|
Christian Resources Library
Readings July to September 2003
July
| August | September
6th July
Third Sunday after Trinity (Proper 9)
Ezekiel 2.1-5
The call of Ezekiel is unconditional: he simply has to obey. And that
applies whether he succeeds in his mission or whether he is ignored.
The necessity is simply to speak, to bear witness to the cause of God.
2 Corinthians 12.2-10
Paul has been provoked by the mistrust of his converts almost to a frenzy
of despair at their meanness of spirit. He reveals his deep identification
with Christ. Despite the temptation to boast of his spiritual experiences
(which he does not quite resist!), his real boast in the grace of God
which swamps his self-mistrust and overcomes his weakness.
Mark 6.1-13
Two themes: Jesus is received least where he is best known - at home.
It rings true, yet it is not to the credit of those concerned. Is it
a common feature, not to recognize the good that is under our very nose?
Then: Jesus sends out his first followers to extend his own work, whatever
the obstacles, in simplicity and trust.
- Can we bear to see that sometimes devotion to God is a matter of
take it or leave it?
- Pray to recognize when meekness has gone too far and there is need
to speak.
- Pray to see when rejection of faith has a good point and when it
is perverse,
even in ourselves.
13th July
Fourth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 10)
Amos 7.7-15
The prophet Amos was a strange and unwelcome figure, a troublemaker
with his message of doom, but he was convinced that his words were what
God required his people to hear. Such people are a scourge to our complacency.
Ephesians 1.3-14
This passage (a single sentence in Greek!) is a highly poetic piece
about Christ's high role in God's purpose, from the beginning of everything
to its final consummation, still to be revealed. This paean of praise
brings us fully into its scope, for we are the beneficiaries.
Mark 6.14-29
The grim story of John the Baptist's martyrdom stands in its own right
but is also, in the context of the Gospel as a whole, a kind of foretaste
of Jesus' own passion which is still to come. Both fall victim to authorities
that cannot bear their goodness and truth.
- Pray for readiness to accept God's word even when it disturbs and
shakes us.
- Praise God for the whole sweep of his great work through Christ
for us.
- We thank God for the stirring witness of martyrs for truth and for
God's cause.
20th July
Fifth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 11)
Jeremiah 23.1-6
s ever, the prophet stands out from the comfortable message of more
common-or-garden spiritual leaders, and here offers a message of hope:
God will restore his apparently abandoned people and restore them in
the name of his righteous purpose.
Ephesians 2.11-22
The writer rejoices that Paul's brave and crucial mission to bring gentiles
into the Christian movement alongside the original Jewish members has
been a triumphant success. It is what Christ stood for, God's love for
all, and is the richest kind of peace.
Mark 6.30-34, 53-56
Here we have a general passage about two sides of Jesus' work: withdrawal
to recuperate for the purpose of God, and then the work itself of healing
and restoration for those in need.
- We give thanks for God's gift of hope.
- Praise God for the universal scope of the gospel as it has come
to us.
- Pray to accept both the reflective and the active sides of the Christian
life.
27th July
Sixth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 12)
2 Kings 4.42-44
This miracle of Elisha's is one of a number of his great deeds as a
prophet, and it stands here as a pointer to Jesus' own feeding of the
multitude in the gospel reading. Material abundance points to the richness
of God's spiritual provision.
Ephesians 3.14-21
We hear a great statement of praise to God for the known gift of his
love to us and the boundless scale of his grace. We have the capacity
to achieve far more than we care or dare to recognize.
John 6.1-21
The feeding of the multitude stands in the Gospel of John as a sign
which Jesus than expounds in terms of himself as the true bread from
heaven. It is not just as a wonderful happening but as a sign of all
that he stands for in terms of God's saving generosity to us.
- We pray that we may be 'fed' at all levels of the life that we have
from God.
- Praise God for the scale of his gifts, so easily underestimated.
- May we open ourselves with imagination to God's love.
3rd August
Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Proper 13)
Exodus 16.2-4, 9-15
A story from Israel's endless journey in the wilderness after release
from Egyptian slavery at the first Passover. In this time of deprivation,
God feeds his people with 'manna' - which has become a word for all
unexpected and saving gifts that may come our way. For us, it prefigures
the eucharist.
Ephesians 4.1-6
his passage includes a succinct statement of faith: 'one Lord….one
baptism, one God and Father of all'. It also speaks to us of the need
for stability as Christians and for growth to spiritual maturity, in
a church equipped by God to help us towards it.
