Christian Resources Library

Notes on the readings
October to December 2006

October | November | December

Sunday 1 October 2005
Harvest

Joel 2. 21-27
Israel was a rural country, so that the prosperity of the land was the key to the good life. The prophet is glad to give assurance of the generosity of God for the essentials of life.

1 Timothy 2. 1-7
This is the earliest formal reaching out of a Christian church to the official structures of society. Whatever their ideology may be, they are necessary for the good of all and must be brought willingly into the purview of prayer. And one hopes they will see the truth of God for themselves.

Matthew 6. 25-33
This beautiful passage contains strong meat: can we take it? Anxiety seems so natural to us and is so easily prompted by the realities of life. Struggle is a feature of so many of our lives, but the underlying reality of faith can give us a vital kind of carefree spirit: God is to be relied on, ultimately.

• We give thanks to God for all that makes our life on earth possible.
  
• And we pray for those millions who lack the basic sustenance of life.
  
• Can we bear to serve God in simplicity of heart?

Sunday 8 October 2006
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Genesis 2. 18-24
We receive the basic text that gives a blessing to the basic naturalness of marriage. Its purpose, as seen here, is simply to provide company in a lonely world. We are only truly ourselves in interaction with others, especially those closest to us, among whom we can both give and receive.

Hebrews 1. 1-4; 2.5-12
This passage states a high doctrine of Jesus: he has put his stamp on the whole of God's creation and is now exalted to highest heaven. Yet he did come, wonderfully, 'for a little while', to be lower than the angels, then to receive highest honour. It is a dramatic picture, expounding verses of Psalm 8.

Mark 10. 2-16
The Genesis passage helps us to see why Jesus, looking to human fundamentals, sees divorce as a tragedy that should not occur. It casts us back into isolation which makes for our isolation and misery. Yet there is a simplicity that is the best route to the kingdom of God.

• We give thanks for the underlying simplicity and wholesomeness of our basic
  relationships.
  
• For the eye of faith, Jesus is all-embracing in his significance and we give
  praise.
  
• We pray for the strengthening of the institution of marriage.

Sunday 15 October 2006
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Amos 5. 6-7, 10-15
The prophet Amos was one of the first we know of to attack to evils of society itself, a forerunner of many, down to our own day. He stands against the complacency which leads so many to accept social evils so long as they are profitable. Down to our own day.

Hebrews 4. 12-16
Jesus is called 'high priest', and this writing works out the image in detail later. The role in mind is that of mediator: the priest stands 'between' humans and God, making due offerings on their behalf, for the sake of their good.

Psalm 90. 13 - 17
In suffering we must still trust that God does not abandon us, whatever the appearance.

Mark 10. 17-31
First, Jesus goes behind even the Ten Commandments to the command to love: that has absolute priority now (and so he stops the mouths of noisy moralists). Then he attacks the rich: there is no doubt that wealth is a great comfort and a distraction from the things of God - and in the world brought by Jesus values are quite different.

• Pray to be alert to the demands of the society in which we live.
  
• We may long for guidance, but the demand that we 'love' may be all we truly
  need.
  
• In what ways can we relax the hold of possessions upon our hearts?

Sunday 22 October 2006
Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Isaiah 53. 4-12
This chapter of Isaiah, whose original reference is obscure, is now often known as the Song of the Suffering Servant of God. All through Christian history it has been read as throwing light on what happened to Jesus and helping us to reflect on his self-giving, mysteriously, for the good of all, in the name of our holy and generous God.

Hebrews 5. 1-10
The writer picked up on Psalm 110.4, which refers to the obscure priest king of Jerusalem who comes in a story in Genesis 14. He sees him as a symbol of Jesus: the high priest is a mediator between his people and God, humbly offering prayer and sacrifice, in the case of Jesus his own self, body and soul.

Mark 10. 35-45
Jesus renounces all human greatness: he takes on the role of the servant, as in Isaiah 53, who gives himself 'for many'. And we take this all for us as we share in baptism and drink the cup of the Eucharist.

• Pray to accept the humility of Christ and into our own lives.
  
• Thank God for Jesus who stands for us with God and for God with us.
  
• Praise God for the gifts of baptism and Eucharist, joining us to himself.

Sunday 29 October 2006
Bible Sunday

Isaiah 55. 1-11
The theme is the sheer generosity of God, like an abundant source of all provision for our lives. His goodness comes too in our inner lives, in forgiveness and in his utter faithfulness to us.

2 Timothy 3. 14-4.5
When this letter was written, perhaps seventy years after Jesus' life-time, there was beginning to be a worry about believers straying from the received gospel message. Ever since, it has been a problem for Christian people, perhaps especially our leaders and teachers: needing sensitivity and care, lest faith should be bruised or stifled.

