8 Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, Priest, 1929
9 Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, c. 394  was bishop of Nyssa from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death. He is venerated as a saint in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Anglicanism
12 Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, 604 was Pope from 3 September 590 to 12 March 604 AD. He is famous for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian Mission, to convert the then-pagan Anglo-Saxons in England to Christianity
13 James Theodore Holly, bishop of Haiti and Dominican Republic


OLD TESTAMENT   Genesis 12: 1 - 4a   (RCL, Roman Catholic)

Gene 12:1 (NRSV) Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.


PSALM 121   (RCL)

Psal 121:1 (NRSV) I lift up my eyes to the hills--
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.


121   Levavi oculos    (ECUSA BCP)

1  I lift up my eyes to the hills; *
  from where is my help to come?

2  My help comes from the Lord, *
  the maker of heaven and earth.

3  He will not let your foot be moved *
  and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.

4  Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *
  shall neither slumber nor sleep;

5  The Lord himself watches over you; *
  the Lord is your shade at your right hand,

6  So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *
  nor the moon by night.

7  The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; *
  it is he who shall keep you safe.

8  The Lord shall watch over your going out and
your coming in, *
  from this time forth for evermore.


Psalm 33: 4 - 5, 18 - 19, 20, 22   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 33:4 (NRSV) For the word of the LORD is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

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.

22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.


NEW TESTAMENT   Romans 4: 1 - 5, 13 - 17   (RCL)

Roma 41 (NRSV) What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Paul has written that one can attain a right relationship with God through faith, without living by Mosaic law. Now he takes Abraham as an example; he asks: what can we conclude about faith vs. Law by looking at Abraham’s life? Judaism claimed that Abraham kept the Law before it was given, that he was godly (‘justified”, v. 2) because his “works” were in accord with the Law. Paul rejects this claim; rather, it was, as Genesis shows, Abraham’s faith which counted for him (“reckoned”, v. 3) as godliness. God “justifies the ungodly” (v. 5). For the worker, “wages” (v. 4) are expected, but for one who trusts (with no certainty of reward), such trust counts with God. In vv. 6-9 Paul quotes from Psalm 32 and Genesis, interpreting the verses jointly as showing that those who trust in God obtain his favour, whether they be keepers of the Law or trusters in God. Paul then argues that, because Abraham trusted in God’s pact before he was circumcised, Abraham’s faith (and not his keeping of the Law) was what counted for him with God (v. 10). Indeed, he says, circumcision was a confirmation of the right relationship he had attained through faith. It made Abraham “ancestor” (v. 11) of all who trust in God, both Jews (v. 12) and non-Jews (v. 11).

So the “promise” (v. 13) that Abraham would be father of many nations (“inherit the world”) came as a result of his faith and not his law-keeping. If the only way of achieving union with God is through keeping the Law, faith is irrelevant and the promise to Abraham is nonsense (v. 14). Because it is impossible to keep every law, sin is inevitable; God’s response to sin is punishment, breakdown of human relations with God: “the law brings wrath” (v. 15). But for those living by faith, transgression (“violation”) of the Law is irrelevant. So a right relationship with God “depends on faith” (v. 16), resting on God’s “promise” of “grace”, his gift of love – made not only to Jews but also to all those who trust in God, “of many nations” (v. 17). God spoke these words to Abraham; God gives spiritual “life” to the unbeliever; he restored Isaac’s life when he was as good as dead; he brought a son “into existence” to Abraham and Sarah, in their old age. They were “fully convinced” (v. 21) that God could do it. If we trust in God and have faith in the power of Christ’s resurrection, our trust will count with God too (vv. 24-25).

See also Galatians 3:1-18: “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! ...”. [ CAB]

Verse 1: “our ancestor”: Descent from Abraham was a source of pride among Jews: see Matthew 3:9 (John the baptizer warns Pharisees and Sadducees who come to him for baptism) and Luke 3:8. [ NJBC]

Verse 2: “justified by works”: i.e. keeping the law in advance. Sirach 44:20 (a midrash on Genesis 26:5) and Jubilees 6:19 both speak of Abraham’s deeds (namely the defeat of kings in Genesis 14 and his trial, the near-sacrifice of Isaac, Genesis 22:9-10) as a source of his godliness. See also Wisdom of Solomon 10:5 and James 2:21. However 1 Maccabees 2:52 says that Abraham’s godliness is a result of his faith. [ NJBC]

Verse 3: The quotation is from the Septuagint translation of Genesis 15:6. In Galatians 3:8, Paul writes: “the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you’”. See also James 2:23. As Paul understands Genesis 15:6, Abraham’s faith gained him credit with God. [ CAB] [ NOAB]

