·
8 Harriet Bedell, Deaconess and Missionary, 1969
·
9 Julia Chester Emery,
1922
10 William Laud, Archbishop of
Canterbury, 1645 was an English churchman,
appointed Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633
during the personal rule of Charles I. Arrested in
1640, he was executed in 1645.
In
matters of church polity, Laud was autocratic. Laudianism refers
to a collection of rules on matters of ritual, in particular, that were
enforced by Laud in order to maintain uniform worship in England and Wales, in
line with the king's preferences. They were precursors to later High Church views.
In theology, Laud was accused of being an Arminian and
opponent of Calvinism, as well as covertly favouring Roman Catholic doctrines
(see Arminianism in the Church of England). On all
three grounds, he was regarded by Puritan clerics
and laymen as a formidable and dangerous opponent
·
·
12 Aelred, Abbot
of Rievaulx, 1167 was an English Cistercian monk, abbot of Rievaulx from 1147
until his death, and known as a writer. He is regarded by Anglicans and Catholics
as a saint.
OLD TESTAMENT: Jeremiah
31: 7 - 14 (RCL, ECUSA)
Jere 31:7 (NRSV)
For thus says the LORD:
Sing aloud with
gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts
for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give
praise, and say,
"Save, O
LORD, your people,
the remnant of Israel."
8 See, I am going
to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them
from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the
blind and the lame,
those with child
and those in labor, together;
a great company,
they shall return here.
9 With weeping
they shall come,
and with
consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them
walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path
in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become
a father to Israel,
and E'phraim is my
firstborn.
10 Hear the word of
the LORD, O nations,
and declare it in
the coastlands far away;
say, "He who
scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him
as a shepherd a flock."
11 For the LORD
has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed
him from hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come
and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be
radiant over the goodness of the LORD,
over the grain,
the wine, and the oil,
and over the young
of the flock and the herd;
their life shall
become like a watered garden,
and they shall
never languish again.
13 Then shall the
young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men
and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their
mourning into joy,
I will comfort
them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 I will give the
priests their fill of fatness,
and my people
shall be satisfied with my bounty,
qsays the LORD.
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
24: 1 - 12 (alt. for RCL)
Sirach 24: 1 - 4, 8 -
12 (Roman Catholic)
Sir 24:1 (NRSV) Wisdom
praises herself,
and tells of her
glory in the midst of her people.
2 In the assembly
of the Most High she opens her mouth,
and in the
presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
3 “I came forth
from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the
earth like a mist.
4 I dwelt in the
highest heavens,
and my throne was
in a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I
compassed the vault of heaven
and traversed the
depths of the abyss.
6 Over waves of
the sea, over all the earth,
and over every
people and nation I have held sway.
7 Among all these
I sought a resting place;
in whose territory
should I abide?
8 “Then the
Creator of all things gave me a command,
and my Creator
chose the place for my tent.
He said, ‘Make
your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel
receive your inheritance.’
9 Before the ages,
in the beginning, he created me,
and for all the
ages I shall not cease to be.
10 In the holy
tent I ministered before him,
and so I was established
in Zion.
11 Thus in the
beloved city he gave me a resting place,
and in Jerusalem
was my domain.
12 I took root in
an honored people,
in the portion of
the Lord, his heritage.
PSALM 147: 12 - 20
(RCL)
Psalm 147: 12 - 15, 19
- 20 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 147:12 (NRSV)
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O
Zion!
13 For he
strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your
children within you.
14 He grants peace
within your borders;
he fills you with
the finest of wheat.
15 He sends out
his command to the earth;
his word runs
swiftly.
16 He gives snow
like wool;
he scatters frost
like ashes.
17 He hurls down
hail like crumbs--
who can stand
before his cold?
18 He sends out
his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind
blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares his
word to Jacob,
his statutes and
ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not
dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know
his ordinances.
Praise the LORD!
84 Quam dilecta! (ECUSA BCP)
1 How
dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! *
My
soul has a desire and longing for the courts of
the LORD;
my
heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2 The
sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a
nest where she may lay her young; *
by
the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my
King and my God.
3 Happy
are they who dwell in your house! *
they
will always be praising you.
4 Happy
are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose
hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.
