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EXODUS 16:2-4, 9-15
After their miraculous deliverance from slavery in
Egypt by crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelites pressed on into the
wilderness. When they complained to Moses that they would starve, further
evidence of God's guidance and providence was given in flocks of quails and
a flaky substance they called manna (Hebrew for "what is it?") in
plentiful supply for their daily needs |
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RUTH 1:1-18 The delightful short story of Ruth has an unusual place
in the Old Testament. It is a beautiful folk tale which became a moral tract
about welcoming foreigners as one of the people of God and ancestor of
Israel's greatest king. The hidden theology of the story assures us of the
working out of God's purpose in human affairs, desperate as the times may
seem. |
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RUTH 3:1-5; 4:13-17 The climax to the story comes through a
clever plan by Ruth's mother-in-law, Naomi, to provide Ruth with
security by marrying her kinsman, Boaz. Behind this plan lay the
ancient Israelite custom of the nearest relative having responsibility
for a widow's care. The child of Ruth and Boaz became the crowning
glory of the whole story: he was the grandfather of King David. |
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I SAMUEL 1:4-20 AND 1 SAMUEL 2:1-10 These readings tell the
story of Hannah and the song she sang when she dedicated her son,
Samuel, to serve God. The early church saw it as a prefiguring of the
birth of the Messiah. Almost certainly Luke used it as the model for
his narrative of the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Mary and
her song in Luke 1. The canticle can be read as the psalm for the day. |
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1 SAMUEL 2:18-20, 26 How does
a family bring up children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" as
one traditional baptismal liturgy reads? This scripture tells us that it can
best be done by exposing them to the worship and teaching of our faith. |
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I SAMUEL 15:34-16:13 The story of how Samuel was led by God
to anoint David as king of Israel instead of Saul may sound strange to
our modern ears. Yet it fits well with the view found throughout the
Old Testament that God is very much involved in the working out of
human history. |
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I SAMUEL
17:32-49. The story of David and Goliath reads as one of the
great feats of Israel’s legendary hero-king. It comes from a cycle of
early narratives about Israel’s first king, Saul, and his more famous
successor, David. Where Saul failed David succeeded in a continuing
conflict with invading Philistines, a sea-going people who had settled
along the Mediterranean coast. |
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2 SAMUEL 1:1, 17-27 David's lament at the death of his
king, Saul, and his close friend, Jonathan, has the majesty of
beautiful poetry. Many scholars have attributed it to David himself.
If so, it may be one of the earliest pieces of Hebrew literature
dating from before 1000 BC. While it mourns the king and his son who
were killed in battle, it lacks all religious feeling. It is more of a
dirge similar to what one hears when a British monarch dies. |
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2 SAMUEL 5:1-5, 9-10 The first part of this passage is one
version of the tradition of how David became king of Israel. As a
successful military leader, he was the people's choice as well the as
divinely anointed sovereign. He first established Hebron as his
capital; then he captured the fortress of Jerusalem and made it his
capital city. The intervening verses between the two segments of the
passage are confusing due to a corrupt Hebrew text. |
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2 SAMUEL 6:1-5, 12b-19 Many celebrations include
experiences of both boundless joy and a measure of sadness. Such was
the case too when David brought the ark of the covenant, Israel's
foremost religious symbol, to Jerusalem. In a frenzy of jubilation,
David danced among the happy throngs that accompanied the ark on its
way. But David's wife, Michal, was ashamed of her husband's nearly
naked display of religious enthusiasm. |
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2
SAMUEL 7:1-14a Having pacified and united the nation, David
sought to build a temple in which to house the ark of the covenant,
but was denied. The story reflects a struggle between a more ancient
tradition of the ark in a moveable tent or tabernacle in contrast to
the custom in other cultures of having the main religious symbol
housed in a more permanent temple. |
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2 SAMUEL 11:1-15.