Verse 3: “reckoned”: The Greek word, elogisthe, is a book-keeping term: see also Deuteronomy 24:13 and Psalm 106:31. Deuteronomy 24:13 says: “... it will be to your credit before the L ord your God.” (where “it” is the return of a pledge). [ NJBC]

Verse 5: See also 5:6-11. [ CAB]

Verses 7-8: The quotation is Psalm 32:1-2 in the Septuagint translation. Like his contemporaries, Paul considers David to be the author of Psalms. Actually this psalm was written long after David’s time. [ CAB] [ NOAB] [ NJBC]

Verses 6-9: By a Jewish exegetical principle, that identical words appearing in two different places in Scripture are the basis for mutual interpretation, the blessedness (“Happy”) of Psalm 32 can also be applied to those who trust but are not circumcised. [ CAB] [ NOAB] [ NJBC]

Verse 10: “before he was circumcised”: Genesis 17:24 tells of the circumcision of Abraham. [ NOAB]

Verse 11: “He received the sign of circumcision”: In Genesis 17:11, circumcision is called “a sign of the covenant” between God and Abraham’s family. See also Acts 7:8 (Stephen’s speech). Later rabbis regarded Genesis 17:11 as a sign of the Mosaic covenant, for it served to distinguish Israel from other nations. [ NJBC]

Verse 13: “the promise”: The promise of an heir to be born of Sarah (see Genesis 15:4; 17:16, 19) and of numerous progeny (see Genesis 12:2; 13:14-17; 17:8; 22:16-18) was extended in Jewish tradition on the basis of the universality of “all the families of the earth” (see Genesis 12:3) to mean that “the [whole] world” was Abraham’s inheritance. [ NJBC]

Verse 14: See also Galatians 3:15-20. [ NJBC]

Verse 15: “violation”: Literally, transgression. See also 3:20 and 5:13. [ NJBC]

Verse 17: The quotation is Genesis 17:5 in the Septuagint translation. [ NJBC]

Verse 18: “So numerous ...”: In Genesis 15:5, in a vision, God brings Abram outside and says to him: “‘Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them ... So shall your descendants be’”. [ CAB] [ NOAB]

Verse 19: See Genesis 17:17 and 18:11. See also Hebrews 11:11-12 (where Sarah is also included). [ NOAB]

Verse 20: “he gave glory to God”: An Old Testament expression for giving grateful recognition to God: see 1 Samuel 6:5; 1 Chronicles 16:28. Per 1:21, unbelievers cannot do this. [ NJBC]

Verse 21: “do what he had promised”: i.e. the conception of Isaac.


GOSPEL  John 3: 1 - 17   (RCL)

John 3:1 (NRSV) Now there was a Phar'isee named Nicode'mus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4 Nicode'mus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.' 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicode'mus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and teacher, comes to Jesus to ask him questions. He comes secretly (“by night”, v. 2) because a man of his stature could not be seen consulting Jesus. He has understood from Jesus' miracles (“signs”) that Jesus is “from God”. But Jesus (in v. 3) tells him that he has not yet understood the main point: to “see the kingdom of God”, spiritual rebirth is required. Nicodemus misunderstands: he thinks that Jesus is speaking of biological rebirth (v. 4). Being “born from above” (v. 3) requires being baptised (v. 5). “Flesh”(v. 6) and “spirit” were seen as constituents of life, of which spirit (breath, wind, pneuma) was the life-giving force. Many things can be seen only in their effect; such is birth in the Spirit (v. 8). Still Nicodemus doesn't understand: in order for him to do so, he needs to have faith (“receive our testimony”, v. 11). Then, in v. 12, Jesus says: you, Nicodemus, don't comprehend what can be told in analogies (“earthly things”, i.e. “wind”, v. 8), so how can you possibly believe mysteries? Vv. 13-17 are a monologue. Only Christ has descended and ascended. The “serpent” (v. 14) is mentioned in Numbers 21:9-11: the people were bitten by poisonous snakes; some died; others became gravely ill. Instructed by God, Moses mounted (“lifted up”) a bronze snake on a pole. Those who looked at this emblem (trusting in God) were healed, lifted up, given life. God in his love provides eternal life to all who believe (v. 16). If you wilfully do not believe, you will perish (v. 18); there is no third alternative! God's intention is that you believe, rather than be condemned (v. 17).

This passage tells how Christ has replaced the institutions of Judaism.

