancient Israel (Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, v. 32-33),
David, Samuel and the prophets (v. 32-33).
(For a similar list of heroes, see Sirach 44:1-50:21).
[ NJBC]
11:4: “Abel”: See Genesis 4:3-10.
The superiority of Abel’s sacrifice over Cain’s met with God’s approval. An
enduring witness to faith is given by his example. [ CAB] NJBC notes that the Old Testament
does not mention Abel’s motivation for sacrifice. He suggests that the author
was influenced by his own conviction that without faith it is impossible to
please God (see v. 6)
and the statement in Genesis 4:4 that
God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice.
11:4: “ he died, but through his faith he still speaks”: This
may be a reference to Genesis 4:10 (where Yahweh says to Cain “your
brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!”), but is more likely an
indication of the enduring witness to faith given by Abel’s example:. [ NJBC]
11:5: “Enoch”: See Genesis 5:21-24 (“...
Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him”). He so
pleased God that God took him into his presence without experiencing death. [ CAB]
11:6: A general axiom referring to the existence and the moral
government of God. [ NOAB]
11:6: “must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
seek him”: The two objects of faith should probably be understood as
synonymous, i.e. not merely the fact of God’s existence but also his existence
as the one who has entered into relations with humans, on the basis of his
grace. [ NJBC]
11:7: “Noah”: See Genesis 6:13-22.
He expressed his confidence in the unknown future by doing God’s will in
building the Ark. His action saved his family, and renounced the evil works of
his contemporaries. [ CAB]
Perhaps the author draws on the tradition alluded to in 2 Peter 2:5,
that Noah warned his contemporaries of the imminent flood and urged them to
repentance, though without success. They were thus condemned. The event
vindicated his faith, which was a condemnation of their unbelief.
11:8-9: See also Genesis 12:1-8 (God
calls Abram); 26:3 (God
appears to Isaac); 35:12 (God
appears to Jacob). [NOAB] [ NJBC]
11:10: For Abraham’s sojourn in Canaan interpreted as an
indication of his realisation that his permanent dwelling would be nowhere on
earth, but in the heavenly city, see also v. 16;
Galatians 4:26 (the
allegory of Hagar and Sarah); Revelation 21:2.
[ NOAB] [ NJBC]
11:11: “By faith he received power of procreation, even though he
was too old – and Sarah herself was barren – because he considered him faithful
who had promised”: The NRSV footnote offers as an alternative
translation: By faith Sarah herself, though barren, received power to
conceive, even when she was too old, because she considered him faithful who
had promised. NJBC offers by
faith Sarah herself received power for the sowing of seed . He says
that the Greek text seems to attribute to Sarah the male role in the conception
of Isaac. The original story is in Genesis 18:1-15.
[ NJBC]
11:12: The author thinks of Yahweh’s words to Abram:
- in Genesis 15:5-6:
“‘Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’
Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” And he believed the
Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness”
- in Genesis 22:17:
“‘I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as
the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.’”
In Genesis 32:12,
Jacob reminds God that he has said: “‘I will surely do you good, and make your
offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their
number’”. Colossians uses phrases found in Romans 4:19:
“He [Abraham] did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was
already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he
considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb”. [ NOAB]
11:18: Hebrews quotes Genesis 21:12:
“God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because
of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is
through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you”. [ NOAB]
11:19: “figuratively”: NJBC considers
it more likely that the Greek en parabole means that Isaac’s
deliverance from death is a symbol of Jesus’ resurrection.
11:19: Abraham received Isaac “back” when he was told to offer a
ram instead of his son: Genesis 22:13 tells
us: “Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham
went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his
son”. [ NOAB]
11:20-22: Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all express faith in God’s promise
when they are about to die. [ JBC]
11:20: In the story of Isaac giving the birthright to Jacob, we
read in Genesis 27:27-29:
“So he [Jacob] came near and kissed him [Isaac]; and he [Isaac] smelled the
smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, ‘Ah, the smell of my son is
like the smell of a field that the Lord has
blessed’. May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the
earth, and plenty of grain and wine” and in Genesis 27:39-40:
“Then his father Isaac answered him: ‘See, away from the fatness of the earth
shall your home be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you
shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose, you
shall break his yoke from your neck’”. [ NOAB]
11:21: In Genesis 48,
Jacob, on this deathbed, blesses Joseph’s sons.
