William Craig's Magazine

Lectionary Notes

2011-12-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

Some Notes for the Second Sunday in Advent, Year B

4 December 2011

The Three Advents

We are well used to thinking of the first Advent of our Lord, when he came in humility to be born for us at Bethlehem, and looking ahead to his second coming in glory to judge the world; but as Peter of Blois, who lived from about 1135 to about 1200, said in an Advent Sermon

"There are three Advents of the Lord: the first to take our flesh; the second to our soul; the third to judgment. The first at midnight, the second in the morning, the third at noon.

The first Advent has been; the third is yet to come; the third is in our lives. In the second Advent our Lord comes to us in the Spirit, and if we welcome him, takes possession our souls, and gives us new life. We must keep this in mind when we hear the words of Isaiah : Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

In one sense this means that I must be sure that the way is open for him to me. And this is why in the Gospel today we hear of John’s Baptism for the remission of sins. In sin I turn from the way of God to go my own way. It is not that Christ won’t come to me, but that I block his way, being blind to his coming and deaf to his voice.In another sense, when we hear these words we must ask ourselves whether we are preparing a way for the Lord to come to his people or are blocking him.

With this in mind, it is clear why the particular Sentence or Alleluia Verse was chosen for today, for it contains a very clear promise and a very clear command: The promise is that “All flesh shall see the salvation of God”, that is to say, the salvation of God comes to all people; it is most obviously fulfilled in the proclaiming of the Gospel in all lands and nations. The command is to prepare the way of the Lord. What crooked ways are there?

The Readings

In each year of the Revised Common Lectionary the Four Sundays of Advent follow the same pattern. The Gospels of the first Sunday all concern the Coming of the Son of Man in glory to judge the world; The Gospels of the Second and Third Sundays concern the John the Baptist, the Forerunner of the Son of Man and his testimony to Jesus. The Gospel of the fourth Sunday concern the annunciation of Jesus’ birth to Joseph (Year A) and Mary (Years B and C).

Isaiah 40.1-11

The first reading today is the opening of the second part of the Book of Isaiah. It is a prophecy of the return of Israel from exile in Babylon. The prophet sees it as a new Exodus (which was a journey through the wilderness) and a promise that God himself will be shepherd of his people. This, as we remember was a theme through the last Sundays of the Church year. Another passage of Isaiah which is closely related to this one is Isaiah 35 (which is read on Advent 3 in year A).

Verse 1 is the theme, not only of this chapter, but of the whole prophecy which it introduces ; compare. 35.3, 4, 41.2.Verse 3-4. “Make straight in the desert a highway”: the ordinary way from Babylon to Jerusalem for the most part went round, and not through, the desert. For the return of the exiles the Lord commands a straight road in defiance of all obstacles. See Isaiah 35.8-10.

Verses 6-8: It is not clear whether the words from “All flesh is grass” belong to the questioner, or to the voice which said, “Call”. In the former case, the preceding question is one of despondency, and “All flesh is grass” gives the reason of this despondency:—”How can ‘all flesh’ see such a glorious sight as in verse 5, when it is subject to the law of decay and death?” To this implied question, v. 8 may be regarded as the answer. In the last verses proclaim again God’s salvation of his people.The Advent focus of this passage is made clear because it was used by John the Baptist, as seen in today’s Gospel.

KNOWING THE SCRIPTURES THROUGH MUSIC

Several parts of this reading are well-known in their settings in Handel’s Messiah. Here are some links to the sections of the Oratorio:

Verses 1-3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrOVjoAp8oc&feature=related

Verse 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nBJJRHar7g&feature=related

Verses 9-11:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNt1Qj4MA6M

At each one there are links to other performances and other parts of Messiah.

Psalm 85.1-2, 8-13

The Psalm, like the first lesson, looks to God’s mighty acts of salvation as assurance that he will continue to show loving kindness to his people.

2 Peter 3.8-15a

The Epistle reading brings us back to the theme of Christ’s coming in judgement. We must not forget that this, too, is answer to the question “what child is this?” for Christ was not always a child, and he did not come to give only a superficial love and peace. He came to meet the needs of the human race at the very roots of sin and death, and to restore God’s loving and merciful rule. That cannot be without judgement.

More immediately, this passage says two things to us. The first is that although the promised coming may seem delayed, it is not. All things, and the end of the story, are in the hands of Christ. If we are given time, it is so that we may turn to him and learn his ways. The other thing is that if we are to be his people, knowing that he is to judge, we must ask ourselves, How then shall we live? At Christmas, we may put this another way: our Lord came in humility to become an infant, which is a sign of his giving all he had for our sake. How then shall we live?

I have to confess that I am not sure what is meant by "waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God" (verse 12). Most early modern translations (such as the Authorized Version of 1611) give it as hastening unto; some more recent versions give ‘vehemently desiring’. Hastening seems to be the most literal version, but what does it mean? What can we do to hasten the day of God? This would be an excellent question for a Bible Study Group. Another question that comes from this verse is: what difference is there, if any, between the "day of the Lord" and the "day of God"? Is it possible that we are delaying the day of Lord by failing to repent as John Baptist and Jesus taught repentance?

The Gospel according to Mark 1:1-8

Although the Gospel passage is very straightforward, a few notes might be helpful.

Verse 1 is the title of the whole book, which is called a ‘Gospel’. This familiar word comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon God-spell, good news (opposite of lath-spell, bad news), but was very early on understood to mean ‘God-story’. The Greek word it translates, evangelion, meant at first a present or reward given for good news and later the good news itself. In the Greek translation of the O. T. it is applied generally to any kind of ‘good news’ (e. g. 2 Sam. 4.10 ; 2 Kings 7.9), and specifically to the prophetic announcement of the coming of the Messianic kingdom (e.g. Isa. 61.1-2). … In this opening verse of Mark we see the transition from the good news brought by Christ to the good news regarding ChristIn ‘Jesus Christ the Son of God’ we have a personal name, Jesus, an official name, Christ, and a title, Son of God. ‘Jesus’ is the Greek way of writing ‘Joshua’, a fairly common name at the time; it signifies ‘The Lord saves’. “Christ’ translates the Hebrew ‘Messiah’, which means the anointed. Those who held office in Israel were anointed to it, e. g. the priests. But in the O. T. the king is specially spoken of as anointed (1 Sam. 24.7, 11 ; Ps. 2.2; Isa. 44.1, &c.), and in Daniel (ix. 25) the Messiah is described as prince. So the term ‘Messiah’ came to express the idea that the one who was to come to restore Israel was to come in the character of a king, and as one of David’s line. Although it later came to be used almost as a personal name, in the Gospels , it still has its technical sense, and is best rendered the Christ.

Unlike the opening verse of Matthew, where Jesus is described as ‘Son of David, son of Abraham’, Mark says simply ‘Son of God’. This important title occurs (not to speak of equivalent forms, ‘the Son’, ‘the only begotten Son’, ‘my beloved Son’, etc.) some nine times in Matthew, four times in Mark, six times in Luke, and ten times in John, It is used of Christ both by others and by himself. As the RCL notes point out,

In the Old Testament this term is used to describe angels or divine beings (see Genesis 6:2 and Job 37:7), the Israelite nation (see Hosea 11:1) and an anointed king (see Psalm 2:7). There it usually has moral force: God loves Israel, so Israel should in turn love and obey her Father: see Deuteronomy 32:6. Two of the late apocalyptic books seem to use it of the Messiah (see 1 Enoch 105:2; 2 Esdras 7:28-29; 13:32, 27, 52), as does Mark in 14:61. The Greco-Roman world knew of gods and heroes, usually saviours and healers, who were called sons of god. So it is understandable that the centurion at the foot of the cross remarks: “Truly this man was God's Son” (in 15:39).

In fact it took the Christian community no little time to come to a true understanding of what it means to call Jesus the Son of God.

Verses 2-8 act as a sort of prologue, declaring who Jesus is: the awaited Messiah. This is accomplished by Although verse 2 only refers to the Prophet Isaiah, the first quotation is from Malachi 3.1, possibly influenced by Exodus 23.20. The Gospel writer has adapted the words so that the messenger who, according to the prophet, is sent before the Lord himself, is said here to be sent before the Messiah. In Malachi the messenger`s work is to prepare for the sudden coming of the Lord to judge His temple. In the Gospel the work ascribed to the Forerunner is that of religious preparation for the coming of the object of Israel’s hope.In ‘Prepare thy way’, the image comes from the custom which was necessary in times when roads were few and ill kept, of sending on an official (a harbinger) to make the ways passable for a monarch on a journey or a royal progress. As the king`s officers made roads ready for the visits of kings, so God`s messenger was to make spiritual preparation for the coming of the His anointed.

The second quotation, verse 4, is from Isa. 40.3, which we read in this morning`s first reading. It gives the same idea as the first quotation, though with more fullness. By reading ‘The voice of one crying in the desert, “Prepare ….”’ in place of ‘the voice of one crying, “In the desert prepare …”’ the desert, which in Isaiah is the scene of the preparation, is now the place of the prophecy, and so fulfilled in John the Baptist, who preached and worked in the desert. It is important to understand that Mark is not playing fast and loose with the Old Testament to make it fit his message. The reading he follows was not his own invention, but is found in the ancient Greek translation of the text. It helps to remember that ancient texts had no punctuation, no small letters and no quotation marks—and in ancient Hebrew no vowels—, and did not normally separate words. So the translators and copyists all had to deal with something rather like:

THEVOICEOFONECRYINGINTHEDESERTPREPARETHEWAYOFTHELORD.

There is no help at all in knowing where a quotation begins or ends, or even a sentence.

The Sources of our English Bible

In connection with this point, it might be interesting to learn something about the Manuscripts of the Bible. You can look at today’s Gospel passage in one of the most important Greek Manuscripts, the Codex Sinaiticus. At this site you can see a copy of the MS, a transcription in Greek, and an English translation.

Go to
Chttp://codexsinaiticus.org/en/
and enter Mark in the box. Our passage is in the first column of text. Notice how the word εὐαγγελίου (euaggeliou,or euangeliou, ‘of the Gospel’) runs over onto the second line: euaggeli-ou

In the description of John in verses 4-8 we are told only enough to identify him as the one foretold to be the Forerunner or Harbinger of the Messiah. Although Mark clearly knew more about the Baptist, he does not say it here—unlike Luke, who includes a snippet of John’s ethical teaching (Luke 3.7-14).

In verse 5, note that ‘to baptize’ was a familiar term in ancient Greek. It means literally to dip in or under water, to immerse, but also to wash. The usual form of baptism in ancient times and in these Eastern countries was by immersion. There were Jewish rituals of purification that had some similarity to baptism, in particular the immersion required for converts to Judaism.

John’s baptism of repentance (v.4) was a baptism characterized by or implying repentance. It was a baptism which befitted the approach of the Messianic kingdom and prepared the people for the Messiah himself (cf. Matt. 3.7-10). It seems to have been held that it was the sin of the people that delayed the Messiah’s advent; and John’s baptism involved the sense and confession of sin and carried with it the obligation to repent. The word metanoia, which is rendered by ‘repentance’ here is neither on the one hand mere grief or regret for sin, nor on the other only an outward change of life, but a change of mind, a change of one’s views of self and God and all things, carrying with it a change of life. It is one of the many words which received a new, deeper, more spiritual significance in Christianity.

John’s clothing and way of life (v. 6) reflect the descriptions of the prophets of old, and particularly Elijah (see Zech. 13.4 and 2 Kings 1.8).

Verses 7-8. For Mark the central element of the Baptist’s work is his preaching and the heart of his preaching is the coming Messiah. D. E. Nineham:

The first eight verses (of St Mark) might seem to be devoted to John the Baptist, but in fact they have much to say about the credentials of Jesus, For they treat John almost exclusively in his capacity as the forerunner of the Mighty One—or Messiah, though as a matter of fact he was a considerable person in his own right, and St Mark knew a great deal more about him (cf. e.g. 2.18 and 11.32).

Lectionary Notes

2011-11-17T16:52:00.001-05:00

Notes for the Reign of Christ

Dear Readers,

Please see the last set of Notes for this Sunday in Year A, which were posted on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2008. I didn't make enough changes in this year's notes for the Parish to justify reposting here.

2011-11-03T17:32:00.002-04:00

Some Notes for All Saints’ Day, Year A

AD 2011

Some of these notes appeared in this Blog in 2008.

In addition to its fixed date, this feast may also be kept on the following Sunday; in 2001 on 6 November. Such a celebration on a Sunday is known as the ‘Sollemnity’ of the feast.

THE FEAST

The festival of All Saints had its origins in the fourth century, when the great persecutions had ended, and the Church and there was a desire to remember all the martyrs, not just the local ones or those who had gained a wide veneration.Christians have long recognized that some of their brothers and sisters showed “an extraordinary love for Christ”, as Fr Reynolds put it, and whose lives displayed Christ’s triumph over evil in the witness to death of the martyrs, the witness through suffering of the confessors, and the witness of those who made themselves the servants of others. These, according to the theology that developed, are in heaven granted the Beatific Vision, the vision of the glory of God. It is these men and women whose lives are commemorated in the Calendar of Saints. There are many who are known but have no place in the Calendar, and others who are known only to God: it is all these we remember on this day.

THE SAINTS IN ANGLICAN THOUGHT AND WORSHIP

After the Reformation the English Church maintained many commemorations of individual saints as well as the festival of All Saints, even though devotions to and invocation of the saints were eliminated from the liturgy. With the Catholic revival of the 19th century a full-blooded devotion to the saints has been restored in many Anglican churches with the result that today some Anglican churches have images of the saints and do them honour, and both churches and individuals personally ask prayers of the saints, even though these practices are not found in any official Anglican liturgy.

For the theological questions involved, see chapters 71 and 72 of C. B. Moss, The Christian Faith: An Introduction to Dogmatic Theology: http://anglicanhistory.org/cbmoss/66_76.html

For the traditional doctrine of Heaven in Western Christian theology, see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07170a.htm.

The absence of a public cultus of saints and a formal doctrine of Purgatory makes it rather hard to pin down the Anglican understanding of the distinction between All Saints and All Souls. Perhaps this is something that individual Anglicans would do well to think about and discuss. A good question to start with is: Do we believe that some of the departed are taken immediately into the presence of God while others are given healing and growth in Purgatory, and that we ask the prayers of the first and pray for the second group? If not, what difference is there? Does Scripture give us enough information to allow us to speculate?

Despite these questions, what might be considered the complex feast of All Saints and All Souls is a celebration of the community of the members of Christ, “knit together in one communion and fellowship” in his mystical Body. It reminds us that, as Eric Mascall wrote, people become members of the Church in baptism; they do not leave it through death. It is the assurance that just as “neither death, nor life … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ,” so none of these things will be able to separate the members of Christ from one another.

Finally, on All Saints’ Day we must remember that the saints are not some special type of person more wonderful than us and somehow holy by nature, somehow without failings; they are, like us, redeemed sinners. To study the lives of the saints is to study all the achievements and faults of humanity taken up into the life of Christ. In them we see what we are called to do and be; their example reminds us that we can be and do the same.

THE PROPERS

The Sentence is taken from the first reading of this year; it differs from the Alleluia verse in the Roman Missal (Matthew 11. 8)The Collect of the Day is an adaptation of the traditional Prayer Book collect.

THE READINGS

For detailed notes on all the readings, the “comments” and “clippings” in the RCL site should be consulted [http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/aalstl.shtml]; here are provided only an introduction to the readings and a note on the theme offvision that runs through them all. For it is the vision of God which is the goal of our Christian life.

The First Reading: The Revelation to John, 7.9-17

It apparently cannot be said too often that this Book is not called the “Book of Revelations” but The Apocalypse, or Revelation, to John. “Apocalypse” is simply a Greek word that means “revelation”.

The Revelation has been described as a fitting close to the Holy Scriptures, since its concluding chapters “depict the consummation toward which the whole Biblical message of redemption is focused”. (Though parts of it may be older, it is probable that it was put in its present form towards the end of the reign of Domitian (AD 81-96) by one John—scholars differ as to whether he is the same as the author of the fourth Gospel. This John had been banished to the island of Patmos (1.9), where he received a vision of consolation to the Church in a time of stress and persecution.

Much nonsense has been written about the Book of Revelation; a good commentary is absolutely essential when reading it. The Wikipedia article on it has a good bibliography, out of which I should recommend that one begin with the volumes in the Anchor Bible series. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation.

On All Saints’ Day we should stress that this vision is of a great throng beyond all reckoning; for the celebration of the Saints is the celebration of God’s triumph in Christ, made real and material in the winning of each Christian soul. By this vision we see the glory of the hope that is offered to us.

In verse 9 we read that the great multitude was “standing before the throne and before the Lamb”: in both cases the Greek word translated “before” is ἐνώπιον, of which the root sense is “in the sight of”. The same word is used in verse 11, where we read that “they fell on their faces before the throne”. The sense of vision is perhaps at a lower level here, in the “back story” of the words, but it is still here, giving a sense of closeness and knowledge.

A little point might be made about verse 14, where John says to "one of the elders", "Sir, you know". This translation obscures the fact that the elder is addressed as "my lord" (κύριέ μου). Distinguishing the meanings of "lord" and "sir" when translating κύριέ may make sense in our culture, but it obscures the fact that the same word covered both uses in the Greek and imports a distinction unknown to the original writer and audience into the text.

Psalm 34.1-10, 22

Like Psalms 9, 10 and 25, this is an alphabetical acrostic, in which the verses begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is a thanksgiving for deliverance from trouble, in which the psalmist tells of his experience of God’s answer to his cry for help (4-6) and calls on the people to have the same kind of faith in God that the psalmist has, and assures them that God will never be found wanting. Those who fear the Lord lack nothing – “They shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more, nor shall the sun fall on them nor any heat.”The theme of vision appears in verse 6: “Look upon him and be radiant” It is the vision of God which gives beauty and splendour to us.

The Epistle, 1 John 3.1-3

This is part of the Epistle for Epiphany VI in the BCP; it is the Epistle for All Saints in the Roman Missal.

Although called a letter, 1 John has neither the salutation nor the conclusion of a letter and resembles rather a sermon or treatise. None of the three letters “of John” give the author’s name: their theological ideas, vocabulary and style are so like the fourth gospel as to be from the same pen. The letters appear to date from the end of the first Christian century and may have circulated together with the Gospel of John.

The verses appointed to be read on this festival in Year A point to our hope of being made like Christ, which will come in our vision of him: “we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” This is something to consider: what does it mean to say that to see Christ as he is will make us like him?

The passage ends saying that it is because of the hope of this vision that we purify ourselves: is this what makes the change? Is this the same as what St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13.12?

The Gospel, Matthew 5.1-12

The Beatitudes are the traditional Gospel for All Saints’ Day. In these opening words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares God’s favour towards those who aspire to live under his rule. To “live under God’s rule” is another way of saying to be a saint, for holiness is to live and be as God wills one to live and be. In self-examination it is good to read the Beatitudes regularly as a standard against which to measure your life.

The RCL notes, like some modern translations, suggest that “Blessed are” can be translated as Happy are those who. This is true, but depends on the meaning we attach to “happy”. A word’s etymology or derivation can be well thought of as its “back story”, those things that we might not consciously think of but which influence the present sense of the word. The root of “happy” is “hap”, chance, fortune or luck. While it clearly means “very glad” it has a strong sense of luck to it, which is not what this passage has in mind. “Blessed” on the other hand, although it has taken on sense of “bliss”, ultimately means “consecrated”, “made holy” by sprinkling with sacrificial blood (see Revelation 7.14).

Note the sixth beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” which brings in the theme of the vision of God. The vision of God, above all, describes a relationship. As St Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: For now we see as in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood (1 Cor. 13.12).

The final verse of the passage (12) reminds us that we are not only to suffer persecution patiently, but to rejoice and be glad. We have the example of the Apostles who sang in prison (Acts 16.25). We are to rejoice because in this we are like the prophets. Prophecy is not telling the future as much it is God’s Word and the Good News of God’s love. If we know God’s word and turn to him in prayer in times of peace, then we will have the clarity to know it him in times of calamity and persecution.

CALENDAR NOTES

For the notes in For All the Saints, see http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4905842/Liturgy/ForAlltheSaints.pdf

6 Sunday: The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

The Solemnity of All Saints is kept this Sunday

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Ughelli in the Province of Bendel, Nigeria, and the bishop, The Rt Revd Cyril Odutemu

In our own Diocese we remember: Oshawa Deanery

7 Monday: Commemoration of Willibrord, Archbishop of Utrecht, Missionary, 739

“Willibrord was an early medieval monk who pioneered the Anglo-Saxon mission to northwestern Europe.” See FAS, p. 336

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Ukwa in the Province of Aba, Nigeria, The Rt Revd Samuel Kelechi Eze

In our own Diocese we remember: The University of Trinity College

8 Tuesday: Feria

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Umuahia in the Province of Aba, Nigeria, and The Most Revd Dr Ikechi Nwachukwu Nwosu

In our own Diocese we remember: All Saints, Whitby

9 Wednesday: Feria

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Umzimvubu in Southern Africa and The Rt Revd Mlibo Ngewu

In our own Diocese we remember: Church of the Ascension, Port Perry

10 Thursday: Memorial of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, Teacher of the Faith, 461

“Today we remember Leo the Great, an effective pastor and wise teacher who served as bishop of Rome from the year 440 until his death two decades later.” See FAS, p. 338.

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Upper South Carolina in Province IV of The Episcopal Church, and The Rt Revd William Waldo

In our own Diocese we remember: Christ Memorial Church, Oshawa

11 Friday: Memorial of Martin, Bishop of Tours, 397 Remembrance Day

“Today the Church honours Martin, a fourth-century bishop of Tours who was “filled with power from on high” — and used it to serve the poor and strengthen the faithful in their witness to Christ.” See FAS p. 340.

It is probably a coincidence that the Armistice of 1918 came into effect on this feast of Martin, who is counted one of the patron saints of soldiers.

If you cannot attend a public service of Remembrance today, please remember to keep silence at 11 am and remember before God those who have lost their lives for their Sovereign and Country in war.

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Uruguay in the Province of the Southern Cone), The Rt Revd Miguel Eudaldo Tamayo Zaldívar and the Suffragan Bishop of Uruguay, The Rt Revd Gilberto Obdulio Porcal Martínez

In our own Diocese we remember: St. George's Memorial Church Oshawa

12 Saturday: Commemoration of Charles Simeon, Priest, 1836

“Charles Simeon was an Anglican priest who died in 1836 after fifty-four years of ministry at Cambridge University, where he was a spiritual guide for innumerable students and a shining light in the Evangelical Revival of his day.” See FAS p. 342.

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Utah in Province VIII of The Episcopal Church, and The Rt Revd Scott Hayashi

In our own Diocese we remember: St. George, Pickering Village, Ajax

13 Sunday: The Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

In the Anglican Communion we remember the diocese of Uyo in the Province of Niger Delta, Nigeria,. and The Rt Revd Isaac Orama

In our own Diocese we remember: The Philip Aziz Centre (FaithWorks)

2011-10-28T21:02:00.006-04:00

Some Notes For The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

30 October 2011

Proper 31 in Year A

The Sentence was chosen to reflect the Gospel passage for Year A; it is not so clear what connection the Collect has with any of today’s readings.

The Readings

Joshua 3.7–17:The Crossing of the Jordan

In the reading last Sunday, we heard that Joshua, son of Nun, succeeded Moses as leader of the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 34.9). The Book of Joshua tells of the conquest of the land of Canaan under Joshua’s command. In Chapter 3 we read that the people have come to the Jordan; verses 1-6 tell of the preparations for crossing into Canaan.Joshua has already (v. 5) promised the people that the LORD would do wonders among them. At this critical moment, the LORD promises to Joshua that he will magnify him in the sight of the people, and that this should be the mere beginning of that magnifying : the promise is fulfilled in iv. 14. The comparison with Moses reminds us of what is said, Ex. xiv. 31, how after crossing the Red Sea 'the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.' See also Joshua 1.5Joshua was first to command the priests to carry the ark of the covenant to go and stand in the Jordan at its brink; then he was to call the people to draw near and listen to the words of the Lord. They followed him, and the river was miraculously divided so that they could cross into Canaan. It was indeed the most unlikely season of the year for such an event, the most hopeless for any explanation other than the immediate act of God without natural means: for at the passover season, about the spring equinox, which is the harvest time in the Jordan valley around Jericho, the melting of the snow on the mountains made the river overflow its banks and spread over into what may be called the outer channel, covered during the rest of the year with luxuriant undergrowth.

Psalm 107.1–7, 33–37

This Psalm is a thanksgiving for the Lord‘s deliverance of his people; this selection is particularly intended to reflect on the crossing of the Jordan.This might be a good place for a helpful comment on the use and meaning of the Psalms in Christian worship [the emphasis is mine]:

“The Psalter is the Church’s hymn-book. … Those Christians who know their Psalter well, and understand it, have little need of any other hymn-book. … The key to the interpretation of the Church’s hymn-book is that it is intended primarily for united use. The word ‘I’ in the Psalter does not mean the person who is reciting the words. It denotes our Lord himself, or the Church united with him; and if it is applicable to the individual worshipper, it applies to him only as a member of Christ and the Church. The worshippers are meant to use the words, not to express their own personal sentiments, but in order to enter into the mind of Christ and his Church. For example: such words as, I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep thy word (Ps 119.101), are not an assertion of one’s own self-righteousness, but of Christ’s righteousness. The whole of Psalm 119 is a meditation on the perfect human nature and character of Christ.”

~ G. D. Carleton, The King’s Highway (1924), pp. 170-171.

Archdeacon Carleton goes on to show how this applies to the various categories of the Psalms. Since today’s Psalm of thanksgiving recites the history of God’s care for his people Israel, we can quote a little further:

“The historical psalms are used in Christian worship, not simply as records of the events of Jewish history, but because that history is regarded as typical of the history of the Catholic Church throughout the ages: privileged, sinning, forgiven, punished. When we sing of Israel, Jacob, Sion, we mean the Church.”

The Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2.9–13

The first three chapters of this letter are spent in thanksgiving to God for the faith of the new church at Thessalonica. I have no particular comment to make on this passage, except to suggest that you read the notes at the RCL site and to quote a point made by the New St Joseph Sunday Missal that applies to the last verse:“Not all priests are as gentle, great, saintly, and dedicated as Paul was. Whether a priest’s sermon be good or bad, we should receive the message not as the word of humans, but as the word of God.”

That’s not an easy discipline to learn.

The Holy Gospel according to St Matthew 23.1–12

After silencing his principal critics, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, by showing that they do not truly understand the teaching of the Law, Jesus turns to the “the crowds and to his disciples. He tells them to honour the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees (v. 2), for they sit in Moses’ seat, that is, they stand in an unbroken succession from Moses, but to beware of their practices! They teach a strict interpretation of the Law but do not themselves follow it; and worse still, they do nothing to help others to bear these burdens (v. 4). Their motive is not love, which seeks to help others, but selfish ostentation (cf. vi. i, 2, 5, 16). Phylacteries:- Two small leather cases, worn on the forehead and on the left arm opposite the heart, kept in position by leather straps. Inside of these cases were slips of parchment on which were written Ex. 13. 1-16, Deut. 6. 4-9, 11. 13-21. In Hebrew they were called Tephillin—prayers ; the Greek, phylacteries = amulets, charms, for they had come to be regarded as possessing a mystic power to protect the wearer against the influence of evil spirits. Fringes on the borders of garments are prescribed in Numbers and Deuteronomy as a way of remembering to live by the commandments. To make broad the phylacteries and enlarge the tassels was a sign of special holiness, of ardent devotion to the law. This ostentatious piety was offensive to Jesus.

In vv. 6-7 Jesus gives four examples of their vanity. (“Rabbi” means master and later became a title for a synagogue leader.) He then (vv. 8-10) teaches his followers that Christians are not to use honorific titles. Jesus is our one “teacher” and instructor for we are his lifelong disciples; others teach us only for a time. God the “Father” is our father. Finally, in vv. 11-12 he emphasize the importance of humility and service to one another.It is obvious that the teaching on honorific titles has not been taken literally by Christians. We obviously cannot here go into this question, and will only add a light-hearted comment:

NO FARTHER

ALIQUIS
I CANNOT call you ‘Father’
Because I’m C. of E.,
With such un-English customs I strongly disagree
I can’t forget a precept
That I was taught from birth:
‘Call nobody your father,’
The Bible says, ‘on earth.’

PRESBYTER
‘And be ye not called masters’
The text announces too;
So do not call me ‘Mister,’
Which also is taboo.
Such narrow exegesis
Will, one day, drive you mad;
If `Father` is forbidden,
What do you call your Dad?

ALIQUIS
I cannot call you ‘Father,’
It strongly smacks of Rome;
But I have found a title
Which brings us nearer home.
I think I’ll call you ‘Padre,’
As normally is done
Throughout our British Forces,
Approved by everyone.

PRESBYTER
But still you call me ‘Father,’
Which ‘Padre’ signifies;
Your quaint circumlocution
Deserves a special prize.
For ‘Padre’ is Italian,
And papal, through and through;
So, why use foreign language
When English words will do?

ALIQUIS
I cannot call you ‘Father’
In spite of what you say;
No argument will move me
Although you talk all day.
Yet I have found a label
With which I can concur,
And with your kind permission,
I’m going to call you ‘Sir.’

PRESBYTER
Of course, you’re only leaping
From frying-pan to fire,
Your ‘Sir’ is also ‘Father,’
For ‘Sir’ is really ‘sire’;
So, how you will address me,
I’m sure I do not know;
But, as my name is Joseph,
You’d better call me Joe.
~ S. J. Forrest

Lectionary Notes

2011-10-18T15:49:00.004-04:00

Some Notes for the Week of the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, 16 October 2011

Proper 29 Year A

The Notes for last Sunday were delayed because of a technical problem with the Blogger.

The Sentence, based on Philippians 2.15, 16 is the Alleluia verse for this Sunday in the Roman Missal; it has no obvious connection with any of the readings
The Collect is apparently a new composition, which is fouind in many other prayer books. It is in part based on Philippians 3.13-14: Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. See also Psalm 119:32

The Readings

Exodus 33.12-23

or the Lord's abiding presence with His people, which is granted.

Verse 12 gives a hint that the text has been somehow muddled: the saying of the Lord to which Moses refers, ‘I know thee by name’ comes in verse 17.