The Pharisee is part of traditional religion: what Jesus came to preach against. Much of the terminology Jesus uses would either be unfamiliar to him, or used differently. (Some of the terms were used in the Qumran Community, itself a revolt against tradition.)

Verse 1: “Nicodemus”: Only John tells us of him. In 7:51, he insists that Jesus receive a trial; in 19:39, he anoints Jesus’ body for burial.

Verse 1: “a leader of the Jews”: a member of the Sanhedrin. [ NJBC]

Verse 2: “by night”: This may be saying that Nicodemus was a true, devoted, teacher because he studied the Torah at night as well as during the day. See 1QS (*Qumran Rule of the Community) 6:7. In vv. 19-21, John uses the symbols of light and dark. [ NJBC]

Verses 2,11: “we know”: Who “we” is in these two verses differs.

Verse 2: “you are a teacher ... from God”: Nicodemus recognizes Jesus as a teacher on a par with himself. [ NJBC]

Verse 3: “see the kingdom ...”: See also 1:51: “you will see the heaven opened”. Entrance to the Kingdom is by transformation by God, and not by moral achievement. Recall Matthew 18:3: “unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. [ BlkJn]

Verse 3: “born from above”: The NRSV offers an alternative translation in a footnote: born anew. BlkJn thinks that this is probably what Jesus said. The Greek word, anothen , can from above, anew or again. Although several translations consider “from above” to be preferable, anew fits better with Nicodemus’ somewhat sarcastic questions in v. 4.

Verse 4: “a second time”: The description of conversion as a second birth or a divine begetting is foreign to Judaism, but is familiar in Hellenistic mystery religions. [ BlkJn]

Verse 5: “born of water”: 1:33 says “... John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’”. See also Ephesians 5:26. [ NOAB]

Verse 6: “Spirit”: In Ezekiel 36:25-27, Yahweh promises through the prophet: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances”. See also Titus 3:5. In Jubilees 1:23, cleansing by the Spirit is associated with the coming of the Messianic Age. [ NJBC]

Verse 6: See also 1:12-13: “... to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”

Verse 7: “you”: The Greek word is in the plural, so Jesus speaks through Nicodemus to those whom he represents, i.e. the members of the religious establishment. [ BlkJn]

Verse 8: The point of this verse is unavoidably lost in translation, for pneuma means both wind and “spirit”. The wind is a parable of spirit, as natural birth of the supernatural. [ BlkJn]

Verse 10: “Israel”: John uses this term for God’s faithful people: recall Jesus’ words to Nathanael in 1:47: “‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’”. There is a certain irony in Jesus’ answer. [ BlkJn]

Verse 12: On the limits of earthly wisdom in Judaism, Proverbs 30:3-4 says “I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the holy ones. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is the person's name? And what is the name of the person's child? Surely you know!”. See also Wisdom of Solomon 9:16-18. [ NJBC]

Verse 13: John is gradually moving from the report of a conversation to the reflections inspired by it; however the transition is not completed until v. 16. These words can still be understood as a saying of Jesus. Taken as a continuation of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, one has to assume that a step in the argument has been omitted: since “no one has gone up to heaven”, there is no one on earth who can speak from his own experience of heavenly things , “except ...” [ BlkJn]

Verse 13: “No one has ascended into heaven”: This negates the claims of other visionaries to have knowledge of what is in heaven. For example, 1 Enoch 70:2; 71:1 have Enoch ascend into heaven, where he is identified with the Son-of-Man figure from the Septuagint translation of Daniel 7:14. The Son-of-Man saying in 1:51 promises the believer this heavenly vision as a vision of Jesus. [ NJBC]

Verse 13: The NRSV notes that some manuscripts append who is in heaven to this verse. BlkJn considers it to be original, even though it is missing from P66. He can only interpret it on the basis of vv. 13ff being a reflection of an age later than that of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Verse 14: This is typology. Wisdom of Solomon 16:5-7 says “For when the terrible rage of wild animals came upon your [God’s] people and they were being destroyed by the bites of writhing serpents, your wrath did not continue to the end; they were troubled for a little while as a warning, and received a symbol of deliverance to remind them of your law’s command”. In the desert, the people turned towards the Torah and towards God as saviour. [ NJBC]

Verse 14: “lifted up”: In Palestinian Aramaic and in Syriac the verb which is equivalent to to be lifted up has the special meaning of to be crucified. John intends this double meaning, here and in the other passages where the word occurs (see 8:28; 12:32, 34). [ BlkJn]