John 5. 36-47
Here, Jesus is put forward as the key to unlock the great meaning of scripture, the clue to what, taken as a whole, may seem unwieldy and obscure, as well as inspiring and feeding the soul. Without this key, we can easily go astray in our reading and pondering.

• We give thanks for the gift of scripture and pray to read wisely and well.
  
• Pray always to read in the light of Christ.
  
• Pray for humility to receive from the Church just as we make our own
  contribution.

5th November
All Saints Sunday

Isaiah 25. 6-9
We read of a poetic vista of wonderful prosperity and happiness to come for the people of God. Our destiny is with him and he is the key to our true fulfilment.
It puts some popular beliefs about the future in the shade.

Revelation 21. 1-6a
This vision of God's future in store for his people takes up some of the imagery of Isaiah, but goes further. His intent is nothing less than a new creation - and God has all in his hand, from beginning to end. All we need to do is to accept him.

Matthew 5. 1-12
We focus on the Christian ideal of sanctity. The beatitudes paint a picture of where true blessedness lies - in all kinds of qualities often in short supply, and even in some that we would rather not have too much of, like mourning and persecution. But they are to be the key to our true and deepest joy.

• Our hope, now and for ever, lies only in God, who gives us what he wills
  
• Thank God for opening the door to sanctity for us and giving us hope.
  
• Our future is beyond our imagining, so we focus simply on God and we trust.

Sunday 12 November 2006
Remembrance Sunday

Wisdom of Solomon 3. 1-9
A familiar passage about the departed, on whom we focus at this time. The writer expresses the faith that, in the great goodness of God, they are accepted by him - not as a 'natural right' but as a gift from our creator and loving saviour.

Romans 5. 5-11
November is the time when we remember the dead, whoever they are. Here, Paul helps us to spread our hearts to the width of God's love shown in Christ, whose goal is to reconcile us to himself, the fulfilment of our whole being.

John 5. 19-25
The Gospel paints our destiny with God not as a right which is our very own, but as a gift, to receive and welcome or to neglect or reject. Love for God cannot be compelled and salvation is not imposed; but is for us to reach up gladly and receive with open hearts.

• Pray to share the grief and gratitude of those who mourn.
  
• Pray for all who have given themselves for the sake of others.
  
• Give thanks to God for the destiny which God offers to us.

Sunday 19 November 2006
Second Sunday before Advent

Daniel 12 1-3
The ancient Jews did not come to a belief in life after death until very late in the pre-Christian time: it may surprise us that its absence did not impair their trust in God. Here, from 167 BC, is one of the few witnesses to this belief. It came in terms of 'resurrection', renewed life as a pure gift from the hand of God.

Hebrews 10. 11-14, (15-18), 19-25
The picture is of the high priest in old Judaism entering the heart of the temple, 'through the curtain', to offer the great sacrifice that would take away the people's sins. For the writer, it stands as a foreshadowing of Jesus, who also, we may say, 'went through' his own human life and death to the goal of heaven for us all.

Psalm 16
God is the source of our hope ad the place of our confidence, even in adversity.

Mark 13. 1-8

Before his passion, Jesus considers the temple in Jerusalem and sees its transience: its end will come and there will be much strife and confusion. Jews commonly saw such strife as the precursor to the coming of God's victory, and the contrast comes into Christian hopes - and fears.

• Pray for a firmer hope in the great generosity of God.
  
• Give thanks for the binding gift of Jesus' self-offering.
  
• Can we accept the grief which seems to be the essential gate to fulfilment?

Sunday 26 November2006
Christ the King

Daniel 7. 9-10, 13-14
This was an important passage when read by early Christians. It gave a picture of the coming end of things, with God's judgment of the human race in great and solemn majesty. 'One like a human being' is, literally, 'a son of man': it was taken in the Gospels to paint the picture of Jesus as lord and judge on God's behalf.

Revelation 1. 4b-8
Inspired by the vision in Daniel, the writer fixes his attention on Jesus as assuredly God's agent for judgment and salvation. It is one of the most splendid and glorious pictures of Jesus' role, expressing total faith in him and praise for his gifts to his own.

John 18. 33b-37
Jesus' trial before Pilate centres on the theme of kingship. Where is true sovereignty to be found? In Pilate and all he stands for, that is, worldly power at its most far-reaching and extensive, or in the powerless and wretched prisoner, Jesus or Nazareth? The writer of the Gospel has no hesitation in deciding.

YEAR C BEGINS

Sunday 3 December 2006
First Sunday of Advent

Jeremiah 33. 14-16
The prophet, writing at a time of gloom and uncertainty, sees future joy in terms of a new king of the old house of David. In such a one lies hope of better things. Christians often came to make much of Jesus' having such an ancestry.

1 Thessalonians 3. 9-13
This passage from the oldest of Paul's letters expresses movingly the apostle's affection and concern for his new gentile converts in Thessalonica in northern Greece. He has all the instincts of the true pastor, here on view from the very beginning of the Church's life.