Verse 22, inMoses, having been told that the Lord will not go with His people, asks for help in leading them to Canaan, which is granted ; then for a knowledge of him who is to help them, and of the Lord's ways, and a sight of His glory, which is granted in the form of a partial revelation ; lastly f a cleft of the rock: This rock has been interpreted allegorically (as for example by St Gregory of Nazianzus and other Church Fathers) as Christ, the Word that was made flesh for us [see the second Thological Oration of St Gregory, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310228.htm]. This interpretation underlies the hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ which we will eb singing this Sunday at the 10:30 Eucharist. ‘The Incarnation gives an assured point from which we may observe and study God without being overwhelmed by the greatness of the revelation. The glories of the Divine Nature are tempered for us, as it were, by the Human Life which encompasses us as we look out from it to the Divine. By the Incarnation our field of contemplation is at once restricted and made clear.’

Psalm 99

A hymn of praise to God as king. The refrain, He is the Holy One, in verses 3 and 5, expanded to ‘the Lord our God is the Holy One’ in verse 9, sets the hymns in three parts. The threefold declaration of God’s holiness has been likened to the ‘Holy, holy, holy’ of the Seraphim in Isaiah 6. The effect of the refrain was described thus in an older commentary on the Psalms:

‘First, there is an acknowledgment of the manifestations of Jehovah's kingly might in heaven and upon earth, which makes the world tremble, and is worthy to evoke praise to this exalted Ruler and His mighty name. To this is attached the simple acknowledgment of His holiness. This is then connected with the worship of Jehovah on the steps of His throne, as the King who has established the Theocracy in Israel. Finally, both the place of worship and the object to whom it is due are particularly described, after it had been shown from the history of Israel previous to the establishment of the Monarchy, that God's kingdom is not dependent upon the existence of earthly kings, but is regulated in accordance with a course of action, in harmony with its true nature, both on the part of the Church and on the part of God.’

The Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 1.1-10

The first Letter to the Thessalonians is perhaps the oldest book of the New Testament. Paul, with the aid of Silas (Silvanus) and Timothy, preached at Thessalonica and founded a church there during his second missionary journey (see Acts 17). He was forced to leave the city because of persecution. This letter was written perhaps in the early 50’s from Athens or Corinth. Five sections of this letter are set for reading on Sunday in Year A:

October 16: 1 Thess 1.1-10

23: 1 Thess 2.1-8

30: 1 Thess 2.9-13

November 6: 1 Thess 4.13-18

13: 1 Thess 5.1-11

The usual course of readings will be interrupted on November 6 for the Solemnity of All Saints; this is in a way unfortunate, for the sense of the next passage is clearer if the whole section is read. For this reason I encourage you to read the whole of the letter this week (it is only four pages).

The reading today is the salutation of the letter (verse 1) and St Paul’s opening prayer of Thanksgiving for the faith of the Thessalonian community (verses 2-10).

It is noteworthy that St Paul’s name is here given without any title; in all the other letters except for 2 Thessalonians he describes himself as Apostle, and often as Servant of Jesus Christ. It has been suggested that in these early letters he had no need to assert his claims. Paul joins Silvanus and Timothy with himself in the greeting, though he was the sole author. Grace and peace join the usual forms of greeting used by Jews and Greeks.

In verses 2-10, Paul thanks God for the graces seen in the Thessalonians They prove that his preaching has not been ineffectual. These people, manifesting joy in spite of persecution, have become a example to others north and south of them, the word of the gospel thus sounding out from Thessalonica in both directions and thus the report of their conversion has come round to the Apostle from Macedonia and Achaia.

Note the mention in verse 3 of the three Christian graces of which Paul writes later in 1 Cor. 13. 1 and elsewhere. In both cases faith comes first, not because it is most important, since in Corinthians love is expressly declared to be the greatest of the three, but doubtless because Paul regards it as coming earlier than the other graces in experience, and in a way as laying the foundation for them. In this verse the graces are associated with their fruits: the Apostle describes himself as remembering the fruits, which are outward signs of the graces, and valued as evidences of their existence. The work, labour, and patience spring from or are characterized by hope, love, and faith.

In verse 5 the literal our Gospel is translated by our message of the gospel: the word gospel as it is used in the Bible never means a book, as for us it means the works of the four Evangelists. It always means preachers’ message, the good news they were proclaiming.

The passage ends with a note of expectation of the coming of the Son from heaven; this prepares us for the retirn of this theme in Chapters 4 and 5.

The Holy Gospel according to St Matthew 22.15-20

A conspiracy: the Pharisees and Herodians combine to ensnare Jesus with the question whether tribute to Caesar is lawful to which Jesus gives an historic reply.

The parallel version of this incident in Luke (12.20-26) states that the chief priests and scribes sent spies to catch Jesus out in his words ‘so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor’, that is, get him to declare that the tribute was against the law of God, thus making himself an open rebel against Rome. The question they put showed their political astuteness; if Jesus forbade tribute to Caesar, the Herodians, as the supporters of the existing regime, would condemn him as a traitor; if he recommended the payment, he would offend the Pharisees and the populace. The nationalist cry was, No king but God.

It is interesting that the term used for the tribute in Greek was ‘census’, a Latin word which means a register of the citizens, their property, and so on. Here and in 17.24, where it is paired with ‘tribute’, it seems to mean a poll-tax.

The coin of the tribute was a denarius, which was traditionally translated in English as penny (hence the d of the old English coinage) and is usually explained as a working-man’s daily pay. It was to oppose this taxing of a denarius per head that Judas of Galilee had risen in revolt long before. See Acts 5. 37.

Jesus’s reply to his foes astonished the men of that day, and is still being pondered by human governors in church and state today. What do you think he meant?

Please Note: because I am going away next weekend the Notes may be somewhat limited in scope.

2011-10-01T11:47:00.006-04:00

Some Notes for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 27 in Year A

Sunday, October 2 2011

The Sentence is a clear echo of the Gospel parable read today.
The Collect in the BAS is the Prayer Book Collect for the feast of SS Simon and Jude (October 28), which was originally composed in 1549 for the first BCP.

Readings

Exodus 20.1–4, 7–9, 12–20

This reading is, of course, the Ten Commandments (in Hebrew, ‘Ten Words’). It would be useful before turning to this passage to read Exodus 19, which tells of the arrival of the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, where the Covenant between God and Israel was established.

The Commandments are repeated in Deuteronomy 5: the two versions differ only slightly, chiefly in the reason given for the institution of the Sabbath Day (compare Exodus 20.11 and Deuteronomy 5:15). In the Tenth Commandment Deuteronomy places the neighbour’s wife ahead of his house and the slaves and livestock (compare Deuteronomy 5.21 with Exodus 20.17).Rather than take the space here for an inadequate commentary on the Commandments, we suggest that for a first step in applying the Commandments in one’s daily life, one should refer to the portion of the Catechism on pages 546 to 549 of the Book of Common Prayer. Many other commentaries on the Commandments may be found.

Exodus tells us that God himself spoke the commandments in the hearing of all Israel. They were given, in effect, to each individual, and without any intermediary or interpretation.

In the Sixth Commandment the translation ‘Thou shalt do no murder’ is more accurate than ‘Thou shalt not kill.

The last three verses of the reading (18-20) relate the people’s immediate reaction of fear and awe, and their request that God no longer speak directly to them.

Psalm 19

This psalm praises God as creator of all things and the giver of the law. It has been suggested that the second part, which praises the Law of the Lord, was added by a later writer to balance the revelation of God in nature. In verses 7-9 six terms for ‘law’ are used, reminiscent of Psalm 119. Some scholars suggest that for ‘fear’ in verse 9 ‘word’ should be read.

The Epistle: Philippians 3.4b–14

Philippians 3.1-11 is a warning against those who were trying to convince the Philippians that acceptance of Jewish law, including circumcision was necessary for converts to Christianity. (vv. 1-3: see also Galatians 5.12). As to the outward conditions and ritual, Paul now asserts that he is second to none (vv. 4-6), but all this is nothing in comparison with ‘the supreme value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (vv. 7-8). In Christ he has found a true righteousness, which comes not from the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus (v. 9). But while this righteousness is of grace, and not works, Paul must still ‘press on’, make the serious effort to take hold of the gift. But all his effort is for the goal of knowing the power of the resurrection: it is for this that he undergoes the self-giving of his ministry as an apostle. In stating all this about himself, he is exhorting the Philippians—and us who read him in later centuries—to seek the same knowledge of Christ and in their own lives to press on toward the goal, “the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (v. 14).

The Holy Gospel according to St Matthew 21.33-46

The Parable of the Vineyard or of the Wicked Husbandmen

This is the second of the three parables addressed to the religious leaders in Jerusalem after the challenge to Jesus’ authority in 21.23-27. Archbishop Trench noted:

“The Lord's adversaries had by this time so manifestly gotten the worse, that, for this day at least, they would willingly have brought the controversy by them so imprudently provoked (see ver. 23) to a close. But no; He will not let them go: He has begun and will finish; 'Hear another parable;' as though He would say, 'I have still another word for you of warning and rebuke,' and to that He now summons them to listen.”

Jesus clearly based this parable on Isaiah 5.1-7, and one should read that passage in connection with this. The vineyard represents Israel; but how much weight should be placed on the details of the hedge, the tower, and the winepress in interpreting the story? Perhaps it is enough to say that they mean that God has done everything possible to make the vineyard a good one.The owner of the vineyard lets it out to tenants and goes on a journey (though our translation has him go to a far country, the expression is literally went away from home). This detail is the occasion for messages through his servants, i.e., the prophets.The details of the ill-treatment of the prophets cannot be pressed. Simply all the prophets, whenever they came, were shamefully treated.The sending of the owner’s son is a foretelling of the passion and death of Christ.At the end Jesus gets the chief priests and Pharisees to pronounce judgement on the case. Note that the expression “He will put those wretches to a miserable death” is in the original “kakous kakόs apolesei autous, literally, ‘he will badly destroy those bad ones’.

Verse 42 quotes Psalm 118.22-23 (see also Acts 4.11, 1 Peter 2.7). In the original the stone stood for Israel so lightly esteemed by the world) is here applied to Christ, the Messiah, the ideal of Israel, head of the corner = the corner-stone binding the two walls together.

The arrangement of verses 41 to 44 should be compared with the arrangement of the same material in Luke 20.17-19. Here verse 43 seems to be out of place, as it interrupts an obvious flow of thought from 42 to 44. Verse 44: compare Dan. 2. 34, 44, 45, where the stone ‘cut by no human hand’ rolls down from the mountain.

The rest of the passage is fairly straightforward and the time for finishing these notes is past due.

Calendar Notes

Feria signifies an ordinary weekday.

FAS is For All the Saints: Prayers and Readings for Saints’ Days, which may be purchased at the ABC or found on-line at http://www.anglican.ca/resources/liturgicaltextsonline/

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: for more information, see http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm

October

2 Sunday The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of St Asaph - The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron (The Church in Wales)

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario

3 Monday Feria

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of St David's - (Wales) The Rt Revd John Wyn Evans

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember St. Luke, Rosemont

4 Tuesday Memorial of Francis of Assisi, Friar, 1226

'Today we celebrate Francis of Assisi, the thirteenth-century Italian whose greatest honour was to be known as il Poverello, “the little poor one of Christ.”' FAS, p. 298.

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich - (Canterbury, England) The Rt Revd William Nigel Stock, and in that diocese the sufffragan bishop of Dunwich, The Rt Revd Clive Young

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember St. Paul, Coulson’s Hill

5 Wednesday Feria

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of St Helena, The Rt Revd Richard David Fenwick (Southern Africa)

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember St. Peter, Churchill

6 Thursday Feria

Provincial General Election in Ontario

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist, The Rt Revd Martin Andre Breytenbach (Southern Africa)

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember Trinity Church, Bradford

7 Friday Feria

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of Sunyani, The Rt Revd Festus Yeboah-Asuamah (West Africa)

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember David Busby Street Centre (FaithWorks)

8 Saturday Feria

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of Swansea & Brecon (Wales) The Rt Revd John Davies

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember The Archbishop’s Committee on Healing

9 Sunday The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese of Sydney - (New South Wales, Australia) The Most Revd Dr Peter Frederick Jensen

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Lectionary Notes

2011-09-23T14:55:00.000-04:00

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 26,Year A

September 25, ad 2011

Dear Readers, I apologize for the intermittent postings of late; life has been busy. Even more, for some time I was so annoyed with the formatting on Blogger that I simply dreaded the job of taking my notes and making them available. There is a new interface, I believe it is called, that seems to make the job much easier. When I have posted this I will know for certain.

These notes are an revised and expanded version of notes that appeared on this site in 2008.

The Sentence

“Mysheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them and they follow me” is takenfrom St John 10.27; the Roman Missal uses the same sentence for this Sunday’sAlleluia verse. The sentence gives no particular emphasis to a theme for theday; rather it invites us to hear the voice of Christ in the Holy Gospel.

The Collect

ThisCollect is also found in the American Book of Common Prayer on Proper 16, theSunday nearest August 24. It emphasises that the unity of the Church comes aswe are gathered in the Holy Spirit, and suggests that as far as we do not sharethat unity we will not show forthGod’s power among all peoples.

The Readings

The First Reading:Exodus 17.1-7

Wecontinue to follow the people of Israel as they journey towards their encounterwith the Lord at Mount Sinai.

Somethings to be noted:

Inverse 1 we are told that Israel journeyed “by stages”, that is, from camp tocamp. A more detailed narrative is found in Chapter 33 of the Book of Numbers.

Themotif of water from the stricken rock is also found in Numbers 20.2-13. Inlater legend this rock was said to have followed the Israelites on theirjourneys. St Paul refers to this legend in 1 Corinthians 10.4, where alsospeaks of the rock as a type of Christ.

AlthoughI am not always happy with the New Revised Standard Version, I must give themcredit for using “Israelites” where the literal meaning is “sons” or “childrenof Israel”. It is generally thought better to avoid “sons” in modern English;and while “children” is inclusive it has other drawbacks. But the ending “–ite”signifies “one belonging to”, and in the plural “the people of” so that“Israelite” avoids the problem of exclusivity while nicely capturing the senseof the original.

AlthoughPsalm 78 is chosen as the reflection on this reading in today’s propers, andthe Roman Missal uses selections from Psalm 25, the classic link is to Psalm95.8-11, which also ties in Numbers 20.1-13 and Numbers 14.33. This is allbrought into service of Christian life and faith in the reflection in the thirdchapter of the Letter to the Hebrews.

The Psalm

Psalm78.1-4, 12-16, like Psalms 105, 106, 135, and 136, recites the history of God’sdealings with Israel. 78 puts a particular emphasis on the disobedience andingratitude of the people. Verses 12-53 record God’s care for his people duringthe Exodus and the wandering jn the wilderness, and the section chosen fortoday reflects particularly oin the incident at the Rock of Horeb.

The EpistlePhilippians 2.1-13.

Theimportance of this passage from the letter to the Philippians appears clearlyfrom the number of times it is read in the three-year lectionary. As well asthis Sunday, it is read every year on Passion (Palm) Sunday and on the Feast ofthe Naming of Jesus (January 1).

Writingfrom prison, St Paul urges the Christians at Philippi in Macedonia to be of onemind, the mind of Christ, following his way of humility. We are more accustomedto hearing he central part of this reading at Christmastide and Passiontide,for it is the great hymn of Christ’s self- giving in the Incarnation andPassion, and of God’s triumphant Yes! to all he did in the Resurrection andAscension. When we read it in this season of the “ordinary Sundays” perhaps wecan look more at ourselves, seeking to find the humility of spirit withoutwhich we can never have true unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Asis often pointed out, verses 6 to 11 are considered to be an ancient Christianhymn. The reasons for this are set out in the “Clippings” at the RCL site:

http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/apr26l.shtml.

Inthe first verse the words translated “any compassion and sympathy” areliterally, “any bowels and mercies”. This is our friend σπλάγχνα again,compassion in the very literal sense of feeling the other person’s condition inyour guts. In the Elizabethan Book ofHomilies, the second part of the ‘Homily against Contention’ comments onthis verse:

Whois he that hath any bowels of pity, that will not be moved with these words sopithy? Whose heart is so stony that the sword of these words, which may be moresharp than any two edged sword, may not cut an break asunder? Wherefore, let usendeavour to fulfil St Paul’s joy here in this place, which shall be at lengthour great joy in another place.

The HolyGospel Matthew 21.23-32

Afterlast week’s passage, the lectionary jumps from Matthew 20.16 to 21.23, omittingseveral important passages, especially the Palm Sunday material. The sectionsomitted are:

20.17-19: The third Prediction of the passion

20.20-28: On personal Ambition: The request of themother of the Sons of Zebedee

20.29-34: The healing of the Blind Men at Jericho

21.1-17: Palm Sunday:—

1-11. The Triumphant entryinto Jerusalem

12, 13. The Cleansing of theTemple

14-17. The Displeasure ofthe Priests

21.18-22. The Withering of the Fig Tree.

Thisreading is in two parts which are both concerned with the response of thereligious leaders to John Baptist. Verses 23-27 report the question of thechief priests and elders of the people, who want to know what authority Jesushas for “doing these things”. ‘These things’ apparently refers to the Cleansing of the Temple which had takenplace the day before and implied a claim to be Messiah. Jesus’ response, whichposes a question about John Baptist, is precisely about Jesus’ authority becauseJohn bore witness to the coming of the Messiah (iii. 11-12), and theimplication seems to be, bore witness to Jesus as the Messiah.

TheParable of the two Sons follow in vv. 25-32.

Inverse 28, one commentator suggests that the words 'Son, go and work in thevineyard today,' might better be taken as ‘go to-day, work in the vineyard’;which is the word order in the original. He notes that “It is an exceptionalwork, whose value lies in its being done to-day.”Further, the word meaning ‘Son’ is literally ‘child’ a more affectionate term.In return the son who refuses is brusque, and does not even say ‘Father’ [29],while the other, who speaks obedience, says ‘Sir’, “the attitude of Orientalslavish submissiveness, not of filial love,” in response to his father’s"child”.

Ido think that the words “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going intothe kingdom of God ahead of you” deserve to be stressed. I suspect that somepeople read this correctly but are thinking instead of you. The phrase can infact, mean go ahead of you in the sense of “lead the way”. It would do noviolence to the text to read it as “the tax collectors and prostitutes willlead you into the kingdom.” There’s something to meditate on this week!

From Anderson’s Commentary : go . . . before you. Not "will go," because Jesus isstating a present fact of His experience and observation, not prophesying aboutentrance into the future kingdom. Hence Matthew does not change the phrase"Kingdom of God," found in his source, into his usual " Kingdomof the Heavens." The meaning is that they are far in advance of you on theway to the kingdom, i.e. far more responsive to God's rule. Before you does notimply that these official leaders of the people are going or will go into thekingdom, though after them. They would, of course, if they repented, and didthe will of God. But as things stand, in the race to the kingdom they have lostthe place of primacy. They have rejected the call (ver. 32), and the followingparable (33 ff.) expresses their judgment.”

You may find more detailed notes at: http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/apr26m.shtml

Calendar Notes

Feriasignifies an ordinary weekday.
FAS is For All the Saints: Prayersand Readings for Saints’ Days, which may be purchased at the ABC or foundon-line at http://www.anglican.ca/resources/liturgicaltextsonline/
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: formore information, see http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm

September

25 Sunday The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese ofSouthern Virginia - The Rt Revd Herman Hollerith (Province III, USA)

In our own Diocese we remember Tecumseth Deanery andits parishes

26 Monday Commemoration of Lancelot Andrewes, Bishopof Winchester, 1626

“Lancelot Andrewes was a scholarly bishop ofWinchester who died in 1626, and we remember him today because his legacy ofpreaching and devotion is one of the touchstones of our Anglican tradition.” FAS p. 292

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese ofSouthwark - The Rt Revd Christopher Thomas Chessun, bishop; Southwark - Croydon - Vacant ; Southwark -Kingston-upon-Thames - The Rt Revd Richard Ian Cheetham; Southwark - Woolwich – Vacant (Province ofCanterbury, England)

In Our own Diocese we rememberSt. Thomas, Huron St

27 Tuesday Commemorationof Sergius, Abbot of Holy Trinity,Moscow, 1392

(Transferred from Sunday) “Today we rememberSergius, a Russian monk of the fourteenth century who, even before his death in1392, was regarded by the Russian people as their national saint. FAS p 290

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese ofSouthwell & Nottingham - The Rt Revd Paul Roger Butler; Southwell - Sherwood - The Rt Revd AnthonyPorter (Province of York, England.

In our own Diocese we remember St. Andrew, Alliston

28 Wednesday Feria; Eve of Michaelmas

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese ofSouthwestern Virginia - The Rt Revd Frank Neff Powell (Province III, USA)

In our own Diocese we remember St. David, Everett

29 Thursday Saint Michael and All Angels HD

“Today we celebrate those mysterious beings whichScripture calls “angels,” a name which comes from the Greek word for‘messengers’.” FAS p. 294. See also the note in Chambers’ Book ofDays for September 29^th: http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/sept/29.htm

The Golden Legend tells of many apparitions of the Archangel Michael, of which the most famous and probably most remembered on his day is the third:
"The third apparition happed in the time of Gregory the pope. For when the said pope had established the litanies for the pestilence that was that time, and prayed devoutly for the people, he saw upon the castle which was said sometime: The memory of Adrian, the angel of God, which wiped and made clean a bloody sword, and put it into a sheath. And thereby he understood that his prayers were heard. Then he did do make there a church in the honour of Saint Michael, and that castle is yet named the Castle Angel."

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese ofSpokane - The Rt Revd James Edward Waggoner (Province VIII, USA)

In our own Diocese we remember the Parish of theEvangelists, Tottenham

30 Friday Memorialof Jerome, Teacher of the Faith, 420

“Jerome was a fourth-century monk who produced thestandard Latin version of Scriptures known as the Vulgate and by his owncommentaries on the text had a lasting influence on the Church’s interpretationof the Bible.” FAS p. 296

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese ofSpringfield - The Rt Revd Daniel Hayden Martins (Province V, USA)

In our own Diocese we remember St. John, Cookstown

October

1 Saturday Feria

In the Anglican Communion we remember theDiocese of St Albans - The Rt Revd Alan Gregory Clayton Smith

St Albans - Bedford - The RtRevd Richard Neil Inwood; St Albans -Hertford - The Rt Revd Paul Bayes (in the Province of Canterbury, England)

In our own Diocese weremember St. John Caledon (formerly Mono)

2 Sunday TheSixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

In the Anglican Communion we remember the Diocese ofSt Asaph - The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron (The Church in Wales)

In our diocesan Cycle of Prayer we remember TheEcclesiastical Province of Ontario

Lectionary Notes

2011-09-03T09:40:00.008-04:00

Some Notes for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
The Sunday between 4 and 10 September
Proper 23 in Year A

The Collect for this Sunday in the BAS was the one appointed for the Sunday Next before Advent in the Prayer Book, which in turn is a version of the ancient Latin Collect. Since in the new lectionary, the Sunday before Advent is kept as the Reign of Christ it is good that this Collect has been retained on a different day. Other Churches of the Anglican

Communion have done the same in different ways. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stir-up_Sunday

Some of the notes on the readings have appeared in earlier postings, but the whole has been largely re-written.

THE READINGS
Exodus 12.1–14

This is the account of the institution of the Feast of Passover, which God commanded the people of Israel to keep as an everlasting memorial of the delivery from bondage in Egypt. The feast is called “the Passover of the Lord” because the Lord passed over the land of Egypt in judgement (verse 12), but passed over the houses where the Israelites were, which were marked with the blood of the Passover lamb (verses 7, 13). The first Passover meal was, as it were, the “last supper” of Israel in Egypt, as can be seen in the words about eating the meal in haste (verse 11). The whole of the Exodus celebrated in the Passover is seen in Christian tradition as a type or foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Christ, the true Paschal Lamb. This is why we read this passage on Maundy Thursday. We read it today as one of the highlights in the story of the Exodus. Much has been passed over since last week’s reading (Chapter 3), and should be read in order to know the whole story.
The word ‘passover’ translates the Hebrew pesach, which is from a verb meaning ‘to pass over, spring over’. An old Hebrew commentary on this passage says, “The sacrifice is called פֶּסַח (pesach) because of the skipping and the jumping over, which the Holy One, blessed be He, skipped over the Israelites’ houses that were between the Egyptians houses. He jumped from one Egyptian to another Egyptian, and the Israelite in between was saved.” In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and in Christian writings, pesach became pascha, which in turn became the name for Easter in many languages. Pascha is surprisingly similar to the Greek word for ‘suffering’ (paschein).
It seems unnecessary to comment here on all the technical instructions for the passover

The Psalm

Psalm 149, is one of the “Hallelujah Psalms”. “Hallelujah” (alleluia is simply a form of the word more euphonious in Latin and Greek) is a Hebrew word meaning “Praise the Lord”. This is a liturgical song, inviting the congregation of the faithful to praise. The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that it was a hymn meant to accompany a festival dance [verse 3], of an apparently war-like character [verses 6-9]. The psalms chosen for the lectionary usually seem to reflect on the first reading: here the judgement on the nations reflects the final plague sent by the Lord against Egypt. One might also note, however, a link between the “binding of the kings in chains” and the promise of the Lord Jesus to his disciples that what they “bind” on earth will be bound in heaven. See also the notes on this Psalm at the RCL site:
http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/apr23l.shtm

The Epistle: Romans 13.8–14
Importance of Love for One’s Neighbour

Our reading from the Letter to the Romans jumps over the opening seven verses of Chapter 13, a very important passage which speaks of the relation Christians ought to have to the civil government of the country in which they live. In particular there are assumptions about the duty to pay taxes which should not be ingored. These verses are not read in Church, but it would be helpful to read them over before looking at the passage we will be reading.
After making it clear that we are to pay everything that we owe, St Paul begins the next section by reminding us of the one debt that is never paid: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another: for he who loves his neighbour, has fulfilled the law”. Love of neighbour is not a favour we grant and could as well withhold, but is a debt we owe—to God. This might be a surprise to some; in fact it is another element of the Christian life which involves being “transformed by the renewal of our minds”. On the words that love fulfills the law, see Mark 12.31; James. 2.8 John 13.34; 1 John 4.11; Col 3.14;1 Tim 1.5; 1 Corinthians 13. St Paul is here commenting on the words of Jesus, who in turn quoted Leviticus 19.18.
If love is the fulfilling of the law it is the foundation of all Christian conduct. The urgency for Christians to conduct themselves is all the greater because of the imminence of Christ’s coming. Though the time seems to have stretched, the urgency of our calling is no less. We may not know the time [kairos] of Christ’s coming, but we know very well that it is high time to act in love, and follow all these words of St Paul.

The Holy Gospel: Matthew 18.15–20

Much important material between last week’s Gospel reading and this week’s is omitted from the Sunday readings. Passages that are read at other times or read in parallel version are noted:
XVII. 1-8. The Transfiguration. Read on the Last Sunday after Epiphany or Lent 2
XVII. 9-13. Conversation On The Descent.
XVII. 14-21. The Epileptic Boy.
XVII. 22, 23. Second Announcement Of The Passion. The parallel, Mark 9:30-32 is read on Proper 25, Year B
XVII. 24-27. The Temple Tax.
XVIII. 1-4. Jesus On Personal Ambition. The parallel, Mark 9:33-37 is read on Proper 25 ,Year B
XVIII. 5-9. Considerate Behaviour Towards Little Ones. The parallel, Mark 9:38-50 is read on Proper 26, YearB
XVIII. 10-14. The Preciousness Of The Individual. Partly paralleled in Luke 15:1-10, read on Proper 24, Year C

This teaching on disputes that arise between Christians is found only in St Matthew, except for an echo in one verse of St Luke: Take heed to yourselves; if you brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him (Luke 17.3). A sizeable body of opinion holds that this passage reflects the later experience and condition of the Christian community rather than the original words of Jesus. Indeed, the passage seems to assume a more established community even if we understand “church” as a local group of believers, as some do.
Some Christians, particularly at the time of the Reformation, have taken this passage as a prescriptive regulation for Church discipline. It is one of the scriptural foundations of the practice of excommunication.
The rule is obviously good, for first one is to try and settle the matter privately, and only when that has failed, to involve other Christians. In verse 15 ‘point out the fault’ could be given with more strength, "convince him of his fault," i.e. get him to acknowledge the wrong. The teaching on reconciliation continues in next week’s reading : the whole shows us that it is a duty for both the offender and the one offended.The need for witnesses (verse 16) is founded on Deuteronomy 19:15, but the Lord Jesus seems to have reduced the minimum requirement to one witness in addition to the plaintiff.
We cannot stress too much that the goal is the reclamation of the sinner, rather than punishment: if he listens to you you have won him. This commends the translation “convince” in verse 15: unless one acknowledges one’s fault there is no real reconciliation, but only giving in resentfully.
The passage concludes with a guarantee, the assurance, so to speak, that the decisions of the church have the authority of heaven. Here the words that were spoken to Simon Peter are now addressed to all the disciples.
This passage needs to be read and understood in context, for its context is forgiveness and reconciliation, as the Gospel Acclamation reminds us. It immediately follows the parable of the Lost Sheep (18.10-14) and is itself followed immediately by Peter’s question of how many times he must forgive his brother, to which Jesus says “Seventy times seven” (18.21-22). This in turn is followed by the parable of the Unforgiving Servant (18.23-end). This context should make Christians cautious, thoughtful, and prayerful in applying the rules of 18.15-17.
A further consideration how we are to take the words let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector, which is generally taken to mean “an unworthy outsider”, one fit to be expelled from the Church. This interpretation is hard to deny. But as we think about these words, let us simply consider how the Lord Jesus himself treated Gentiles and tax collectors.

CALENDAR
September

Feria signifies an ordinary weekday.
FAS is For All the Saints: Prayers and Readings for Saints’ Days, which may be purchased at the ABC or found on-line at http://www.anglican.ca/resources/liturgicaltextsonline/
ACP: Anglican Cycle of Prayer.