Verse 15: “have eternal life”: To have eternal life is virtually equivalent to seeing or entering the kingdom of God (v. 5). While the synoptic gospels contrast the present and the future (which holds good even if the future is visualized as imminent), in John the contrast is ontological rather than eschatological: between the temporal way of being and the eternal. While Mark 10:30 and Luke 18:30 speak of “in the age to come eternal life”, literally in the age to come, the life of the [coming] age, it is eternal life in John. Further, it is John who tells us of Jesus saying “I have [already] conquered the world”. [ BlkJn]

Verse 16: Luther called this verse “the Gospel in miniature”. [ NOAB]

Verse 16: “gave his only Son”: i.e to death. In Romans 8:32, Paul writes “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?”. See also Galatians 1:4, 2:20. We may have typology here too: Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, a much loved only son. [ NJBC]

Verses 17-20: God’s purpose is to save; individuals judge themselves by hiding their evil deeds from the light of Christ’s holiness. [ NOAB]

Matthew 17:1-9

The parallels are Mark 9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36. [ NOAB]

This passage reaffirms the messiahship of Jesus and of the messianic glory in which he will be revealed. [ NJBC]

Verse 1: “Peter and James and his brother John”: The same inner circle is mentioned in 26:37 and Mark 5:37. [ NJBC]

Verse 1: “a high mountain”: This may be symbolic; if a particular mountain is meant, it is probably Mount Sermon, near Caesarea Philippi. It rises to about 3,000 metres. Other possibilities are Mount Carmel and Mount Tabor.

Comments: An aura of unnatural brightness is linked with mystical appearances in Exodus and Acts: See, for example, Exodus 34:29 (Moses’ face shines after he has been talking with God on Mount Sinai), 35; Acts 9:3 (Paul’s conversion). [ NJBC]

Verse 3: “Moses and Elijah”: The Law and the prophets often stand for the whole of the Old Testament. The presence of these two men symbolises the fullness of God’s revelation to Israel. Deuteronomy 34:6 tells us that “no one knows his [Moses’] burial place to this day”. Jewish tradition therefore said that Moses was taken directly into heaven without dying. 2 Kings 2:17 tells us of Elijah: “fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him”. Jewish tradition stretched this verse and the story in the preceding verses to saying that Elijah was taken into heaven without dying. [ HBD]

Verse 4: “dwellings”: For the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), see Leviticus 23:42 and Nehemiah 8:14-18. [ NJBC]

Verse 5: “cloud”: In a cloud, God comes to declare the Law to Moses; he speaks from a cloud as he does here. See Exodus 19:9; 24:15-16.

Verse 5: “‘This is my Son ...’”: For the words the voice from heaven speaks at Jesus’ baptism, see 3:17. Here the words spoken are based on three verses:

Psalm 2:7: “I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you’”
Isaiah 42:1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Deuteronomy 18:15, where Moses says: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet”. [ NJBC]
Verses 6-7: Daniel is the only apocalyptic book in the Old Testament. Daniel 8:17 says: “So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I became frightened and fell prostrate. But he said to me, ‘Understand, O mortal, that the vision is for the time of the end.’”. Daniel 10:9-10 says: “Then I heard the sound of his words; and when I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a trance, face to the ground. But then a hand touched me and roused me to my hands and knees.”

Verse 9: For applications of this event to the destiny of Christians, see Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18. See also 2 Peter 1:16-18; 2 Timothy 1:8, 10. [ NJBC]

Verses 10-13: Based on Malachi 4:5, coupled with Malachi 3:1, “the scribes”, the scholars of the Pharisaic sect, taught that Elijah must return to prepare for Yahweh’s final judgement. But Peter has now identified Jesus as the messiah (Christ); Jesus is about to suffer, die, rise (see 21:21) and carry out the final judgment (see 16:27). So, if the end times are so near, is it not too late for Elijah’s preparatory ministry? [ BlkMt]

Verse 10: “Elijah”: See Malachi 4:5-6 (3:23-24 in some bibles) for the expectation that God would send Elijah before Judgement Day, “the terrible day of the Lord”. [ NJBC]

Verse 10: “come first”: See Daniel 12:2 for the general resurrection of the deceased. More probably, the question is about the raising of the Son of Man from the dead.

Verse 11: Jesus quotes the expectation of the scribes, and states his position in v. 12. He affirms their expectation and says (in v. 12) that they (or people in general) have failed to recognize that “Elijah has already come”: “John the Baptist” (v. 13) is Elijah. [ BlkMt]

Verse 12: See 1 Kings 19:2, 10; Psalm 22:6; Isaiah 53:3. [ NJBC]

Verse 13: John the Baptist has already been identified with Elijah: Jesus says in 11:14 “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come”. [ NJBC]

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