·
18 William Porcher
DuBose, Priest, 1918
·
20 Bernard,
Abbot of Clairvaux, 1153 was a French abbot and a major
leader in the reform of Benedictine monasticism that caused the formation of the Cistercian order.
·
23 Martin de Porres, 1639, Rosa de Lima, 1617, and Toribio de Mogrovejo,
1606, Witnesses to the Faith in South America
·
25 Louis, King
of France, 1270 (also in the Philippines,
alternative commemoration for Charles Henry Brent)
commonly known as Saint Louis, was King of France, and is a canonized Catholic and Anglicansaint. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII; his mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled the kingdom as regent until he reached maturity.
During Louis' childhood, Blanche dealt with the opposition of rebellious
vassals and obtained a definitive victory in the Albigensian Crusade which had started 20 years earlier.
OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah
5: 1 - 7 (RCL)
Isai 5:1 (NRSV)
Let me sing for my beloved
my love-song
concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a
vineyard
on a very fertile
hill.
2 He dug it and
cleared it of stones,
and planted it
with choice vines;
he built a
watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a
wine vat in it;
he expected it to
yield grapes,
but it yielded
wild grapes.
3 And now,
inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of
Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.
4 What more was
there to do for my vineyard
that I have not
done in it?
When I expected it
to yield grapes,
why did it yield
wild grapes?
5 And now I will
tell you
what I will do to
my vineyard.
I will remove its
hedge,
and it shall be
devoured;
I will break down
its wall,
and it shall be
trampled down.
6 I will make it a
waste;
it shall not be
pruned or hoed,
and it shall be
overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also
command the clouds
that they rain no
rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard
of the LORD of hosts
is the house of
Israel,
and the people of
Judah
are his pleasant
planting;
he expected
justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry!
Jeremiah 23: 23 - 29
(alt. for RCL)
Jere 23:23 (NRSV)
Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in
secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven
and earth? says the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who
prophesy lies in my name, saying, "I have dreamed, I have dreamed!"
26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back--those who prophesy
lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my
people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their
ancestors forgot my name for Ba'al. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the
dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw
in common with wheat? says the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the
LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
PSALM 80: 1 - 2, 8 - 19
(RCL)
Psal 80:1 (NRSV)
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead
Joseph like a flock!
You who are
enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2 before E'phraim
and Benjamin and Manas'seh.
Stir up your
might,
and come to save
us!
8 You brought a
vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the
nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the
ground for it;
it took deep root
and filled the land.
10 The mountains
were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars
with its branches;
11 it sent out its
branches to the sea,
and its shoots to
the River.
12 Why then have
you broken down its walls,
so that all who
pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from
the forest ravages it,
and all that move
in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O
God of hosts;
look down from
heaven, and see;
have regard for
this vine,
15 the stock that
your right hand planted.
16 They have
burned it with fire, they have cut it down;
may they perish at
the rebuke of your countenance.
17 But let your
hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you
made strong for yourself.
18 Then we will
never turn back from you;
give us life, and
we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, O
LORD God of hosts;
let your face
shine, that we may be saved.
Note: Verse numbering
in your Psalter may be different from the above.
80 Qui regis
Israel (ECUSA BCP)
1 Hear,
O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; *
shine
forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2 In
the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, *
stir
up your strength and come to help us.
8 You
have brought a vine out of Egypt; *
you
cast out the nations and planted it.
9 You
prepared the ground for it; *
it
took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow *
and
the towering cedar trees by its boughs.
11 You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea *
and
its branches to the River.
12 Why have you broken down its wall, *
so
that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?
13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, *
and
the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.
14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from
heaven;
behold and tend
this vine; *
preserve
what your right hand has planted.
15 They burn it with fire like rubbish; *
at
the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.
16 Let your hand be upon the man of your right
hand, *
and
son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
17 And so will we never turn away from you; *
give
us life, that we may call upon your Name.
18 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; *
show
the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
Psalm 82 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 82:1 (NRSV)
God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of
the gods he holds judgment:
2 "How long
will you judge unjustly
and show
partiality to the wicked? [Se'lah]
3 Give justice to
the weak and the orphan;
maintain the right
of the lowly and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak
and the needy;
deliver them from
the hand of the wicked."
5 They have
neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk around
in darkness;
all the
foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I say, "You
are gods,
children of the
Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless,
you shall die like mortals,
and fall like any
prince."
8 Rise up, O God,
judge the earth;
for all the
nations belong to you!
82 Deus stetit (ECUSA BCP)
1 God
takes his stand in the council of heaven; *
he
gives judgment in the midst of the gods:
2 “How
long will you judge unjustly, *
and
show favor to the wicked?
