·
8 Richard Baxter, Pastor and Writer, 1691
·
10 Karl Barth, Pastor and Theologian, 1968. Thomas Merton, Contemplative and Writer, 1968
·
13 Lucy (Lucia), Martyr at Syracuse, 304 also known as Saint Lucy or Saint Lucia (Latin: Sancta Lucia), was a Christian martyr who died
during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Churches. She is one of eight women along with the Blessed Virgin Mary who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. Her feast day,
known as Saint Lucy's Day, is celebrated in
the West on 13 December. St. Lucia of Syracuse was honored in the Middle Ages
and remained a well-known saint in early modern England
·
14 Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross),
Mystic, 1591 John of the Cross is known especially for his
writings. He was mentored by and corresponded with the older Carmelite, Teresa of Avila. Both his poetry
and his studies on the development of the soul are
considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and among the greatest works of all Spanish literature
·
15 John Horden, Bishop and Missionary in Canada,
1893. Robert
McDonald, Priest, 1913
OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah
11: 1 - 10 (all)
Isai 11:1 (NRSV) A
shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall
grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of
the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of
wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of
counsel and might,
the spirit of
knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 His delight
shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge
by what his eyes see,
or decide by what
his ears hear;
4 but with
righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with
equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike
the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the
breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness
shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness
the belt around his loins.
6 The wolf shall
live with the lamb,
the leopard shall
lie down with the kid,
the calf and the
lion and the fatling together,
and a little child
shall lead them.
7 The cow and the
bear shall graze,
their young shall
lie down together;
and the lion shall
eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing
child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned
child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
9 They will not
hurt or destroy
on all my holy
mountain;
for the earth will
be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters
cover the sea.
10 On that day the
root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire
of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
PSALM 72: 1 - 7, 18 -
19 (RCL)
Psalm 72: 1 - 2, 7 - 8,
12 - 13, 17 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 72:1 (NRSV)
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your
righteousness to a king's son.
2 May he judge
your people with righteousness,
and your poor with
justice.
3 May the
mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in
righteousness.
4 May he defend
the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance
to the needy,
and crush the
oppressor.
5 May he live
while the sun endures,
and as long as the
moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like
rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that
water the earth.
7 In his days may
righteousness flourish
and peace abound,
until the moon is no more.
8 May he have
dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River
to the ends of the earth.
12 For he delivers
the needy when they call,
the poor and those
who have no helper.
13 He has pity on
the weak and the needy,
and saves the
lives of the needy.
17 May his name
endure forever,
his fame continue
as long as the sun.
May all nations be
blessed in him;
may they pronounce
him happy.
18 Blessed be the
LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does
wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his
glorious name forever;
may his glory fill
the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
72 Deus, judicium (ECUSA BCP)
1 Give
the King your justice, O God, *
and
your righteousness to the King's son;
2 That he
may rule your people righteously *
and
the poor with justice.
3 That
the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *
and
the little hills bring righteousness.
4 He
shall defend the needy among the people; *
he
shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
5 He
shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *
from
one generation to another.
6 He
shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *
like
showers that water the earth.
7 In his
time shall the righteous flourish; *
there
shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall
be no more.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, *
who
alone does wondrous deeds!
19 And blessed be his glorious Name for ever! *
and
may all the earth be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT: Romans
15: 4 - 13 (RCL)
Romans 15: 4 -
9 (Roman Catholic)
Roma 15:4 (NRSV)
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so
that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have
hope. 5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in
harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together
you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Welcome one
another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of
the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the
patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
As it is written,
"Therefore I
will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises
to your name";
10 and again he
says,
"Rejoice, O
Gentiles, with his people";
11 and again,
"Praise the
Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the
peoples praise him";
12 and again
Isai'ah says,
"The root of Jesse
shall come,
the one who rises
to rule the Gentiles;
in him the
Gentiles shall hope."
13 May the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now Paul tells us the value of the Old Testament for us, “written in
former days” (v. 4).
When Jesus’ suffering is seen as part of God’s plan (which began with Abraham
and other patriarchs) “the scriptures” take on a greater meaning: towards the
“hope” of eternal life. Vv. 5-6 are
a prayer for harmony in the community, so that it may reflect God’s glory.
In 14:1,
Paul has written: “Welcome those who are weak in faith”. In v. 7 he
combines this with Jesus’ command to “love one another as I have loved you”.
Why? “For the glory of God”, the reason Jesus came to us. Jesus was a Jew and
ministered to Jews (“a servant of the circumcised”, v. 8)
in order to demonstrate that the “promises ... to the patriarchs” are reliable
(“confirm”) and to open up God’s promises to other cultural communities
(“Gentiles”, v. 9,
Greek: ethne). Paul’s quotations in vv. 9-12 –
from Psalms, Deuteronomy and Isaiah – all show that others besides Jews were
envisioned in God’s plan. Paul ends by asking God, the one in whom all cultures
centre their “hope” (v. 13),
to fill his readers with “joy”, “peace” and “hope” – the key concepts in his
quotations.