The story of David's double sins of adultery and calculated murder form the
introduction to a new and troubled phase of the monarch's reign. His adultery
with Bathsheba and his plan to cover it up by causing the death of her husband,
Uriah, remains to this day the symbol of a very human failure: through pride
great leaders often bring about their own demise. |
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2 SAMUEL
11:26-12:13a The confrontation between David and Nathan, the
prophet, brings to the fore the magnitude of David’s adultery with
Bathsheba, another man’s wife. The story is one of the most powerful in the
whole sequence of hero-legends about Israel’s greatest king. The story makes
the point, however, that even the greatest cannot misuse God-given authority
and power for selfish ends. |
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2 SAMUEL
18:5-9, 15, 31-33 Without doubt this is one of the most moving
stories from the whole of David’s reign. It actually told about God’s love
for Israel in a very personal parable. A palace revolution set Absolam, one
of David’s sons, against his father ending in David’s flight and a bloody
battle for power. Absolam suffered an accident and was slain by David’s
ambitious general, Joab. When told the tragic news, David wept bitterly for
his rebellious son, as God weeps for all whom God loves. |
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2 SAMUEL 23:1-7 The author of this hymn of praise, regarded
as King David's last words, saw them as a fitting conclusion to the
long narrative of David's reign. Jews and Christians alike saw it as a
prediction of the coming of God's anointed Messiah, in fulfillment of
an everlasting covenant with God's faithful people. The last two
verses of this reading also describe the destruction of those who do
not believe. |
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I KINGS 2:10-12;
3:3-14 When Solomon succeeded David as king of Israel, he prayed
for the wisdom he needed to rule over God’s chosen people. The story
reflects an attitude toward Solomon probably contained in a laudatory
biography with a few additional sentences from the point of view of the
compilers of the Book of Deuteronomy in the late 7th century BC. |
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I KINGS 17:8-16 The miracle of the cruse that did not fail
is one of the great stories of the OT. It points to a cardinal
doctrine of Israel's faith tradition: the providence of God in the
most extreme circumstances. This doctrine finds expression in concern
for one's neighbors implicit in the latter six of the Ten Commandments
and the Deuteronomic Law of love for neighbors which Jesus quoted. |
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II KINGS 4:42-44
Surprise! The New Testament Gospels include several stories of
Jesus which were dependent on Old Testament passages. This pericope from the Elisha cycle could well have been the basis for the miracle of the feeding of
the five thousand. |
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ESTHER 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 The Book of Esther tells the heroic story of a
Jewish woman married to the king of Persia, Xerxes (in the Bible, Ahasuerus),
who saved her people in the 5th century BC. It is a well-told tale still
read in its entirety in synagogues on the Jewish Feast of Purim, said
to have originated in this event. It also has relevance for the 20th
century history of the Holocaust. |
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JOB 1:1; 2:1-10 This long poetic work
comes from a large body of "wisdom literature," only some of which was
included in the Hebrew scriptures. Job is unusual in that it deals with a
single theological issue: the problem of suffering. |
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JOB 23:1-9, 16-17
This is an excerpt from a powerful lament in which Job complains that
God has ignored his truly righteous behaviour and thwarted his every attempt
to obtain any kind of encounter with God. The whole poem extends to 24:25
and ends, not with a vow as in the traditional style of a lament, but in a
challenge to Job’s accusers. |
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JOB 38:1-11
The great drama dealing with the problem of innocent suffering
comes to a crashing climax with God speaking directly to Job in a long
series of unanswerable questions. God challenges Job to accept
the reality that as Creator, God is more powerful than mere humans
like himself. The fundamental question, however, is never answered. |
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JOB
38:1-7, (34-41) In this long poem dealing with the problem of
suffering, Job's friends and a fourth participant, Elihu, have all said
their pieces. None have satisfactorily answered the eternal question: Why do
the innocent suffer? |
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JOB 42:1-6, 10-17
Job's story ends with the old man acknowledging his humble status before
God and repenting his hostility toward God for not giving him all the
answers he sought to the problem of suffering. His fortunes are restored
twofold when he prays for his friends. |
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PSALM 1 This psalm is actually the introduction to
the whole Psalter. It sets forth the theme of the whole collection of
Israel's religious poetry and hymnody as "a book for the pious." As one
commentator put it, this psalm speaks to all ages too in saying that we all
"must reckon with the Lord, who is ever mindful of our ways and our
deserts." |
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PSALM 8
The psalmist first contemplates the glory of God manifested in the wonders
of the heavens. And yet, the psalmist reflects not only on the minute place
of humanity in such a vast universe. The environmental issues for us are
vastly different than they were when this psalm was composed. Sadly, by
taking the text literally, we have excessively exploited our role as God's
vice-regents with "dominion" over nature. |
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PSALM
9:9-20. This is an excerpt from a longer psalm originally
consisting of Psalms 9 and 10. It is both a hymn of thanksgiving for
God’s help (vss. 9-12); and an appeal for God’s favour (vss. 13-14),
and for judgment against wicked enemies (vss. 15-20). |
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PSALM 14 Profound
wisdom and a deep sense of social justice lies behind this psalm: Before God all
people are sinful. It ends with a plaintive hope that God will deliver Israel
from some unstated ill fortune. |
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PSALM 16 This psalm of trust meditates on the spiritual
values enjoyed by the psalmist in serving God alone. It yields
pleasures and security which those who worship other gods cannot
enjoy. |
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PSALM 19 No greater evidence of the glory of God
exists, says this psalmist, than the majestic order of creation and the
orderliness of God's law. It is also possible that we have here two psalms
woven together in vv. 1-6 and 7-14. The first part shows some
similarity to Egyptian poem honouring a sun god. The latter part expresses
purely Hebrew religious ideas. |
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PSALM 20.