1 Thursday: Feria [in BCP, Giles, Abbot in Provence, c. 720]
Pray for the parish of St. George, Haliburton
ACP Saskatchewan (Rupert's Land, Canada) The Rt Revd Michael William Hawkins; Saskatoon (Rupert's Land, Canada) The Rt Revd David Irving
Have an oyster! This day is traditionally counted as the beginning of the oyster season, the eight months containing the letter R in which it was thought safe to eat oysters. However, the legal opening of the oyster season in Britain was August 5th. He was a bold man that first eat an oyster. ~ Jonathan Swift

2 Friday: Memorial of The Martyrs of New Guinea, 1942

When Japanese forces invaded New Guinea in 1942, a number of Anglican missionaries decided to stay with their people for as long as possible, despite orders for white people to evacuate the island. Their faithfulness resulted in martyrdom. See FAS p. 266
Pray for the parish of St. James, Fenelon Falls
ACP: Sebei - (Uganda) The Rt Revd Augustine Joe Arapyona Salimo
On this day in 1666 began the Great Fire of London

3 Saturday: Memorial of Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, 604

Gregory the Great was Bishop of Rome from 590 to 604, a time of great danger and uncertainty, and in which the leaders of the Church had to take care for civil government and social welfare. Gregory is particulalry remembered for sending Augustine of Canterbury to preach the gospel among the heathen English. See FAS p. 268
Pray for the parish of St. James, Kinmount
ACP Sekondi - (West Africa) The Rt Revd John Kwamina Otoo

4 Sunday: The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Pray for Volunteer Workers in Diocesan Ministry
ACP The Rt Revd Paul Keun-Sang Kim Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of Korea & Bishop of Seoul

5 Monday: Commemoration of First Anglican Eucharist in Canada, 1578; Labour Day
Robert Wolfall, a priest of the Church of England, was among the company of Martin Frobisher’s expedition to the canadian Arctic in 1568. On Sunday, September third, Wolfall preached and celebrated communion on the shore of Baffin Island, the first Anglican Eucharist in what is now Canada. FAS, p. 270.
Pray for Couchiching Jubilee House, Orillia (FaithWorks)
ACP Seychelles - (Indian Ocean) The Rt Revd James Richard Wong Yin Song

6 Tuesday: Feria
Pray for the parish of St. John, Dunsford
ACP Sheffield - (York, England) The Rt Revd Steven Croft; Sheffield - Doncaster - (York,
England) The Rt Revd Cyril Guy Ashton

7 Wednesday: Feria
Pray for the parish of St. John, Irondale
ACP Shinyanga - (Tanzania) The Rt Revd Charles Kija Ngusa

8 Thursday: Memorial of The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

'The legend of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary … bears witness to a deeper truth of faith — that Mary herself was the daughter of Israel’s hope and the child whose own offspring would fulfill the longing of the whole family of creation’ ; see FAS, p. 272.
Pray for the parish of St. John, Rosedale
ACP Shyira - (Rwanda) The Rt Revd Laurent Mbanda

9 Friday: Feria
Pray for the parish of St. Luke, Burnt River
ACP Shyogwe - (Rwanda) The Rt Revd Jered Kalimba
On this day in 1513 an English army defeated the Scots at Flodden Field, a disaster for the Scots commemorated in the famous lament The Flowers of the Forest.

10 Saturday: Memorial of Edmund James Peck, Missionary to the Inuit, 1924 Edmund Peck spent almost forty years in mission in the Eastern Arctic where he ‘built the Anglican Church … not only spiritually by his preaching but also physically with his own hands. See FAS, p. 274
Pray for the parish of St. Margaret, Wilberforce
ACP Sialkot - (Pakistan) The Rt Revd Samuel Sant Masih Pervaiz

11 Sunday: The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Pray for The Bridge Prison Ministry, Brampton (FaithWorks)
ACP Sittwe - (Myanmar) The Rt Revd Dr James Min Deng

Lectionary Notes

2011-08-25T16:47:00.004-04:00

Some Notes for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
The Sunday between 28 August and 3 September
Proper 22 Year A

Here we go again!
Dear Friends: Thank you for your patience while I took a Summer Break from preparing these weekly notes. I wish I could say it had been a holiday.
I was pleased to discover this week that I published a set of notes on this week’s reading in 2008; I have revised them here.

The Collect for this Sunday is adapted from the Prayer Book Collect for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, used since the First Prayer Book of 1549 :
LORD of all power and might, Who art the Author and Giver of all good things; Graft in our hearts the love of Thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of Thy great mercy keep us in the same ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
It was in turn translated and adapted from the ancient Latin Collect for the same Sunday. It is interesting to compare the English version of the same Collect in the New St Joseph Sunday Missal:
Almighty God, every good thing comes from you. Fill our hearts with love for you, increase our faith, and by your constant care protect the good you have given us. we ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son …
The difference between 'graft in our hearts the love of your Name' in the Anglican and 'fill our hearts with love for you' in the Roman Catholic version seems to arise from the interpretation of the original, ínsere pectóribus nostris tui nóminis amórem. In Latin there are two almost identical verbs insero, one {insero, inserere. inserevi, inseritum], meaning 'to graft', the other [insero, -ere, -ui, -tum] meaning 'to let in, insert'. The present imperative singular of both is insere. In the first English Prayer Book this was taken as 'graft', which, according to J. H. Blunt (Annotated Book of Common Prayer, new edition, 1892), was suggested by the good and evil fruit' contained in the Epistle for Trinity VII, Romans 6.19-23.

Readings
Exodus 3.1–15
In Midian the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob reveals himself to Moses and summons him to the work of delivering Israel from Egypt.
Moses, who had been raised by Pharaoh’s daughter [Exodus 2.1-10] has fled from Egypt because it was discovered he had slain an Egyptian task-master for beating a Hebrew slave [2.11-15]. He fled to Midian, where he married Zipporah, daughter of the priest Jethro. Jethro is elsewhere (Exodus 2:16-19 and Numbers 10:29) called Reuel, but some suggest that is his father’s name; in Judges 4.11 he is called Hobab. The confusion over his name does not affect today’s passage. The Midianites were a people related to the Israelites (see Gen 25.2), who at this time appear to have lived in the north of the Sinai Peninsula.
Meanwhile, the Pharaoh (probably Seti I) died, and “the people of Israel groaned under their bondage and cried out for help”. In Midian God revealed himself to Moses and called him to be his agent for the deliverance of Israel. We hear the first part of the narrative in today’s reading.
The call of Moses is also a revelation of the Lord God as one who cares for his people and hears their cry of anguish. The revelation itself is a miracle both because the bush that burns and is not consumed causes Moses to wonder, since it is outside the known powers of nature and because it is clearly God’s direct action. But how do we imagine this event? Does God speak aloud, actually moving the air and acting on Moses’ ear-drums? Or is the voice that Moses hears an inner one? There is no way to know, but however we think of it, we must decide whether we believe that God did act.
The first verse of this passage is a good example of why comments have to be selective!
v. 1: . beyond the wilderness: is literally ‘behind the wilderness’ or ‘at the backside of the wilderness’ (KJV); although the RCL commentary suggests that this is ‘a mysterious place like the deep in the forest of fairy tales’ the RSV ‘west side of the wilderness’ seems more likely. The Hebrew preposition ‘achar, ‘behind’ is often used to mean ‘West’, as in Judges 18.12; in a common way of speaking, the East was always 'in front' (Genesis 4.16), the North on 'the left' (Ez. xvi. 46), the South on 'the right' (1 S. xxiii. 19). Other suggestions are “after the free pastureland” and “the edge of the desert”. Horeb The mountain of God is called both Horeb or Sinai; Horeb seems to reflect a later tradition. Whatever its name, the precise location of the holy mountain is not known, although tradition places it at Jebel Musa or Mount Catharine in the south of the Sinai.
v.2. the angel of the Lord, as in Genesis 16.7, is not a subordinate spirit but the Lord himself manifested to Moses. (see Genesis 16.13). The bush may have been a thorn-bush or bramble-bush; another suggestion is a blackberry (I will avoid a pretty obvious joke). Since this is a miraculous event, there is no need to be too concerned about what sort of a bush it was. Note that the Hebrew word for bush, seneh’; is possibly a play on the word Sina, sē•nah'•ē;.
v. 4. When the Lord calls from the bush Moses answers “Here am I”. In the Septuagint Greek text, however, what Moses says is τί ἐστι; (ti esti?), “What is it?” In some ways this seems to me a more natural response!
vv 6-10. The Lord declares to Moses that he has seen the suffering of his people and heard their cries, and has come down to free them and lead them into that good land he had promised their ancestors. He will send Moses to Pharaoh to lead the people out of Egypt.
v 11. Moses is reluctant to obey. Like Gideon (Judges 6.11-22) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1.4-10) he raises objections to God’s call. In 3.11-4.17 Moses makes four excuses; this reading includes only the first two: “who am I to do this?” (3.11), to which God replies, “I will be with you”, and “the people will ask the name of the God who sent me” (3.13), to which God replies by solemnly declaring his name.
v. 14. Note that the Lord’s reply, I am who I am, can be translated in different ways: the NRSV offers I AM WHAT I AM and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. The Greek version, ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν (egō eimi ho ōn), can mean something like I am he who is, which has serious theological implications (see Eric Mascall, He Who Is, esp. pp 5, 10, 13; Existence and Analogy, pp 10-13).
v. 15. The divine Name, YHWH, is not pronounced under any circumstances in Jewish tradition. Four things may be noted here. Instead of YHWH, the Hebrew word Adonai, Lord, or Elohim, God, was pronounced instead. The vowel-signs for these words were added to the YHWH to ensure the proper word was pronounced. In fact, the proper vowels are not precisely known; the form Yahweh is an approximation
Second, it is from reading it with the “wrong” vowels that gave rise to the name Jehovah, which does not represent any form of the name used in Hebrew.
Third, the Jewish practice has for the most part always been followed by Christians: in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures, the word Κύριος (Kyrios) was used to render the divine name; Dominus was likewise used in Latin: both mean Lord. In English versions the convention has grown to represent the divine Name by “The LORD”, written in small capitals. The Vatican has recently (and rightly) reaffirmed the rule that the name YHWH is not pronounced in worship. Finally, when we understand this background of the word Lord as a rendering of the divine Name, we can see the true implications of such New Testament expressions as “Jesus is Lord”.
The Psalm 105.1-6, 23-26, 45c.
Psalm 105 tells in verse the story of God’s mighty acts of salvation; compare Psalm 78. Verses 23-26 commemorate the sufferings of Israel in Egypt and the call of Moses. “Ham” is a poetic name for Egypt: see Genesis 10.6.

The Epistle. Romans 12.9-21.
St Paul exhorts his readers to the good Christian life. As a statement of the “law of love”, this passage should be read along with Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians. The most difficult part of this teaching is the absolute prohibition of vengeance in verse 19. Only when we have truly ceased to “conform to this world” and have been “transformed by the renewal of mind” (12.2; see last week’s reading) will the instinct to avenge and justify oneself be rooted out.
It might seem that the teaching in verse 20, that you ought to assist your enemy in need and thereby “heap burning coals on his head” spoils the whole thing by turning an act of love into revenge! In fact, it means that acts of kindness bring the enemy to shame (embarrassment is often accompanied by redness and a rise in temperature) and, it is to be hoped, to repentance.

The Holy Gospel, Matthew 16.21-28
Immediately after St Peter’s confession of him as Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus for the first time tells his disciples of the path of suffering before him. It is as if he said to them, You have confessed that I am Messiah; now learn what it means to be Messiah. We note that the Gospel says not that he began to tell them but to show them. the sense is made known, but we should not miss the visual quality of ‘show’ that comes again at the end of the passage. He says that he must suffer at Jerusalem, the city where the prophets were put to death; see Matthew 23.29-39. Although the scriptures of the Old Testament mention only one such death (Zechariah son of Jehoiada; see 2 Chronicles 24.20-22), others were recorded in legend.
Peter could not accept the idea that the Messiah should suffer. He takes Jesus and begins to rebukes him, as if saying, “Ah, Master, don’t say that!”. It should be noted that Luke 9 omits Peter’s rebuke and the sequel. Jesus’ reply needs to be read carefully.
He turned and said to Peter. Matthew seems to mean that Jesus turned to Peter and said to Peter. However, in Mark it is turning and seeing his disciples he rebuked Peter.
Get behind me, Satan! seems to mean “begone from me”, but it was often taken by the early Fathers to mean “Come after me”. We should note that the expression here translated “get behind me”, also appears in verse 24 as “after me” (come after me). With this in mind, we might not be surprised at St Hilary’s comment:
The Lord, knowing the suggestion of the craft of the devil, says to Peter, Get you behind me; that is, that he should follow the example of His passion; but to him by whom this expression was suggested, He turns and says, Satan, you are an offense to me. For we cannot suppose that the name of Satan, and the sin of being an offense, would be imputed to Peter after those so-great declarations of blessedness and power that had been granted him.
Again, Origen wrote on this passage:
Yet the words in which Peter and those in which Satan are rebuked, are not, as is commonly thought, the same; to Peter it is said, Get you behind me, Satan; that is, follow me, you that are contrary to my will; to the Devil it is said, Go your way, Satan, understanding not 'behind me,' but 'into everlasting fire.' He said therefore to Peter, Get you behind me, as to one who through ignorance was ceasing to walk after Christ. And He called him Satan, as one, who through ignorance had somewhat contrary to God. But he is blessed to whom Christ turns, even though He turn in order to rebuke him
Peter’s words seemed to be a continuation of Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the desert: see Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8.
Note that there is a parallel between the stumbling block in verse 23 and the Lord’s words about the rock in last week’s reading. The Rock (ver. 18) is now a rock of offence (cf. Isa. viii. 14), a rock in the straight path on which one may stumble and be thrown out of the way. After the sudden revelation ‘from heaven’ the unguarded soul of Peter was now occupied by another spirit. He wished for an earthly Messiah who would not suffer or die: his mind was set not on divine things, but on human. The verb translated as setting your mind is the same used by St Paul in Phil 2.5, ‘Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus’ — where also in verse 8 … he speaks of his ‘becoming obedient even unto the death of the cross. We find this verb in today’s reading from Romans, as well: the phrase translated there as “do not be haughty” is literally “Mind not high things”.
In the second part of the reading (verse 24-28), Jesus tells his disciples that those who would follow him must deny themselves and take up the cross to follow him. In the Roman world, the word “crucify” had come to be a general word for suffering or torture, as is found in secular literature of the time, and in our English word “excruciate”. One condemned to die on the cross carried it, or at least the cross-beam, to the place of execution. “Jesus sees that acceptance of his message with its promise also may bring destruction. Only those who in faith accept the threat of destruction will find life. See also Matthew 5:11-12; 10:38-39; Mark 10:29-31; Luke 14:27; 17:33; John 12:25” [NOAB].
Life; the Greek word is ψυχὴ, psychē; the Authorized version had “soul”. Here it means life not in the sense of physical existence but the higher or spiritual life, the real self. The question for what one would sell one’s soul calls to mind the legend of Faust, who made a pretty shoddy deal for his. Again, Jesus had been tempted to ‘gain the whole world (Matt 4.9) but he preferred the kingdom of heaven: ‘the world’ he left to Caesar (Matt 22.21).
One’s life might be a trifle, worth casting off for the rewards that the world can offer, if this world was everything; but it is not. The Son of man comes to bring the Father’s rewards, which are true life, forgiveness, love and joy.
This Gospel passage can be read well along with the passages from Romans we read last week and this. To deny self is an essential part of being transformed in mind (Romans 12.2). Furthermore, although the Lord’s call to take up one’s cross tell us of suffering imposed on us for our choice to follow Christ, they also speak of the death that is involved in turning away from passions and habits of the old life. Few things can be worse than denying oneself the pleasures of vengeance, of getting one’s own; which is why it is so hard to give it up. To learn to bless those who persecute, and not curse, even in the depths of your heart is part of following our Lord.
In the final words of the passage, Jesus declares that some who are standing with him will not taste death until they see the Son of man coming in his glory. Some interpret this to mean the Transfiguration, which is related in the following chapter. Others, noting that in the parallel passage in Mark (9.1) it is “before they see that the kingdom of God has come in power”, take it as referring to the coming of the Spirit on the Day Pentecost (Acts 2).

God willing, the Calendar Notes will resume in September.

Lectionary Notes

2011-07-09T11:16:00.004-04:00

Some Notes for The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
10 July 2011
The Sunday between 10 and 16 July: Proper 15 Year A

The Sentence appointed for Years A & B, which is taken from Deuteronomy, has no particular relation to any of the readings for this Sunday.
The Collect is a famous prayer adapted from the Confessions, the spiritual autobiography of St Augustine of Hippo. “You move us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You (Tu excitas ut laudare te delectet, quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te~ Conf. 1.1.1). Various prayers have been composed on this sentence, of which our collect is one of the simplest.

The Readings
Genesis 25.19–34

The next highlight we come to in our readings from Genesis is the story of Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. After their marriage Rebekah went twenty years without having children. With her prolonged barrenness, compare the cases of Sarah, and Rachel (29.31), the mothers of Samson (Judges 13.2), Samuel (1 Sa. 1.2), and John the Baptist (Lk. 1.7). Isaac prayed for her and finally the Lord answered the prayer. It did not easily for Rebekah. The word translated ‘struggled’ together mean literally ‘crushed each other’; the dismayed mother took this as a portent and went to consult the Lord.
We are told nothing of how the Lord was consulted, but may presume that an oracle was given through some holy person. At any rate, the words recorded are rhythmic. The pre-natal struggle is said to prefigure the future rivalries of two nations. The point of the prophecy is in the last line : The elder shall serve the younger.

The name Jacob means "heel holder" or "supplanter" (or even “layer of snares”) and comes from a root that seems to mean “to come from behind”; the reading today is the first part of the story of how he supplanted his elder brother. It continues in Chapter 27, which is not included in the Sunday readings, but is important to know if you want to understand the reading for next Sunday (28:10-19).
The story of Jacob and Esau does not only explain how God’s choice fell on the younger son instead of the elder, but also of why Israel was dominant of the neighbouring kingdom of Edom, which was descended from Esau.
On another level it is also a story about the difference between a nation of hunters and a nation of herdsmen (see v 27).
In relation to this, it is important to note the play on the word “red” in this passage. Esau is born ruddy and hairy. The word for ruddy is 'admoniy; in verse 30, when he sees the stuff Jacob is cooking (the original is indeed that vague), Esau asks for ‘some of that red [‘âdom ] pottage’ (Skinner suggests translating this as Let me gulp some of the red—that red there!). This, the narrator explains is why he was called “Edom”, which means “red”.
Jacob shows himself to be the supplanter in that he takes his brother’s distress as the opportunity to secure the long-coveted birthright, i.e. the superior status which properly belonged to the first-born son. The climax of the story is Esau’ s unconcern even when he discovers that he has bartered the birthright for such a trifle as a dish of lentil soup. This is not the end of the story. To follow the whole, and see the Sunday highlight in context, it would be helpful to read Genesis 27 and 28:1-9 before next Sunday

Psalm 119.105-112

We have commented before that this very long psalm is a meditation on the Law of the Lord written in the form of an Alphabetical acrostic. In each section of 8 verses, each line begins with the same letter (in this case “nun”, n), and works through a series of words referring to the law (word, judgements, law, commandments, decrees, statutes).
It is not particularly clear to me why this selection is appointed for this Sunday.

The Epistle: Romans 8.1–11

This year I am reading the letter to the Romans with the help of a commentary by P. C. Boylan (Dublin, 1934). The epistle itself, and Boylan’s reflections on it are too lengthy to be easily digested for these notes. For that reason, I only give a brief summary of the passage from his notes. He titles the section of the epistle our reading is from : The Christian's Life In The Spirit (Chapter 8,1-39)
In chapter 7 Paul analysed the condition of those living under the Law without strength to fulfil its commands, and overcome by the power of Sin. Now he goes on to depict the Christian life with its endowment of God's Spirit and all the abundance of aiding grace which that endowment implies.
In verses 1-4 he describes the rescuing act of God by which the power of Sin was broken, and men were enabled to walk according to the Spirit.
In verses 5-8 he contrasts vividly the conditions of "men of the flesh" and "men of the Spirit."
In verses 9-13 Paul shows that the spirit actually dwells in the Christian, and points out that, through that indwelling, the life of the Christian is the life of a spiritual being. Even the bodies of Christians are made to share in the quickening of the indwelling Spirit. The Christian has, therefore, no further obligations to the Flesh so as to be compelled to yield to its demands. Such yielding would bring death. The whole being of the Christian must be' dominated and directed by the Spirit.
It is of the greatest importance in reading this and other passages in St Paul to avoid a simple identification of the “flesh” with the human body. In fact it cannot be so identified, since the body is God’s good creation and is to be redeemed and raised as is the soul. As Canon Boylan puts it, the opposition between Flesh and Spirit is not a dualism within the human being, but “a contrast between types of men living in different circumstances either as united with Christ, or as persisting in sin.” It is illuminating to note that many of the “works of the flesh” listed in Galatians 5.19-21 (as jealousy, anger, party spirit, envy) are indeed spiritual; but as arrayed against God are counted as of the “flesh”.

Matthew 13.1–9, 18–23

See Mark 4.4-8, 14-21 ; Luke 8.5-8, 11-15.

In Matthew 13.1-52 there is a group of parables, massed together in the same way that many of Jesus’ sayings are massed in the Sermon on the Mount. It is not to be supposed that Jesus spoke all the parables in this chapter on the same occasion. For Luke relates the Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven on a different occasion from that of the Parable of the Sower. Matthew has grouped seven (one of his favourite numbers) parables together to illustrate Jesus' parabolic teaching.
This Sunday we read the Parable of the Sower, (1-9) which is followed by a passage in which the disciples ask why Jesus teaches in parables (10-17). This passage is omitted from the lectionary, but should be read. In the next part of the reading (18-23) Jesus gives an explanation of the parable of the sower privately to the disciples.
One commentary gives a helpful definition of parables. Parables are stories drawn from everyday life which convey a spiritual meaning. Jesus used this technique because: 1) Vivid (and sometimes humorous) images made his teaching easy to remember. 2) The stories caused people to think about what he said, to reflect on it. 3) The stories prompted those present to declare for or against his message. 4) By teaching by analogy (or metaphor), he probably reduced hostility to him. [NOAB]
Some things to note, largely taken from the comments of Archbishop Trench:
1. The same day refers to 12.46-50. Jesus went out of the house probably at Capernaum, the city where he usually lived after his ministry began (Matt. 4. 13); it is on the north shore of the sea of Galilee.
2. a boat: St Hilary said, The ship offers a type of the Church, within which the word of life is placed, and is preached to those without, and who as being barren sand cannot understand it. He sat there: sitting was the normal position for a teacher.
3. a sower. In the original it is the sower. Perhaps Jesus looked over from the boat and seeing a farmer on the field taken this starting point for his teaching. The farmer would have scratched shallow furrows on the field and broadcast the seed.
4. on the path: : Not the public road, but the footpath which ran across the field, or, it might be, ran round the edge of it. In 12.1 Jesus and His disciples went through the cornfields by such a path. The soil here may be naturally as good as the best in the field : its fault lies in its being beaten hard by the feet of the passers-by. So the seed could not sink down in the earth, but lay exposed on the surface till at length it fell an easy prey to the birds.
5-6. Rocky ground doesn’t mean and area covered with small stones or rocks, but where the bedrock had only a thin covering of soil so that there is no chance to put down roots. This is why the seeds spring up: all their energy goes into the stalk. So when the hot sun beat down, they withered.
7. among thorns. Archbishop Trench notes that fields were often divided by hedges of thorn (Exod. xxii. 6; Mic. vii. 4), and comments: “This seed fell not so much among thorns that were full grown, as in ground where the roots of these had not been diligently extirpated, in ground which had not been thoroughly purged and cleansed ; otherwise it could not be said that “the thorns sprang up with it' (Luke 7.7).”
9. “The parable describes the experience of Christ in His ministry, which is typical of universal experience. He finds the reason for the varying effect of His ministry in the varying spiritual condition of men. Some were altogether insusceptible ; others were quickly impressed, but the impression passed away. In others the new spiritual impulses struggled to grow, but were finally crushed by stronger passionate evil lusts. In others there were rich and permanent results, though varying in abundance.”
18-23: Matthew, by omitting the disciples' request for an explanation (Mark iv. 10) and Christ's reproach for their not understanding it (Mark iv. 13), makes the interpretation to be given them because they have the capacity to understand it.
Many modern commentators doubt that the interpretation of the Parable is really one given by our Lord, thinking that it is too allegorical and must be the interpretation of Christians reflecting on the parable. This is a question we cannot enter into here: I will only suggest that there is nothing proven, and indeed that we might do well to be cautious in taking the results of modern Gospel criticism as Gospel. One older commentator notes:
“Objections have been raised to the genuineness of this interpretation on the ground of its allegorising the details. But it is expressly stated in Mark iv. 34 that Jesus did expound the parables to His disciples, and there is no sufficient reason for doubting that this interpretation in the main goes back to Jesus.”
19 and does not understand it: The stupidity is not due to a natural want of intellectual power, but to the hardening effect of their habits, resulting in spiritual insensibility. This is the Fool of Psalm 14. Trench: The man 'understandeth it not’; he does not recognize himself as standing in any relation to the word which he hears, or to the kingdom of grace which that word proclaims. All that speaks of man's connexion with a higher invisible world, all that speaks of sin, of redemption, of holiness, is unintelligible to him, and without significance. The evil one: Trench: How natural it would have been to interpret ‘the fowls' impersonally, as signifying, in a general way, worldly influences hostile to the truth. How almost inevitably, if left to ourselves, we should have so done. Not so, however, the Lord. He beholds the kingdom of evil as it counterworks the kingdom of God gathered up in a personal head, ‘the Wicked One.'
20: immediately receives it with joy. Trench: …the joy thus suddenly conceived is not, as the sequel too surely proves, a joy springing up from the contemplation of the greatness of the benefit, even after all the counterbalancing costs, and hazards, and sacrifices, have been taken into account, but a joy which springs from an overlooking and leaving out of calculation those costs and hazards. … We have rather here a state of mind not stubbornly repelling the truth, but woefully lacking in all deeper earnestness ; such as that of the multitudes which went with Jesus, unconscious what his discipleship involved, to whom He turned and told, in plainest and most startling words, what the conditions of that discipleship were (Luke xiv. 25 33 ; Josh. xxiv. 19).
21 such a person has no root: the original is has no root in himself: he has no depths for roots to form in. endures … for a while: literally “is temporary”, is for a time, a fickle nature, without any stability. falls away: literally "is made to stumble," i.e. into unbelief.
22. Trench: It is not here, as in the first case, that the word of God is totally ineffectual ; nor yet, as in the second case, that after a temporary obedience to the truth, there is an evident falling away from it, such as the withering of the stalk indicates : the profession of a spiritual life is retained, the 'name to live ' still remains ; but the power of godliness is by degrees eaten out and has departed. And to what disastrous influences are these mournful effects attributed ? To two things, the care of this world and its pleasures ; these are the thorns and briers that strangle the life of the soul. It may sound strange at first hearing tliat two causes apparently so diverse should yet be linked together, and have the same hurtful operation ascribed to them. But the Lord, in fact, here presents to us this earthly life on its two sides, under its two aspects. There is, first, its oppressive crushing side, the poor man's toil how to live at all, to keep the wolf from the door, the struggle for a daily subsistence, ‘the care of this life,' which, if not met in faith, hinders the thriving of the spiritual word in the heart. But life has a flattering as well as a threatening side, its pleasures no less than its pains ; and as those who have heard and received with gladness the word of the kingdom are still in danger of being crushed by the cares of life, so, no less, of being deceived by its flatteries and its allurements. The old man is not dead in them ; it may seem dead for a while, so long as the first joy on account of the treasure found endures ; but, unless mortified in earnest, will presently revive in all its strength anew. Unless the soil of the heart be diligently watched, the thorns and briers, of which it seemed a thorough clearance had been made, will again grow up apace, and choke the good seed
While that which God promises is felt to be good, but also what the world promises is felt to be good also, and a good of the same kind, instead of a good merely and altogether subordinate to the other, an attempt will be made to combine the service of the two, to serve God and mammon. But the attempt will be in vain : they who make it will bring no fruit to perfection, will fail to bring forth those perfect fruits of the Spirit which it was the purpose of the word of God to produce in them.

Time has run out; we will have to do without the Calendar.

lectionary notes

2011-07-02T11:08:00.004-04:00

Some Notes for The Third Sunday after Pentecost
3 July 2011
Sunday between 3 and 9 July Proper 14 Year A

The Sentence appointed for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel reading; the Collect has no immediate relation to any of the readings in Year A.

The Readings
Genesis 24.34–38, 42–49, 58–67

The Sunday readings are necessarily only highlights of the Biblical narrative, the story of Salvation. Last week we read of the sacrifice of Isaac; now we have jumped over moer than one chapter. Anyone who wants to have a proper understanding of today’s passage should read the rest of this section (22.15-24.33). In 22.20-24, in which Abraham receives news of his brother Nahor in Haran; this is an important preparation for Chapter 24. In Chapter 23 we hear of ther death of Sarah, and Abraham’s purchase of a burial-place for her.
24.1-33, When Isaac was grown up, and Sarah his mother had died, Abraham made his steward Eliezer (see 15.2) swear that he would go return to Haran to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s kin. When the servant came to the well at Haran, he prayed to God for a particular sign by which he could identify the woman God has chosen. When Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, Abraham’s nephew, came to the well she by offered water to both the servant and his camels, thereby fulfilling the sign. Rebekah’s brother Laban, now the head of the family, welcomed the servant and his party and has offered them a meal. But first, the servant insists, he must he must tell his errand. It is here that the reading for today begins.
24.34-49. The servant’s account recapitulates the story up to this point. Such repetition is common in ancient narrative; the minor variations add interest [NJBC].
24.50-57. Rebekah’s family accept that this thing is from God and agree that she should go to Isaac. Abraham’s steward gave them rich gifts. The next morning they called Rebekah and asked if she consented to go
24.58-61. Rebekah agreed, and with the blessing of her family goes away with Eliezer.
In verse 60, The blessing on the marriage (compare Ruth. 4.11 and following), rhythmic in form, is perhaps an ancient fragment of tribal poetry associated with the name of Rebekah.
24.62-67: Isaac marries Rebekah.
In verse 63, to walk translates a Hebrew word of uncertain meaning; traditionally it has been rendered by “to meditate”. Another suggestion is “to roam”.