John 6.24-35
It is not the miracle of feeding itself that matters, but what it stands
for: that is, Jesus himself as the one who 'feeds' God's people amply,
drawing them into the generous life which he provides, of which the
bread of the eucharist is the vivid and effective sign.
- We pray to recognize our dependence on God for all good at all levels
of life.
- Thank God for the sinews of our faith which enable us to grow towards
him.
- We praise God for the gift of the sacrament and trust to grow in
love for Christ.
10th August
Eighth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 14)
1 Kings 19.4-8
A simple story from the life of Elijah, illustrating his plain reliance
on God's provision for his life. We note that the prophet's purpose
was to be in God's special presence at mount Horeb, a kind of equivalent
to Sinai of old.
Ephesians 4.25-5.2
Towards the end of his letters, Paul turns to moral instruction, and
here it is simple and straightforward. The heart of all Christian morality
is the need to love, just because we are ourselves already loved by
Christ who 'gave himself up for us'.
John 6.35, 41-51
The emphasis here falls on the solid permanence of God's gift of himself
to us in Christ. This is no temporary emergency aid like the manna,
but something that is 'for ever'. It belongs, that is, to a whole different
dimension of things, which we refer to as 'eternity'.
- There is room to recognize with gratitude God's simple gifts, though
they are always for a great and good purpose.
- Pray not to neglect the simple duties which are basic to human life.
- Thank God for our access to the new 'world' that means the life
of God.
17th August
Ninth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 15)
Proverbs 9.1-6
This nice little picture speaks of the attractiveness we should feel
for God's gift of 'wisdom', which means the intelligent appreciation
of the world. It is one of God's often unrecognised gifts, and bids
us go beyond emotion or solid moral conduct in our faith to the use
of our brains.
Ephesians 5.15-20
This is one of the earliest references to Christian music. So early
they had hymns to life the soul, and it is worth reflecting on this
gift of music that we so easily take for granted in the good provision
for our lives, including our religious lives before God.
John 6.51-58
The very solid and direct language here about the eucharist often causes
offence. It is partly designed to make us see the physical realism that
is part of what we call our spiritual lives. We need such material links
with God because we are people of flesh and blood who live in the world
of stuff and sense. But the subject throughout is Jesus himself.
- Give thanks for the intelligence which we can bring to our love
for God.
- We give thanks for the gift of music.
- Pray for readiness to bring our whole selves, body and soul, to
our service of
God.
24th August
Tenth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 16)
Bartholomew
Isaiah 43.8-13
An apostle of the gospel stands first for the reality of our great and
wonderful God and this passage from Isaiah makes the point with great
power and eloquence. It is a message for all people, and legends about
Bartholomew's wide-flung mission make the point in a Christian framework.
Acts 5.12-16
After appearing in lists of the twelve disciples, Bartholomew is never
mentioned again, so we read a sample episode from the Church's early
days, healings by apostles that remind us of those done by Jesus. The
servant's duty and joy is to reproduce the good that the master brought
so bountifully.
Luke 22.24-30
At the Last Supper of all occasions, Luke tells us of absurd quarrels
over position arising among the disciples. Jesus responds by taking
the place of the lowest - the servant of all. The disciples, however,
have the highest role, as leaders in the Christian community, now and
always. So we celebrate their day.
- Pray that faith be grounded in a secure awareness of the greatness
of our God.
- Give thanks that we can imitate and so share in the life-giving
work of Jesus.
- Pray to be spared sordid quarrels and ambitions that do nothing
for God's cause.
31st August
Eleventh Sunday after Trinity (Proper 17)
Deuteronomy 4.1-2, 6-9
The gift of the land to Israel was the bedrock of her faith (as we know
very well); and it carried with it obedience to God's commands, as Deuteronomy
proceeds to expound. The passage exhorts us to hold on firmly to what
we have been given, now seen by Christians in their own fresh terms;
but the principle remains valid.
James 1.17-27
The Letter of James is mostly taken up with simple moral teaching and
is easily felt to be rather unexciting: it tells us what we already
know. But we can bear the repetition from time to time - lest we forget.
Simple duties conscientiously performed can be the test of faith's reality.
Mark 7.1-8, 14-15, 21-23
A selection of verses which omits some rather technical bits between
the three passages given. The discussion springs from the Jewish emphasis
on ritual purity, secured by ritual washings. Jesus takes our eyes away
from such ceremonies and goes deeper: to the intentions of the heart
and its outcome in moral acts.