Like a number of psalms, this one offers prayers for an anointed
king. It pleads for God’s help at a time when the monarch is menaced
by foes from within and without his country. |
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PSALM
22:1-15 This psalm expresses intensely the longing for deliverance
from suffering. It also became a model for the crucifixion story in
Christian tradition. Many of the details of that narrative were taken
directly from this psalm - e.g. vss. 1, 7 and 18. |
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PSALM 23 No psalm is better known or more loved as a prayer of trust in God
who cares for us now and forever. It cannot be correctly attributed to
David, however, as ancient tradition supposed and generations have
followed. |
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PSALM 24 This psalm celebrates two crucial elements of
Israel's religious tradition: the whole creation as the possession of
God alone and the temple as the visible symbol of God's presence
within creation. |
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PSALM 25:1-10
The special relationship between God and Israel as well as the personal
faith of the individual Israelite form the central theme of this
instructional psalm. In Hebrew, each verse begins with a different letter of
the Hebrew language. This was done for easier memorization. |
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PSALM 26 This
psalm is a fitting accompaniment to the lesson from Job. It protests the
innocence of faithfulness of an individual worshipper. Integrity is the
operative word throughout as he or she pleads for God's vindication. |
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PSALM 29. Although beginning with praise to
God, the emphasis in this psalm is on the voice of God as if heard in the
violence of a thunderstorm. |
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PSALM 30 The psalmist praises God for saving him from death
in a critical illness. After at first expressing a certain
overconfidence about God’s favor, he realizes how much he owes to God
for answering his prayer of distress. |
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PSALM 34:1-8 This
psalm presents one of the clearest statements of God’s redemptive purpose to
be found in the Old Testament. |
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PSALM
34:9-14 This psalm declares an almost absolute
trust in God to provide all the answers to life's great questions. The
psalmist claims, however, that only the righteous can have such a
relationship with God. |
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PSALM 47
This psalm celebrates the absolute sovereignty of God over all nations. It may
have been used as a jubilant hymn in the liturgy for the new year festival when
God was enthroned as Israel’s sovereign. |
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psalm praises Jerusalem as the holy city of God. It still retains this
designation for three great religious traditions - Judaism,
Christianity and Islam - all for different reasons. |
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PSALM
51:1-12 Because of the superscription many assume that this psalm
refers directly to David’s sin, but that is highly unlikely. Psalm titles
were added much later by scribes seeking to relate as many of them to
David’s life on the mistaken assumption that he was author of the psalms.
Nonetheless this one is a very beautiful prayer of repentance. |
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PSALM 54 This brief prayer for
God’s help has the normal features of a lament: appeal (vss. 1-2); complaint
(vs. 3); petition (vss. 4-5); and vow (vss. 6-7). There is no evidence of
any particular date, although the late compilers of the Psalter found a
fancied connection with David’s life to attribute it to him. |
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PSALM 78:23-29
The whole psalm celebrates God’s mighty acts
on behalf of the Israelites during their migration toward the promised land.
