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Christian Resources Library
Readings July to September 2004
July
| August | September
4 July
Trinity 4
Isaiah 66.10-14
The last eleven chapters of the Book of Isaiah have a character of their
own. They are full of visionary hope and of trust that God will bring
delight and prosperity to his people. So the swing between a sense of
God's righteous judgment and his love for his own comes to rest on the
side of acceptance and welcome.
Galatians 6. (1-6), 7- 16
Paul wrote Galatians in a state of great upset that his mission to gentiles,
based on singleminded devotion to Christ and reliance on him as God's
all-sufficient gift to us, was being blurred by Jewish Christians who
wanted to impose obedience to the Jewish law. Paul will have none of
it and sees it as a matter of the deepest principle. Having dictated
most of the letter to a secretary, he takes up a furious pen himself
for the final lines.
Luke 10. 1-11, 16-20
Luke tells of missions in Galilee during Jesus' ministry and conveys
an atmosphere of great freshness and hope. We can argue how appropriate
nowadays is the attitude of 'take it or leave it' - which has its modern
imitators of course. Others prefer to discuss and ponder. Is that letting
the side down?
- A vision of how good everything could be haps a spur to collaborating
with God's cause.
- Is Paul's singlemindedness always better than compromise? Or does
it depend on the case?
- Christian mission looks different in a multi-cultural society: what
might that do to us? And where does godly wisdom lie?
11 July
Trinity 5
Deuteronomy 30. 9-14
The Book of Deuteronomy presupposes a rural society, and the atmosphere
of a harvest festival is never far away. But in this setting, it stresses
the closeness of God, especially in the precious gift of the pattern
of life that he lays down.
Colossians 1.1-14
The opening of this letter is full of thankfulness for the gifts of
God that flow from Christ and are now available to those who will receive
them. The essence is a new relationship of peace and hope, in a new
context altogether 'the kingdom of his dear Son'.
Luke 10.25-37
The point of the story is not quite as obvious as it seems. The priest
and 1-evite were correct -according to their lights, for the Law forbade
pollution by attending to a possible corpse. The Samaritan's triumph
is in going beyond any demand that his society could make of him -where
loving your neighbour meant caring for those of your own community:
and why should a heretical and rejected Samaritan (as seen in orthodox
Jewish eyes) care for those not of his own kind? In fact he leaps over
the boundary - and finds truth and goodness.
- How ready is our generosity to go beyond easy or conventional bounds
(the goodness of the flag-day contribution)?
- Can we recapture the greatness of what God has done to reconstruct
our whole standing in life?
- How should we be looking at life if God had not touched us for good?
18 July
Trinity 6
Genesis 18.1-10a
The passage is familiar as depicted in the Russian icons which see the
three heavenly visitors as a foreshadowing of the Trinity, as in later
Christian belief. It is God himself who brings to Abraham a promise
of a son (Isaac), so guaranteeing at last his being the father and source
of God's people.
Colossians 1.15-20
The first six verses of the passage may well be an early Christians
hymn, expressing belief about Christ in high poetic language: he is
nothing less than the comprehensive expression of God to us humans,
in every way and from every point of view. So how marvellous to have
received this divine mystery ('secret'), now at last revealed.
Luke 10. 38-42
This lovely little story has often seized the Christian imagination.
It is seen as setting side by side practical service and life dedicated
to prayer. There is little doubt where Jesus places the weight.
- The story of Isaac's birth reminds us how much may hang by a single
thread: so it was with the self-offering of Jesus, and so it may be
in our own lives.
- Christ meets us in all dimensions and sides of our existence - and
once it is given there is no limit to his generosity.
- A good question: how to balance (is that the right word?) the demands
of service to others and love for God? Is it a live choice - if faith
is true,?
St. Mary's only:
25 July
James the Apostle
Acts 11. 27 - 12.2
James, brother of john, son of Zebedee, is the first of Jesus' twelve
disciples to suffer death for following his Master. Luke, in the Acts
of the apostles, tells only the bare event. We note that it happened
at the same time of year as the crucifixion of Jesus, and only a few
years later.
2 Corinthians 4. 7 - 15
Paul was to suffer martyrdom about thirty years later, in Rome. Here,
he writes both of the hardship he endued as the fulfilled his calling
as an ambassador for Jesus and his gospel, and of the spirit that's
kept him going. He sees life as one with Christ himself in both hid
suffering and his triumph. His confidence is total.
Matthew 20. 20 -28
The idea of suffering for the great and good cause, the good news of
salvation, goes back to Jesus' teaching. Jesus' self-giving is the model
for his followers' own manner of life. To serve is th key to all good
in the eyes of God, and better than all worldly ambition for wealth
and power.
- Pray to identify yourself with Jesus in your deeds and attitudes.
- Seek the spirit of glad humility.
- Thank God for the early and modern heroes of faith who set the pattern
for us all.