5 Those
who go through the desolate valley will find
it a place of
springs, *
for
the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
6 They
will climb from height to height, *
and
the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
7 Lord
God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
hearken,
O God of Jacob.
8 Behold
our defender, O God; *
and
look upon the face of your Anointed.
9 For one
day in your courts is better than
a thousand in my
own room, *
and
to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than
to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
10 For the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
he
will give grace and glory;
11 No good thing will the Lord withhold *
from
those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord of hosts, *
happy
are they who put their trust in you!
Note: vs. 9-12 are
optional
Wisdom 10: 15 - 21
(alt. for RCL)
Wis 10:15 (NRSV) A
holy people and blameless race
wisdom delivered
from a nation of oppressors.
16 She entered the
soul of a servant of the Lord,
and withstood
dread kings with wonders and signs.
17 She gave to
holy people the reward of their labors;
she guided them
along a marvelous way,
and became a
shelter to them by day,
and a starry flame
through the night.
18 She brought
them over the Red Sea,
and led them
through deep waters;
19 but she drowned
their enemies,
and cast them up
from the depth of the sea.
20 Therefore the
righteous plundered the ungodly;
they sang hymns, O
Lord, to your holy name,
and praised with
one accord your defending hand;
21 for wisdom
opened the mouths of those who were mute,
and made the
tongues of infants speak clearly.
NEW TESTAMENT:
Ephesians 1: 3 - 14 (RCL)
Ephesians
1: 3 - 6, 15 - 19a (ECUSA)
Ephesians 1: 3 - 6, 15 - 18 (Roman Catholic)
Ephe 1:3 (NRSV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before
him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus
Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his
glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9
he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure
that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather
up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we
have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the
purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,
12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the
praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the
seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance
toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.
15 I have heard of
your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this
reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my
prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so
that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to
which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among
the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who
believe.
It is through Christ’s death that we are set free, rescued
(“redemption”, v. 7)
and forgiven our deviations from God’s ways (“trespasses”). Being now “holy and
blameless” (v. 4),
we have intellectual knowledge of God (“wisdom”, v. 8)
and are able to apply it (“insight”); so we can know and participate in his
plan for creation – which he disclosed in the Christ-event (Christ’s
life, death and resurrection.) This plan, which will come to fruition when
God’s eternal purposes are completed, is to unite (“gather”, v. 10)
all creation (“heaven” and “earth”) in Christ. In Christ, we Christians have
been adopted by God (“inheritance”, v. 11),
per his plan, so that we, forerunners (“the first”, v. 12)
of many to “set our hope on Christ”, may live to praise God’s manifest power
(“glory”). In Christ, the recipients of this letter, having heard the gospel
and believed in him, were baptised (“marked with the seal of the ... Holy
Spirit”, v. 13),
incorporated into the Church. The inner sanctifying presence of the Spirit is a
guarantee (“pledge”, v. 14)
that God will carry his promise to completion.
GOSPEL: John 1: (1 - 9)
10 - 18 (RCL)
John 1: 1 - 5 (6 - 8) 9 - 14
(15 - 18) (Roman Catholic)
John 1:1 (NRSV) In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2
He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and
without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was
life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man
sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the
light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light,
but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the
world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know
him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become
children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or
of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word
became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a
father's only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried
out, "This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me ranks ahead of
me because he was before me.'") 16 From his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son,
who has made him known.
“Flesh”, humanity, per Isaiah 40:6-8,
was seen as weak, imperfect and transitory. Christ does an amazing thing: he
becomes a human being (albeit, being God, a perfect one). The author is a
witness to the divine presence shown in Jesus (“glory”, v. 14).
John the Baptizer was the first of this gospel’s witnesses of the Christ-event,
God become human.
From all that is in God (“fullness”, v. 16),
we have received gift after gift (“grace upon grace”). The Mosaic Law was given
by God, and Christ brought the full revelation of God’s ways. Judaism said that
God could not be seen (v. 18).
(Even Moses, in Exodus 33:30-44,
was not permitted to see God’s face.) It is through Christ, who is in complete
intimacy with the Father, that we have been given access to the Father.