In this segment the psalmist recalls the instance of them being fed with
manna and quail at a time of threatened famine. |
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PSALM 85:8-13 God’s steadfast love and faithfulness offers
hope and rich blessings to God’s people. |
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PSALM 89:20-37 This paean of praise for David was written
in the first person as if God was speaking. It dates from a later time
after the elite of Israel had been taken into exile in Babylon (586
BC). The hero-stories of David then served both a religious and
political purpose in retaining a meaningful national identity after
that disaster. It reads more like a prophetic oracle than a hymn. |
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PSALM 90:12-17 This psalm is still used
to celebrate the transitory nature of nature of human life and the eternal
security we have in God. It may originally have existed in two different
parts, verses 1-12 and 13-17. This excerpt emphasizes our human need to
maintain a faithful relationship with God throughout our lives. |
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PSALM 91:9-16 This psalm
proclaims the traditional faith that total dependence on God brings
providential protection from evil. God does this graciously and mercifully
because it is God's nature to do so, not as a reward for good behaviour. |
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PSALM 92:1-4, 12-15 The psalmist has occasion to offer thanks
to God. His gratitude arises out of long experience of God’s goodness
during a long life. |
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PSALM 93 This is another psalm proclaiming the sovereignty of God over all
creation. |
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PSALM 96 |
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PSALM 97 |
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PSALM 98 This
triumphant hymn may well have been used in the temple ritual for the Jewish New
Year when Israel celebrated the enthronement of God as sovereign of the world.
Not only God's special people, but the whole earth and all of nature are
summoned to join in the praise. |
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PSALM 104:1-9, 24. This magnificent hymn of praise blesses God as
the Creator and Upholder of all. Creation and control of nature by a
supernatural power found expression in many cultures of the ancient world.
The Jewish faith affirmed that the God of Israel brought all things into
being and saw that they were good. |
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PSALM 104:24-34 This psalm celebrated the work of Spirit of
God in creation and providence through the Spirit. It is possible that
this hymn had a parallel in an ancient Egyptian hymn to the sun. |
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PSALM 107:1-3, 23-32 This psalm celebrates the steadfast love of
God toward the redeemed of Israel showing how God brought them through
great trials. |
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PSALM 111 This classic
psalm praises the works and wisdom of God. Words such as precepts, wisdom
and understanding represent the point of view of the writers of wisdom
literature such as Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. |
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PSALM 116:1-9 This song of thanksgiving
praises God for an apparent recovery from critical illness. It may have been
sung by an individual worshiper making a thank-offering in the presence of a
congregation gathered in the temple court. |
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PSALM 119:1-8 The whole psalm was written in the form of
an acrostic, each verse of each section beginning with the same letter of
the Hebrew alphabet. In this section, for instance, each verse begins with
Aleph, corresponding to our A. The whole psalm is a celebration of the
glories of the Law of Moses. |
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PSALM 123 Assumed to be for pilgrims approaching the temple this "psalm
of ascent" saw it as representing the very presence of the invisible
God among God’s people. That brought considerable relief from the
contempt and scorn of unbelievers who felt no need for God in their
lives. |
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PSALM 124
Yet another of the so-called "Songs of Ascent" believed to have been sung by
pilgrims approaching Jerusalem. It thanks God for deliverance from
the assaults of some unknown enemy, possibly during a period of political
instability and civil strife. |
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PSALM 125 This is
another of the Songs of Ascent, most likely sung by pilgrims approaching
Jerusalem and the temple. Mountains do indeed surround Jerusalem as vs. 2
states. This provides a fitting symbol for the protection God provides for
Israel. The rest of the psalm restates Israel's religious tradition:
righteousness that fulfils the nation's covenant relationship with God. |
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PSALM 126
This psalm also celebrates the return of the exiles from Babylon
as one of the great acts of God to Israel. |
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PSALM 127 This is one of the Songs of Ascent which may have
been sung by pilgrims approaching the temple for great festivals. It
celebrates the virtues of strong family life as the basis for national
security. |
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PSALM 130 This lovely lament also has a permanent place in
world literature. It is one of a series of psalms identified with the
approach of pilgrims to Jerusalem for one of the great religious
festivals, possibly the Day of Atonement for the sins of the nation.