11:22: Genesis 50:24-25 says:
“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die; but God will surely come
to you, and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying,
"When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.’” .
Exodus 13:19 tells
us that, when the Israelites left Egypt, “Moses took with him the bones of
Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, ‘God will
surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from
here’”. [NOAB]
11;23-28: Four instances of faith connected with Moses. [ NJBC]
11:23: Exodus 2:1-2 tells
us “Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman
conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him
three months”. Exodus 1:22 says:
“Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you
shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live’”. [ NOAB]
11:24-27: The glorification of Moses presented here does not
correspond to the Old Testament account: see Exodus 2:11-15.
[ NJBC]
11:26: “abuse suffered for the Christ”: In 13:12-13,
the author writes “Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order
to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp
and bear the abuse he endured”. In a similar vein, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:3-4,
sees “the spiritual rock” (that, according to legend, followed the people of
Israel in the desert), as Christ. [ NOAB]
This is a christological interpretation of Moses’ choice to share his people’s
suffering. [ NJBC]
11:27: “him who is invisible”: John 1:18 says
“No one has ever seen God ...”. Colossians 1:15 says
that Christ is “the image of the invisible God”. See also 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16.
[ NOAB]
12:32-34: God’s providential care of his people makes
unnecessary anxiety about appearance or daily needs, since a share in the life
of God’s “kingdom” is not gained by human merit but by the Father’s gift. [ CAB]
12:33-34: See also Matthew 6:19-21;
Mark 10:21;
Luke 18:22;
Acts 2:45 (Christians
share their possessions); 4:32-35.
Jesus spoke against abuse, not possession, of property: in v. 15,
he tells the crowd: “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions”. [ NOAB] Luke’s version puts a
positive spin on Jesus’ words; Matthew 6:21 says
“‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do
not break in and steal.’”
12:35-13:9: Another series of images depicts the
accountability of God’s people. [ CAB]
12:35-38: Similar ideas are to be found in the Parable
of the Ten Bridesmaids: see Matthew 25:1-13.
Jesus is presented as a servant in Luke 22:24-27 and
as the Suffering
Servant in 23:6-25.
[ NJBC]
12:35: Ephesians 6:14 advises:
“Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on
the breastplate of righteousness”. See also Mark 13:33-37 (“Beware,
keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come ...”). [ NOAB]
12:37: The language suggests that Jesus’ mind moved
to the Messianic
banquet (see 13:29; 22:16),
to which a marriage feast served as an analogy. [ NOAB]
12:37: “slaves”: For the use of slave (Greek; doulos )
as a designation for a Christian, see Romans 1:1;
1 Corinthians 7:22;
Galatians 1:10.
See also Acts 4:29 (prayer
after the release of Peter and John) and 16:17 (on
the lips of the slave girl at Philippi). [ NJBC]
12:39: “thief”: The same motif is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-11;
2 Peter 3:10;
Revelation 3:3.
[ NOAB]
A nuptial banquet is
a messianic theme: see
Song of Solomon 5:1 and
Revelation 19:9.
The eschatological feast
is mentioned in Isaiah 55:1-13; 65:11-13;
Revelation 3:20; 19:9.
[ JBC]
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
GOSPEL: Luke 12: 32 -
40 (RCL)
Luke 12: (32 - 34) 35 - 40
(41 - 48) (Roman Catholic)
Luke 12:32 (NRSV)
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to
give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for
yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no
thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.
35 "Be
dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting
for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the
door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom
the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt
and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes
during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are
those slaves.
39 "But know
this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he
would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the
Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
41 Peter said,
"Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?" 42 And
the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his
master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food
at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work
when he arrives. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his
possessions. 45 But if that slave says to himself, "My master is delayed
in coming,' and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to
eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day
when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut
him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. 47 That slave who knew what his
master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive
a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know and did what deserved a
beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been
given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted,
even more will be demanded.
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
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