3 Save
the weak and the orphan; *
defend
the humble and needy;
4 Rescue
the weak and the poor; *
deliver
them from the power of the wicked.
5 They
do not know, neither do they understand;
they go about in
darkness; *
all
the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 Now
I say to you, ‘You are gods, *
and
all of you children of the Most High;
7 Nevertheless,
you shall die like mortals, *
and
fall like any prince.’”
8 Arise,
O God, and rule the earth, *
for
you shall take all nations for your own.
NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews
11: 29 - 12: 2 (RCL)
Hebr 11:29 (NRSV)
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when
the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of
Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Ra'hab
the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had
received the spies in peace.
32 And what more
should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Bar'ak, Samson,
Jeph'thah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- 33 who through faith
conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of
lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out
of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women
received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept
release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others suffered mocking
and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death,
they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins
of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented-- 38 of whom the world was
not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in
the ground.
39 Yet all these,
though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised,
40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from
us, be made perfect. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings
so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2
looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and
has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
The sufferings in 11:35b-38 are
mostly those endured by faithful Israelites before and during the Maccabean
revolt in the mid 100s BC; in some cases it is not known to whom the author
refers. The world was not worthy of these exemplars of faith! ( 11:38a).
For all of them ( 11:39),
though God found their actions pleasing (“commended ...”), fulfilment of his
promise did not occur at the time; rather it was delayed until the saving work
of Christ was completed, i.e. in also saving us (“not, apart from us”, 11:40).
So being “surrounded” ( 12:1)
by all these exemplars of faith (“witnesses” to the efficacy of faith in God),
let us “lay aside” anything that may hinder us in living a godly life (“the
race”): in it, we look to Jesus as both forerunner (“pioneer”, 12:2)
and fulfiller of our faith. He, we, and those who have gone
before us run the race to attain eternal life (“joy”) and
oneness with God – through suffering and shame.
11:29: For the miraculous passage of the Israelites through the Reed (Red) Sea, see Exodus 14:21-31. [ NOAB]
11:31:
For the role of Rahab the prostitute in the taking of Jericho, see Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-25.
[ NOAB]
11:32:
The REB offers: Need
I say more? Time is too short to tell ... See Judges 6-8 (Gideon); 4-5 (Deborah
and Barak); 13-16 (Samson); 11-12 (Jephthah);
1 Samuel 16-30 (David);
2 Samuel 1-24;
1 Kings 1:1-2:11;
1 Samuel 15:1-16; 13.
[ NOAB]
11:32:
“Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah”: Judges of ancient Israel. [ CAB]
11:33:
“shut the mouths of lions”: In Daniel 6:22,
Daniel tells the king: “My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so
that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also
before you, O king, I have done no wrong”. [ NOAB]
11:35a:
The REB has Women
received back their dead raised to life. See 1 Kings 17:17-24 (Elijah
revives the widow's son) and 2 Kings 4:8-27 (Elisha
raises the Shunammite's son). [ NOAB]
11:35b-38:
1 Maccabees 1:60-63 says
that at the time of the desecration of the Temple in 167 BC: “According to the
decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, and
their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from
their mothers' necks. But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their
hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by
food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die”. See also 1
Maccabees 7:34;
2 Maccabees 6: 18-31; 7: 1-42.
[ NOAB] [ NJBC]
11:37:
See also 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 (Zechariah
is stoned to death); Jeremiah 26:23 (Jehoiakim
kills Uriah with a sword); 2 Maccabees 5:27 (Judas
Maccabeus and his companions); 6:12-7:42 (the
martyrdom of Eleazar and others). [NOAB]
11:37:
“sawn in two”: This tradition is found in Ascension of Isaiah 5:1-14.
Both Tertullian and Justin Martyr mention it.
[ JBC]
11:37:
“tormented”: The Greek word is a technical term meaning stretched on a
rack or wheel. This was the fate of some martyrs during the Maccabean revolt against the
Syrians in the second century BC. See generally 2 Maccabees 5-7.
[ CAB]
11:40:
“so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect”: NJBC says that those earlier in
this chapter have now obtained what Christians still on earth possess only in
an anticipatory way. He refers the reader to 6:11-12:
“And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the
full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish,
but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
12:1:
“weight”: i.e. encumbrance. [ NOAB]
12:1:
“clings”: In most manuscripts, the Greek word is euperistatos. It
occurs only here in the New Testament; its meaning is only conjectured.