It ends with a deep expression of hope in God's steadfast love. |
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PSALM 132:1-12, (13-18) Yet another of the songs pilgrims
may have sung as they approached the temple, this one recalls the vow
of David to build a permanent dwelling place for the Ark of the
Covenant symbolizing the presence of God among God's people. The psalm
also contains a promise that David's descendants would sit on the
throne of Israel forever if they keep the covenant. |
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PSALM 145:10-18
The Book of Psalms ends with a series of hymns praising God and
meditating on the nature of God. Note that these reflections are not couched in
theological abstractions, but in terms describing God's actions, as was typical
of Jewish thought. |
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PSALM 146 This brief psalm of praise, one of the five that end the
Psalter, celebrates the hopes of Israel in God’s desire for freedom and
justice. |
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PSALM 148 We tend to forget that God loves
all the created universe as well as the human race. This psalm summons all
of creation to praise God just for being, as are God's people Israel. |
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PROVERBS 1:20-33 The general theme of the Book of
Proverbs is outlined in this passage. Divine Wisdom personified as a
woman tells of the discipline she has to offer to willing listener and the
calamity which will befall the one who refuses to heed her counsel. |
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PROVERBS
9:1-6 Always designated as female, Wisdom calls everyone to learn
how to live and benefit from mature living. |
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PROVERBS 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23. The Book of Proverbs consists of Jewish wisdom
sayings and poems collected and edited by some unknown author(s), probably
in the 5th century BC or later. It may well have been an
educational document intended to guide serious students along paths of
righteousness, intelligence and human fulfilment. The emphasis on social
justice found in Israel's great prophets, especially Isaiah and Amos, stands
out clearly in these selected doublets. |
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PROVERBS 31:10-31 This is one of the few Old
Testament passages which gives prominence to the role of women in ancient
Israel. As pictured here, the supremely efficient homemaker receives the
praise of her husband and children. It is definitely not in keeping with
contemporary views emphasizing equality and the sharing of home and family
responsibilities. Yet there is something very relevant to our time in
the last two verses. |
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ECCLESIASTES 3:1-13 The reading
of this passage is customary at the beginning of a New Year. It emphasizes
the significance of passing time and change. But it also reflects the deep
sense of changelessness that Ecclesiastes, the Preacher, (Heb. Qoheleth)
expressed with a remarkable frankness. |
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ISAIAH 6:1-8. These few verses describe
the call of Isaiah to his ministry of speaking for God to Israel during a
critical period of its history in the late 8th century BC. Amid the smoke
from the sacrifice on the altar in the temple, Isaiah had a vision of God
attended by heavenly creatures. One of the heavenly beings touched his lips
with a live coal symbolizing his freedom from sin and worthiness to proclaim
God’s message to Israel. Then Isaiah heard the voice of God calling for
someone to speak for God to God's sinful people; and he responds. |
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ISAIAH 9:2-7 |
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ISAIAH 12:2-6
Psalms like this one were often included in the writings of Israel's
prophets. This one provides a fitting conclusion to the prophet's
description of the Messiah and his role in the preceding chapter. This
joyous thanksgiving psalm has also been set to music as a responsive chant
in #880 in Voices United. |
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ISAIAH 35:4-7A This is another passage which envisions the Shalom of
God, God’s reign of peace, justice and love. To a people who had suffered
frequently from invasion, subjugation and exile, this imaginative prophecy
would have brought great comfort. More recent visions of Utopian societies
draw much from Old Testament passages like this. |
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ISAIAH 50:4-9a This brief selection
from the third of four "Servant Songs" in Isaiah 40-55 declares confidence in God in the face of great suffering. It may be difficult for us
to understand how one person can suffer vicariously on behalf of many. Here
the Servant represents the whole nation of Israel, a sole individual
representing the community. The early church regarded this as a prophecy
about the Messiah fulfilled by Jesus on the cross, suffering innocent death
as representative for the whole of humanity. |
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ISAIAH 52:7-10 |
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ISAIAH 53:4-12 This reading from the
unknown prophet of Israel's Babylonian exile quickly became the model for
early Christian interpretation of Jesus' Passion. As the fourth and last of
the Servant Songs in the Hebrew Scriptures, it describes vicarious suffering
on behalf of others which receives divine vindication. This was seen as
Israel's role in bringing God's plan and purpose to the world. |
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ISAIAH 62:6-12 |
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JEREMIAH 11:18-20 This poetic
excerpt appears to come from a longer passage ending at 12:6 and dealing
with the plot against Jeremiah's life by some of his own kinsmen from Anathoth. This brief confessional poem reveals something of Jeremiah's
nature. In vs. 20 he prays for the destruction of his personal enemies
believing that his own enemies were God’s enemies too. |
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JEREMIAH 23:1-6 The shepherd is a standard Old Testament
symbol for the king of Israel. After condemning Israel's leaders for
failing to provide care for God's flock, this prophecy promises a
monarch who will return Israelites from foreign lands and rule them in
security, prosperity and peace. |
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JEREMIAH 31:7-9 This
passage predicts the return of the exiles from Babylon, but that very