The Song of Solomon 2.8–13

The full title of this book is found in 1.1: The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. In Hebrew idiom, “Song of Songs” is a superlative, “the greatest song”. It is a collection of about twenty-five poems or fragments of poems of love and courtship, set as a dialogue between a woman (the bride) and a man (the bridegroom). While some poems of the poems may come from the time of Solomon, the evidence of the language and style in some suggests a later date. The compilation into one book is probably of the third century BC.
The poems are organized as a dialogue between a woman (the bride) and a man (the bridegroom) with a chorus of the daughters of Jerusalem.
The Song of Songs has no obvious religious content; only by assuming that it has a mystical or allegorical meaning can it be given one. It has thus been interpreted as a song of the love between God and his people Israel, or for Christians between Christ and the Church. But although the spiritual interpretation has much to recommend it, we must recognize that the Song of Songs was not intended to be an allegory. “In the literal historical sense it refers to love between humans”. So NJBC, which notes further, “Israel resisted the divinization of sexuality characteristic of the ancient Near East. The Lord had no female consort. Human sexual love was seen as intrinsically good; it could even be a symbol of divine love. [The Song of Songs] presents us with a biblical model of human intimacy. The mutuality and fidelity between lovers, the sensuousness of their relationship, their devotion to each other, clearly emerge … It is widely held that the sages of Israel are responsible for its preservation and transmission because they recognized sound expression of the values of human love (c. Prov 5.18, 18.22).
A passage from Song of Songs is used today in place of a Psalm as a fitting reflection on the story of Rebekah in the first reading. In 2.8-17 the woman recalls a moment when her lover paid a visit in springtime.
The depiction of spring (11-13) has been called the most beautiful song to nature in the Old Testament.

The Epistle: Romans 7.15–25a

As in the other readings, on Sundays we have only highlights of the Epistles. In order to make the best use of the passage read in Church, it is a good idea to read through the whole chapter. Last week we ended at 6.23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Chapter 7 opens with a change of image; where Paul spoke of death to sin (see 6.1-4), now he speaks of the Christian as dead to the Law, and in verses 1-6 uses an analogy from marriage. In verses 7-23 we have a view of law and sin as seen through Christian eyes. [NOAB]
In our reading today Paul speaks of the inner conflict between the good he desires to do and the evil he does. Indeed, Sin is like an evil power ruling within
17. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. Since then things are as I have just described—when I approve what the Law prescribes, and hate the course suggested by Sin, and yet do what I hate, it is clear that it is not I that do the evil thing, but the Sin that dwells in me! Boylan: This verse does not imply that fallen man is not responsible when he surrenders to Sin ; his surrender is a self-surrender with clear consciousness ; and in each particular instance he is free to refuse surrender. The meaning of St. Paul is, that fallen man, unassisted by grace, in spite of the clear teaching of the Law, and his own better judgment, as a general rule surrenders to Sin and thus carries out, not his own will, but the will of Sin. The evil deed then is primarily the work of Sin.
18-20: The thoughts of 15-17 are practically repeated, with a further appeal to Paul's personal experience.
18. in my flesh: NJBC offers in my natural self. It is important to note that Paul does not say that the flesh is evil, but only that good does not dwell in it because of Sin. There is no basis here, therefore, for a Gnostic Dualism teaching the intrinsic and essential sinfulness of the Flesh.

The Holy Gospel: Matthew 11.16–19, 25–30

The first part of today’s passage is the conclusion of a larger unit, 11.2-19, which tells of messengers sent to Jesus by John Baptist to ask whether he is the expected one, and of Jesus answer. Luke 7.18-35 has a parallel to it. Part of the larger passage (2-11) was read on the Third Sunday of Advent this year; the rest is apparently not read on Sundays. If nothing else shows how important it is to read the passage in context before Sunday and not just hear a snippet unprepared on Sunday morning it is this. From the earlier verses we learn that Jesus has just received and answered John’s message and it is the reaction of the people to John and to himself that provokes his comment on this generation. Here the generation seems to mean all the people of Jesus’ time, while in Luke it appears to refer to the Pharisees and lawyers (see Luke 7.30).
As the NJBC points out, this comment comprises a little parable (16-17), an explanation of the parable (18, 19a), and a wisdom saying (19b); the parable is difficult to interpret.
One reading of the parable is this: “One set of children are trying to get another set to join in a game. They try ‘marriages,’ and then ‘funerals’; but in neither case will the others respond. The fault is not in the game, but in the humour of the children. ‘This generation’ is as childishly whimsical in rejecting both John with his gloomy asceticism and Jesus with His joyous freedom. They do not know what they want.” So NJBC has “The most probable interpretation runs thus: The children are John and Jesus; the call is to play wedding, then funeral; the ‘others’ are their Palestinian contemporaries, who reject both the severe way of John and the light yoke of Jesus”.
The wisdom saying [19] has also been found difficult to understand. Part of the problem is that its original form is uncertain. Our version has ‘Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds’ while Luke has ‘… by her children’. ‘Children’ is also found in some manuscripts of Matthew. We may understand that the Wisdom of God sent both John and Jesus for particular purpose; if we read ‘children’; the saying means that this wisdom is recognized by those who are spiritually akin to her, and who respond by welcoming both. If we ‘works’ it is the effects produced on the lives of disciples of John and Jesus that prove the Divine wisdom.
Five verses which follow this are omitted from the reading; they report Jesus’ upbraiding of the cities where he had done most of his mighty works. Then comes the second part of the passage read in church. Compare Luke 10.12-20, where this passage is followed by a notice of the return of the seventy disciples (10.17).
Verses 25-27 record Jesus’ cry of thanksgiving and praise to the Father. In Luke 10.21 this prayer is a response to the return of the seventy. However, following the NJBC, the section 11.25-30 as a whole may be taken as Jesus’ declaration of himself as a revealer of divine wisdom, thus picking up the thenme from verse 19. So we take the section in three parts:
25, 26: thanksgiving for God’s revelation
27, the content of the revelation
28-30, the invitation to the revelation.
Verse 25: infants: the simple, the uneducated. Jesus’ thanks is joyous adoration of the grace of God, who makes the message of the kingdom accessible to all, by requiring only childlike simplicity. This truth is about knowing God not knowing about God. The ‘wise’ are those whose wisdom has made them self-sufficient and unwilling to listen and learn but the ‘children’ are those who are aware that they do not know, and need to learn, so they do listen.
Verse 27: compare John 3.35,10.13, 13.3
This verse and the wonderful sayings which close this passage are found only in Matthew, which has led some commentators to wonder if they are authentic. Such questions are too tangled for us to touch in these notes. I will only say that to my mind no reason sufficient for rejecting them has been put forward.
28. See Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 51.23-27).
29. The yoke had long been a symbol of submission; defeated armies were made to ‘pass under the yoke’. The miracle of Jesus’ dominion is that it is light. . Learn from me: the disciple is to be a life-long learner from the true teacher. This saying gives a further depth to the earlier mention of infants. We are never to think we know it all. Meek: see 2 Corinthians 10.1
29; the burden he calls us to bear is light. This was in contrast to the burdens imposed by the legalism of Jesus’ day (see Matthew 23.4). It is also in contrast t the burdens imposed by the world. See also Isaiah 14.3, 28.12; Jeremiah 6.16, 31.25 and Sirach 6.25, 26 as well as the passage already mentioned,. But while Jesus’ call puts a lighter burden on us in the way of commandments, it makes a more serious demand in that it calls us to give our whole life into his charge. But that is the way of freedom.

Calendar
July

3 b The Third Sunday after Pentecost

4 c Saint Thomas the Apostle HD (transferred from Sunday)

5 d Feria
6 e Commemoration of Thomas More, 1535
7 f Feria
8 g Feria
9 A Feria
10 b The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary notes

2011-06-25T21:53:00.005-04:00

SOME NOTES FOR THE SUNDAY BETWEEN 26 JUNE AND 2 JULY
(Proper 13 Year A)
The Second Sunday after Pentecost
26 June 2011

Once again, I have been caught short this week and the notes are not as complete as I might like, but as half a loaf is better than no bread, here goes.

Neither the Sentence nor the Collect seems to have any particular connection to the readings appointed in Year A. The 8:30 congregation will notice that we also use the Collect for the Feast of the Nativioty of St John Baptist, since by the rules of the old Calendar that day is kept with an Octave and Commemorated on the Sunday.

The Readings

On the Second Sunday after Pentecost the lectionary resumes the sequence of readings that was interrupted through Lent and Easter. In fact we resume a sequence of readings already in progress.

Genesis 22.1–14: God Tests Abraham

I. 1-8. Abraham’s willing preparation for the sacrifice.
In the story of Abraham (Genesis 11.27-25.18), rabbinic tradition recognized ten trials and seven blessings (for a list of the trials and blessings, see NJBC 2:18). The call to sacrifice his son Isaac was the last and greatest of the trials, and is followed by a renewal of the promises (see 22.16-18). It is, above all, a story of trust and faith.
1-3: Abraham is told by God to offer Isaac in sacrifice.
1. After these things is a conventional introduction to a new section. Chapter 21 ends with the account of Abraham’s dealings with King Abimelech (21.22-34) and the notice that Abraham ‘sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines’. Tested, that is put under trial to see whether he would obey in faith (12.4; compare Heb 11.17-19). Here I am is a statement of complete availability.
2. Your only son is not literally accurate; Isaac is his only son by Sarah, but he will have other sons. The sense here is beloved, and is meant to emphasize the greatness of the sacrifice, as if to say that God knows right well how much He asks. This is particualry poignant when the passage is read at the Great Vigil of Easter and we rememkber that God does indeed know. The mountain in the land of Moriah is idenitifed in 2 Chronicles 3.1 and later tradition as the Temple mountain in Jerusalem. Scholars are not certain of the accuracy of this identification. More interesting is the fact that the name Moriah is from the Hebrew verb ra’a, ‘to see’, a word on which there is some important play in this passage
3. Abraham obeys immediately and without comment (contrast his response in Genesis 18) we are told nothing of his inner emotions, but left to infer them.
4-8: Abraham and Isaac journey to the place.
4. The third day may be a conventional description of a short journey.
5. Boy translates a word that could mean anything from a small child to a young man and also meant ‘servant’. The story does not give us any chronology from which to guess Isaac’s age.
6. That Isaac bore the wood for the burnt offering is a prefiguring of Christ carrying his cross. Note how “the two of them walked on together” is repeated in verse 8.
7-8. Skinner noted many years ago: “The pathos of this dialogue is inimitable : the artless curiosity of the child, the irrepressible affection of the father, and the stern ambiguity of his reply, can hardly be read without tears.” In Abraham’s answer “God himself will provide the lamb” (8), we meet the verb ra’a, to see, once again. As the NJBC notes, he is not trying to decieve Isaac; this is “evidence of Abraham’s handing everything over to God.
II. 9-14: God sees to the Sacrifice
9-10: The preparation for the sacrifice is described in detail.
11. Suddenly the angel of the Lord intervenes to stop the sacrifice. We know from the very first verse—though Abraham did not—this this was only a test, and that God did not change his mind. The repetition, Abraham, Abraham, expresses urgency ; as 46.2, Ex 3.4, and 1 Sam 3.16. Note that Abraham once again replies with complete obedience: Here I am.
12. Now I know: the essence of the sacrifice was the willingness and readiness to give all.
13. Abraham sees (that verb again) a ram and takes it to offer in place of Isaac. Horrifying as it may be to us, infant sacrifice was common in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia, and in Phoenecian colonies such as Carthage. By its condemnation of the practice the OT shows that it was even done in Israe; (2 Kings 16.3’; Micah 6.7). In the Law, the first-born belonged to the Lord, but was to be ‘redeemed’ rather than sacrificed (Exodus 13; 34). Here we have the first such redemption of a child. See also Luke 2.23-24.
14. The passage concludes with the naming of the place, Jehovahjireh, which means, The Lord will provide, a further play on ra’a. The meaning of the saying "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided" is not certain: other possibilities are “'In the mount where the LORD is seen” and “In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen”

Psalm 13
Usquequo, Domine

This Psalm is identified as a prayer for deliverance from personal enemies.
1-2: The Psalmist’s complaint: he is sick, and aparently in danger of death.
3-4: He prays for help lest because of his trouble his enemies take heart, rejoice, and triumph over him.
5. His trust in the Lord.
6. A promise of praise to the Lord.

The Epistle: Romans 6.12-23

The overarching aim of Chapter 6 of Romans appears to be a defense against the charge that Paul’s message of free salvation in Christ was really a message of lawlessness. The opening verse states the objection: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?This objection is restated in verse 15 (see also 3.8). In 15-23 Paul gives the answer: Free forgiveness? What does that mean? Freedom to sin? Far from it. That would be a return to the old slavery. Christians have been rescued from the slavery of Sin, and have become the slaves of God. As their slave-service of Sin led to death, so their service of God leads to holiness, and, in the end, to eternal life. For the wages of Sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Because our baptism into Christ is a baptism into his death (verse 3) and a raising to new life, we are now to live ‘as those who have been brought from death to life’, no longer slaves to sin, but servants of God. To ‘present ourselves to God’ means to put ourselves at his disposal: like Abraham in the first reading, we are to say “Here I am” when God calls.
Verse 14 is a word of encouragement. The thought is, that, if Christians were still under the Law of Moses, they would still be under the power of Sin, for the Law, instead of bringing with it helps for its fulfilment, was nothing but a cold, and challenging, and threatening set of commands and prohibitions. But in the new economy grace is given so abundantly that God's will is gladly fulfilled. The contrast is sometimes put thus : the Law" said "Thou shalt," and only multiplied sin : Grace says, "Thou canst," and gives strength for the victory over Sin. Thus it is that the freedom of grace is not lawlessness, but the power of righteousness.

The Holy Gospel: Matthew 10.40-42

On the Sundays after Pentecost, the Gospel passages follow in sequence. Matthew 10.24-39 is appointed for the Gospel on the Sunday between 19 and 25 June (Proper 12), but was not read last week because it was Trinity Sunday. It is helpful to set this short passage in context. Chapter 10 of Matthew contains the second great discourse of this Gospel, the Lord’s commissioning and instruction of the Twelve Apostles for their Mission. Like the Sermon on the Mount, it was compiled by the Gospel-writer; several of the sayings appear in different contexts in the Gospels according to Mark an Luke.
40. This saying shows both the honour and the responsibility of the Christian’s mission. Compare Luke 10.16, John 13.20. for Jesus’ self-identification with his disciples see also Acts 9.4
42. Compare Mark 9.41, Matthew25.35-40. Little ones refers to the disciples of Jesus: see 18.6. Mark 10.24; Matthew 11.25. A cup of cold water: in a dry season this would be the most valuable of gifts.

Calendar

26 b The Second Sunday after Pentecost
27 c
28 d Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, c. 202 Mem
29 e Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles HD
30 f

July

1 g The Anniversary of Confederation, 1867: Statutory Holiday2 A
3 b The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Notes

2011-06-11T09:57:00.005-04:00

We apologize for the missing notes recently, and can only plead that they weren't very good. So here we are again.

SOME NOTES FOR THE DAY OF PENTECOST, YEAR A
12 JUNE 2011

The name “Pentecost” is from the Greek word meaning ‘fiftieth’ and was applied in translation of the Hebrew to the feat of Weeks which fell on the fiftieth day after Passover.

The Collect is apparently new, and if so is one of the happier compositions in the BAS, managing to capture most of the themes of Pentecost in one sentence.

The Readings
Numbers 11.24–30

In the wilderness after their deliverance from Egypt and the giving of the law at Sinai, some of the people of Israel have been complaining to Moses about their misfortunes (11.1), and even though the Lord’s anger is kindled, they go on complaining and asking fro the food they enjoyed in Egypt (11.4-6): manna was God-given, nutritious and versatile, but it gets monotonous. The discontent grows until Moses himself complains about the people God has given him to look after “as a nurse carries a sucking child”, v. 12). He cannot carry on alone, better to die than continue in this misery (v. 14-15).
God tells him to gather seventy of the elders and bring them out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp (see Exodus 33.7), where God will put on them some of the spirit that is on Moses so that they can share his burden. (vv. 16-17). Further God tells Moses to promise meat to the people, so much that they will be sick of it (18-23). It is at this point that our reading begins.
25 the cloud symbolizes the presence of the Lord. they prophesied: what is to be understood here is not the formal, poetic prophesy we read in a book such as Isaiah, but an ecstatic sort of prophecy such as was known all over the ancient world, including trances, speaking in tongues and the like; such behaviour was considered inspired by the gods. But they did not do so again: the Hebrew can apparently also mean nor did they cease afterwards. The Latin Vulgate takes it in this sense (nec ultra cessaverunt) “Quite a difference!” [RCL].
26 Two men, Eldad and Medad, who had been numbered among the seventy but stayed in the camp received the spirit of prophecy anyway.
27. As soon as a young man sees them prophesying, he has to go an tell on them.
28. Joshua seeks to have them stopped, because they have not received authority, but [29] Moses asks Joshua whether he thinks the activities of other prophets will diminish his charisma, implying that their prophecy is genuine. The prayer, Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, is wonderfully fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2)

Psalm 104.25–35, 37

Psalm 104 is a hymn to God as creator. In this final section he psalmist expresses wonder and thanksgiving for the variety of creatures and God’s care for them. The refrain, Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth, makes clear the reason that this selection has been chosen for Pentecost.

Acts 2.1–21

This reading narrates the events which we celebrate today.
1. Pentecost: The Feast of Weeks [Hebrew, Shavuot, see Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10], celebrating the wheat harvest, was fifty days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover; hence the name Pentecost. From the second century AD the giving of the law to Moses was also celebrated as part of this feast. Leviticus 23:15-21 commands how this festival was to be celebrated. There would have been many pilgrims on the city, for the Feat of Weeks fell at a season of the year when travel by sea was safest, and was more largely attended than any of the other Feasts. There would have been many pilgrims on the city at this time than any of the other Feasts, for it was a season of the year when travel by sea was safest. They were all together: All may mean the Apostles, who are mentioned as appearing before the people in 2:14, but might also refer to the whole group of 150 disciples mentioned in 1:15. In one place: The traditional interpretation is that the Descent of the Holy Spirit took place in the Upper Room, or Cenacle, the place mentioned in 1.13. However, verse 2 refers to a ‘house’ and verse 5 suggests that there is space enough for a large crowd around it. It has been suggested that the room was one in the precincts of the Temple, where it was natural for such a crowd as is mentioned to be gathered at this feast. In the Greek version of Jeremiah 35.4 the word ‘house’ is in fact used for chambers in the Temple precincts.
2-3. Space does not allow us to discuss the amazing events in any detail. Perhaps we should note that the language used is figurative. There was a sound. It was not wind, but a sound as of a mighty wind. Something appeared. it was not fire , but like as of fire. It is not even clear just what ‘divided tongues’ should mean. But wind—remember this is the same word as ‘spirit’—and fire, were important in the Gospel (see Matt. 3.11, John 3.8) and in the Hebrew Scriptures.
4. Realizing that the promise had been fulfilled, they burst under one uncontrollable impulse into praise of God ! The other tongues here might seem to be ecstatic utterance, like the ‘prophesying’ in the first reading and like the gift of tongues discussed in 1 Corinthians 14:1-33. But the later events suggest something else.
5. At the sound like wind and the noise of praise crowd gathers. Note that these were all Jews: while the Gospel was later to be proclaimed throughout the whole world, it is the fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel that is the focus on this day.
7-11. It is not easy to state with certainty just what this miracle was; one should consult a good commentary on Acts for the variety of interpretations. Furneaux comments on this list of nations that it “presents numerous difficulties. It is made on no discoverable principle as regards either the order of enumeration or the inclusions and omissions. It is quite different in style from Luke’s work, and must be derived from some early authority. The strange inclusion of Judaea may be due to an error in the MSS., since Tertullian quotes the passage as Armenia and Cappadocia ; but the omission of such countries as Syria, Cilicia, and Cyprus, where Jews were numerous, is inexplicable. It is significant that, whereas the passage is adduced as evidence that the disciples at Pentecost spoke in foreign languages, it really lends no support whatever to that theory. It is a list of countries, not of languages ; and the Jews from those countries did not all speak different languages, but would all have understood Greek : would, indeed, have under stood Greek better than the native language of the country in which they lived.”
Nothing in the account of Peter’s speech (2.14-36 suggests that that was understood miraculously.
All that said, one essential meaning of the Pentecost event has become clear as the Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the world: the message of the Church overcomes the differences of language and all people can hear in their own tongues the great things of God in Jesus Christ. In this, according to many ancient interpreters, the curse of Babel has been undone (see Genesis 11.1-9).
I have been trying without much success to find a good map on-line to illustrate verses 9-11; so far the best is to be seen at http://bible-library.com/maps?bookid=44&chapter=2.
12-13. The miracle cannot be explained and this uncertainty prepares the Jews for Peter’s speech. So does the mocking suggestion that what was strange in this matter could be explained by too copious a use of wine at the opening of the festival.
14-21. This is the opening section of Peter’s address (14-36).
15. Nine o’clock, literally, ‘the third hour’.
16. The Prophet Joel: St Peter cites Joel 2:28-32. The text differs from the text of Joel. Acts has “In the last days” in place of afterwards (Joel 2.28). In Acts the prophecy more clearly refers to the end-time. It adds “they shall prophesy” in verse. 18. In verse 30 Acts has added “above”, “below” and “signs”.
Furneaux: “This is the earliest Christian apology, and its grand characteristic is power. Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit hath come upon you, had been Christ s promise, and there is no delay in the fulfilment. Who can read the speech and not feel that, if the gift of Tongues was proof that the Spirit had come, the greater proof was in Peter’s words ? His life hitherto had shown no little inconsistency, not to say cowardice. Only seven weeks before he had disowned his Lord. But he had spent nine days in prayer and had received the Spirit, and we recall the Master’s words, It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you (Matt. 10.20).”

The Holy Gospel according to St John (20.19–31)

This passage was read on the Second Sunday of Easter (May 1st 2011); it narrates the appearance of Jesus to his disciples on the evening of the first Easter, apparently the same event that is told in Luke 24:36ff. It is read today because it tells that Jesus breathed on the disciples and said Receive the Holy Spirit (v. 22), giving them his mission and the authority to forgive sins. Like the Pentecost event, this is a fulfilment of promise: “The Lord now fulfils the promise of the Baptist concerning him (1.33); He baptises His disciples, not in water which washes away stains, but in holy spirit—the energy of a holy life in obedience to God” [Temple].
From very early times commentators have struggled with the relation of this event to the coming of the Spirit in Acts 2. C. B. Moss wrote: “The special work of the Holy Ghost in the order of grace began at Pentecost (Acts 2:1). We find a foreshadowing of it in St. John 20:22.” It is interesting to note that here the words are literally not “receive the Holy Spirit” but “receive holy spirit” (though we should not make too much of capital letters: they did not exist at the time the Gospels were written); Temple commented: “What is bestowed is not the Divine Person Himself but the power and energy of which He is the source.”
One thing we ought to take from this Gospel reading today is the close link between the gift of the Spirit—or of the Spirit’s energy—and the sending of the disciples into the world to continue Christ’s work of reconciliation. That is the purpose for which we are called and empowered by the Spirit.
Another reason to read this passage today is that we remember that ecstatic and charismatic gifts such as we hear of in the readings from Numbers and Acts are not the only sign of the Spirit’s work. The turning of hearts to God, which may be a quiet and gentle process, is also the work of renewal by God’s Spirit.
But that is all the time we have for writing notes this week.

Calendar
June 2011

12 B THE DAY OF PENTECOST or WHITSUNDAY

13 c Feria
14 d Feria
15 e Feria
16 f Commemoration of Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, 175217 g Feria
18 A Memorial of Bernard Mizeki, Catechist in Rhodesia, Martyr, 1896: Eve of Trinity Sunday
19 B THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: TRINITY SUNDAY

Lectionary Notes

2011-05-21T16:33:00.004-04:00

Some (Incomplete) Notes for

the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A
22 May 2011

After struggling for the past couple of days (against the almost incessant noise of a chainsaw and other loud tools) to prepare a sermon and some notes for you, I finally have to give up. Herewith are some incomplete notes, which I hope are better than nothing.

Readings
Acts 7.55–60

Stephen, one of seven church members chosen to assist the Apostles, fell afoul of a group in the city and was brought before the Council or Sanhedrin, where his speech in defence of the Christian preaching caused such offence that they rushed him out of the city to a death by stoning. Stephen is honoured as the first martyr (Protomartyr) among Christians. Our word for someone who witnesses unto death is from the Greek word martyros. With this in mind, note that in verse 58 those who took part in Stephen’s death are called ‘witnesses’ (martyres)
Here is an outline of the full story of the Protomartyr:
Acts 6.1-6: The Choosing of the Seven
6.6: Summary
6.8-15: The Arrest of Stephen
6.8: Miracles worked through Stephen
6.9-10: Opposition from ‘the synagogue of the Freedmen”,
6.11-14: who produce false witnesses and bring Stephen before the Sanhedrin
6.15: A moment of expectation
7.1-53: Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin
7.54-8.1a: The Stoning of Stephen

Things to note: 56: I see the heavens opened: see Acts 10.11, also John 1.51… the Son of man standing on the right hand of God: This is the only place in the NT outside the Gospels where Son of man is used as a title for Jesus (see also Rev 1.13). In the Gospels it is found 81 times, but only on the lips of Jesus. That he is standing at the right hand of God is also unusual; see Psalm 110.1, Mark 14.26, Lk 22.69; Hebrew 1.2-3; and the creeds. It is not clear why Luke has ‘standing’ here: some suggest that he is standing to welcome the martyr, or indeed to ‘acknowledge before the angels of God’ (Lk 12.8); others that it is a ‘meaningless variation’ [NJBC].
57-58: We do not know whether this examination before the Sanhedrin and the stoning were a legal trial and execution. From the improvised and passionate character of what we read we may that it was a lynching, and illegal. According to Josephus, James, the Lord’s brother, was stoned after having been brought to trial at the instigation of the high priest but the judicial process was found to be illegal and caused he deposition of the high priest (Josephus Ant. xx.199-203). Under the provisions of Deuteronomy 17.7, the witness start the stoning. (This gives a sense of legality to the affair.) Later recorded rules for this kind of execution may have been worked out. See also Hebrews 13.12f Leviticus 24.114; Numbers 15.35f; Acts 22.20
The account of Stephen’s death (58-60) closely parallels the death of the Lord Jesus; see Luke 23:34, 46. Note that whereas Jesus committed his spirit into the Father’s hands, Stephen prayed that Jesus would receive his spirit. As Stephen died, he prayed that his murderers might be forgiven, which is of course something we need to learn. If Stephen could so pray for those who were stoning him, how can we ever refuse to pray for the forgiveness of those who sin against us in lesser ways?
It is perhaps interesting to note that whereas Jesus was stripped of his garments before being nailed to the cross, the ‘witnesses’ at his stoning removed their (outer-)garments for the work, and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. This is the introduction of Saul (later known as Paul, who will be the central figure in the latter part of Acts. The note (8.1a) that Saul was consenting to his death is strangely omitted from this reading.

Psalm 31
In te, Domine, speravi

With this Psalm, described as ‘a prayer for deliverance from personal enemies’ (NOAB) we reflect on the story of Stephen’s death, particularly in verses 5 (Into your hands I commend my spirit, * for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth) and 15b-16 (My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Make your face to shine upon your servant; and in your loving-kindness save me).

1 Peter 2.2–10
Responsibilities of the Christian Vocation

At the end of Chapter 1, we read that Christians have been born anew through the word of God, the word which abides forever and which is “the good news which was preached to you”. The idea of being born anew suggests a new passage of exhortation, “So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander” [2.1] Since you are born again, since you have become babes, lay aside all kinds of wickedness, and desire the milk which Christ will give you. Milk causes growth ; the growth will fit them for their place in the spiritual house, the royal priesthood. Here again the Christian is addressed as member of a corporation.
Things to note: 2. Pure spiritual milk is not a good rendering of the Greek; the Av is better, ‘pure milk of the word”. The idea of new-born babies develops the thought of 1.3, 23, and suggests either that the intended readers are new converts or that in St. Peter’s view Christians are always babes, and therefore also always recently born. It is true that all Christians, however long since their Baptism, should desire the ‘milk of the word’ as eagerly and greedily as a new-born desires milk.
6. Quotes Isaiah 28.16
7. Quotes Psalm 118.22
8. Quotes Isaiah 8.14.
10. Once you were not a people: see Hosea 2.23

The Holy Gospel according to St John 14.1–14
The Way to the Father

The scene is the Last Supper; in the last chapter Jesus washed his disciples’ feet [13.3-20] and gave the new commandment that they should love one another as he has loved them [13.34-35], that is, by giving himself for them. At the same time, and intertwined in this narrative, we are told of Judas’ decision to betray Jesus [13.2] and of Jesus’ identification of him, at which he went out [13.21-30]. Jesus then spoke to his disciples of his going away: “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come”. The disciples do not understand this [13.33, 36]. The chapter ends with Jesus’ prediction that Simon Peter will deny him [13.38]. The chapter division here is unfortunate, although it is hard to find a place that is really any better. This should remind us that such divisions were not in the Gospel, but added many centuries later as an aid for reference.
After these predictions of the betrayal by one of them, of their Lord’s departure, and of Peter’s unfaithfulness, the disciples are amazed and sorrowful. We may imagine Peter’s distress: his voice is missing through the whole scene that follows; indeed he is not mentioned again until he whips out his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane [18.10]. Jesus is aware that his disciples are uneasy and says to them, Let not your hearts be troubled.
Things to note: 1. Believe in God, believe also in me. Never forget that ‘to believe’ is not so much to have opinions about something as it is to trust someone. The disciples (and we, therefore) are to trust Jesus as we would God. This is in one sense an advance on faith in God, in another sense an aid to it, Jesus being the revealer of the Father. This comes before a time in which their faith was to be tested, and in that test they would fail. Failure can teach a lesson: that faith is always insufficient. It should drive us back to God, for it is in forgetting his grace that we fail. Then every fall into sin can become the occasion for growth in grace. (Temple).
2. In my Father’s house. Earlier in the Gospel Jesus had given this name to the Temple (2.16; see also Luke 2.49); what does he mean now? If we take this to be ‘heaven’, just what do we mean? One commentator wrote: “How to interpret the expression in a local, heavenly sense, we cannot tell. In any case the essential idea is that of being near to God and enjoying his love and favour.” William Temple: “One who so faces his own failures is steadily advancing on the pilgrim’s way; he, like his Master, in going to the Father. More than this; if he is travelling the right way at all, he is at home with the Father all the time.” In some way, then, we must understand ‘my Father’s house’ as a present reality we are brought to by Jesus. …are many dwelling places: this translates a Greek word which means shelters for travellers to rest in at stages along their road. This word, which implies progress and rest, fits well the image of pilgrimage. I go to prepare a place for you: “It was the custom in the East … for travellers to send a dragoman forward to make preparations in the next of those resting-places along the road, so thatr when they came they might find in it comfort as well as shelter. Here the Lord presents himself as our spiritual dragoman, who treads the way of faith before us” [Temple] (see Hebrews 12.2).
4. And when I go and prepare a place … I will come again and take you to myself: Jesus here refers not so much to his coming at the end of the world, or in great crises of history, or at the death of believers, as to the progressive influence of the Holy Spirit in his Church, preparing the way for the final and completed union of Christ and his people (after the resurrection at the last day, vi. 40), which is predicted in the succeeding part of the verse.