Some manuscripts lack Chapters 15 and 16. [ NOAB]
14:22-23: Their trust in God is how they exercise their free will in
accord with their consciences. One should live in a way consistent with one’s
trust in God.
14:22:
“Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what
they approve”: BlkRom offers Blessed
is he who does not waver in respect of what his conscience affirms. Once
his faith and reason have affirmed a course of action, he does not waver: happy
is he that he follows his conscience.
14:23:
But there are others who are weak in their trust in God. In 14:20b-21,
Paul has advised those who are strong: “it is wrong for you to make others fall
by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that
makes your brother or sister stumble”. A weak person may join in eating and
drinking because strong people do, or for his own pleasure, or for a reason
other than giving thanks to God and recognizing his lordship. Doing so is
slipping back into idolatry – in which the idol is his or her self. In these
circumstances, eating is sinful. Even though he might have been influenced by a
strong person, the weak Christian is responsible for his action, and condemned
for it. [ BlkRom]
15:1:
“put up with”: The Greek word can either mean to bear a burden,
i.e. to help the weak to come to terms with their consciences, or to
endure, i.e. to forebear immature attitudes to God. [ NJBC]
15:2:
“building up”: Paul often uses this construction term in the sense of the
community. In 1 Corinthians 14:12,
he says “since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for
building up the church”. See also Romans 14:19.
So it is likely that he is doing so here too. [ NJBC]
15:3:
The quotation is part of Psalm 69:9.
[ CAB] This psalm is related
either to the self-abasement of the pre-existent Christ (see 2
Corinthians 8:9 and
Philippians 2:5-8)
or to his passion (see Mark 15:29-32, 36).
Paul applies to Christ a verse from a psalm of the personal lament of an
upright Israelite who has suffered disgrace as a result of his fidelity. Christ
took on himself reproaches addressed to God.
15:4:
That the Old Testament has meaning for Christians today is also mentioned
in 4:23-24;
1 Corinthians 9:8-10; 10:9-11.
[ NJBC] [ CAB]
15:7:
“for the glory of God”: See Philippians 1:11; 2:11.
In the Qumran
literature, see 1QSb (Rule of the Community, Blessings) 4:25 and 1QS (Rule
of the Community) 10:9. [ NJBC]
15:7: Comments: “love
one another as I have loved you” : In John 13:34,
Jesus says “‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I
have loved you, you also should love one another’”. The last sentence is also
found in John 15:12.
[ NJBC]
15:8:
See also 9:1-5.
In Matthew 15:24,
Jesus says: “‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’”. In
John 4:22,
Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well: “You worship what you do not know;
we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews”. [ CAB]
15:8:
“the circumcised”: In Galatians 2:8-9,
Paul speaks of “the Gentiles” on one hand and “the circumcised” on the other.
There (and here) he uses “the circumcised” to mean Jewish people. [ NJBC]
15:9-12:
In all cases, “Gentiles” is a translation of ethne . [ NJBC]
15:9:
The quotation is Psalm 18:49.
See also 2 Samuel 22:50 (David’s
song of thanksgiving). [ CAB] [ NJBC]
15:10:
The quotation is from Deuteronomy 32:43 in
the Septuagint translation.
[ CAB]
15:12:
The quotation is Isaiah 11:10 in
the Septuagint translation.
See also Revelation 5:5.
[ CAB]
GOSPEL: Matthew 3: 1 -
12 (all)
Matt 3:1 (NRSV) In
those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." 3 This is the one
of whom the prophet Isai'ah spoke when he said,
"The voice of
one crying out in the wilderness:
"Prepare the
way of the Lord,
make his paths
straight.'"
4 Now John wore
clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was
locusts and wild honey. 5 Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going
out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by
him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw
many Phar'isees and Sad'ducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You
brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit
worthy of repentance. 9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, "We have
Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to
raise up children to Abraham. 10 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.
11 "I baptize
you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming
after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear
his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff
he will burn with unquenchable fire."
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
|
John the Baptist is mentioned
outside the Bible in Josephus, Antiquities
of the Jews 18:5.2. Some of his followers developed his movement to
rival Christianity (see Matthew 11:2;
Acts 18:25; 19:1-7)
yet because of his martyrdom and Jesus’ respect for him, Christians began to
regard him as a forerunner of Jesus. [ NJBC]
There is still a small community of his followers in Iraq.
Verse 2: “Repent”: See also Exodus 19:3-6 and 24:3-8;
Jeremiah 31:31-34 says:
“The days are surely coming ... when I will make a new covenant ... It will
not be like the [old] covenant ... I will put the law within them and I will write
it on their hearts.” [ NOAB]
The Greek word translated “repent”, metanoeite, means change
one’s mind in a radical way; the corresponding words in Hebrew and
Aramaic mean to turn, to reverse completely one’s life direction.