25 July
Lectionary readings for Trinity 7
Genesis 18. 20-32
The story is irresistible for its quality of suspense. But it presents
God in a light that may now seem primitive or unworthy. Abraham is bargaining
with God and presenting what we may see as a more moral stance than
God himself. But we may reflect that his ways are not always necessarily
the same as ours would be or ought to be. Wisdom can be many-layered/
Colossians 2.6-15, (16-19)
Paul is glad that the old Jewish criteria for membership of God's people
have gone: in the new situation, there can be no compromise with God's
fresh provision. Christ suffices and stands alone as far as Christians
are concerned in their relating to God.
Luke 11. 1-13
God is generous - totally so. But we have no business to take him for
granted and we must stick to him like leeches. He is no milch-cow, no
'soft touch'.
- Can we manage to believe that Christ is all and needs no support,
no other force?
- Are there deeper ways of thinking of prayer? Is it just a matter
of persistence - or is it to do with giving ourselves to God's purposes,
come that way? Are the two perhaps related together?
1 August
Trinity 8
Eccles. 1.2, 12-14; 2.18-23
This is the one book of the Bible which non-believers really approve
of! It was written long ago by a top Jerusalem official, world-weary
and rather cynical. God hardly comes into his picture but he does believe
in 'wisdom' (ie. thoughtful competence?) - a decent ideal as far as
it goes. But we could aim higher.
Colossians 3. 1-11
At first sight, the passage simply paints the contrast between virtue
and vice, good qualities and bad. But Paul's main point is to show how
the life of virtue springs straight from the gift of Christ and the
impulse that comes to us from him. We do not chance ourselves; he changes
us, and he is 'all in all'.
Luke 12.13-21
Here is the answer to the worldly-wise Gentleman in Ecclesiastes. Earthly
prudence and success are all very well, but they are not the last word,
and our hearts had better look further. God is less stuffy than we are.
- Pray to see that plain good sense is not the last word.
- The new life in Christ is the starting-point and virtues follow
on.
- Where exactly is the snare to be found in riches and what does it
mean to be 'rich' towards God
8 August
Trinity 9
Genesis 15.1-6
In Judaism's sense of itself, Abraham is the great father-figure, from
whom the whole of Israel has sprung. We may see this as both wonderful
- and yet restrictive. The picture here is of a beginning, not an end.
Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16
Abraham appears in this grand visionary passage as a man of faith: he
trusted God when all sense stood against him. Even so, says the writer,
even greater things lay in store for us.
Luke 12.32-40
Expectation, excitement and alertness: these child-like qualities are
required of us if we are to be ready for God's astound in a generosity
to us, summed up in the image of 'the kingdom'.
- It is good to be always amazed at the great promise concealed in
small things.
- In part, 'faith' means simply trust - a disposition rather than
a body of beliefs.
- Such trust then entails being a ready for whatever God asks or gives.
St Mary's only:
15 August
The Blessed Virgin Mary
Galatians 4. 4 - 7
In Paul's letters, the oldest writings in the New Testament, Mary is
never mentioned by name, and here we have the passing reference to her
role. Jesus' is God's agent for our good; but he is not strange being,
as from outer space: he is born of a woman', in the real world, at a
particular time and place. He truly was 'one of us'.
Luke 1. 46 - 55
Mary's song, the Magnificat, coming as the birth of Jesus approaches,
is both a giving of sheer praise to God and a summing os God' policy:
he is all for reversing human values and turning them upside down. His
followers sometimes manage to believe him and to help his purpose on,
but it takes the greatest purity of heart and strength of spirit.
- Thank God for the example of Mary's joy and self-offering as she
gives herself to God's service.
- We pray that the Church may imitate her spirit of sacrifice and
radical goodness
15 August
Lectionary readings for Trinity 10
Jeremiah 23.23-29
Religious leaders are as liable to deceive (themselves and us) as are
other kinds of leaders, and it is not always easy to tell who and what
is genuine or wholesome. Jeremiah seems to think that if the message
is severe and tough (and therefore unpopular), it is more likely to
be the real thing.
Hebrews 11.29-12.2
This is a passage whose beauty and strength are only spoiled by comment.
It depicts Christian confidence without nasty triumphalism, and the
sense of having arrived is absolute. It is heartening to take it on
board.
Luke 12.49-56
Jesus and his early followers did not minimize the upset and stir they
were causing. 'Family values' were not at the top of their agenda -
if they got in the way of the challenge of service to God. Whirlwinds
do not stop to consider our instinct for peace and quiet.
- Pray for the gift of discernment among the clamour of voices that
come to us.
- Our journey has an end that is assured and we proceed simply 'by
faith'.
- We shrink from upset and division: is that always the highest of
aims?
22 August
Trinity 11
Jeremiah 1.4-10
Vocation is a mysterious business, and surprising people can find themselves
taking on amazing tasks, sometimes early in life and despite the tut-tuts
of others.
Hebrews 12.18-29
A hard passage to engage with; but its point is to keep us aware of
the bewildering mystery and power with which God surrounds us. There
is a proper fearfulness and sense of being overwhelmed by what is given
to us/
Luke 13.10-17
Like other stories of healing on the sabbath, this one tells us of Jesus'
priorities: nothing, in the way of rules or conventions, must stand
in the way of God's restoring love.