Lectionary Notes

2011-05-14T11:41:00.002-04:00

Some Notes for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
15 May 2011

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

In the older lectionary, the Gospel of Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10.11-16) and the passage from 1 Peter 2 ending with the words you ‘are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls’ were read on the Third Sunday of Easter (which was called the Second Sunday after Easter). In the new lectionary it is the Fourth Sunday of Easter on which we consider the theme of the Good Shepherd. This is clear not only from the readings and the Sentence that is used as the alleluia verse, but also from the Collect for the Day
In the Prayer Book, the Collect now appointed for Easter IV in the BAS was used (with appropriate variations) as one of the blessings at the Office for the Burial of the Dead in the American Prayer book of 1928 and the Canadian book of 1962 (see page 601). It is founded on the words of Hebrews 13.20-21. This is the only occasion I have found of its use as a Collect for the Day.
The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, and of the Shepherd who goes to seek the one sheep that was lost is well-loved by Christians. It is also an image deeply rooted in the hope for the Messiah, the Lord’s anointed, which itself comes from David the Shepherd and King of Israel.

The Readings
Acts 2.42–47

This passage, which follows the account of St Peter’s address on the day of Pentecost and of the crowd’s response gives us a picture of the community life of the very first Christians. It is the first of three ‘Major Summaries’ in Acts; the others are 4.32-35 and 5.11-16. There are also several minor summaries (1.14; 6.7; 9.31; 12.24; 16.5; 19.20; 28.30-31). NJBC notes that Luke’s summaries are important devices in the structure of Acts, for they sustain the point the author intends to make by telling the story. “They idealize the period of the apostles’ ministry in Jerusalem and sustain the reader’s impression of a steady growth of the Christian movement punctually plotted by the will of God”. By idealizing the earliest community Luke “surrounds that period with the glitter of a ‘golden age’.
42. In the BAS the first question asked of the candidate for Holy Baptism after the confession of faith is “Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?” These four points as the marks of membership in the community of Christians are first found in this verse. For reasons of space we will comment only on the word fellowship, since it is in danger of being used in a vague sort of way so that it means little more than coffee-hour.
Most people don’t know what the word fellow really means; through careless usage it has come to be a synonym of ‘man’, like ‘chap’ or ‘guy’. It comes from the Old English, feolaga meaning "fellow, partner," which in turn is from an Old Norse felagi, from fe which means "money" (our word fee is related to this) and verb root meaning "lay" ( as in ‘lay down your money’). So what it means is "one who puts down money with another in a joint venture". This is why the members of the corporation who constitute a college are called “fellows. It translates the Greek koinonia, which is from koinōnos, ‘a sharer’. As you can see, this is a much more serious thing than is implied by the usual “time of fellowship”.
44. The real meaning of ‘fellowship” comes throuigh clearly in the words And all who believed were together and had all things in common. Again in 4.32 we read that All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything that they had. During Jesus’ ministry he and his disciples had a common purse that was kept by Judas (Jn 12.6, 13.29); just so everything is held in common by the larger group of disciples. The narratives in the first chapters of Acts give a more detailed and nuanced picture of the community of property in the primitive church. In 4.36-37 we read that Barnabas was singled out as one who had sold a plot of land and had given the money for it to the apostles. Would It not have been necessary to report this if ‘all of them’ had done so? Again, in the story of Ananias and Sapphira (5,1-11), we read that they had been free not to sell their land. See Phil 2.1-4. Space does not permit any further discussion of this Apostolic Communism, but one might well reflect how else a real fellowship is possible.

Psalm 23

This psalm, which was recently used on the Fourth Sunday in Lent, is a profession of joyful trust in the Lord as Shepherd (vv. 1-4) and Host (vv. 5-6); both of which were commn figures for kingship in the ancient Near East. The King was seen as a shepherd because he both led and provided for his people; so much the more is the Lord God the Shepherd of his people.
2. He makes me lie down: the Hebrew verb was used of four-legged animals which “lie on their breasts with their legs gathered under them”. Still waters: see Rev 7.17: “the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life”.
5-6: God as gracious host: One of the ways an ancient King displayed authority and care for his subjects was through hospitality; this image is closely tied to that of the king as the provident shepherd of his people.
6. house of the Lord most obviously means the Temple, but it can mean the Land of Israel. for ever: literally for length of days.

Epistle: 1 Peter 2.19–25

This passage follows an exhortation to slaves to be submissive, not only to a kind and gentle master, but also to the overbearing. It is in this context that we must understand the referece to enduring unjust suffering.
In verse 19, it is a credit to you is literally “this is grace” and might be better rendered by “this is thankworthy”. In the present passage St. Peter speaks of good conduct without the slightest embarrassment as thankworthy, a glory, a favour in the eyes of God. Those who are willing to suffer innocently do what God desires and ‘find favour’. The commentator Charles Bigg suggests that in verses 19-20 the words “this is thankworthy”, “what glory is it”, and “this is thankworthy” echo our Lord’s words in Luke 6.32-34, “"For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.”
20: for doing wrong: This may refer to any type of wrongdoing or to sin properly so called; indeed the context of slaves and masters would suggest wrongdoing, but see C. Biggs: “In favour of the first view it may be argued that the master would strike the slave, not for sin against God, but for neglect of duty towards himself. On the other hand, the glory comes from God, in whose eyes the neglect of earthly duty is sin. Further, hamartatontes (for ‘wrong doing’, or ‘for sin’) is balanced against agathopoiountes ('doing well') in the following clause. Hence it should retain its usual sense here.”
22 is a quotation from Isaiah 53:9b in which the word sin is used instead of the original ‘lawlessness’
23: see Mark 15:29-32; 14:65; Luke 23:11, 36-37; John 19:1-5.
24. He .. bore our sins on the cross: literally, on the tree. See Deuteronomy 21.23, a verse which is also quoted by St Paul in Galatians 3.13 and alluded to in Acts 5.30, 10.39, and 13.29. The verb translated as ‘bore’ is commonly used in the OT of bringing a sacrifice to lay on the altar: here St Peter puts the Cross in the place of the altar.
25 Shepherd and guardian: the word translated guardian is episcopos, which we would otherwise translate as bishop. One wonders why the more literal ‘overseer’ is not used.

The Holy Gospel: John 10.1–10

The Lord’s discourse on the Good Shepherd in the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel may be divided into these sections:
10.1-10, read in Year A: Jesus the Door of the Sheep.
10.11-18, read in Year B: Jesus the Good Shepherd
10:19-21, not read in the Sunday lections: a division among the people about Jesus’ words
10.22-31, read in Year C: the Father has given the Sheep into Jesus’ hand
This discourse follows immediately after the healing of the man born blind in Chapter 9 with its concluding contrast between the healed man’s faith and the blind unbelief of the Pharisees. The RCL commentary notes that “The division between Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 is unfortunate. (Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 1208, is credited with dividing the Bible into chapters.)” Jesus’ last comment in Chapter 9 is “If you were blind, you would have no guilt: but now that you say, ‘We see,’ you guilt remains.” William Temple writes:
We must picture the Pharisees who have received that crushing blow as reduced to silence, till strange language about the laying down of life in obedience to divine commands stimulates them to further protest (10.18, 19). A man has been driven from one fold and received into another. After a solemn and awestruck silence the Lord speaks again.
1. Truly, truly I say to you: The original is ‘Amen, amen …’ This is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word in human speech. The word is directly related -- in fact, almost identical -- to the Hebrew word for "believe" (amam), or faithful. Thus, it came to mean "sure" or "truly", an expression of absolute trust and confidence. When we answer Amen to a prayer we make the substance of what was said our own. The sheepfold: a mental picture of the sheepfold helps us to understand the verses which follow. It is a walled enclosure in front of the house and open to the sky, with a solid door, which was closely barred at night by the door-keeper, and opened by him in the morning, when the shepherds came to claim their sheep, which they had left in the fold the previous evening, in order to lead them out to pasture. Other than the door, the only way to enter would be by climbing the wall, no one will enter that way except one who has no business there, and is therefore presumably come to steal (Temple).
3. The shepherd calls his own sheep: There may be sheep from several flocks gathered for the night: each shepherd will call his own by name
5. … they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers: It is told of a Scottish traveller that, meeting under the walls of Jerusalem a shepherd bringing home his flock, he changed clothes with him, and, thus disguised, began to call the sheep. They remained motionless. Then the true shepherd raised his voice, and they all hastened towards him, in spite of his strange garments. Mackie’s Bible Manners and Customs, chap, iii notes: The shepherd depends upon the sheep to follow, and they in turn expect him never to leave them. They run after him if he appears to be escaping from them, and are terrified when he is out of sight, or any stranger appears instead of him. He calls them from time to time to let them know that he is at hand. The sheep listen and continue grazing, but if anyone else tries to produce the same peculiar cries and guttural sounds, they look around with a startled air and begin to scatter.
6-7: The hearers do not understand the figure or allegory Jesus I using, so goes on to explain it as giving a double interpretation of His mission. He is both the Door (7-10) and the Shepherd (11-16). I am the door of the sheepfold: the door through which both sheep and shepherd go in and out. The sheep must come into the fold—the Church—through the Door. They must not come in for convention or respectability or for any other reasons than trust in Christ [Temple].
8. All who came before may be understood as referring to the priests and Pharisees or to those who claimed falsely to be the Messiah. Temple supports this second interpretation by noting that came is a technical term, “as is the phrase, he that cometh—the coming one’ (Mat 11.3, Lk 7.19).”
9. go in and out: this may simply refer to living (see Deut. 28; Psalm 121.8; Jer. 37.4, but Temple notes: “Their pasture is outside, in the world.”
To come in through the door means at least three things: 1) to come to the task, and every part of it, in prayer; 2) to refer all activities to the standard of the Mind of Christ; 3) to accept what actually happens as nearer to the Will of God than our own success would have been. It means putting Christ in the forefront of thought and self, in all its forms, right out of the picture.
10. The thief comes only to steal … I came that they may have life: Jesus here institutes a comparison between the false shepherd (the thief), whose object is selfish, cruel, and destructive (cf. Jer. 23. 1,2:; Ezekiel 34.1-6; Zechariah. 11.4,5), and himself, who had come into the world to give plenitude of life to his people (cf. 6. 51 and Psalm 23).

From the CALENDAR

15 b The Fifth Sunday of Easter
Toronto Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: York Central Deanery
ACP: North Carolina - (Province IV, USA) The Rt Revd Michael Bruce Curry; Suffragan Bishop of North Carolina - (Province IV, USA) The Rt Revd James Gary Gloster; South Carolina - (Province IV, USA) The Rt Revd Mark Lawrence

16 c Feria of Easter
On this day in 1277 died Pope John XXI at Viterbo, from injuries sustained when the ceiling of his hastily built study collapsed on him. It is a curious fact that he was styled John XXI, since there had been no John XX.
DCP: Citizens for Public Justice
ACP North Central Philippines - (Philippines) The Rt Revd Joel A Pachao

17 d Feria of Easter
On this day in 1163 died Heloise, the lover of Peter Abelard, at the Paraclete Abbey, France.
DCP All Saints, Markham
ACP North Dakota - (Province VI, USA) The Rt Revd Michael Gene Smith; South Dakota - (Province VI, USA) The Rt Revd Creighton L Robertson

18 e Feria of Easter
On this day in 1703 died Charles Perrault, author of Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé, ou, Les Contes de ma Mère l'Oie (1697), in which many of the best-known fairy tales are found. Also on this day in 1843 occurred the Disruption of the Scottish Church with the founding of the Free Church of Scotland (see http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/may/18.htm
DCP Christ Church, Stouffville
ACP North Eastern Caribbean & Aruba - (West Indies) The Rt Revd Leroy Errol Brooks

19 f Commemoration of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 988
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstan and http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/may/19.htm. Also on this day in 1536 was beheaded Anne Boleyn, queen of England.
DCP Christ Church, Woodbridge
ACP North Kerala - (South India) The Rt Revd Dr K P Kuruvila

20 g Feria of Easter
On this day in 1506 Christopher Columbus died at Valladolid.
DCP Emmanuel, Richvale
ACP North Queensland - (Queensland, Australia) The Rt Revd William J Ray; 1. Suffragan Bishop of North Queensland - (Queensland, Australia) The Rt Revd Saibo Mabo; 2. Suffragan Bishop of North Queensland - (Queensland, Australia) The Rt Revd James Randolph Leftwich

21 A Feria of Easter
On this day in 1743 was born Bryan Edwards, historian of the West Indies, at Westbury. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Edwards
DCP . Grace Church, Markham
ACP North West Australia - (Western Australia, Australia) The Rt Revd David Mulready

22 b The Sixth Sunday of Easter
DCP Anglican Appeal
ACP Suffragan Bishop of Northern Argentina - (South America) Vacant

Lectionary Notes

2011-05-05T17:01:00.004-04:00

SOME NOTES FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER IN YEAR A
8 May 2011

Both the Sentence and the Collect this Sunday are closely tied to the Gospel reading for Year A.

Readings
Acts 2.14a, 36–41

This reading concludes St Peter’s address on the Day of Pentecost, the first preaching of the Christian message by the Church. He had explained the amazing events that had drawn the crowd together (see 2.1-13); they had been foretold by the Prophet Joel (2.14-21); the Spirit has come because Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified, God raised, and the disciples are witness of this (2.22-32). It is Jesus, now exalted now to God’s right hand, who has poured out the Spirit’s gifts (2.33-35). The verse that begins our reading is Peter’s conclusion, returning to the responsibility of the people for Jesus’s death. Rather than taking offense at this, the crowd is stricken to the heart (2.37) and asks “What should we do?”
He tells them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and receive the gift of Holy Spirit (2.38).
To repent is the first requirement; as we have noted before the Greek word for repentance (metanoia) means literally a change of mind. In putting metanoia first, the disciples carry on the preaching of Jesus (see Mk 1.14, Mt 4.17).
Be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus: this formula is found only in Acts, and is to be understood in a confessional sense, that is, it denotes the confession of faith made by the baptized, and not the form used by the baptizer. Therefore it is not to be taken as contradicting the words of Jesus reported in Mt 28.19. Like John’s baptism, this is for the forgiveness of sins; the difference is the inclusion of Jesus himself in the preaching, which declares that the forgiveness of sins comes through his name.
To receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We noted only briefly last Sunday that our Lord’s words “Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20.21) make it clear that “the gift is freely offered, but it can be refused; there is a definite act of reception” [William Temple]. God’s grace does not run roughshod over our freedom, even to save us.
Peter tells his audience that the gift of the Spirit is theirs by promise. All that are far off should probably be taken to mean the Jews dispersed throughout the world, although some dispute this, citing Ephesians 2.13, which speaks of Gentile converts. But is seems that on the Day of Pentecost the Apostles had no clear idea of the mission to the Gentiles, as can be seen from the long dispute before it was agreed that Gentile converts would not require circumcision. At this early date, when they looked for a speedy return of their Lord, a world-wide extension of the Kingdom must have been wholly beyond their thoughts.

Psalm 116.1–3, 10–17

This psalm of thanksgiving for healing is one of the group (113-118) called the Hallelujah Psalms, since they all include the Hebrew word Hallelujah (“Praise the Lord”). They are used in Jewish tradition in connection with the great festivals. At Passover, Psalms 113-114 are sung before the meal and Psalms 115-118 after it. [See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallel.] Outline:
1. The Psalmist addresses the congregation
2-11: the Psalmist sings of his experience
10-17: the repayment of the Psalmist’s vow
In verse 3 “the grave” translates the Hebrew Sheol, a subterranean place, full of thick darkness (Job 10.21, 22), like the Greek Hades, in which the shades of the dead, who only retain the faintest resemblance of life, are gathered together. It is said to have both valleys [rather depths] (Proverbs 9.18) and gates (Isaiah 38.10). See Psalm 88.5-6. Later, as in the Authorized version it is associated with Hell.

The Epistle: 1 Peter 1.17–23

The first letter of Peter was addressed to the churches in parts of what is now Turkey (the ancient Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia), which were undergoing persecution (1.6). Last week we read 1.3-9, part of an opening thanksgiving for what God has done. In this section the readers are called to conduct themselves in a way that befits those who call on the just judge as their Father (1.17) and reminded that they were ransomed by Christ’s death, which is described in the language of the Passover; even more, they have been born again through God’s word.
Two themes in this short passage should be marked. The first is that the life of the Christian is described as an exile. Exile does not refer to an exile from heaven, but to while the RCL commentary calls the ”social dislocation that Christians experience in a pagan world”, noting that “in 2:11, they are referred to as ‘aliens and exiles’; their situation was indeed precarious”. This situation was not simply the result of persecution, but of the contrast between the ways of life of Christians and the world around them. We are not persecuted but we find the world around us more and more built on assumptions that differ from or contradict the assumptions of the Gospel. The other point to mark is the call to “love one another earnestly from the heart” (1.22); the exiles and strangers find a community in the church.
It would be tempting to take these points as calling for a withdrawal from the world, were it not that the Gospel also calls us to love and serve not merely our fellow-Christians but all our neighbours, and to be leaven in the lump of dough. How to live in the world without ceasing to ‘conduct ourselves with fear’ is a great challenge.

Luke 24.13–35
The journey to Emmaus.

Two disciples, who are going to Emmaus, are joined by Jesus, whom they do not recognize, and who asks what they are talking about. One of them, named Cleopas, expresses astonishment that even a stranger in Jerusalem should not know what has just happened there, and tells the story of the death of Jesus, adding the women’s report of the Resurrection. Jesus exclaims at their density, and expounds the scriptures to them. On reaching their destination they persuade him to come in with them, and as he breaks bread discover who he is. Immediately he vanishes. They return at once to Jerusalem to tell of this, and find the eleven gathered together and assured of the truth of the Resurrection on the ground that Jesus has appeared to Simon.
This beautiful story is told only in Luke’s Gospel. The appendix of Mark (xvi. 12) refers to it briefly; this reference is evidently founded on Luke’s narrative.
13. two of them: one name, Cleopas, is given later in the narrative (verse 18) ; the other name is not recorded. Neither of them was an apostle, as they are later distinguished from the Eleven (33). … Emmaus: a town located approximately 7 miles (11 km) from Jerusalem. The site has not been surely identified. For further discussion, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmaus. … were going: the NJBC points out that this story is shot through with the language of journeying, which is important in Luke’s Gospel as a theme of discipleship (see 9.51-19.27). It further suggests that these disciples, whose faith in Jesus had been disappointed (see verse 21) have abandoned the way of Jesus and gone on their own; their lack of faith contrasts with the faith shown by the women (23.49-24.12). The story “narrates how the risen Jesus reconciles two wayfarers, who, once they are forgiven and reconciled, immediately journey back to Jerusalem. Note that verse 29 might imply that the two disciples are inviting Jesus into their own house, and so that they live in Emmaus.
14-16. While they walked along talking Jesus joined them on the road but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. This seems to be more than just failing to know him; something is holding their eyes. The most likely suggestion would seem to be that it is their lack of faith. It will be Jesus himself who opens their eyes by showing them his true meaning in God’s plan of salvation. NJBC points out that :” the disciples eyes are opened only after they have shown hospitality to a stranger. ‘Seeing’ is another of the important themes in Luke (as in 9.45; 18.34; 23.8,35,47-9). So in the Collect we pray: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in his redeeming work.
17. When Jesus asks what they have been discussing—literally, “What are these words which you are exchanging with one another?”—they journey comes to a halt: They stood still, looking sad; this is an effective translation, since the original word means ‘of sad and gloomy countenance’.
18. Cleopas: Nothing is known of this man beyond what is in the present narrative. It has been suggested that Luke gives his name because he was the witness who told the story to the evangelist. The way in which his name is introduced as ‘named Cleopas’ does not imply that he was well known in the early church. R. Bauckham suggests that he is the same as Clopas the husband of Mary, the sister of Jesus’s Mother (John 19.25). His surprise that the stranger did not know is true to life: “Are you the only stranger who does not know what’s been happening? implies the question “What else would anyone talk about?” which is so true of anyone suffering grief. Their loss has shattered the world; how can anyone go about a normal life?
19-20. We might imagine Jesus smiling as he asks, What things? Cleopas’ answer is in the same form of words as the early ‘creeds’ or statements of faith in Acts 2.22-24; 10.38; moreover, the facts he narrates fulfil Jesus’ own prophecies (our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him; see 9.22, 13.32-33; 18.31-33). Nonetheless, he does not have the sight of faith; to recite the facts and know that they fulfill prophecy is not enough.
21 … we had hoped: note the haunting past tense here which enshrines an agony of disillusionment. Next to the Lama sabachthani? of the cross it is the saddest word in the New Testament : there is sunset in it and a starless night.
22-24: the reports of the empty tomb are repeated without any conviction, They have clearly heard nothing of the Lord’s appearances; some women of our group suggests a doubt of female reliability.
25. The risen Jesus almost explodes in response. … slow of heart: in Scripture the heart stands for the whole inner life, both intellectual and emotional. So this does not mean slowness to be moved with feeling, but slowness of thought and perception.
27. He expounds the Old Testament, that is the first five books of the Law (Moses) and the books of the Prophets, to show that God’s plan was to bring salvation through the glorification of the rejected prophet, the suffering righteous Son.
28-29. At Emmaus, he gave the impression that he was moving on, and the two disciples invited him to stay with them. The NJBC sees this as Luke’s ‘final touches to his theme of faith as seeing. Disciples who entertain the stranger will have their eyes opened’.
30. With this in mind it is probably quite correct to point out that the breaking of bread in which the two recognize Jesus at last ‘should not be interpreted immediately as eucharistic’. On this point it might be best to quote the commentary a little more fully: This instance of eating
“should be linked with the thematic of eating which Luke has been developing throughout his Gospel. [In it] he has shown that God’s kingdom has come in Jesus’ sharing of food with others, especially outcasts. Jesus, who at his last meal said that he would not share food with his disciples until God’s kingdom came (22.16,18), now shares food with them and thereby shows that God’s kingdom has indeed come. Now his table companions are not toll collectors [tax gatherers], but his own disciples who have strayed from his way; they are forgiven and sent on their way, which is his way. But all this happens to them only because they have been hospitable” [NJBC, 1993, 43:196].
All that said, after the Last Supper it is impossible to think of Jesus blessing and breaking bread without thinking of the Eucharist, in which we encounter him, not only in the sacramental elements, but in the gathering together of the members of his body.
Their experience with the Risen Christ sends the two disciples back to the Eleven and the other disciples, in readiness for the experience of the first Easter evening (Luke 24.36; John 20.19-23)

Afterthought: This is one of two events in which the risen Lord appears to someone making a journey, the other being Saul on his way to Damascus (Acts 9).

CALENDAR

Notes: From now on the names of the weekdays in the Calendar will be represented by the letters A to g. The Sunday Letter in 2011 is B.
For many of the commemorations of saints useful information can often be found at “James Kiefer's Christian Biographies”: go to http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/home.html and check the date or the alphabetical list (since it is an American site, the dates are sometimes not the same)

8 b The Third Sunday of Easter
9 c Julian of Norwich, Spiritual Teacher, c. 1417 Com (transferred from Sunday)
For further information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich and links there.
On this day, in 1671, Colonel Thomas Blood made a famous attempt to steal the Crown Jewels. See http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/may/9.htm
10 d Feria of Easter
11 e Feria of Easter
On this day in 1310 Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, was burnt at Paris
12 f Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Social Reformer, 1910 Com
For further information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale
On this day in 1641 Thomas, Earl of Strafford, was executed on Tower-hill, London; in 1771 the poet Christopher Smart died.
13 g Feria of Easter
14 A Saint Matthias the Apostle HD
St Matthias was formerly observed on February 24, and still is in some countries, but his festival has been moved so that his feast will not fall in Lent. For further information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Matthias
On this day in 1796, the immortal Edward Jenner conclusively established the important principles of vaccination; see http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/may/14.htm
Women’s Breakfast Fellowship meets this morning
15 b The Fourth Sunday of Easter
On this day in 1773 died Alban Butler, author of Lives of the Saints.

Holy Week Notes

2011-04-21T11:14:00.003-04:00

THE HOLY WEEK BOOK
The Church of St Columba and All Hallows, East York, Toronto
by the Reverend Dr William Craig,

PART V: THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER

Most Christians probably think of the Resurrection as taking place early in the morning of Easter Day, but we must remember that the Gospel accounts of the first Easter describe not the Resurrection but the discovery of the empty tomb. All we know is that the Resurrection occurred sometime after sunset Saturday, which by the Jewish reckoning was the end of the Sabbath and the start of the first day of the week.
In the earliest days of Christianity, Sunday was an ordinary working day, and Christians gathered to celebrate the Eucharist outside of work hours, usually before dawn. At first, every Sunday celebrated the Resurrection and there was no annual festival. But as time went on they began to give particular prominence to the Sunday nearest the Jewish Passover, the time of year when the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus had happened. It is sometimes said that every Sunday is a ‘little Easter’; it would be as correct, or perhaps more correct, to say that Easter is a Big Sunday
When Christians first began to keep an annual celebration as well as the weekly celebration it was as a vigil from the evening of Saturday to dawn on Sunday. After the lighting of a candle, the night was spent in reading the passages from Scripture which told of the story of God’s mighty work of Salvation, culminating in the reading of the Passion and Resurrection from St John. On this night, new converts were baptized and admitted to communion. It was not merely a celebration of the Resurrection as a liturgy of 'Redemption', the Christian Passover. Indeed they gave it the same name, Pascha, the Greek form of the Hebrew word for Passover, from which most languages get their name for this feast; only some Germanic Languages, I think, use a name like Easter.
But by the fourth century or thereabouts, this original celebration was modified. It began at Jerusalem, where the Church began commemorating the events of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life at the spots where they had taken place, and on the anniversary days. So the Pascha came to be spread out, and rather than one feast of our redemption, it was celebrated in historical commemorations of the particular events of our Redemption. The most important events were marked in the liturgies of the Triduum Sanctum, the Three Holy Days, of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday night (which by Hebrew reckoning is the beginning of Sunday). While we can hardly avoid thinking of these rites as separate historic commemorations, we should try to see them as parts of one celebration, none of which is complete by itself or stands alone.

The Great Vigil “is celebrated at a convenient time between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter morning”. Each of the portions of this liturgy has an introduction spoken by the Presiding Celebrant.
“In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, the Easter Vigil is the most important Mass of the liturgical year as well as the first celebration of the Eucharist during the fifty-day long celebration of Easter, and is marked by the first use since the beginning of Lent of the acclamatory word "Alleluia", a distinctive feature of the liturgy of the Easter season.” [Wikipedia]

THE SERVICE OF LIGHT

In the darkness outside the church, a fire is kindled and blessed; this is the first symbol of the Resurrection. After the fire is lit, the celebrant reads the Introduction (page 322).

Preparation of the Paschal Candle

In the light of the New fire, a special candle is prepared and blessed. It appears that the Paschal Candle is of considerable antiquity, from at least the fourth century [See http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11515b.htm].
The Paschal Candle, as leading the procession from the new fire into the Church, reminds us of the pillar of fire which led the Israelites by night in the Exodus [Ex 14]. Just as that pillar, lighting up the night, led Israel into the Red Sea and through safely to the other side, so this candle leads us to the waters of baptism and through to the feast of the promised land.
The pillar in turn was a type of Christ, so the Candle itself is a sign of Christ the light of the world. Traditionally, the candle is marked with a cross and other symbols, as set out on page 333 of the BAS.
The Greek letters alpha and omega are traced above and below the cross, while the numerals of the current year between the arms of the cross. While marking these symbols, the priest says:
1 Christ yesterday and today ; 2 the beginning and the end; 3 Alpha ; 4 and Omega ; 5 all time belongs to him ; 6 and all the ages ; 7 to him be glory and power ; 8 through every age for ever. Amen.
Then five grains of incense may be inserted in the form of a cross; while doing this the priest says:
1 By his holy; 2 and glorious wounds ; 3 may Christ our Lord ; 4 guard us; 5 and keep us. Amen.
Finally the celebrant lights the candle from the new fire, saying,
May the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.
Small candles held by the people are now lit from the Paschal Candle.