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
Verses 1-2: The “Word” (Greek: logos) of
God is speech, but also God in action, creating (see Genesis 1:3 and
Psalm 33:6).
revealing (see Amos 3:7-8),
redeeming (see Psalm 107:19-20).
Jesus is this “Word” (v. 14).
He was eternal (“in the beginning” – see Genesis 1:1);
personal (“with God”); divine (“was God”). Note “was”: not “became” (in
v. 14).
[ NOAB]
Verse 1:
“In the beginning ... was with God”: This also recalls the traditions of Wisdom
being with God at creation (see Proverbs 8:30 and
Wisdom of Solomon 7:25),
but John goes beyond the stance of wisdom literature, which
carefully avoids showing Wisdom as equal with God.
Verse 3:
He was the sole agent of creation: see Genesis 1:1;
Proverbs 8:27-30;
Colossians 1:16-17;
Hebrews 1:2.
[ BlkJn]
Verse 4:
Apart from him, both physical and spiritual life would recede into nothingness.
In 5:39-40,
Jesus says “‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have
eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come
to me to have life’” and in 8:12 “‘I
am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but
will have the light of life’”.
Verse 5:
“The light shines in the darkness”: Wisdom of Solomon 7:29-30 speaks
of a beauty that surpasses the sun and stars; sin cannot prevail over Wisdom. [ NJBC]
Verse 5:
“darkness”: i.e. total evil in conflict with God – it cannot overcome God.
Verses 6-8: John the Baptist was commissioned by God (he is the “messenger
of the covenant” in Malachi 3:1)
to point to Jesus (vv. 19-34).
John the Baptist is a witness. [ NJBC]
Verse 9:
“The true light”: The real (authentic, divinely given reality), underived light
contrasted not with false light but with those such as John the Baptist: he was
a lamp. In 5:35,
Jesus says “‘He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice
for a while in his light’”. [ NOAB]
Verse 11: “his own people”: The Jews. Recalls the rejection of Wisdom
in 1 Enoch 42:2:
“Wisdom went out to dwell with the children of the people, but she found no
dwelling place; (so) Wisdom returned to her place and she established herself
among the angels.” [ NJBC]
Verse 12: “he gave power ...”: This may have originally referred to Wisdom
finding a dwelling in the souls of the righteous (see Sirach 1:9-10),
and has been recast to reflect the soteriology of the
Gospel. 2:23 says
“When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his
name because they saw the signs that he was doing” and 3:18 says
“Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are
condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son
of God”. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: “born ... of God”: 3:3-8 attributes
divine rebirth to the activity of the Holy Spirit. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “the Word became flesh”: This goes beyond the Old Testament
images of divine glory and Wisdom dwelling in Israel (Exodus 25:8-9;
Joel 3:17;
Zechariah 2:10;
Ezekiel 43:7;
Sirach 24:4, 8, 10).
The word translated here as flesh” is sarx. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: “we have seen”: The witness of John and the Johannine community.
[ NJBC]
Verse 14: “glory”: This is God’s glory as seen in Jesus and Jesus’
pre-existent glory with the Father. AS Jesus looks up to heaven, he says to the
Father: “So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I
had in your presence before the world existed”, and a little later: “Father, I
desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to
see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the
foundation of the world” ( 17:5, 24).
[ NJBC]
Verse 14: “grace”: Redeeming love.
Verse 14: “truth”: Faithfulness to his promises.
Verse 15: This verse alludes to John the Baptizer’s words in v. 30:
“This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because
he was before me.’”. [ NJBC]
Verse 16: “fullness”: Of God’s grace (“compassion according to the
abundance of his steadfast love”, Psalm 106:45)
or mercy (“your abundant mercy”, Psalm 51:1).
[ NJBC]
Verse 16: “grace upon grace”: This either means exhaustless or infinite,
or that the grace of the old covenant replaced by that of the new. [ NOAB]
Verse 17: This verse supports the interpretation of v. 16 that
sees the old grace replaced by the new.
Verse 18: In this gospel, the claims of others to knowledge of God are
consistently rejected. [ NJBC]
Verse 18: “seen”: 14:9 speaks
of seeing and knowing God: “Jesus said to him [Philip], ‘Have I been with you
all this time, ... and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen
the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?’”. [ NOAB]
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
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