Luke 21. 25-36
Each of the first three Gospels contains a vivid picture of the coming winding-up of the world with the return of Jesus in triumph and judgment. That early hope was not fulfilled, but the essential confidence in God which it expresses remains, even if we might put it less dramatically. But how do we feel it and know it?

• Pray not to be so absorbed by the present that we cannot raise our eyes beyond.
  
• Thank God for the strength of Christian community which warms our hearts.
  
• Pray for the strengthening of confidence in God's future always open to us.

Sunday 10 December2006
Second Sunday of Advent

Malachi 3. 1-4
This late prophet of Israel looks forward to God's great Day, with its dramatic force and frightening realism. No good underplaying the majesty of God's future in store for us: he is not to be trifled with and we must be watchful, always poised and alert before him.

Philippians 1. 3-11
Paul often began his letters with thanksgiving for the faith and love he saw in his converts. In this case, it is particularly heartfelt: he is in prison and Christians from Philippi have attended to his welfare. He is confident that their virtue will be rewarded.

Luke 3. 1-6
Luke the evangelist is a man with a feel for the world about him and he dates the start of Jesus' ministry carefully to AD29 (as we call it, less cumbersomely than he had to do!). And that ministry begins with the ground-laying preaching of John the Baptist, full of promise for what is to come.

• Vigilance before God is a quality we can easily forget.
  
• The warmth of Christian common life is to be cherished.
  
• Pray to sense the historical reality of Jesus' coming to his great work.

Sunday 17 December 2006
Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3. 14-20
The special strength of this passage from old Jewish prophecy lies in its stress of God being 'in your midst': his presence is not just a hope for the future, but is recognized in the here and now. It is a confidence which early Christians were glad to share, with joy and excitement. So may we.

Philippians 4. 4-7
Familiar words, in liturgy and in musical settings. It is a passage of deep reassurance, coming remarkably from Paul in the midst of a time in prison for his faith: his calm and confidence are worth dwelling upon.

Luke 3. 7-18
John does not simply baptize with a view to renewed service of God but also gives simple and direct moral instruction, appropriate to his audience. It is strictly practical, addressed to everyday temptations.

• Pray to enter into a sense of God's real presence among us, not to be doubted.
  
• Pray for the ability to keep underlying serenity before God in the face of
  troubles.
  
• We hope not to neglect the simple duties that lie before us.

Sunday 24 December 2006
Fourth Sunday of Advent

Micah 5. 2-5a
A passage seized upon in early Christianity in relation to Jesus' birth at Bethlehem, with its ancient associations with King David. It helped to kindle the hope of his saving role, if not political then certainly crucial in God's purposes, now seen afresh.

Hebrews 10. 5-10
A central theme of this writing is the way Jesus has superseded the crucial role in Judaism of the sacrifices in the temple at Jerusalem, as ordered in the old Law of Moses. In his own very self, Jesus perfects all that they sought to do: the restoring of our relationship with God, spoiled by sin and the defects of our lives.

Luke 1. 39-45,
The encounter between Mary and Elizabeth makes a familiar and beautiful scene, full of a sense of expectation of a wonderful future in store. Mary's song puts the hope into words: God seeks to transform human life at all levels and will achieve it by his generous gift.

• Pray for the fulfilment of our dearest hopes in the life and meaning of Jesus.
  
• We trust that the offering of Jesus will stay in our hearts and minds.
  
• Trust that the encounter with Jesus may renew us at all levels of life with God.

Sunday 24 December 2006
Midnight Mass

Titus 2. 11 - 14
God's gift of himself in Jesus is unlimited in its scope.  It is for the great good of everyone.

John 1. 1 - 14
Jesus is no sudden fresh thought of God's, but the climax of his meaning and purpose right from the start.

• Thank God for opening up the widest of horizons.
• We repent of our failures of vision and imagination.

Monday 25 December 2006
Christmas Day

Isaiah 9. 2 - 7
A birth is usually an occasion for rejoicing and hope.  But this birth carries great promise for us all.

Luke 2. 1 - 14 (15 - 20)
Jesus' birth was both an obscure event, known to a mere handful, and universal in its scope and purpose.

• We praise God for the gift of Jesus: let us adore him.
• Pray to feel the wonder of God's simplicity.

Sunday 31 December 2006
First Sunday after Christmas

1 Samuel 2. 18 - 20, 26
Samuel, dedicated from birth to the special service of God, makes a good pattern for the child Jesus.

Colossians 3. 12 - 17
Paul's teaching about the moral life is basic, plain - and joyful; not irksome, harsh or burdensome.

 Luke 2. 41 - 52
The boy Jesus devotes himself to the holy learning of his people - humbly and devoutly.

• Pray for the spirit of devout patience before God.
• Thank God for the daily joy of the service of God.
• Praise God for his loving guidance.