Procession – The Light of Christ

The deacon (or priest) lifts up the Candle and sings The Light of Christ. To which the people respond Thanks be to God. The Candle is carried into the Church, the people following with their candles. At a suitable pot the deacon lifts the Paschal Candle and sings again at a slightly higher pitch, The Light of Christ, and the people respond as before. When the deacon comes to the Paschal Candlestick he stops and faces the people, singing a third time, and higher still, The Light of Christ, to which the people respond as before.
Other candles and lamps in the Church may now be lighted

Exsultet

The deacon (or if there is no deacon, the priest), standing near the Candle sings the Proclamation of the Resurrection.
This hymn, which includes a blessing of the Candle, appears to have been composed between the fifth and the seventh century. It is a hymn of great beauty, even in the truncated form we have in the BAS. Summoning all creation to rejoice, it tells of this Night which is overcome by light. In a mystical truth the night of the Resurrection is the night in which Israel was led dry-shod through the sea, it is the night when Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. In this vigil all of God`s saving work is present to us and we are present in it.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

Ten readings from the Old Testament are provided, recalling how God has saved his people throughout history; of these at least three are to be read. One, the reading from Exodus 14 which tells of the crossing of the Red Sea, is never to be omitted. We will be reading four lessons this year:
1. Genesis, 7.1-5,11-18; 8.6-18;9.8-13: The Great Flood
2. Genesis 22.1-18: Abraham is commanded to sacrifice Isaac, but is stopped by God.
3. Exodus 14.10-31; 15.20-21: God delivers his people through the Red Sea
4. Isaiah 55.1-11: An Invitation to Abundant Life
When the vigil is performed in its fullest form, each reading is followed by the singing of a Canticle or Psalm, and a Collect (see p. 325). At St Columba’s, for practical reasons, each reading will be followed by a period of silence and a Collect
After the last reading, the hymn Gloria in Excelsis is sung. The Collect of the Day is then said or sung
The Epistle, Romans 6.3-11, is then read.
In this passage, St Paul declares that by our Baptism we are united with Christ, for in Baptism we share in Christ's death and in the newness of life which his resurrection has made possible for us. This newness of life is a freedom from sin (as foreshadowed by the slavery in Egypt).
The complex of images in Resurrection and Baptism recalls the salvation through the Red Sea in Exodus (and indeed the Flood, as well); this is all celebrated in a great hymn of the Exodus, Psalm 114, in Exitu Israel.
The climax of the Ministry of the Word comes in the Holy Gospel.
In year A we read the Resurrection Gospel from St Matthew (28.1-10)

The Sermon follows

THE RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL VOWS

In the early Church Pascha was the normal time for Baptism. The converts who had come to the end of their training (Catechumenate) underwent a final intensive preparation in the last weeks of Lent and came to confess their faith and receive the Water of Regeneration in the Great Vigil. In later years, although Infant Baptism became the norm and the rite was administered at any time. The solemn Blessing of the Font continued to be performed at the Paschal Vigil. From this has arisen the custom of a solemn renewal of Baptismal Vows. In it we remember the words of St Paul that were read in the Epistle: “
Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.` We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.”
This custom gives a focus and goal to all of our Lenten disciplines.
It begins with a Thanksgiving for Water, a reminder of the many points in the history of God’s saving work which have involved his gift of water, culminating in thanksgiving for the water of Baptism and a prayer for all the Baptized.Then the Celebrant addresses the people calling us all
To renew the promises we made in baptism, when we rejected Satan and all his works, and promised to serve God faithfully in his holy catholic Church.
The form of the Baptismal Covenant then follow and concludes with the Peace.

THE CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST

The first Eucharist of Easter is then celebrated, beginning with the Preparation of the Gifts and the Prayer over the Gifts.
And so we pass from the Triduum into the joyous Fifty Day of Easter, singing Alleluia wherever it can possibly be added to the liturgy.

EASTER MORNING

Liturgically speaking, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the Eucharists of Easter Day or the remaining days of Eastertide, apart from the addition of Alleluia to the dismissal and the fact that the first reading for each Sunday of Easter is taken from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles rather than from a book of the Hebrew Scriptures.
I may not spend any more time on the notes this week, but will only list the readings for Sunday and provide a quick note on the background of the passage from Acts, which must be important=, for it is read in all three years.
On the first Sunday of Easter the treading from Acts is Acts 10. 34-43, which gives part of Peter’s sermon in the house of the centurion Cornelius, who although a Gentile is already a believer in God. He invited Peter as a result of a vision from God (10. 1-8). Though the law of Moses forbids Peter to associate with or visit a Gentile, he comes anyway, because of a vision and a direct command of the Spirit [10.9-23a], with “some of the believers from Joppa” (v. 23). Peter’s sermon is one of the earliest proclamations of the Risen Lord, and is of particular interest to us because it was proclaimed in a Gentile household.
Psalm 118.1-2, 14-24
Colossians 3.1-4
John 20.1-18

NOTE: There will be no Notes for Easter II, Sunday May 1st 2011.

Holy Week Notes

2011-04-18T11:36:00.004-04:00

THE HOLY WEEK BOOK

Pepared for the Church of St Columba and All Hallows, East York, Toronto

by the Reverend Dr William Craig,

Part III

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the first day of the Paschal Triduum, the Three Holy Days, which commemorate the great events of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. Tonight we commemorate our Lord’s Last Supper, his Agony in the Garden and his arrest; it is a mixture of joy and sorrow, of loud rejoicing and silent contemplation. On the night before he was crucified our Lord Jesus kept the Last Supper with his disciples. At that supper he instituted the Holy Eucharist as an abiding means of spiritual sustenance, and as a memorial for His Church to celebrate, declaring the consecrated bread and wine to be His Body and His Blood of the New Covenant. In the Eucharist, we share in his risen life and take part under earthly conditions in His eternal self-offering in heaven as the great High Priest. On that night he also took a towel and washed his disciples’ feet. It is from the foot washing that today receives its name, Maundy, which comes from the Latin Mandatum, “commandment”. For he said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” At the Last Supper Jesus told his disciples that one of them was about to betray him; he went out after supper to to agony, betrayal, and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. Just so, after we have celebrated the Eucharist and rejoiced in this great gift and sacrament, we take the simple task of removing the ornaments from the church and make it a solemn reminder of Jesus agony in the garden and arrest. In comemoration of the Last Supper the Eucharist is celebrated in the evening of this day. It begins with an Address in which the celebrant sets forth the events we are commemorating. Then the Eucharist proceeds in the usual manner. By an old custom, the bells are rung at the singing of the Gloria in Excelsis, but are then silent until the Easter Vigil If the rite of The Washing of Feet is performed, it follows the Sermon (see BAS, p. 305). After Holy Communion, consecrated bread and wine are taken to a side chapel to be reserved for communion in the Good Friday Liturgy. Then the ornaments and cloths are removed from the altar and other places in the church. During this action, St Matthew’s account of the Agony in Gethsemane (26.30-46) and Psalm 22 may be read.

Some Notes on the Readings for Maundy Thursday

A Reading from the Book of Exodus [12.1-4 (5-10) 11-14]: This is the account of the institution of the Feast of Passover, which God commanded the people of Israel to keep as an everlasting memorial of the delivery from bondage in Egypt. The feast is called “the Passover of the Lord” because the Lord passed over the land of Egypt in judgement (verse 12), but passed over the houses where the Israelites were, which were marked with the blood of the Passover lamb (verses 7, 13). The first Passover meal was, as it were, the “last supper” of Israel in Egypt. The whole of the Exodus is celebrated in the Passover. The whole of the Exodus is seen in Christian tradition as a type or foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Christ, the true Paschal Lamb. This is why we read about the institution of the Passover on the night we commemorate the Last Supper and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. The word ‘passover’ translates the Hebrew pesach, which is from a verb meaning ‘to pass over, spring over’. An old Hebrew commentary on this passage says, “The sacrifice is called פֶּסַח because of the skipping and the jumping over, which the Holy One, blessed be He, skipped over the Israelites’ houses that were between the Egyptians houses. He jumped from one Egyptian to another Egyptian, and the Israelite in between was saved.” In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and in Christian writings, pesach became pascha, which in turn became the name for Easter in many languages. Pascha is surprisingly similar to the Greek word for ‘suffering’ (paschein). Psalm [116.1, 10-17]: This psalm is a thanksgiving for recovery from illness. It is part of the group of psalms [113-118] known as the “hallel” because they all contain the words “praise the Lord” (in Hebrew, Hallelujah). Psalms 115 -118 are sung after the Passover meal. In part then, this psalm is used at the Mass today as a comment on the first reading. It also looks ahead to the institution of the Holy eucharist: “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” To say that something is “precious in the sight of the Lord” (verse 15) means that it is rare. A Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians [11.23-26] It is an interesting fact that the earliest surviving account of the institution of the Eucharist was written because of the bad behaviour of certain Church members. In the first letter to the Corinthian Church, St Paul found it necessary to write in reprove of their behaviour at the Eucharist. At this time the Eucharist was still part of a real meal as the Last Supper had been. Paul has heard that when the Corinthians assemble, there are divisions among them, so that they do not really come together to eat the Lord’s Supper but each goes ahead with his own supper. It has been suggested that one root of this abuse was a Roman custom of classifying guests socially and giving little or nothing to those considered inferior. Since the church met in private houses, members had to eat in separate rooms. So some ate lavishly, and others poorly; one went hungry, another got drunk [verse 21]. By this some were displaying their affluence and over-indulging. St Paul indignantly declares that if what they care about is eating and drinking, let them do it at home. In order to call the Corinthians to celebrate the Eucharist in the right spirit, he reminds them of how Christ instituted the feast. In his account he makes use of the important words “received” and “handed on”; these were technical terms for transmitting an oral tradition. Indeed the Latin trado, “I give on”, or “hand on” is the meaning at the heart of the idea of tradition. Paul may have received the factual tradition by human means but received the interpretation of it directly “from the Lord.” His message is that every celebration of he Lord’s Supper is a proclaiming of Christ’s death, by which we are freed from the bondage of evil. The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John [13.1-17, 31b-35] The Fourth Gospel does not report the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper; its Eucharistic teaching is found elsewhere, particularly in the discourses on the Bread of Heaven in Chapter 6. Nonetheless, Jesus’ teaching about love and service in this account of the Last Supper are properly read together with St Paul’s teaching about the true celebration of the Eucharist. The centrepiece of John’s account of the Last Supper is Christ’s new commandment “love one another as I have loved you,” and his acting out of that love in the washing of the disciples’ feet. NJBC says that this section falls into three parts: Jesus’ action (vv. 1-5) and two interpretations (vv. 6-11, 12-20). The second interpretation generalizes the action so that it teaches a lesson to all of Jesus’ later disciples. If I, then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. Obviously Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet is an example of service. If we read the passage carefully however, we will see an even deeper significance. The Gospel relates that Jesus rose from supper, that is, he left his place at the table. Then he humbled himself to take on the dress of a servant, for he laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a bowl and washed his disciples’ feet , wiping them with the towel. When all was done, he took back his garments and returned to his place at the table. As we hear this account, we are reminded of the hymn quoted by Saint Paul in the second chapter of Philippians, which was read on Palm Sunday. Christ’s action of washing the disciples’ feet shows the same descent to humility and return to glory that is proclaimed here. This is how he has loved us. Thus we may see it a parable of not only of service, but also of Christ’s giving of himself to the Father, which is as it were the reality of which even servanthood is the outward sign. In our attempts to fulfil the great commandment of love we do more than simply try to obey, than simply try to imitate Jesus; we begin in our weakness to live the life of the Triune God. Later, in John 14, we read of Christ’s commandments: those who keep them are those who love him; those who love him will be loved by is Father, “and we will come to them and make our home with them” (14.21, 23). The Stripping of the Altar Because Jesus expressed his love for us in willingly humbling himself to death, in the stripping of the altar our thoughts are brought back to the story of his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and his arrest. During this act we hear read the account of Christ’s agony from St Matthew, which we heard on Sunday. Three times Christ affirms his obedience to the Father’s will despite any desire to escape suffering . It might be helpful to remember that this agony of obedience which led to our salvation took place in a garden; unlike the disobedience of our first parents in another garden, which was the cause of all our woe (Milton). The Reserved Sacrament By long custom the Holy Eucharist is not celebrated on Good Friday; and by ling custom people have desired the strength of the sacrament on that solemn day. So the consecrated elements are reserved over night for a very practical reason. The place of reservation is away from the main body of the Church in order to symbolize the “absence of the bridegroom”. This also provides a place where the people of God may take the opportunity of watching before the reserved sacrament as an answer to Christ’s question in Gethsemane to St Peter, “So could you not watch with me one hour?” There is no blessing or dismissal at the conclusion of the liturgy tonight, for this is only the first part of a single celebration.

Holy Week Notes

2011-04-16T15:15:00.010-04:00

THE HOLY WEEK BOOK

Prepared for the Church of St Columba and All Hallows, East York, Toronto

by the Reverend Dr William Craig,

PART II

MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND WEDNESDAY

The liturgy of Holy Week and our attention in that week centre on the great events of the Triduum, the Three Holy Days; but we should not neglect what might be called, if it is not too flippant, the three little days, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Nonetheless, because the ‘great days’ take so much attention, we can only provide here a slight introduction to the readings of these days, which we hope to imporve in later versions of this book.

The days between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday are known as Holy Monday (or Fig Monday), Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday (sometimes called Spy Wednesday). The Gospels of these days do not attempt to give a chronological sequence of events between the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and his Last Supper. For instance, the Gospel on Holy Monday relates the Anointing at Bethany (John 12:1-9), which occurred the day before the Entry (John 12:12-19).

A custom of the Roman Church which has been adopted in many Anglican dioceses is the Chrism Mass of Maundy Thursday, at which the bishop celebrates with the priests of the dioese, or as many as can be there, and consecrates the holy oils used in baptism and in the sacrament of healing. As in the Roman church, this rite may be brought forward to one of the earlier days in the week. This is partly for the practical reason of enabling as many priests as possible to be present with the bishop, and partly for the liturgical reason that the evening mass on Maundy Thursday should be the only one that day. In the Diocese of Toronto this rite is celebrated on Holy Tuesday at 10.30 a.m. at the Cathedral.

These ‘little days’ should be kept as much as the ‘great days’ of Holy week. If it is impossible for you to atttend a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, you can still use the Collect for the day and read the appointed passages of Scripture, thereby joining your prayers to those of the whole Church. To this end, we print the Collects here.

GREAT AND HOLY MONDAY (BAS, p. 301)

The name ‘Fig Monday’ is derived from the Gospel account of Jesus cursing the fig tree the day after the Entry into Jersualem (see Mark 11.12-14).

Collect:

Almighty God, whose Son was crucified yet entered into glory, may we, walking in the way of the cross, find it is for us the way of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Readings

Isaiah 42.1-9: 1-4: The first Servant Song (see also 49.1-6; 50.4-11; 52.13-53.12: for a good understanding, they should be read together). poems about God’s special agent who will fulfill his purpose for the faithful community; though innocent, he will suffer for his people. The first Servant Song is read at Mass on Holy Monday, the Second on Holy Tuesday, part of the Third is used at Mass on Holy Wednesday, and the Fourth at the Liturgy of Good Friday.

Psalm 36.5–11 is a hymn in praise of God’s love and justice and a prayer for his continuing protection.

Hebrews 9.11–15 contrasts the repeated and limited sacrifices of the old Covenant with the sacrifice of Christ, the mediator of the new Covenant.

John 12.1–11 tells of the dinner at Bethany the evening before Palm Sunday, at which Mary anointed the Lord Jesus with precious oil of nard, and Judas scolded her for wasting what could have been sold and spent on the poor. Jesus rebuked Judas and praised Mary, saying, ‘Let her alone that she may keep it for the day of my preparation for burial’.

GREAT AND HOLY TUESDAY

(BAS, p. 302)

Collect

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son, you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life. May our lives be so transformed by his passion that we may witness to his grace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Readings

Isaiah 49.1–7: This is the second of the Servant Songs.

Psalm 71.1–14 is described in NOAB as ‘an old man’s prayer for deliverance from personal enemies’.

1 Corinthians 1.18–31: St Paul declares that the message of ther Cross is the wisdom and power of God, wiser than the wisdom of this world.

John 12.20–36: When Gentile inquirers come to see Jesus, he declares that now his hour has come. The hour is the moment of his manifestation as the One sent by the Father. The hour is fully come when he is lifted up on the Cross.

GREAT AND HOLY WEDNESDAY

(BAS p. 303)

The name ‘Spy Wednesday’ refers to Judas's agreement with the high priests, traditionally said to have been made on the Wednesday before the Crucifixion, to betray Jesus. This is refelcted not only in today’s Gospel, but in the proper Psalm for Morning Prayer. In Psalm 55 we read:

13 For had it been an adversary who taunted me, then I could have borne it; * or had it been an enemy who vaunted himself against me, then I could have hidden from him.

14 But it was you, a man after my own heart, * my companion, my own familiar friend.

15 We took sweet counsel together, * and walked with the throng in the house of God.

And,

21 My companion stretched forth his hand against his comrade; * he has broken his covenant.

22 His speech is softer than butter, * but war is in his heart.

23 His words are smoother than oil, * but they are drawn swords.

Compare these some verses from Psalm 41:

7 All my enemies whisper together about me * and devise evil against me.

8 “A deadly thing,” they say, “has fastened on him; * he has taken to his bed and will never get up again.”

9 Even my best friend, whom I trusted, who broke bread with me, * has lifted up his heel and turned against me.

Collect

Lord God, your Son our Saviour gave his body to be whipped and turned his face for men to spit upon. Give your servants grace to accept suffering for his sake, confident of the glory that will be revealed, through Jesus Christ our Lord who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Readings

Isaiah 50.4–9a: this reading is from the third song of the Lord’s Servant [Isaiah 50.4-11].

Psalm 70 is a prayer for deliverance from personal enemies.

Hebrews 12.1–3. In this exhortation to ‘run the race’, Christians are exhorted to look to the example fo Jesus, who endured the pain of the cross and its shame.

John 13.21–32. Jesus identifies his betrayer, who oes out from the Last Supper into the night.

Holy Week Notes

2011-04-16T10:53:00.010-04:00

THE HOLY WEEK BOOK

Prepared for The Church of St Columba and All Hallows, East York, Toronto

by the Revd Dr William Craig, Priest-in-Charge

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION

From ancient times Christians have observed the last week of Lent with special solemnity and called it the Great Week and the Holy Week. As early as the days of St. John Chrysostom (died 407), Christians generally ceased their daily business; they fasted with greater strictness than in the other weeks of Lent, and engaged in special acts of mercy and charity. From a litle before Chrysostom’s time we have the detailed account of the services that were carried out at Jerusalem recorded by a Spanish pilgrim named Egeria or Aetheria. She refers to Holy Week as the “the week of the Pasch, which they call here the ‘Great Week’”.

From the Blessing and Procession of Palms to the Great Paschal Vigil of Holy Saturday Night, the purpose of the liturgies of Holy Week is that “we may enter with joy into the celebration of those mighty acts whereby God give us life and immortality” [BAS. P. 297]. Our modern liturgies are an adaptation of the rich heritage of rites and practices that have served the Church since about the fourth century, when the keeping of Holy Week began.

Of central importance of course are the Three Holy Days (the Triduum): Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday night. In the liturgies of these days the whole of Christ’s saving work is commemorated; together they are the celebration of Easter. Further comments on those days will be made available in the next while; now we have a more pressing question. How are we to keep Holy Week today?

It is hardly a practical suggestion for many of our people that they ‘cease their daily business’. It may well be that to attend the liturgies of Palm Sunday and the Triduum is all that can be managed. Perhaps, though, these suggestions can be of help. Though you cannot ‘cease your daily business’, perhaps you can cease regular amusements and entertainments for this one week and devote the time to prayer and bible reading in preparation for Easter. In the Calendar at the end of these notes the psalms and readings in the Daily Office Lectionary for Holy Week may be found.

As you will see in these notes and those for the rest of the week, there is a large amount of Scripture to be read; and if those who make an effort to read and study all the passages will not find it hard to fill up the time in Holy Week.

As far as possible keep this as a quiet week. If you can, attend a celebration of the Eucharist on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. There are daily celebrations at St James’ Cathedral at 7:30 am and 12.30 noon; many other churches have daily celebrations in Holy Week. (It would be a great help if the diocese were to publish a schedule of Holy Week Services throughout the city!) It may be too late now, but plan ahead, so that Holy Weekl does not come as a surprise The relevant dates in 2012 will be : Ash Wednesday: February 21st ; Palm Sunday: April 1st ; Good Friday: April 6th ; Easter Day: April 8th

PART I: PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION

This Sunday has had many names, but throughout history its most common name is the one which is most familiar to us, Palm Sunday. It is called Dominica in ramis palmarum [Sunday of the Palm branches] in the Sacramentary of St. Gregory, and Dominica in ramis olivarum [Sunday of Olive branches] in that of St. Ambrose. In the former there is a plain reference to the ceremony of branch-bearing as one then in use: "May Almighty God grant unto you, that as ye present yourselves before Him with branches of palms and of other trees, so after your departure from this life ye may attain to appear before Him with the fruit of good works and the palm of victory." The Ambrosian rite does not so clearly refer to a liturgical use of branches , but Chrysostom mentions the shaking of the palm-branches as one of the customs of the day in one of his sermons for the Great Week. In the fourth century it was known Indulgence Sunday, as we know from the Lectionary of St. Jerome, and by many other later writers. This name has several explanations: some say it comes from a custom of the Christian Emperors of setting prisoners free and closing the law courts during Holy Week, other that it is connected with the reconciliation of penitents. Another name is Capitiluvium, which means head-washing, from a rite of washing the heads of the candidates for Baptism at Easter. In Jerusalem, according to Egeria’s letter, the commemoration of Christ's triumphal entry into the city took place in the the same afternoon. Great crowds, including even children too young to walk, assembled on the Mount of Olives and after suitable hymns, and antiphons, and readings, they returned in procession to Jerusalem, escorting the bishop, and bearing palms and branches of olives before him. In the new Lectionary, this Sunday is known as the Sunday of the Passion, a name formerly given to the Fifth Sunday in Lent. This change was made to reflect the fact that one of the three Synoptic accounts of the Passion of our Lord is read on this Sunday. The word ‘Passion’ has several meanings, all of which are derived from its root sense of ‘suffer’. The Passion of the Lord Jesus describes the account of his sufferings and death.

The Readings

The sheer amount of Scripture that is read and sung this Sunday and throughout Holy Week challenges both the preacher and the people to careful reading, study, and reflection before and after attending the liturgies. In Church, it is best to listen and sing, not so much thinking about the words as thinking them, concentrating on them, and receiving them into the depths of our being. With this end in mind, here are some comments (I fear they are too scanty to be of any real use) on the readings for Palm Sunday. I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of using all the resources one can in studying the Bible. “Commentaries: Revised Common Lectionary” is an excellent resource put online by the Diocese of Montreal. See http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/apasnm.shtml. Another handy resource is a study Bible such as the New Oxford Annotated Bible.

THE LITURGY OF THE PALMS

Since this liturgy commemorates the entry of Jesus into Jersualem, in its fullest form it is not merely a blessing and distribution of Palms, but a procession from some place apart which enters into the church. It begins with the Anthem Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord and the respose Hosanna in the Highest, which was the acclamation of the crowd that accompanied Jesus as he rode into the City. Then the Priest greets the people with a brief Introduction to both the day itself and the Great Week which it begins, to the journey “from the glory of the palms to the glory of the resurrection by the dark way of suffering and death”. A collect follows asking God that we may enter into the celebration. This is followed by

The Gospel of the Palms

The Lord’s entry into Jerusalem is recorded in all four Gospels with minor differences in detail (only John’s gospel specifies that the branches were of palm trees). This year (Year A) we read the account from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (21.1-11). We are tempted to think of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as joyous beginning to events that went tragically wrong. But as the introduction to the rite in the Roman Catholic liturgy puts it, “Christ entered in triumph into his own city, to complete his work as Messiah: to suffer, to die, and to rise again”. In this work the notes of suffering, death, and resurrection are one, and cannot be separated. As we enter with joy into this act we see that it was in triumph that he set his face set like a flint and went to his self-offering, and death. Outside of this and without it, the glory of the palms would only be a parade. It may seem odd that Jesus is described as sitting on the donkey and the colt (verse 7). The Evangelist has apparently misunderstood Zechariah 9.9, in which one animal is described as “a donkey and a colt the foal of a donkey.” This form of speech, called parallelism, is very common in the Hebrew scriptures. The passage appointed ends with the inhabitants of Jerusalem asking who it is that rides by, and the crowd with Jesus replying, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth. Then it goes on to tell of his cleansing of the temple and his healing blind and lame who were there. It tells us, too, that children in the temple took up the cry of Hosanna (21.15), at which the priests took offence. It is because of this reference that the hymn All glory, laud, and honour says “to whom the lips of children made sweet Hosannas ring”. After the Gospel is The Blessing of the Palms and The Procession. At a suitable place a Station is made: the Procession stops and the priest sings or says the Collect on page 299.

THE LITURGY OF THE PASSION

When all have arrived at their places, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist begins with the Collect of the Day and proceeds as usual, except for the reading of the Passion Gospel at which the usual acclamations are omitted. The Creed and Confession and Absolution may be omitted at the liturgy. The First Reading: Isaiah [50.4-9a]: Isaiah prophesied In Judah and Jerusalem between 742 and 687 BC, at the time when the northern Kingdom, Israel, had fallen to Assyria and Judah continued in uneasy “freedom”. Many scholars conclude from differences between chapters 1-39 and 40-66 that the latter part should be attributed to one or more other authors (“Second” and possibly “Third Isaiah”), who wrote at the time of the Return from Exile (ca. 538 BC). A significant feature of Second Isaiah are four passages referred to as the Songs of the Servant of the Lord. This reading is the Third Song of the Servant. It is not clear whether the prophet intended the figure of the Servant to be Israel as a collective person; a king of the past; or a coming individual Servant. (Note Acts 8.34, where the Ethiopian eunuch asks of one passage whether the prophet “says this about himself or about someone else”). In any case the Christian community very early applied these hymns to Jesus – indeed he seems to have seen them as applying to his vocation as the servant (slave) who frees all people. In Holy Week they are used as a commentary on the passion narrative. The first of the four songs [42.1-7] describes God's selection of the Servant who will bring justice to earth. The second song [49.1-6], written from the Servant's point of view, is an account of having been called by God to lead the nations; The third song is darker than the others, with a first-person description of beating and abuse of the Servant. The fourth song [52.13-53.12] declares that the Servant intercedes for others, taking the punishments and afflictions of others. In the end, he is rewarded with an exalted position. It is the first reading for Good Friday. In the third Servant Song, although those to whom God has sent his Servant have rejected him and abused him, the Servant is confident that God is with him. He can set his face like flint [v. 7], and know that he will not be put to shame. We see the like confidence in Jesus as he goes before the Council and before Pilate, as he is mocked and scourged. Setting one’s face is an image common in the writings of the prophets (see Isaiah 48:4, “... I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass”; Ezekiel 3:8-9: “I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. Like the hardest stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead”; also Luke 9:51 “When the days drew near for him [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem”); it is all the more effective here in describing a face covered with spittle. [NJBC] The song ends with a statement of unshakeable confidence in te Lord as vindicator against any accusation. Psalm [31.9-16] One of the categories of Psalms scholars identify as “lament”, by which is meant not a song of mourning but “a song in which an individual seeks deliverance from illness or false accusation, or the nation asks for help in time of distress” [New Oxford Annotated Bible, p. 656] Today we use the psalmist’s cry for deliverance from his personal enemies and the his final expression of confidence in God as a reflection on the first reading, which is in itself a companion to and reflection on the Passion narrative. Compare verse 13, “For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is all around; they put their heads together against me; they plot to take my life,” with Jeremiah 20:10. The prophet has prophesied the people’s doom as the Lord commanded, and says: “I hear many whispering: ‘Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. ‘Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him, and take our revenge on him’”. The enmity of personal friends is an important theme in Holy Week (see the opening of the Passion Gospel). A Reading from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians [2.5-11]: In this passage St Paul quotes an early Christian hymn (to which he has added v. 8b), which beautifully describes our Lord’s self-giving, even to the utterly humiliating death on the Cross. Other fragments of early Christian hymns on the subject of Christ’s work may be found at Philippians1:15-20; Ephesians 2:14-16; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:18-19, 22; and Hebrews 1:3. In Philippians 2.1-4, Paul had urged the Philippians, to at one, “of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord ...”. Now he explains that this one mind is not his own clever idea: it is the mind of Christ, which we begin to share and display when we replacing self-interest with concern for others. We tend to interpret the words “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” as referring to the name “Jesus”. While showing reverence at the holy Name is good, that is not what St Paul means here. The “name that is above every name” which God has given Jesus in his exaltation is “Lord”, in Greek Kyrios, which is used in the Old Testament to translate the (unpronounceable) name of God. He means that God has given the Risen Christ the authority which, in the Old Testament, he reserved for himself. (See Isaiah 45:22-25.)

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Year A we read the account of the Passion according to St Matthew. Many Notes can be found at the RCL Site. This year we are adding an Outline of the Passion to our notes:

I. Jesus is betrayed by Judas: 26.14-16. Parallels: Mk 14.10s; Lk 22.3-6; Jn 18.2-5

II. Two disciples are sent to prepare for the Passover: 26.17-19. Parallels: Mk 14.12-16; Lk. 22.7-13

III. The Last Supper: Jesus indicates his Bretrayer 26.20-29. Parallels: Mk 14.17-25; Lk 22.14-23; 20-25: Jn 13.21-20

IV. The Institution of the Lord's Supper: 26.26-29. Parallels: Mk 14.22-25; Lk 22.15-20; also 1 Cor 10.16; 11.23 26

V. Iesus goes out to the Mount of Olives with his disciples; he predicts Peter’s denial: 26.30-35. Parallels: Mk 14:26-31 Lk 22:39; 22:31-34 Jn 18:1; 13:36-38; 16:32

VI. Jesus prays in Gethemane: 26:36-46. Parallels: Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:40-46; Jn 18:1; 12:27; 14:31; 18:11

VII. Jesus is arrested: 26: 47-56. Parallels: Mk 14.43-50; Lk 22.47-53; Jn 18.3-12

VIII: He is questioned by the High Priest and Council: 26: 57-68. Parallels: Mk 14,53-65; Lk 22.54f, 66-71; Jk 18.12-24

IX. Peter denies Jesus: 26:69-75. Parallels: Mk 14.66-72; Lk 22.56-62; Jn 18.15-18; 25-27

X. Iesus is brought before Pilato: 27.1-2. Parallels: Mc 15.1; L.23.1; J.18.28

XI. Judas repents and kills himself 27.3-10 [see Acts 1.16 20].

XII. At the tribunal of Pilate: 27.11-31. Parallels: Mc 15.2-15; L 23.2-5, 13-25; Jo 18.29-19.1

15-18: The people ask for Barabas. 19: Pilate’s Wife . 20-23: The people still demand Barabbas. and that Jesus be crucified. 24-26: Pilate washes his hands and delivers Jesus, flogged, to be crucified. 27-31: The Soldiers mock Jesus and lead him away to be crucified. ParallelL Jn 19.1-3.