promise raises the question as to its authenticity as a prophecy of
Jeremiah. He lived during the beginning of the exile (586 BCE) but nowhere
else promised a safe and joyful return. |
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JEREMIAH 33:14-16
Jeremiah lived seven centuries before Christ was born. Yet he spoke with
intense hope of a time when an anointed king of David's line would come to
bring righteousness and justice to Israel and so give the nation the
security it so desperately needed and earnestly desired. |
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EZEKIEL 17:22-24. In a metaphor of God planting a tree on a
high mountain this poetic prophecy again expresses the view of God as
Lord of Israel’s history. The metaphor refers to Israel’s return from
exile in Babylon to rebuild their capital city, Jerusalem. |
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DANIEL 7:9-10, 13-14 This vision is an imaginative
portrayal of the heavenly throne room where which God sits in
judgment. The Messiah ("one like a human being") approaches the throne
to receive divine sovereignty over all peoples and nations. The
passage had great influence on Christian views of eschatology, the
doctrine concerning the end of history. |
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AMOS 5:6-7, 10-15 Behind this passage from one of the earliest of the
great prophets stands the tradition that there will come a day when God will
judge Israel, especially for its idolatry of false gods and injustice to the
oppressed of the land. |
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AMOS 7:7-15 Amos, a humble farmer and outspoken prophet,
began his ministry about 740 BC at a time when the divided kingdoms of
Israel and Judah suffered grave internal and external problems. This
passage tells how he confronted Amaziah, the priest of the royal
sanctuary at Bethel, with the threatening message that God would
punish the people for their apostasy and end the reign of King
Jereboam. |
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MICAH 5:2-5a. This prophecy presents an overview of Israel's long and tragic history from
the time of King David onward. Following the return of a remnant of the
nation from exile, a new ruler was intended to bring peace and prosperity
because he would be strengthened by God. The early church saw the promise of
the Messiah in this passage. |
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ZEPHANIAH 3:14-20
After a long series of judgmental prophecies against Israel and its
neighbours, Zephaniah promised a day of great rejoicing when God is present
among God's people. This would bring not only forgiveness and security from
oppression, but prosperity and renown among all people. |
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MALACHI 3:1-4.
This short selection from the last book in our Old
Testament answered a question immediately preceding it in 2:17, "Where is
the God of justice?" Speaking for God, the prophet's response was, "I am
sending a messenger...."
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MATTHEW 25:31-46 This parable tells
us that the reign of Christ will begin with a final judgment. But it is a
parable, a story told to persuade people on how to live as they prepare for
that inevitable experience, not a description of what the event will be like
whenever it occurs. The story also has an eschatological and a messianic
emphasis set in place by its very first clause, "When the Son of Man comes
in his glory and all his angels with him ...." That is a typical description
from the apocalyptic tradition derived from Jewish literature of the
centuries BCE greatly influenced by forerunners in both the prophetic and
possibly the wisdom traditions. (See Ezekiel 38-39; Isaiah 24-27; Zechariah
12-14.) Its stock-in-trade was revelation through visionary experience; and
this parable contains some very vivid images of that kind. |
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MARK
4:26-34. Because we do not think in spiritual terms, Jesus’
parables of the kingdom of heaven often seem to defy interpretation
for modern readers. In these two brief vignettes drawn from the rural
life of Galilee, Jesus spoke about the way faith can provide those who
believed in and followed him a full and abundant life. |
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MARK
4:35-41. The question about who Jesus really is comes to the
fore in this brief story. He calms a storm which had suddenly arisen
as the disciples took him across the Sea of Galilee in a boat. Not
only did he rebuke the waves, he also rebuked the disciples for their
lack of faith |
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MARK 5:21-43 Another crossing of Lake Galilee brought
Jesus to another opportunity for healing. Supposedly the daughter of
Jairus, the head of a synagogue was dying. While on his way to heal
her, Jesus was pressed by the crowd, but still felt another woman in
need seek healing by touching the hem of his robe. |
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MARK 6:1-13 Jesus' hometown folk felt uneasy with him in
their midst, especially when he taught in their synagogue on a
Sabbath. We are not told why they were so offended. Certainly they
thought he had far gone beyond what one of his status as a humble
carpenter should go. They did not expect him, a mere tradesman, to be
skilled in the interpretation of the scriptures. |
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MARK 6:14-29 The execution of John the Baptist was only
one of many acts of extreme violence attributed to Herod Antipas, the
Roman's puppet-king of Galilee and Petrea. There would appear to be as
much legend as fact in the story of Herod's rash promise to his
paramour's daughter, Herodias. |
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MARK 6:30-34, 53-56 No matter where Jesus and his
disciples went, they could not escape the multitudes that ran after
them. That only gave Jesus more opportunities to teach the people and
be compassionate toward those in need. The implications for the
church's life today are obvious. |
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MARK 7:24-37
Two healing miracles, at least one of them on foreign territory, give rise
to instructions from Jesus to keep his presence and his power secret. The
attempt failed, as vs. 36 points out. |
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MARK 8:27-38 Jesus revealed his messiahship to his
disciples on foreign territory. Caesarea Philippi, at one of three sources
of the Jordan River, was a vacation spa built by Philip, son of Herod the
Great. Also somewhat foreign to Jewish religious thought was the idea of a