The P46 manuscript
has euperipastos, meaning easily distracting. [ JBC]
12:2-3:
Jesus is the model for endurance of hardship. [ NJBC]
12:2:
“pioneer and perfecter”: 2:10 says
“It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in
bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation
perfect through sufferings”. Christ is the prototype and consummator of God’s
purpose for his people. [ NOAB]
12:2:
“pioneer”: The Greek word, archegos, is translated as “Author” in
Acts 3:15 and
as “Leader” in Acts 5:31.
[NOAB]
12:2:
“our faith”: Literally the faith. [ NOAB]
12:2:
“for the sake of the joy”: This can also be translated as instead of
joy, i.e. Jesus’ repudiation of earthly kingship (Matthew 4:8-10,
his temptation in the wilderness, and John 6:15,
after the feeding of the five thousand) or his self--emptying
(Philippians 2:6-9);
however the exhortation that the addressees persevere in view of the triumphant
end of the race suggests that the author understands Jesus’ example in the same
way. [ NJBC]
12:3-13:
Discipline is the quality which is required of those who “run with perseverance
the race that is set before us” (v. 1),
as Jesus demonstrated and as scripture affirms, and as children reared by
responsible parents have experienced. Through athletic--like training (v. 11),
discipline now leads to a future peace and the reward of
“righteousness”. There is no room for moral lameness or flabbiness in the
demanding life of the faithful. [ CAB]
12:9:
“the Father of spirits”: God is the author of humanity’s spiritual being: see
Numbers 16:22; 27:16;
Zechariah 12:1.
[ NOAB] [ NJBC]
GOSPEL: Luke 12: 49 -
56 (RCL)
Luke 12: 49 - 53 (Roman
Catholic)
Luke 12:49 (NRSV)
"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already
kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am
under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to
the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one
household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they
will be divided:
father against son
and son against
father,
mother against
daughter
and daughter
against mother,
mother-in-law
against her daughter-in-law
and
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
54 He also said to
the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say,
"It is going to rain'; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south
wind blowing, you say, "There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. 56
You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
These sayings are all sayings on the end of the era. [ NOAB] We are accountable for our behaviour. [ CAB]
Verses 49-53: CAB says
that these verses depict the domestic conflicts that will result from
commitments made to Jesus. To NJBC,
these verses give the rationale for opposition to Jesus, his disciple, and
within the Church.
Verse 49: “fire”: In separating the dross from the genuine, fire is also a
symbol of judgement. In Matthew 3:11,
John the Baptizer says that Jesus “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire”. See also Matthew 7:19 (“Beware
of false prophets ...”). See also Mark 9:48 and
Luke 3:16.
[ NOAB]
Verse 50: In Mark 10:38-39,
in answer to the request of James and John to share in his power, Jesus says
“‘Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with?’”. There the cup is a symbol of death. In John 12:27,
Jesus says “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – ‘Father, save me
from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour”. [ NOAB] [ BlkLk] In obedience to God’s
will, Jesus goes on his journey to Jerusalem and his exodus, resolutely facing
all opposition. [ NJBC]
Verses 51-53: In Matthew 10:34-36,
Jesus says “‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have
not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his
father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.’”. See
also Luke 21:16 and
Micah 7:6.
[ NOAB] At Jesus’ baptism, in 2:14,
a voice from God says “‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace
among those whom he favours!’”, so there will be some whom God favours, and
others whom he does not. [ BlkLk]
Recall Simeon’s words to Mary in 2:34-35:
“This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and
to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be
revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too’”. [ NJBC]
Verse 52: “From now”: Literally, from the period now beginning. The Greek
phrase also appears in also 22:69.
[BlkLk]
Verses 54-56: Matthew 16:2-3 is
similar. The crowds, because of their hypocrisy, refuse to see God’s key moment
of salvation history, present in Jesus’ kingdom ministry. The “present” is the
period of the kingdom. Winds from the “west” blew off the Mediterranean,
bringing rain; those from the south blew off the desert. [ NOAB] Those concerned with
various kinds of portents cannot see the significance of God’s work through
Jesus in “the present time”. [ CAB]
Verses 57-59: Matthew 5:25-26 is
similar. [ NOAB] Now is the
time to make amends for your waywardness. Do so before you appear before the
judge! It is essential to come to terms with one’s situation now, lest severe
punishment await one in the future. [ CAB]
Verse 58: “magistrate”: The Greek word is constantly used for an officer
charged with collecting debts. [ BlkLk]
Verse 59: “penny”: The Greek word is lepton. The lepton was
the smallest Greek coin in circulation. (In Matthew 5:26and
Mark 12:42,
the widow’s offering at the Temple, the word translated “penny” is quadrans;
there were two lepta to a quadrans. In Luke 12:6,
the word translated “penny” is assarion; there were eight lepta to
an assarion.) [ NOAB]
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
No comments:
Post a Comment