XIII. The Crucifixion of Jesus: 27.32-44. Parallels: Mk 15:21-32; Lk 23:26-43; Jn 19:17-24

XIV. The Death of Jesus: 27. 45-50. Parallels to 45-61: Mk 15:33-47; Lk 23:44-56;n Jn 19:25-42

XV. The Reaction: 27: 51-56

51-53: Earthquake; the Temple veil rent; bodies of the saints rise. 54: The Centurion. 55-56: The women at the Cross

XVI. The Burial of Jesus: 27.57-61

XVII. The Tomb is sealed and placed under guard: 27.62-66.

It is an old custom that the acclamations before and after the Gospel are omitted in the readings of the Passion.

Lectionary Notes

2011-04-08T14:59:00.016-04:00

Some Notes for the Fifth Sunday of Lent in Year A

Sunday, 10 April 2011

This Sunday was traditionally known as Passion Sunday, or the First Sunday of the Passion and the last two weeks of Lent as Passiontide. The reason for this can be seen in the readings appointed for this Sunday in the Prayer Book (for the Epistle and Gospel see page 148; for the readings at Morning and Evening Prayer, see p. xxvi). In the revised Lectionary, the name Passion Sunday is given to the Sunday next before Easter, traditionally known as Palm Sunday, for the obvious reason that the Gospel for that Sunday is one of the Passion Narratives. Old custom is strong; we now find that day given such titles as ‘Palm Sunday of the Passion’. Whatever we call it, this Sunday brings us into the last stretch of Lent, and would be a good moment to reflect on how one has kept the season and to resolve, if necessary, on a greater effort.

The Readings Ezekiel 37.1–14: Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

Ezekiel, whose name means God will strengthen, was a priest who ministered among the exiles from Jerusalem after its capture by the Babylonians in 598 BC. It was in the plain of Mesopotamia that this famous vision of the dry bones took place (note that the word translated as ‘valley’ in verse 1 is rendered by ‘plain’ in 3.22 and 8.4. The bones are the exiles of Israel, who have no more hope of reviving the kingdom of Israel than of clothing a skeleton and recalling it to life. For this reason it should be noted that this vision has no direct connection with the Christian doctrine of resurrection: the prophecy is of the return to the land of Israel where a new life will be given them. Although in light of the Gospel this vision speaks of resurrection, the original meaning is still a message for us. The exiles suffered from despair and said ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off’. Christians can also become dry and broken in faith, disappointed and indifferent, to us this God’s promise that he can and will put a new spirit within us. In understanding the passage it is important to know that one Hebrew word, רוּחַ, ruach, means wind, breath, and spirit: there is an extended play on words in this passage which it is impossible to capture in English, although it is clear in both Greek and Latin. This is especially clear in verse 9, where the words in bold all : —Then he said to me: 'Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'

Psalm 130: De profundis

This, one of the psalms of Ascents, or ‘Gradual Psalms’, is known from its opening words in Latin as ‘De Profundis’. It is also one of the seven Penitential Psalms, a name given from the 6th century AD and possibly earlier to Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143, which are specially expressive of sorrow for sin. In the Western Church it has particularly been used in the commemoration of the faithful departed. In deep sorrow the psalmist cries to God (1-2), asking for mercy (3-4). The psalmist's trust (5-6) becomes a model for the people (7-8).

The Epistle: Romans 8.6–11

In reading this passage it is important to know that in St Paul’s opposition between Flesh and Spirit there is no question of a dualism within a human being, but only of a contrast between types of human beings living in different circumstances—either as united with Christ, or as persisting in sin. The baptised are not in the Flesh, but "in the Spirit," and Paul now proceeds to show that their "life in the Spirit" involves a special kind of divine presence which is called the indwelling of the Spirit. Note the almost interchangeable use of ‘Spirit of God’ , ‘Spirit of Christ’ and “Christ’ (in v. 10). The Spirit of Christ and Christ Himself are one in the divine nature, and hence, the indwelling of the Spirit is also the indwelling of Christ. From the Perichoresi$ or circuminsessio, which arises from the identity of the Divine nature in the Persons of the Trinity, it follows that one Divine Person cannot be divided or separated from another, but where the Divine Nature is there are the three Persons. Chrysostom notes here that Paul does not identify Christ with the Holy Spirit, but only says that whoever has the Spirit, not merely belongs to Christ, but possesses Christ Himself

The Holy Gospel according to St John 11.1–45

The following comments are a small selection from my own incomplete notes on this passage. For further comments, please consult the RCL page: http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/alnt5l.shtml In John’s Gospel the raising of Lazarus is the catalyst for the authorities’ move against Jesus which lead to his arrest. This is seen in the verses which immediately follow the passage read today. The passage falls into six moments or scenes.

I. 1-6: At Petra Jesus hears of the sickness of Lazarus but delays going to him. 1. Jesus had gone to Petra, across the Jordan to escape the religious authorities, who were trying to arrest him (10.39-42). Lazarus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Eleazar, ‘God is my help’. Bethany: (Aramaic: Beth anya ,"house of the figs") is a village on the south-eastern slope of Olivet, nearly two miles from Jerusalem (verse 18), now called el-Azariyeh, after the Arabic name of Lazarus. [See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethany_(Biblical_village)] 2. He whom you love: The Greek word (philein) denotes a warmer feeling than the word for loved in verse 5 (agapein), which rather expresses esteem founded on reason and reflection (cf. 21.15,17). The sisters feel that it is enough to acquaint him with their distress without expressly appealing for his sympathy. 4. The Lord does not hasten to Bethany: On the contrary he seems deliberately to delay. This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory : Chrysostom wrote: this signifies not the cause, but the event. The sickness sprang from natural causes, but He turned it to the glory of God. Temple notes: In one sense the sickness of Lazarus was unto death; it was sickness of that and in fact he died of it. But that was not its final issue. It and the death in which it culminated were both for the glory of God as manifested in the restoration of Lazarus to life; and this glory of God took the form of the glorifying of the Son, who was revealed as the Lord and Conqueror of death. But to that end death must first occur. … Perhaps if He had started at once He would have arrived just in time to fulfil the sister’s hope; but Lazarus must have died very soon after the message reached the Lord and his disciples, if not before; as it was be brought them something beyond all their hopes.

II. 7-16: Jesus sets out for Judea. 9. Theophylact notes: Some understand the day to be the time preceding the Passion, the night to be the Passion. In this sense, while it is day, would mean, before My Passion; You will not stumble before My Passion, because the Jews will not persecute you; but when the night, i.e. My Passion, comes, then shall you be beset with darkness and difficulties. NOAB: His life would end when God willed; his enemies could not shorten it. 11. Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep: in Christ friendship survives death. Sleep was a common metaphor for death in ancient Jewish and pagan thought. “But what was before a fancy was turned by Christ’s resurrection into a well-grounded conviction with a fuller meaning, for death among the heathen was generally conceived of as a sleep from which there was no awaking. The Greek word here employed [κεκοίμηται] is the same as is represented in the Eng. cemetery = sleeping-place [Century Bible John].” In v. 12 the disciples take ‘sleep’ literally. 14. Since no mention is made of further news reaching him, we must understand Jesus’ knowledge that Lazarus was dead as more-than-human, like the knowledge of prophets.

III. 17-27: Jesus comes to Bethany and says to Martha: I am the Resurrection and the Life. When the Lord arrives, the time of bereavement is already running its course. It is more than three days since Lazarus died; friends from Jerusalem are coming out to offer consolation. Then the message is brought to Martha, as elder sister. Note that both sisters say to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (21, 32). To Martha, Jesus responds by declaring that he is the Resurrection; to Mary he responds not by words but by action. On the words I am the Resurrection and the life, Temple notes: “How can He actually be the Resurrection? He might be its cause, its donor, its controller; how can He be a future event? Of course there is a forcing of language to express an unutterable thought. But we can put part of what it means in other words. Fellowship with Christ is participation in the divine life which finds its fullest expression in triumph over death. Life is a larger word than Resurrection; but Resurrection is, so to speak, the crucial quality of Life, and the inclusion of it therefore adds vastly to the effectiveness, though not to the actual content, of the saying. There is no denial of a general resurrection at the last day: but there is an insistence that for those who are in fellowship with Jesus the life to which that resurrection leads is already a present fact. ‘If a man believe in Him, although his body dies his true self shall life’ (25); or, as it may be put in other words,. No believer in Jesus shall ever die, so far as his spirit is concerned. ‘Your friend is alive now; for in me he touched the life of God which is eternal; in me, he had already risen before his body perished.; This is the Johannine doctrine of life; it is also the doctrine of Paul (cf Col 3.1).” v. 26: Compare the words from John 4.13-14 in the reading from Lent III.

IV. 28-32: Mary goes to Jesus

V. 33-38: At the tomb of Lazarus Jesus’ compassion is seen. We must hear of Jesus` compassion and tears at the grave of his friend as Good News: for in Jesus we see the very nature of God.

VI. 39-44: Lazarus Raised. VII.45-57: The Reaction Only the first verse of this concluding section is read. We are left with the note that many believed on Jesus because of this sign; but the text goes on to say that some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. From that day the chief priests and the Pharisees took counsel to kill Jesus I am afraid those are the only notes I have been able to prepare for this week.

Note on the Anglican Cycle of Prayer (ACP): The dioceses of the Anglican communion which are remembered in prayer each day are now listed in this Calendar. The name of the diocese is followed by the name of its Church of the Communion in brackets and the name of the bishop.

THE CALENDAR

April 2011 10 SUNDAY: THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Nagpur - (North India) The Rt Revd Paul Dupare

11 Monday: Commemoration of George Augustus Selwyn, 1st Bishop of New Zealand, 1878

For further information see : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Augustus_Selwyn

ACP: Nairobi - (Kenya) The Rt Revd Peter Njoka

12 Tuesday: Lenten Feria

ACP: Nakuru - (Kenya) The Rt Revd Stephen Njihia Mwangi

13 Wednesday: Lenten Feria

ACP: Nambale - (Kenya) The Rt Revd Josiah Makhandia Were

14 Thursday: Lenten Feria

7:00 pm Stations of the Cross and Study Series

ACP: Namibia - (Southern Africa) The Rt Revd Nathaniel Ndxuma Nakwatumbah; Suffragan Bishop of Namibia (Southern Africa) The Rt Revd Petrus Hidulika Hilukiluah

15 Friday: Lenten Feria

ACP: Namirembe - (Uganda) The Rt Revd Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira

16 Saturday: Commemoration of Mollie Brant, Matron among the Mohawks, 1796

For further information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Brant

ACP: Nandyal - (South India) The Rt Revd Dr P J Lawrence

17 SUNDAY: PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION

ACP: Bishop of Jerusalem - (Middle East) The Rt Revd Suheil Dawani

Holy Week Begins!

A Voter’s Manifesto

2011-03-27T21:05:00.005-04:00

Don’t Jump to Conclusions about What I Mean when I Vote

On May 2nd I shall go to the polling place and cast a ballot.

On that ballot I shall put my mark beside the name of the candidate I choose for Member of Parliament for the Electoral District of Parkdale-High Park. Perhaps you may ask what this means.

Directly and absolutely it means only one thing: that I think this candidate is the human being best suited to stand for all the human beings of this electoral district in the Parliament of Canada, and by his or her intelligence and wit to speak and make decision by conscience on the issues that come before that Parliament.

That is the ONLY thing I will be asked on this ballot. I am not being asked me who should be Prime Minister or which party should form the adminsitration and act as advisers to the Crown.

Nonetheless, there is a reasonable assumption—but only an assumption—that I would like the party of which the candidate I choose is a member to form the Government of Canada. It is quite possible, however, that I am choosing this candidate for some other special reason (even for his charming smile) and do not entirely support the party. Be careful, I have voted this way before. Please do not jump to conclusions or make assumptions about my intentions

It is NOT a reasonable assumption, even if in general I want a particular party to form the Government, that I support all of its policies. I do not give consent to their claim to have a mandate for any particular policy. For there is no party I can entirely support. I am not completely on any party’s side, since as far as I can tell no party is completely on my side.

I believe that the House of Commons, and not the ministry that has its confidence. is the elected body that represents the people of Canada. I expect the House to hold that ministry accountable, and that ministry to show respect and deference to the House to which it is answerable.

If a party with a plurality of seats should form an administration but later lose the confidence of the House, I would rather see another party or group of parties attempt to form an administration than see an election before the term of Parliament is ended. (Yes this means a Coalition is OK).

For Parliament has a term; the government does not.

For all that their position depends on the support of the elected House, and for all that the Prime Minister and Cabinet are elected Commoners, their posts as Ministers are appointments of the Crown, not elected offices.

I do not believe that any Prime Minister or Cabinet chosen to advise the Crown directly represents the people of Canada. The Administration serves the people by being responsible, that is answerable, to House of Commons, the people’s representatives.

I neither expect nor wish the government to pretend that it can appeal to Canadians over the head of the Commons except by way of an election, for Canadians speak through that House.

Finally, If you become Prime Minister, do not ever claim that I voted for you; I did not, unless you ran for the seat in Parkdale-High Park.

Lectionary Notes

2011-03-25T16:54:00.004-04:00

Some Notes for the Third Sunday in Lent Year A
The Water of Life
27 March 2011

In the BAS two complete sets of propers are provided for each of the third to fifth Sundays in Lent; one for Year A, the other for Years B & C. On the Third Sunday the theme for Year A is the Water of Life. This theme joins the first reading and the Gospel, and is presented in the Sentence and the Collect of the Day. The Collect may be more true to our experience in praying that we may always thirst for the water of life that Christ gives, and we might be more honest that say that the theme of this Sunday is Thirst.
The first reading this Sunday contains the first use of the word ‘thirst’ in Scripture. Thirst means not only the physical thirst for water, but also to desire anything eagerly. The thirst of the soul is the thirst for the living God [Psalms 42.2, 63:1]. The prophet Amos said [8.11]: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. So our Lord Jesus said that they are blessed who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5.6). This is the thirst that the readings address today. For just as physical life needs fresh clean water, so fullness of life requires the peace, joy, truth, freedom, love, and justice that are the life of God. This is offered to us from the well of life, who is Christ our Lord.

The Readings
Exodus 17.1-7
Water from the Rock.

This scene takes place between the Crossing of the Red Sea and Israel’s coming to Mount Sinai where God gave the Ten Commandments. They are crossing an inhospitable desert. Already they had suffered from the shortage of water: at Marah in the wilderness of Shur the water was bitter and they could not drink it, so they murmured against Moses. Moses cried to the Lord, who showed him a tree, and when the tree was thrown in the water it became sweet. Then the Lord promised the people that if they kept his commandments he would not visit on them the plagues which had struck Egypt (15.22-26). In the wilderness of Sin they complained that there was no food and that they would have been better off dying in Egypt. In response the Lord gave them quails and a strange substance they called “manna” (Chapter 16). The passage we read this Sunday follows.
The people moved from camp to camp through the wilderness to Rephidim, where there was no water (1). The camps or ‘stages’ are given in detail in Numbers 33. Rephidim means "rests" or "stays" or "resting places"; See Numbers 33:12-13. The people’s murmuring now grows stronger and they find fault with Moses, who asks why they put the Lord to the test , that is, why do you demand proof that God is in your midst: see v. 7b. It seems that God may test the Israelites, but the Israelites may not test God. [2-3]. The first occurrence of the word ‘thirst’ in scripture is in this verse. When Moses complains to God he is commanded to strike the rock at Horeb, from which water will flow. There is nothing to indicate what rock is meant. In the Sinai, water lies below the limestone surface rock; the trick is to know where to hit it. For Horeb, another name for Mt Sinai, see 3:1. It has been suggested that Horeb was a name for the whole mountain of which Sinai was a particular summit or peak. On this see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Mount_Sinai and links there. [4-6]. Because of the people’s complaining and quarrelling, Moses named the place Massah (Proof) and Meribah (Contention). These names were to become the reminders of Israel’s faithlessness; see Psalm 95.8, which was in turn quoted in Hebrews 3.7-11 and 4.3-11. The double name may have come from the joining of two traditions in which this story was recounted.
Following this incident is a battle with the Amalekites at Rephidim in which Israel is victorious by the Lord’s help (17.8-16). Then in Chapter 19 the people come to Mt Sinai
St Paul’s interpretation of the water from the Rock as the water given by Christ is found in 1 Corinthians 10.1-5
Note on Geography: None of the places mentioned in the account of the Exodus can be precisely located, and scholars argue over everything, even where Mt Sinai is, and whether it is the same as Mt Horeb (the traditional view).

Psalm 95
Venite, exultemus

Psalm 95, or the first part of it has long been used as the call to worship in the Daily Office; and is still used thus in Morning Prayer. In studying it, see also Psalms 81 and 100. Psalm 81 makes the same shift from invitation to worship God to warning about the need for obedience.
The first part of the Psalm is a hymn celebrating God’s kingship over all the earth, as shown in his work of creation. The second part (7-11) declares that worship without obedience is displeasing to God. This is a cardinal principle of Old Testament religion: see also, for example, Psalms 15 and 24:3-6.
For the theme of God’s people being ‘the sheep of his hand’, see also Psalms 79:13 and 100:3, and the great Shepherd Psalm (23).
Psalm 95 was obviously chosen for use this Sunday because of the reference to the testing and contention of the first reading.

The Epistle: Romans 5.1-11

In the reading last Sunday we heard part of Paul’s explanation of justification by faith through the example of Abraham. In the last verses of Chapter 4 he applies this example to his readers: “The words ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It (i.e. righteousness) will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification”. Now Paul turns to discuss the Consequences of Justification (5.1-11).
5.1-5: The result of justification is first peace with God, where once there was enmity. In the first verse, we have peace appears in some manuscripts as let us have peace; the Greek words are almost identical. If it is taken as an exhortation to be at peace with God, it seems to fit the passage from Exodus. The people of Israel had been rescued from slavery in Egypt—a parallel to salvation from the realm of sin and death—but as we see they still had to learn to live in peace with God, rather than always grumbling. Justification has also brought about the grace in which we stand, that is favour with God and the hope of glory. Even more, the knowledge that we are peace with God allows us even to rejoice in suffering—unlike the people at Rephidim!
6-11. All this is grounded in the wonderful love of God made manifest in the self-offering of Jesus; he died not for God’s friends, but for enemies that God desires to save. If his death did away with the enmity, how much more will his life save us. It is the life of Christ shared with us which is symbolized by the language about the Water of Life.

The Holy Gospel according to St John 4.5-42.

Jesus has left Judaea to return to Galilee, apparently because of the enmity of the Pharisees and on his way has to pass through Samaria (4.1-4). An introduction to the Samaritans may be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans, and especially the ‘external links’ at the end of the article.
At about noon (though we should remember that terms such as ‘the sixth hour’ [v. 6] cannot really be interpreted quite so neatly), Jesus stopped to rest at a well near a town called Sychar. In pointing out that Jesus was tired out by his journey, and later asks for a drink, and in the words from the Cross in 19.28 (I thirst) the fourth Gospel brings out, as none of the others do, the reality of Christ’s humanity, in opposition to the error which supposed his body to be a mere appearance [this error is called ‘Docetism’, from a Greek word meaning ‘to seem’].
It seems to me that on this Sunday the heart of the passage is verse 14: ‘whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him shall become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ See also John 7.38.
For detailed comments on this long passage, please refer to Mr Haslam’s RCL commentary http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/alnt3l.shtml. I am not sure I agree with every detail, but I must wind up these notes and send them to you, as I have to go out and retrieve a lost telephone, and then apply myself to sermon preparation!

THE CALENDAR

27 SUNDAY: THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT
28 Monday: Charles Henry Brent, Bishop of the Philippines, and of Western New York, 1929
29 Tuesday: John Keble, Priest, 1866
30 Wednesday: Lenten Feria
31 Thursday: John Donne, Priest and Poet, 1631
April
1 Friday: Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, 1872
2 Saturday: Henry Budd, First Canadian Native Priest, 1850
3 SUNDAY: THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT,
Next Sunday is known as ‘Laetare Sunday’; traditionally rose-coloured vestments are worn. An article on this Sunday can be found at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetare_Sunday.
It is also known as Mothering Sunday: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothering_Sunday and http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/march/6.htm

"Press Release"

2011-03-21T17:01:00.006-04:00

WILLIAM CRAIG CELEBRATES 20,000 DAYS OF LIFE

The Reverend Doctor William Craig, Public Orator of the University of Trinity College and Priest-in-Charge of the Anglican Church of St Columba and All Hallows in East York, held a dinner this evening to celebrate the 20,000th day since his birth, at Café Taste on Queen Street West in Parkdale.

Guests included many Fellows of Trinity College, including the Registrar, Dr Bruce Bowden, and the Dean of Divinity, Dr David Neelands, many friends from the College, and his nephew, Mr Jonathan Craig.

The guests dined on French Onion soup, Ontario cheese flight, Filet mignon with roasted vegetables and Vanilla maple bread pudding. Various wines from the restaurant’s carefully chosen cellar were enjoyed.

Music was played from historic recordings conducted by Albert Ketèlbey (1875-1959), one of the finest English composers of light music of the 20th century.

Dr Craig made the following remarks:

My dear friends,
The occasion of this gathering is, I admit, a little unusual, and perhaps I should try to explain just where the idea came from. In Howl’s Moving Castle, a book for young people by Diana Wynne Jones, the wizard Howl takes part of Donne’s “Go and Catch a Falling Star” as a spell:

If thou beest born to strange sights
Things invisible to see
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee.

And he calculates: "‘That brings it to about Midsummer Day’. ‘What is brought to Midsummer Day?’ asked Sophie. ‘The time I’ll be ten thousand days old’, Howl said."
When I read this I naturally began to wonder how many days I had lived. Wondering about the number of one’s days is even more natural when you read the Bible a lot. As far back as Genesis the span of lie is spoken of as one’s days, and the 90th Psalm, which declares that ‘The days of our years [are] threescore years and ten’, prays that God will ‘teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom’. Still, it was mostly the wizard Howl that got me thinking; I was well past 10,000, but the 20,000th day was coming soon enough to remember and far enough away to plan some way of marking it.
That much for the occasion. I’d love to start a trend, so that celebrating some significant number of days became a popular thing to do; but over the years I have dropped ‘become a trend-setter’ from my life’s ambitions .
Now, something about this gathering. About 4,580 days ago, in a somewhat risky career move, I came back to Toronto and back to Trinity College. It’s a good rule: whenever being a grown-up isn’t working, go back to Trinity. I won’t speak in any detail of the ups and downs of the last 4,500 days except to say one thing. They were good days, for they were days filled with the friendship and support of a great many people.
Now my 20,000th day has coincided with the first time—certainly the first time since my return to Toronto; probably the first time ever—that it is possible to throw a party of any size to say thank you to some of the friends who have made a difference in the last 4,500 days. This would certainly be a larger party if space and resources allowed; it would not be any smaller.
This could be the embarrassing bit, but I have a feeling that detail would be tedious, and would accomplish little more than telling you who you are. But you all have something to do with Trinity, and I will only say that the two groups of the College that have made the most difference have been the members of the SCR, by their unfailing kindness in putting up with me (and sometimes making me work for it) and the undergraduates, now graduates, who accepted me in their community. A particular word to the class of 0T6: I think I shall come to the fifth anniversary reunion; thanks for thinking of me.
There are two guests who did not go to Trinity. I am very glad that my nephew (and neighbour) Jonathan can be here, along with his partner, Bridget Light. Jonathan is my only relative in Toronto; I love them all, but am terribly lucky in having this one here. To prove that Trinity can’t be kept out of any relationship, we should note that Bridget’s mother and uncle are Trinity graduates.
Finally, about the place. Jonathan introduce me to Café Taste and to our host, Jeremy Day. I like it here, and hope you do too. By the end of this evening I will likely be most happy that it is only a short walk home.
That’s it. Thank you all for coming; thank you all for the words and acts of friendship over all these days. Have fun.

Imagine that!

2011-03-12T00:43:00.008-05:00

Read 'round the World

Odd things come to mind when you're sitting up far too late, as I am tonight.

Just the other day for the very first time, I clicked on the 'Stats' for my blogs and discovered that I can find out the number of pageviews by country for the three blogs, by day, week, month, and all time. There's even a world map with the countries where it has been viewed coloured in. For some reason I am not a huge hit in Africa, most of Asia, southern Europe, South America (Thinks, who could know me in Venezuela?)

Tonight, the first Friday of Lent, when I should have been in bed at a reasonable hour, I took a good look at the numbers. They amazed me, the countries represented amazed me even more. It is obvious that these figures tell nothing about the people who viewed the page, and probably includes plenty of unsuspecting folk who were looking for something interesting and hit me by accident. Nonetheless, the possibility that some of the readers in Russia, say, or Venezuela really do find this stuff I write interesting or helpful is gratifying. (If I am wrong, don't let me know; living a lie is no great problem.) The fact is sobering: they're not all friends and acquaintances!

Here are two of the lists for William Craig's Magazine:

Pageviews by Countries (All Time)
United States 618
Canada 535
Netherlands 220
Russia 163
Germany 132
United Kingdom 91
Slovenia 67
China 42
Latvia 31
Moldova 31

Pageviews for the past month, Feb 10 –Mar 11 2011
Canada 152
United States 52
Netherlands 44
Germany 23
Israel 14
United Kingdom 11
Russia 10
Syria 10
France 6
Venezuela 6

I haven't the skills to analyse the statistics, and don't want to. Those are just numbers, very pretty numbers.

I would have let this go without comment but for one fact. Most of the time I have a very small audience in mind. In fact, there are only about five people I know who read this regularly. And most of the postings are written in to big hurry to meet a deadline: they have to be done before Sunday.

Now it's all different. Now I know that all sorts of people are reading this. I wish I could say I will always do a better job. I can't: Sunday just comes too quickly. But I'll try.

So welcome, whoever you are and wherever you are. I hope you like this stuff I am offering and even find it useful, somehow.

Now I'm tired. Good night.

Lectionary Notes

2011-03-10T16:32:00.004-05:00

Some Notes for First Sunday in Lent of Year A
Sunday, 13 March 2011

The week of the beginning of Lent is full of activity, and the time for preparing notes is limited. After noting one or two points that are very important, I have promised myself to have this done and out today (which is Thursday). Because of the Lenten Study series, the rest of the season will mostly likely offer similar constraints.

Both the Sentence and the Collect refer to the Gospel. The Collect is a modified form of the traditional Prayer Book Collect for this Sunday; as always you might find it useful to compare the two versions. It is otherwise quite straightforward and need no require comment.

Genesis 2.15-17, 3.1-7

That Genesis 2.4-3.24 differ from the opening chapter (1:1-2:3) is clear from differences in style and in the order of the events of creation. John Skinner wrote in his commentary on Genesis that the literary and aesthetic character of Genesis 2.4-3.24 is best appreciated by comparison with Chapter 1. “Instead of the formal precision, the schematic disposition, the stereotyped diction, the aim at scientific classification, which distinguish the great cosmogony, we have here a narrative marked by childlike simplicity of conception, exuberant though pure imagination, and a captivating freedom of style. Instead of lifting God far above man and nature, this writer revels in the most exquisite anthropomorphisms ; he does not shrink from speaking of God as walking in His garden in the cool of the day (3.8), or making experiments for the welfare of His first creature (2.18ff), or arriving at a knowledge of man s sin by a searching examination (3.9ff); etc. While the purely mythological phase of thought has long been outgrown, a mythical background everywhere appears ; the happy garden of God, the magic trees, the speaking serpent, the Cherubim and Flaming Sword, are all emblems derived from a more ancient religious tradition. Yet in depth of moral and religious insight the passage is unsurpassed in the OT. We have but to think of its delicate handling of the question of sex, its profound psychology of temptation and conscience, and its serious view of sin, in order to realise the educative influence of revealed religion in the life of ancient Israel. It has to be added that we detect here the first note of that sombre, almost melancholy, outlook on human life which pervades the older stratum of Gn. 1-11. [Skinner]
The first reading is part of this story; not the whole account of the Fall and Expulsion from Paradise but only of the temptation and the act of disobedience which ensued.
In the first three verses we here of the first commandment that was given; in the blissful garden, there was only one thing forbidden. Some have wondered why in verse 15 it is said that the man was put in the garden to till it if toil is part of the curse given for sin. Any gardener will know that this does not really contradict the later curse (3.17f.) The ideal existence for man is not idle enjoyment, but easy and pleasant work; “the highest aspiration of the Eastern peasant” being to keep a garden. For keep Skinner reads guard and notes: The question from what the garden had to be protected is one that should not be pressed.
The second part should run from Genesis 2.25 to 3.7, since a play on words in involved. The Hebrew words for ‘naked’ (2.25) and ‘crafty’ (3.1) are almost identical; in roman letters they are ‘arowm and ‘aruwm. The pair were naked and did not know it and were unashamed, that is, they were innocent; the temptation was to eat the fruit and become wise; but when the couple’s eyes are opened it is not in wisdom but in shame as they become aware that they are naked.

For the Psalm and the Epistle Reading, Please consult http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/alnt1l.shtml

The Holy Gospel according to St Matthew 4.1–11

The account of our Lord’s Temptation is traditionally read on the first Sunday in Lent because the forty days of our Lenten fast are modelled on our Lord’s forty days in the wilderness. His defeat of the tempter is a saving act because it is a work of obedience, undoing the disobedience by which our firs parents fell, dragging us into ruin. All of this is commented on theologically by the passage from the Epistle to the Romans which we read this morning.
I suggest that for detailed comment on the Gospel passage you consult the RCL Commentary at http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/alnt1l.shtml I also heartily recommend some Links to several important resources for the study of the Lord’s temptations which may be found in last year’s notes for Lent I see http://williammusing.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html : Friday, February 19, 2010.
The NJBC`s comment on this passage is worth noting in full: “Mark relates this event in two verses (1.12-13) He tells the fact of the temptation but not the details. This probably reflects the situation of the disciples regarding the event: they knew that Jesus had been tempted but since temptation is essentially a personal, inner experience, they did not know exactly what had gone on in Jesus’ consciousness. The version in Matthew and Luke thus represents a narrative midrash or interpretation of events in such a way as to make it pastorally useful for believers.” But one might wonder—if the disciples knew that Jesus had been tempted, then they must have known it because he told them. Did he tell them no more than: I was tempted? Or did he himself tell them something of what went on in his consciousness? In the radio play ‘The King’s Herald’, the second part of The Man Born to be King, Dorothy L Sayers tells in a way both dramatically and humanly possible how this might have been. The section is unfortunately too long to quote fully here. But at the cost of detailed comment on the text, we would do well to look at the opening words, which are enough to make the point. The full scene is found on pages 85 to 87 of the plays; there is a copy in the parish library.