crucified Messiah. But Jesus rebuked Peter when he tried to dissuade Jesus
from such a course. |
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MARK 9:30-37 Bound for Jerusalem, Jesus continued
teaching his disciples that the cross would be his inevitable end. Now that
they knew he was the Messiah, however, they had another agenda. Which of
them were to have prominence in the Messiah's kingdom? It took a child set
in their midst to show them what serving with really meant. To be with him
in his divinely appointed glory involved humiliation like his. Naturally
they didn't get it. |
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MARK
9:38-50 The issue in this passage still troubles many: Who really
is a follower of Jesus? In response to this dilemma posed by John, the son
of Zebedee, Jesus appears to broaden the scope of discipleship: "Whoever is
not against us is for us." |
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MARK 10:2-16
Jesus voiced his profound concern for stable family life and for children.
In Roman society, marriage had one purpose - to provide a legal heir who
would inherit a man's property. In Jewish society, men could divorce their
wives for any reason, but wives had no such right without their husband's
consent. In vv.10-12, Jesus put women on an equal footing. |
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MARK 10:17-31
This passage may be difficult for us to hear in our consumer age where
wealth and possessions matter so much. The questioner who accosted Jesus as
he set out on a journey had led an exemplary moral life and had an earnest
desire for a more meaningful spiritual life. But he lacked one thing: the
ability to separate himself from his great wealth. Jesus used the
opportunity to explain to his disciples why wealth was such a stumbling
block and promised that those who were faithful would be rewarded for
whatever sacrifice they made. |
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MARK
10:35-45 Their conviction that he is the Messiah firmly
established, James and John boldly put their request for precedence in the
messianic kingdom to Jesus. As he so often did, Jesus responded with another
question. His reply symbolized his death and the two sacraments the church
still uses to tell of its meaning. |
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MARK 10:46-52
The healing of the blind man in Jericho emphasizes the point that Mark has
made throughout his gospel. Faith in Jesus not only gives the man back his
sight, but a spiritual healing enabling him to follow him "on the way." It
could mean the way to Jerusalem and the cross. Or it could also be
interpreted as in later years "the way of discipleship." In Acts, the early
church was described as "the followers of the way." Since this was the last
episode in Mark's narrative before he began telling of the death of Jesus,
we can presume that both meanings were fully intended. The discipleship of
true faith is costly. That remains as much so today as it ever was. |
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MARK 12:28-34 Having arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus confronts strong
opposition to his teaching. Unlike Luke who added the parable of the Good
Samaritan to this incident, Mark merely used it to summarize the whole of
the Jewish law in two brief commandments. In one sentence Jesus offered his
challenger the key to entering God's kingdom: to love God and neighbour as
oneself. No one has ever devised a better way to live in the real world. As
someone had rightly said, it isn't that we don't know how, it is rather a
matter of doing it faithfully all the time in all our relationships. |
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MARK 12:38-44 Approaching the temple, Jesus condemned the
hypocrisy of the scribes (experts in religious law). He re-emphasized
the point by drawing attention to the sacrificial offering of a poor
widow in contrast to the large donations of the wealthy. |
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MARK 13:1-8 In spite of the long quotation, this chapter
may well consist of the teaching of the early church in which are
imbedded actual words of Jesus about his return. The incident reported
in this passage became the obvious setting for these instructions
about what would happen and how believers should act when the time
comes. Mark may actually be referring to the temple's destruction
which occurred about the time he wrote. |
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LUKE
1:39-45 The story of Mary's visit to Elizabeth, John the Baptist's
mother, has an air of immediacy and intimacy about it. Some have speculated
that the story came from Mary herself. On the other hand, the birth
narratives of Luke are in the form of oral legend and poetry which may have
circulated as a separate collection long before the gospel was written about
80 AD. However they may have come into being, the stories were meant to
convey the faith of the church, then and still, that in Jesus, the God who
loves the world came to bring all who believe into a living relationship
with God now and for all eternity. This is still as good news to our age as
it was to the first Christians two thousand years ago. |
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LUKE
1:47-55. The psalm and the gospel lessons form a single reading from
Luke 1. Mary's Song, known for centuries by its Latin name The Magnificat,
was almost certainly modeled on Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. It
promises the social justice of the messianic age for which the world is
still waiting in hope. |
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LUKE
1:68-79 Also known by its Latin name, Benedictus, the Song
of Zechariah was an early Christian hymn. It wove together a series of
phrases from several Psalms. Specific Christian content comes only at the
end in vv. 76-79 where Zechariah celebrates the birth of his son, John the
Baptist. |
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LUKE 2:1-20 |
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LUKE 2:41-52 In much the same way that he drew from Hannah's Song
in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 for a model of Mary's Song in Luke 1:46-55, Luke
elaborated on the story of Samuel's growth under Eli's tutelage in the Old
Testament lesson above. |
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LUKE
3:1-6 The introductory stories of the birth of both John the
Baptist and Jesus completed, Luke skipped over nearly three decades to place
John the Baptist's ministry in a specific historical context.