[ BlkMt]
Verse 2: “kingdom of heaven”: This is Matthew’s usual way of
expressing the equivalent phrase, the kingdom of God, found in
other gospels. “Heaven” is a common Jewish circumlocution for “God”. It was
(and is) considered impious and even blasphemous in Jewish circles to utter
the name of God, so there are several standard circumlocutions, such as “the
Holy One”. “Heaven” is one of these. Both “kingdom of heaven” and kingdom
of God mean the active, effective rule of God over his people. While
God has never lost his sovereignty, sin and waywardness have delayed its
realization. John says that God is about to establish his effective rule. [ BlkMt]
Verse 3: The quotation is Isaiah 40:3 in
the Septuagint translation.
In the NRSV, this verse says: “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare
the way of the Lord, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God’”. [ NJBC] The Hebrew and Septuagint translation of
Isaiah 40:3 both say the paths of our God. In changing the
quotation to “his paths”, John makes clear that he means the paths of
Jesus. [ BlkMt]
Verse 4: “camel’s hair”: See also Zechariah 13:4.
In 2 Kings 1:8,
Elijah is described as “hairy, ... with a leather belt round his waist”.
Christians understood him to fulfill Isaiah 40:3;
Malachi 3:1 (“...
I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me ...”); 4:5 (“...
I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of
the Lord comes”). John
is the expected Elijah. In Matthew 17:10,
the disciples ask “‘Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come
first’” and in v. 12,
Jesus replies “‘Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him’”. [ NJBC] [ BlkMt]
Verse 6: “were baptised”: Exodus 40:12-15 speaks
of the purification (by washing) of Aaron and his sons before donning
priestly vestments. [ CAB]
John’s baptism of Jews was an innovation, though Jews were probably already
baptising those converted to Judaism. [ BlkMt]
Verses 7-9: Luke 3:7-9 gives
John’s blast in almost identical words; however in Luke Jesus addresses “the
crowds” while here he warns Jewish leaders. [ BlkMt]
Verse 7: “Pharisees”: Working especially through the synagogue,
they promoted earnest study of, and careful obedience to, Mosaic law and to
the oral tradition which interpreted it. [ BlkMt]
Verse 7: “Sadducees”: This was the priestly party. Their
leadership centred in the Temple. [ BlkMt]
Verse 7: “vipers”: Ungodly people are called “vipers” in
Isaiah 30:6; 59:5;
Matthew 12:34; 23:33.
Revelation 12:9 speaks
of “The great dragon ... that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and
Satan”. Vipers flee in haste from fire as it rushes across the scrubby growth
of the wilderness. [ BlkMt]
Verse 7: “the wrath to come”: In 1 Thessalonians 1:10,
Paul speaks of Jesus as the one “who rescues us from the wrath that is
coming.”. [ NOAB]
Verses 8-10: John the Baptist demands right living based on a sincere
search for God’s will. See also 7:15-20 and
Galatians 5:22-23.
Verse 9: “God is able ...”: God does not show ethnic partiality.
In Deuteronomy 1:17,
Moses tells the judges of Israel, as God has instructed him: “‘You must not
be partial in judging: ... for the judgment is God’s’”. Deuteronomy 16:19 also
counsels impartiality. See also Acts 10:34 (Peter’s
speech when Cornelius is baptised); Romans 2:11;
Galatians 2:6;
Colossians 3:25.
[ NJBC]
Verses 10-12: In Luke 12:49-50,
Jesus says “‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were
already kindled’” and then goes on to mention baptism. Peter tells of
end-time happenings at Pentecost: see Acts 2:17-21.
Acts 19:1-7 tells
of the baptism of followers of John the Baptiser. Acts 18:24-26 tells
of Priscilla and Aquila explaining the good news to Apollos, who “knew only the
baptism of John”. [ NOAB]
Verse 10: “Even now the ax ...”: The urgency of the situation is
also mentioned in Isaiah 10:34 (“He
will hack down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon with its
majestic trees will fall”) and Jeremiah 46:22.
In both verses, the image of an ax felling trees is used. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “every tree ... that does not bear good fruit ... fire”:
In 4:17,
Jesus repeats what John preaches in v. 2.
Jewish leaders who do not repent and yield prompt obedience to God will be
struck with a sharp, irrevocable judgement. Jesus is equally stern. [ BlkMt] Jesus also presents
fire as a symbol of judgement in 7:19 (“Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”)
and 13:40-42 (“Just
as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end
of the age”). See also Hebrews 6:7-8.
Verse 11: “carry his sandals”: The other synoptic gospels have
“untie the thong of his sandals”. A later tradition was that a disciple
should do for his teacher anything a slave would do, except take off his
sandals. [ NJBC]
Verse 12: “unquenchable fire”: See also Isaiah 48:10 (“I
have tested you in the furnace of adversity”); 66:24 (“...
the people who have rebelled against me; ... their fire shall not be
quenched”); Jeremiah 7:20 (“My
anger and my wrath shall be poured out ... it will burn and not be
quenched”). [ NJBC]
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
|
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