JESUS: Children, children—you don’t know with whose voice you are speaking. Appetite, superstition, and force: none of these can bring in the Kingdom. It is God’s Kingdom we are looking for. Listen, and try to understand. When I came to John for baptism, and heard God call me His son, I went into the desert to fast and pray. And when after forty days I came out from the presence of God, I realised that I was very hungry; and in the same moment I knew that I was not alone.
JOHN EVANGELIST: Were you visited by an angel?
ANDREW: John Baptist often sees visions when he has fasted.
JESUS: Something spoke in me that was not myself, and said: “Why go hungry? If you are the Son of God—if indeed you are the Son of God—you have only to command, and these desert stones will be turned into bread.” And I knew it was true. I had only to command.
ANDREW: But that would be a miracle …
JESUS: There are more difficult miracles than that …. Don’t look so alarmed; the bread you are eating came from the baker. … But miracles mustn’t be used for one’s self—only for other people.

Calendar

13 Sunday: Quadragesima: the First Sunday in Lent
14 Monday: Lenten Feria
15 Tuesday: Lenten Feria
16 Wednesday: Lenten Feria
Fr Craig will be presiding at Evensong at Trinity College Chapel at 5:15
17 Thursday: Memorial of Patrick, Missionary Bishop in Ireland, 461
7 pm: Stations of the Cross and Lent Study at St Columba and All Hallows
18 Friday: Commemoration of Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 386
19 Saturday: Saint Joseph of Nazareth: Holy Day
20 Sunday: The Second Sunday in Lent
The Commemoration of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687 may be transferred to 22 March

ASH WEDNESDAY

2011-03-09T06:43:00.003-05:00

No New Notes this Year

The week of Quinqugesima and the beginning of Lent is a busy one, and offers little opportunity for perparing notes. The best I can do is refer you to an earlier posting:

Monday, February 23, 2009 : Lectionary Notes A few comments on Ash Wednesday

and wish you a good and holy Ash Wedesday and Lent.

Devotional Material

2011-03-05T11:59:00.006-05:00

LENT HANBOOK FOR 2011
Prepared for the Anglican Church of St Columba and All Hallows, East York, Toronto
By the Revd Dr William Craig, Priest-in-Charge

The following notes are a complete revision and reorganization of Lenten Notes that have been previously published.

GETTING STARTED

Usually the first question that comes to mind in Lent is what you are giving up, or perhaps, what extra thing one might take up. This is important, but it is not the first question to ask yourself in Lent. The Prayer Book’s “Penitential Service for use on Ash Wednesday and at other times” tells us about the purpose of Lent and suggests how it is to be observed. The Exhortation to be said by the priest ends by listing the seven acts of a Holy Lent:
"I invite you, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination, and repentance, by prayer, fasting, and self-denial, and by reading and meditating upon God’s holy Word." [p. 612]
The BAS improves on this by adding an eighth, almsgiving, after fasting.
We have then seven things to take into account when planning how to keep Lent. Under the first heading, self-examination, comes a discipline best taken up before Lent begins. This is not an examination of conscience as much as it is an examination of practice. The Catechism in the Prayer Book concludes with this recommendation [p. 555]:
“Every Christian man or woman should from time to time frame for himself a RULE OF LIFE in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel and the faith and order of the Church …”
It then suggests several things you should consider in framing such a rule for yourself. Slightly adapted, these are:
The regularity of your attendance at public worship and especially at the holy Communion.
Your practice of private prayer, Bible-reading, and self-discipline.
Bringing the teaching and example of Christ into your everyday life.
The boldness of your spoken witness to his faith in Christ.
Your personal service to the Church and the community.
The offering of money according to your means for the support of the work of the Church at home and overseas.
So the first question to ask yourself in Lent is whether you are living up to the Rule of Life, and the first task of Lent is to put the Rule into practice with particular care and intention.
But what if you have never been taught about the Rule of Life until now, or even read page 555 of the Prayer Book? Then the first task I preparing for Lent is to examine your life and begin to frame a Rule for yourself. So we have come to the first action of Lent, SELF-EXAMINATION, to which is naturally joined

REPENTANCE

These disciplines, along with Prayer cannot be treated as they should in such notes as these. But they are disciplines which we should be teaching and considering all through the year.
There are two starting points to repentance: the first is to measure your life against a particular standard. Best is to use the Ten Commandments as they are set out in the Prayer Book on pages 546-549; other devotional books give more detailed questions for self-examination. The second is to pray for God’s grace to see yourself honestly, without excuses.
Then it is simple: simply tell God what you have done wrong, and say you are sorry and believe that in Christ Jesus he forgives you. Resolve not to do it again, and tell him that. If you have done wrong to another person, do what you can to put it right, praying for strength if it is difficult. By the way, I said this is simple, not that it is easy, but if it is hard, pray for help and it will come.
If after you have done this you still feel guilty or have some other difficulty, then see a priest.
Above all, remember the Comfortable Words:
COME unto me all that labour and are heavy laden, and 1 will refresh you. St Matthew 11. 28.
God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life. St John 3. 16.
Hear also what Saint Paul saith. This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1. 15.
Hear also what Saint John saith. If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins. 1 St John 2. 1, 2
Remember, above all, that God loves you and wants to forgive you.

PRAYER. STUDY, AND BIBLE-READING

If you think you know nothing about PRAYER you should make two resolutions in Lent. The first is to say the Lord’s Prayer at least on going to bed every night and on rising every morning. The second is to talk to your priest about it soon as possible. Beyond that, the topic is too vast to enter into here.
This is, however, a good place to consider BIBLE-READING and other forms of Study in Lent. There are many resources available, we won’t add anything here, except perhaps to suggest that personal Lenten study could well begin with the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7 of St Matthew). As well, of course, there are many series of studies available in Churches in Lent.
A monastic discipline for Lent is to take a book from the library and read it through, without skipping.
The truth is that good advice on your personal Lenten reading can only come from someone who knows you.

FASTING & ABSTINENCE

Next in considering the actions of a Holy Lent comes Fasting. Since the Prayer Book terms the forty weekdays of Lent ‘days of Abstinence’, and Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as ‘Major Fast Days’, we need to consider what these terms mean as well as a third, self-denial, which involves every sort of “giving-something-up-for-Lent”.
Here is the first problem of Lent. Our church tells us that there are days of abstinence and days of fasting, but gives us no official definition of these terms; it seems to assume we know what they mean. Indeed, there are traditional definitions (which are codified in the rules of the Roman Church, but about which we have no law): to fast is to take no food for a certain time, while to abstain is to do without a particular kind of food, usually meat. Perhaps a snapshot from a moment in Anglican history can shed some light here.
At the Savoy Conference on the Prayer Book in 1661 the Presbyterian theologians objected that “Christ’s fasting forty days and nights” was “no more imitable, nor intended for the imitation of a Christian, than any other of his miraculous works were, or than Moses his forty Days fast was for the Jews.” To this the Bishops replied,
“The fasting forty days may be in imitation of our Saviour, for all that is here said to the contrary; for though we cannot arrive to his perfection, abstaining wholly from meat [i.e., food] so long, yet we may fast forty days together, either Cornelius his fast, till three of the Clock afternoon, or St Peter’s fast till noon, or at least Daniel’s fast, abstaining from Meats and Drinks of delight, and thus far imitate our Lord.”
So our tradition offers us three possible rules of fasting. We might also consider the old rule of the Roman Church that “fasting essentially consists in eating but one full meal in twenty-four hours and that about midday.” It also involves abstinence from meat in the same period. The rule was later relaxed to allow “a collation, usually taken in the evening.” It is obvious that to go into details of such rules would be to little purpose here. It is quite reasonable to suggest that on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday one abstain from eating at least until one has taken part the solemn rites of the day, but to stick to one meal, and that of the simplest quality.
The purpose of fasting is a more important consideration. Bishop Jeremy Taylor wrote in The Rules and Exercises of Holy Living, that fasting serves us in three ways: (i.) it serves prayer; (2.) it serves the mortification of bodily lusts; (3.) it serves repentance.
Of these we might need to clarify the second a little. The meaning of “lusts” has become somewhat narrow in recent times, so that it no longer means just any desires or appetites, but only the “sinful lusts”. The mortification of lusts really means bringing our appetites under control, so that they do not control us. Experience shows that “mortification” is not too strong a word for this. To give up something which has become a habit can be like dying. By fasting we learn to do without things which are good but not necessary, which we like but don’t really need. We will return to that point when we think about Self-denial.
Young children (traditionally under seven) and persons over 60 are not bound to fast in the Roman Church, but “Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.” It is perhaps needless to point out that one following a diet for medical reasons should not change it in Lent. Likewise, a person who is supposed to take medication with food may have to take a little something in the morning before Church on the two fast days.
As to abstinence, the only serious question is what a Vegetarian should do. I can give no advice here, because I do not know if there is anything in the diet of such a one that can be considered the equivalent of meat. If anyone has wiser advice, I would be grateful to hear it.
The lack of a hard and fast rule about fasting should not be taken as an excuse to do nothing at all. But all too often that is just the way Anglicans take things!

SELF-DENIAL

“Every person who has read his prayer book with any degree of attention, knows that this season of Lent is appointed by the Church for the especial exercise of repentance; that she intends us to refrain for a while even from the innocent pleasures of the world, that our time and thoughts may be the freer to consider our past lives, to bewail and confess our sins, and so prepare ourselves, with thankful hearts, to acknowledge the infinite mercies of God in Christ Jesus on the great days of his Death and Resurrection.” ~ John Keble, Sermon for Ash Wednesday of Not Receiving the Grace of God in Vain.
So what should I give up for Lent? Keble leads us to the answer: it should be one of “innocent pleasures of the world.” As a wise colleague once said to me, “You give up for Lent something that you can quite rightly take up again at Easter”. It should be something good and lawful that you can do without, though perhaps not easily. The fact that the thing given up is not sinful or wrong is precisely why giving it up is a discipline. For the root is of that word is ‘to learn’; it is what a disciple does. A person who chooses to give up something perfectly innocent for a time learns self-control. Self-denial is protection against temptation when it comes, less dependent on pleasure. And since the thing given up is not itself wrong, failure in the discipline is not catastrophic. It merely shows where one needs to pray more and seek strength. Beyond that I have no suggestions to make as to what any person might give up, except to say that ‘giving something up’ is in addition to the rule of abstinence from meat in Lent.. There are some helpful ideas in two articles which may be found on line at Project Canterbury. They are:
“Some thoughts about Lent for Busy People” By E.F. Pemberton (London: Mowbray, no date):
http://anglicanhistory.org/lent/busy.html
“The Lenten Fast” by the Rev. Charles T. Stout (Milwaukee: Morehouse, no date)
http://anglicanhistory.org/lent/stout.html.

'TAKING SOMETHING ON'

Many people say that rather than giving something up for Lent they will take something on, by which (I hope) they mean some act of charity or kindness, some new discipline. To take on some good deed in Lent is good, but it is to be done not instead of giving something up. For self-denial is something we are commanded to do by our Lord Jesus, who said, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’. No good deed taken on or whatever important ecological cause aided in Lent takes away the imperative to deny oneself . To follow Christ must mean learning self-denial as the basic attitude of life; the little things we give up in Lent are baby steps in this training, and like babies we must take them before we can learn to walk. [If this were set out as a flowchart there would be an arrow here leading me back to self-examination and repentance, but that is another story.]
That said, the traditional disciplines of Lent are full of things to take on; more prayer, more study, more acts of kindness to others. The modern idea of the Carbon Fast is to be commended, though this is not something that replaces the fast from food.
See: http://www.tearfund.org/webdocs/website/Campaigning/CarbonFast09/Carbon%20Fast%20Flyer%202011.pdf

ALMSGIVING

Above all, we are to take on extra almsgiving in Lent, preferably with the money we don’t spend on food or self-indulgence.
Almsgiving is a Christian duty all year round, of course: it is clear from the Gospels that there are no exceptions to the Lord’s commandments (see, for example, Mt 5.42; Lk 6.29-30). Nor does the ‘all’ in the baptismal promise to ‘seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself’ leave much room for picking and choosing whom you will help.
Lent is a time to be more serious and more intentional in following the commandments of Christ. It is perhaps an odd thing that the fact that in a modern city where opportunity is never lacking to obey the commandment “Give to him who begs from you” it is often so hard to obey. But at least once a year let’s remember that our Lord doesn’t say we should ask if the beggar deserves it, or wonder what horrid thing our alms might get spent on, or discuss the state’s duty to alleviate poverty. Perhaps once a year for forty days we can just give to everyone who asks, as our Lord commanded.
Still, what you do about all this is between you and God, and since we are not to judge one another, we won’t ask what you do. But the Gospel suggests that Jesus asks, and will ask (see Mt 25:31-46).

THE POINT OF LENT

Of course when we talk of all these things, we need to bear in mind that Lent is a tool for Christians who want to practice their religion. It is not a set of tricks we think will make God love us (he already does), or forgive us (he already does), or will get us extra brownie points (merit). It is a way by which we keep our hearts and minds set on what God has done for us in Christ as we prepare to celebrate Easter, the Christian Passover. Above all, Lent is not an end in itself; it is about preparing to celebrate Easter. All the restraint and self-denial is a holding back so that we can let loose in the greatest feast of the Church Year. Some words of the Bishop of Durham are helpful here, and worth quoting at some length:
“…if Lent is a time to give things up, Easter ought to be a time to take things up. Champagne for breakfast again—well, of course, Christian holiness was never meant to be merely negative. Of course you have to weed the garden from time to time; sometimes the ground ivy may need serious digging before you can get it out. That’s Lent for you. But you don’t want simply to turn the garden back into a neat bed of blank earth. Easter is the time to sow new seeds and put out a few cuttings. If Calvary means putting to death things in your life that need killing off if you are to flourish as a Christian and a truly human being, then Easter should mean planting, watering, and training up things in your life … that ought to be blossoming, and in due course bearing fruit. The forty days of the Easter season, until the ascension, ought to be a time to balance out Lent by taking something up, some new task or venture, something wholesome and fruitful and outgoing and self-giving. You may be able to do in only for sic weeks, just as you may be able to go without beer or tobacco only for the six weeks of Lent. But if you really make a start on it, it might give you a sniff of new possibilities. new hopes, new ventures you never dreamed of. It might bring something of Easter into your innermost life. It might help you wake up in a whole new way. And that’s what Easter is all about.”
- N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (New York: Harper One, 2008), p. 257.

Lectionary Notes

2011-03-04T13:49:00.004-05:00

SOME NOTES FOR THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
Also Known as Quinquagesima
Proper 9 in Year A
6 March 2011

We begin this week’s notes with two explanations. The first is that some of our readers may not find what they expect to find, and will hear different readings in their parish churches on Sunday
The Sunday before Ash Wednesday may be kept as the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, in celebration of the Lord’s Transfiguration, or as whatever Sunday after Epiphany has been reached in the course of the Calendar Year. I am not at all sure that keeping the ‘Last Sunday’, which has the effect of creating a hitherto unheard-of “Epiphany Season’, is particularly beneficial, especially when it displaces the final reading of selections from the Sermon on the Mount.
Furthermore, the lectionary gives the option of reading the Gospel of the Transfiguration on Lent II, along with a collect which presumes that reading and is more fitting to the season than is the Collect for the Feast of the Transfiguration, appointed to be used for the ‘Last after Epiphany’.
Indeed, the church has always celebrated the Transfiguration on August 6th, and the fact that many neglect to keep that day is an argument for better teaching and example rather than for a new observance.
Finally, since in the homilies at St Columba’s we have been following the readings from the Sermon on the Mount, it seems good to me to continue that sequence of readings.
All of which leads me to apologize to anyone who is looking here for notes on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany; these notes are primarily intended for the people of St Columba and All Hallows, and the occasions where this causes any difficult for others are very few.
The second explanation is for the fact that the notes are a bit sketchy, and mostly consist of cross-references. The explanation is simple: though Lent begins late this year, it has still crept up suddenly, and Ash Wednesday, Lenten Sermons, and the Lenten Study series are all clamouring for my attention,

Neither the Sentence nor the Collect for Proper Nine is in any way remarkable.

The first Reading and the Gospel for this Sunday together give us a clear theme: Hearing and Doing the Word. The sense of the passage from Deuteronomy is well expressed by a passage from near the beginning of C. S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair (one the Narnia books):

The great Lion Aslan sends Jill Pole into Narnia with Four signs to guide her on the quest for the lost Prince Rillian.
“As the Lion seemed to have finished, Jill thought she should say something. So she said, ‘Thank you very much. I see.’
“’Child,’ said Aslan, in a gentler voice than he had yet used, ‘perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember. Repeat to me, in order, the four signs.’
“Jill tried, and didn’t get them quite right. So the Lion corrected her, and made her repeat them again and again until she could say them perfectly.”
After Aslan has explained that he will send her into Narnia on his breath, he says, ‘Stand still. In a moment I will blow. But, first, remember, remember, remember the
signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. … Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.’
The Readings
The first reading: Deuteronomy 11.18–21, 26–28

To understand the opening of this passage, you should also read Deuteronomy 6.6-9; cf Ex 13.9.
18. These my words: from 6.6-9 we learn that these words are the great commandment to Love the Lord your God; see also 11.13,
26-32: The Two Ways: see Deuteronomy Chapter 28 and especially 30.15-20. Every moment is a moment of solemn decision between God’s will and one’s own. It might be helpful in this context to reflect on the Gospel teaching about serving two masters.
It is also important to note that in order to make the right choice in actions one must hear the law and know it, ‘writing it on one’s heart’.

Psalm 31.1–5, 19–24

I have no particular comments to make on the Psalm this week

The Epistle: Romans 1.16–17 ; 3.22b–28, (29–31)

Another reason to use the readings for Proper 9 this Sunday is that in Year A the Epistles on the Sundays in Lent continue to be taken from the Letter to the Romans. This passage, for all that it jumps from the middle of Chapter 1 to the end of Chapter 3, is an excellent introduction to a series of readings from this letter.
The opening two verses (1.16-17) have been described as the ‘theme of the entire book’, the declaration that righteousness does not depend upon obedience to law, but on faith in God’s act of redemption in Christ Jesus.
3.21-26: The true Righteousness.
27-31: ‘Boasting’ is excluded
27: see 4:2; 1 Corinthians 1:29-2:2; Ephesians 2:8-9. If it were our works that justified, we could boast; but salvation is by faith, and pride is excluded. By what law: this is literally correct; it can also be translated as On what principle. For Paul’s use of ‘law’ in this sense, see Romans 7:21-23.
The contrast between faith and works in the writings of Paul is an important idea to keep in mind as we read of the importance of doing the will of God. These works of justice and mercy are not ‘works’ in the sense Paul is rejecting, but are what he speaks of elsewhere as the fruits of the Spirit; there are result and evidence of saving faith. Indeed, a problem with the idea of being justified by works is that one tends to think of how much work is enough, of ‘my good deed for the day’. The ‘works’ that come out of faith are done cheerfully because they are the right thing to do, and there is no limit to them.

The Holy Gospel according to St Matthew 7.21–29

The conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7.1-28 is not included in the Sunday lectionary of Year A; some of the parallel passages from Luke are read in Year C. it is most perplexing that this material is not included in the Sunday Gospels.
The NOAB gives Matthew 7.1-27 the general heading Illustrations of the practical meaning of Jesus’ Message, in which we can make the following divisions:
1-5: Judgment of others (Luke 6.37-38; 41-42; Mark 4,24)
6: Reserve in communicating religious privileges.
7-11: Encouragement to prayer (Ask, seek, knock)
12: The Golden Rule
13-14: Enter by the Narrow Gate
15-20: Warning against false Prophets: By their fruits you shall know them. These last verses should be taken together with the opening verses of the passage read today.
21: see Matthew 12.50; Luke 6.46, Romans 2.13; 1 ; Corinthians 12.3; James 1.20, 2.14; 1 John 2.17.
22: see Jeremiah 14.14, 22.14-15; Luke 10.20, 13.26; 1 Corinthians 13.1; also Mark 9.38.
Many will say to me in that day. Gore notes: we should notice the claim which our Lord here makes for Himself. Without preface, without emphasis, as a matter of course, He implies that He is the final judge of all men, not only as to the outward results they achieve, but also as regards the secret inner motives of their hearts and the character of their lives. ‘Many shall come to me in that day’, i.e. in 'the Day of Jehovah’ the day of final assessment—'They will come to Me ; they will profess loyalty to Me, saying, “Lord, Lord;” they will plead their good works: but I shall discern the true inner character of their lives’. Prophesy in the Bible means primarily to proclaim the word of God, whether prediction of the future is involved or not. See Jeremiah 14.14, 22.14-15; Luke 10.20, 13.26; 1 Corinthians 13.1; also Mark 9.38.
23: see the parables of Judgement in Matthew, Chapter 25, and especially the words at 25.12 and 25.41.
24-27: The sermon concludes with a parable contrasting the two ways of hearing Jesus’ word. See Luke 6.47-49. Gore: … lastly, our Lord gives the warning that each spiritual fabric must be judged by its power of lasting. Here, again, is the tremendous claim: the only solid foundation for life is Jesus and His words.
It is impossible to read these words without thinking of Matthew 16.18.
26: see James 1.22
27: see Ezekiel 13.10-15. Gore: Our Lord … would have [us] dig down to the rock, and build [our] spiritual fabrics there ; and the rock is nothing else than His own person and His own word. To hear Him, and go away without imbibing His teaching and putting it into practice, to be nominally a Christian but in reality of the world, that is to build a house upon the sand.
28: see 11.1; 13.15; 19.1, 26.1; Luke 7.2

Gore: And here we leave the great sermon. It is not, as some suppose, the whole of Christianity. Those who have been inclined so to esteem it have been apt to underrate the amount of theological doctrine which is to be found in it. It postulates, as we have seen, two central doctrines: that of the divinity of Christ's person, and that of the sinfulness of human nature. But, even so, it is not the whole of Christianity. It begets in us, or develops and deepens, the sense of sin, and so may be said to point to what it does not teach, the atonement by which our Lord has expiated the sins of the world, and brought us back to reconciliation with our Father which is in heaven. But again an atonement which merely secured our forgiveness for past sins would be no real remedy. It would leave us weak as we were before. Nothing can satisfy us but actual and permanent redemption from the power and the taint of sin. Thus again the sermon may be said to point forward to that great supply of moral power which by the coming of the Spirit of God has been given inwardly in the hearts of His people. It is that inward grant of Christ-like power the administration of the Spirit which is the real essence of Christianity. All else is a preparation for it. Christianity is not so much a statement of the true end or ideal of human life as it is a great spiritual instrument for realizing the end.
The realizing of the moral end of life that is the test of your Christianity. Be sure of that. The hold we have on our creeds, the use we make of the sacraments, can be judged by one test—do they lead to the formation in us of Christian character? The character may be cleansed and perfected after death, but here and now is our opportunity for laying its foundations deep and firm, and showing its power to absorb the whole of our being. That is the test which we cannot press home upon ourselves too often—am I becoming like Christ ?
Many will come to Him in that day with a record of their orthodoxy and of their observances, of their brilliant successes in His professed service ; but He will protest unto them, 'I never knew you.’ He 'knows no man in whom He cannot recognize His own likeness.

SHROVE TUESDAY

The name Shrove Tuesday comes from an old word meaning to make one’s confession. It was the custom to make sacramental Confession to a priest and receive Absolution at the beginning of Lent. Although our Church requires anyone to make confession in this way, it teaches that it is the priest’s duty to remind the people of
“ ... the need of devout preparation for the receiving [of Holy Communion], so that ye may come holy and clean to such a heavenly Feast, in the marriage-garment required by God in holy Scripture, and be received as worthy partakers of that holy Table.
“The way and means thereto is: First, to examine your lives and conversations by the rule of God's commandments; and whereinsoever ye shall perceive yourselves to have offended, either by will, word, or deed, there to confess yourselves to Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life. And if ye shall perceive your offences to have been against your neighbours, then ye shall reconcile yourselves to them, being ready to make restitution. Ye must also be ready to forgive others that have offended you, as you would have forgiveness of your offences at God's hand. Therefore if any of you be a blasphemer of God, an hinderer or slanderer of his Word, an adulterer, or be in malice or envy, or in any other grievous crime, repent you of your sins; else come not to that holy Table.
“And because it is requisite, that no man should come to the holy Communion, but with a full trust in God's mercy, and with a quiet conscience; therefore if there be any of you, who by this means cannot quiet his own conscience herein, but requireth further comfort or counsel, let him come to me, or to some other discreet Minister of God's Word, and open his grief; that by the ministry of God's holy Word, he may receive the benefit of absolution, together with spiritual counsel and advice, to the quieting of his conscience, and the avoiding of all scruple and doubtfulness. [BCP]
For more information you should also read the form for the Reconciliation of a Penitent in the BAS (pp 166-172).
We do not require anyone to make such confession as your duty, but offer it as your right: rather than live in doubt and guilt, in this way you may be assured of Christ’s pardon and forgiveness.

CALENDAR

March
6 SUNDAY THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY (QUINQUAGESIMA)

7 Monday Memorial of Perpetua and her Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 202
For further information, see
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/41685_88920_ENG_HTM.htm

8 Tuesday Commemoration of Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, 1910
Shrove Tuesday; Pancake Supper, 6 p.m.
For further information on Bishop King, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_King_(bishop_of_Lincoln)

9 WEDNESDAY ASH WEDNESDAY
Ash Wednesday Liturgy 10 a.m. and 7.30 p.m.

NOTE: THE FORTY WEEKDAYS OF LENT ARE OBSERVED AS DAYS OF ABSTINENCE AND SPECIAL DEVOTION

10 Thursday Commemoration of Robert Machray, First Primate of Canada, 1904
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Machray

11 Friday Memorial of Gregory of Nyssa, c. 395 (transferred)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Nyssa

12 Saturday Lenten Feria

13 SUNDAY THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT (QUADRAGESIMA)

Thoughts on the Church Calendar

2011-02-28T10:36:00.005-05:00

Ordinary Saints

… And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
and one was a shepherdess on the green;
they were all of them saints of God, and I mean,
God helping, to be one too.

So goes a popular hymn, but look in the Calendar of Saints, say the one in the BAS. There is indeed a queen—Margaret of Scotland—but I’m not sure about the shepherdess. (There is a shepherd in the BCP Calendar, but he’s remembered as a poet.) In fact—apart from New Testament figures and the martyrs—most of the names are of clergy and religious (that is friars, monks, or nuns. The others are royalty, and (unless I’ve missed someone) five persons: St Augustine’s mother Monnica, Julian of Norwich, Mollie Brant, William Wilberforce, and Florence Nightingale.

….You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,
in church, by the sea, in the house next door;
they are saints of God, whether rich or poor,
and I mean to be one too.

Quite right, but the Calendar hardly gives you any examples of men and women, not ordained, with no vows beyond the promises of Baptism, who spent their lives as faithful Christians, and can be practical models living out those promises in the midst of the world.

Such people are commonly known only to God, and to a few people whose lives they touched. We remember them on All Saints’ Day. But there are some whose lives or writings we have, through which some of the light of Christ still shines.

In one copy of the BAS calendar I have noted on or near the day of their deaths (or heavenly birthdays, as the early Christians said of the martyrs) the names of two persons who seem to me to be models of Christian laity. As time goes on I hope to find more.

One, whose faith I may write about another day, is Dr Samuel Johnson, the great lexicographer, who died on 13 December 1784. 13 December is a nice free day in the Calendar.

The other man died in 1706 on the day we remember that holy priest George Herbert, so in my personal calendar he is commemorated today, 28 February. His name was John Evelyn, and is best remembered for his diary, which is less famous than that of his contemporary, Pepys.

G. W,. E. Russell, in his ‘Prefatory Note’ to the Everyman edition of Evelyn’s Diary (1907), suggests why we might take Evelyn as a good model for Layfolk:

“But here we must turn to the second part of the text I tool from Mr Shorthouse —‘Spiritual life and growth [were] not exclusively the possession of Puritans and Ascetics.’ We have seen that John Evelyn was no ascetic, as regards the legitimate pleasures of human life. He was as far removed from the temper of Puritanism as from the licentiousness which is sometimes supposed to be its only alternative. Yet not Baxter or Calamy, or the best Puritan of them all, was more consistently and conspicuously a Christian in faith, speech, and act.
“From first to last Evelyn was a loyal and zealous son of the English Church, ‘as it stands distinguished from all Papal and Puritan innovations, and as it adheres to the doctrine of the Cross.” The phrase is that of Bishop Ken, whose preaching Evelyn greatly admires, but it expresses his own feeling with singular exactness.”

Evelyn’s Diary records the life of a committed and devout layman who lived through the darkest time that has yet come upon the Anglican Church, when under the government of Cromwell, the Prayer Book and the orders of the Church were abolished. Clergy who remained loyal were put out of their parishes or livings (sequestered). To worship and received the sacraments according to the Prayer Book Evelyn often had to arrange to have a sequestered priest celebrate in private. Evelyn notes on 23 May 1658:
“There was now a collection for the persecuted and sequestered Ministers of the Church of England, whereof divers are in prison. A sad day! The Church now in dens and caves of the earth.”

In his Diary we also find the famous record of Christmas 1657, when though the feast had been abolished by proclamation as ‘superstitious’, Evelyn and others celebrated it in Exeter Chapel, London. A troop of soldiers surrounded the chapel and arrested the worshippers. Evelyn reports that
“As we went up to receive the Sacrament, the miscreants held their muskets against us, as they would have shot us at the altar; but yet suffering us to finish the office of Communion, as perhaps not having instructions what to do, in case they found us in that action.”

Delightfully, at least to this student of Church history, Evelyn seems to have made a note of every sermon he ever heard, with the text the preacher expounded!

More can be found of Evelyn the man and his faith in the Diary, a book that deserves a place in any Anglican’s library, and whose memory should be recalled with thanksgiving to God, perhaps even today,

The 'Commemoration of John Evelyn, Layman, 2011’

Note: I have often wondered why St Monnica is spelled this way in the Calendar when the name is most often spelled 'Monica'. In fact the Anglican church dedicated to her in Toronto is spelled 'Monica' in cavalier disregard of the Calendar! It seems that Augustine himself spelled his mother's name Monnica (see Confessions, Bk IX). The Anglican Calendar leans to pedantry in a way I find quite charming.