- The call of God may be no respecter of social good sense: but how
can we tell when it is genuine?
- We needs to hold on to a sense of God's endless mysteriousness:
beyond our easy summing-up.
- Rules may be made to be broken - in the greatest of good causes.
29 August
Trinity 12
Proverbs 25.6-7
The ancient world, as witnessed in both Old and New Testaments, was
even more conscious of pecking-orders, honour and shame, than we are.
It takes an effort of imagination to feel as acutely as they felt. (Or
perhaps it doesn't?)
Hebrews 13. 1-8, 15-16
The statement about perhaps entertaining angels unawares refers to the
story of the heavenly visitors to Abraham who promise Isaac's birth
(Genesis 18). But it is the words about the utter dependability of Jesus
that stay in the mind.
Luke 14. 1, 7-14
This story of musical chairs has a serous point: there is virtue in
even- the humdrum exercise of humility - and also in (occasional?) recklessness
of hospitality: it purges the heart and the conscience. A breath of
open fresh air with a serious point to it.
- Homely social and courteous gestures can be costly - but also of
big moral benefit.
- What does it mean to take Jesus as the rock we must rely upon?
- Behind humility lies genuine 'not caring' about the things that
fortify our pride.
5 September
Trinity 13
Deuteronomy 30. 15-20
Israel is poised on the point of entry, at long last, into the land
of promise; and it is a moment of huge seriousness - and of choice.
Will she stay faithful to the Giver of all her good?
Philemon 1-21
Perhaps this brief letter survived because it was precious to a particular
person, most likely Onesimus, the slave in whose interest Paul intercedes
and whose service he himself needs. Not long after, a man of that name
was head of the church in Ephesus, a major Christian centre. A 'maybe'
of early Christian history. Paul is shown here at his most attractive.
Luke 14. 25-33
Here is some of the most stringent and forbidding teaching in the Gospels:
the service of Jesus will be hard; and it is no good cutting corners
as we read these words. Can we survive them?
- The reality and severity of choice, for or against God, faced Israel
- and faces us all.
- Christian life often boils down to small-scale matters of kindness
and help; but even they can be full of spiritual promise.
12 September
Trinity 14
Exodus 32. 7-14
The story of the golden calf has become the classic picture of idolatry
and falling away from God. And yet God stays faithful. It has its echoes
on the levels of both individuals and groups.
1 Timothy 1. 12-17
The passage gives the most familiar images, of Paul the persecutor who
turned to be an apostle. He saw this as a gift of sheer unmerited grace,
and it dominated his faith. He never ceased to sing of it as the pattern
of God's loving dealings with us.
Luke 15. 1-10
The main point is clear. But is there a touch of irony in the reference
to 'ninety-Dine who need no repentance'? If you count yourself among
them, you show you haven't got the point - do you not?
- We reflect on the business of turning to God and being accepted
by him:
- it is a gift we easily let slip and even abandon
- it is a gift that comes not by our deserving but by his pure generosity
- he is relentless in his longing to count us in: why bother to hide?
19 September
Trinity 15
Amos 8. 4-7
The prophet Amos is notable for his strong message of social justice
and protest - against the tricks of the better-off in their exploiting
of the poor. And who shall say (and why?) that religion has no bearing
on politics?
1 Timothy 2.1-7
This is the earliest example of 'establishment' religion from a Christian
voice - and you can almost hear already the Tudor English Prayer Book.
It is the other side of the coin from the message of Amos. Christians
do have a duty to help construct a stable society, one of the greatest
(and most fragile) of all goods: so long as it is just.
Luke 16. 1-13
It is the most obscure and even shocking story of all those told by
Jesus. Why exactly is the dishonest man commended? Probably because
at least he had the sense to act, in the crisis of his life. Whether
we know it or not, we too are in a fix - and need above all to act,
and to give ourselves to God's cause.
- The voice of godly protest is surely to be encouraged, even demanded.
- Yet stability is so great a good that it should never be lightly
threatened.
- And the deepest crisis we face concerns the root of our allegiance:
where does our heart lie?
26 September
Trinity 16
Amos 6. 1a, 4-7
Amos does not like the rich! And who can deny that affluence brings
serious moral perils. Never mind - they can be overcome: by generosity
of heart and pocket. Simple remedies. Oh dear.
1 Timothy 6.6-19
A passage full of familiar 'quotes'. It plunges us into seriousness
- and its sole basis is the example of Jesus, especially his conduct
in his Passion. That is where he most plainly discloses God to us and
brings us to him.
Luke 16.19-31
The parable is a picture of extremes: callous self-indulgence on the
one hand, and abject degradation on the other. We are more used to some
softening at the edges - though we may not need to go far to find situations
pretty close to those in the story. But here, the fault of the rich
lies in the hard casing on the conscience nothing (not even a resurrection)
can get through it.
- Which of us is immune to the battering inflicted in today's readings?
- Jesus lived in a largely desperately poor and pitiless society,
and we do not. Can we enter the spirit of these words?
- How exactly does corruption through affluence bite?
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