- Pray always to be aware of the sheer generosity of God to his people.
- We should not despise the small but often important duties that
come our way.
- Pray to be alert to the purity of the motives that lie behind our
outward deeds.
7th September
Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 18)
The Nativity of Mary (Patronal Festival)
Isaiah 61.10-11
The prophet rejoices in the call and the fit of God: it is as intoxicating
as a marriage and as joyful as the greatest of feasts and as the most
wonderful of the miracles of nature.
Galatians 4.4-7
This is Paul's sole reference (and it is not by name) to Jesus' parentage.
He simply makes the point that Jesus came into an ordinary human setting,
with family and social set-up, centred on the Jewish law. But how his
effect has been to transcend it and to open the way to God for all people
of whatever background.
Luke 1.46-55
The Magnificat, taken into the evening prayer of the Church, is a statement
of praise to God, on the lips of Mary, for the gift of salvation through
Jesus and a celebration of its desired effect to revolutionize our minds
and our societies.
- Pray never to lose sight of the drastic possibilities of the gospel
of Jesus for us
all.
- The mission of Jesus is full of implications at every level of our
lives.
- Praise God unstintingly for his endless generosity to us through
Christ.
14th September
Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 19)
Holy Cross Day
Numbers 21.4-9
Since Helena believed she had discovered the true cross of Jesus outside
Jerusalem in the fourth century, devotion to the cross itself has been
paid in the Church. This feast actually commemorates in part the building
of the first church on the site of the Sepulchre by the Emperor Constantine,
Helena's son, in 335. The passage was read already in John 3.14 as a
kind of picture of Jesus' being lifted up for our salvation.
Philippians 2.6-11
This passage may well be the oldest Christian hymn known, and here Paul
quotes it in his letter. It is a fine summary of the drama of Jesus:
who came into the world in all its reality, died shamefully and was
vindicated by God for ever.
Mark 8.27-38
The message that comes first via Peter's bold but unconsidered confession
is stern: to follow Jesus is to take on the cross. Mark's teaching is
without light and shade. And Peter was to illustrate the point only
too clearly when he denied his following of Jesus in the moment of trial.
- Pray to enter into the mystery of Jesus' death, both a humiliation
and a triumph.
- We praise God for his coming among us, in the depth of human reality.
- Pray for grace to accept our calling, to serve and, where necessary,
to suffer.
21st September
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 20)
Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Proverbs 3.13-18
We receive a poetic praise of wisdom as a great gift of God, valuable
beyond price and infinitely profitable to us at every level. A passage
of great beauty. We see that it takes such 'wisdom' to be the writer
of a Gospel whose influence has been endless.
2 Corinthians 4.1-6
Paul is the writer who unpacked the way an apostle of Christ must think
and function. It is a way of self-denial and forgetfulness - simply
in order to be a channel for the showing forth of the truth of the gospel
and its power. It can be a fresh creation of light, a new dawn.
Matthew 9.9-13
The only passage in the Gospels where Matthew gets the spotlight. The
promptness of his receiving of Jesus' summons is an example of how things
should be. And his being a member of a profession not accepted by Jewish
social purity yet called by Jesus makes a point that the New Testament
takes up time and again: Jesus is for all.
- Pray to share in God's wisdom as we receive Matthew's book.
- May we too be simple channels of God's creative 'light', making
no obstacle.
- Give thanks for the grace to accept promptly the demands of Christian
life.
28th September
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity Proper 21
Numbers 11.4-6, 10-16, 24-29
It is a passage about the travails of leadership, not a problem for
all of us. They come in a religious setting as in a secular one. The
recipe here is simple, sensible and homespun: share the burden. No need
to keep it to oneself. Not all leaders, in churches or elsewhere, take
to it readily, but it is both desirable for the sake of God and humans.
James 5.13-20
The Church has always had a positive attitude to those among its fellowship
who are sick and those who fall into wickedness. The world does not
easily grasp the possibility of forgiveness - and going on positively
from there. But, in one way or another, none of us is exempt from the
need - or from the great hope that follows.
Mark 9.38-50
The attitude is positive: the kingdom of God is a cause that needs all
the help that is forthcoming. Too often the trend has been the opposite:
to create fences around the Christian community that are hard to surmount.
All the same, there is a need for purity of motive and impulse.
- Pray for religious leaders: that they may have the grace to share
and to serve.
- Thank God for the forgiveness of God at work in all our lives.
- Let us be open to support of the gospel from whatever side, even
the least
expected.
|