He recognized John as another of Israel's great prophets by quoting
from Isaiah 40. |
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LUKE 3:7-18
John the Baptist's preaching seems harsh and vituperative to our modern,
public relations sensitive ears. To his own generation, he must have
appeared to be much like the early prophets of Israel, Amos, Micah, Isaiah
and Jeremiah. |
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LUKE 21:25-36
The expectation of Christ's return dominated early Christian thought. Bible
scholars debate whether these teachings came from Jesus himself or the early
apostolic church. Many of the concepts and images are drawn from typical
Jewish apocalyptic writing found in the Hebrew scriptures and similar
writings of the period between the two parts of our Bible. |
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LUKE 24:44-53 In an unusual alternative to the passage from Acts 1, Luke
presents another version of the ascension of Jesus. First he instructed the
apostles so that they would understand the Old Testament scriptures fulfilled by
his teaching and ministry. Then he gave them their mission as his witnesses and
told them they would be empowered to carry it out. Finally, he led them out to
Bethany on the far side of the Mount of Olive and from there was carried to
heaven, leaving them to return to Jerusalem to worship in the temple. |
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JOHN 1:1-14 |
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JOHN 3:1-17
Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, learns from Jesus how the Spirit makes us
new spiritual persons through faith in the crucified and risen Christ. This
comes about because God loves the world so much that God sent Jesus into the
world to save us with this faith. |
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JOHN 6:1-21 The
feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle that appears in all four
gospels. John's version of the tradition varies from the others in revealing yet
another sign of Jesus' divinity in several ways. Knowing how the multitude would
be fed and of the danger he was in revealed his omniscience. Performing the
miracle and later walking on water while the disciples crossed the lake in a
boat against strong winds revealed his omnipotence. As in other instances, John
used this to introduce a long discourse by Jesus about the meaning of this sign.
For John, this event became the turning point in Jesus' ministry by separating
believers from disbelievers. |
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JOHN
6:24-35 This reading shows a special way in which John handled the
miracle of feeding of the five thousand. For John, miracles had much more to
them than seeing them happen and benefiting from them. This one led to a
discourse by Jesus about being the bread of life. Many scholars believe that
John used this discourse in place of the narrative of the Last Supper in the
other three Gospels. John completely omitted that story. |
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JOHN 6:35, 41-51 So different from the other gospels, John adds
this discourse to the story of Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. It is
filled with John’s reflections on who Jesus really is and the meaning of his
being the bread of life. |
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JOHN
6:51-58 The controversy with the Jews continued as they protested
Jesus’ claim that they eat his flesh and drink his blood to gain eternal
life. John wrote this reflection in story form as if Jesus had said this
himself. It actually reflects the convictions of the Christian church at the
end of the first century. |
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JOHN 15:9-17 As in
several other places in John's Gospel, chapters 13 to 17 use a familiar literary
device of the time, an extended and stylized discourse. Containing much of
John's own thought about the relationship of Jesus to the church, this discourse
includes some of Jesus' most incisive teachings remembered by the church 60
years after the resurrection. |
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JOHN 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 In his table talk at the last supper, Jesus
promised to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. The Spirit would carry on
Jesus' work and constitute his continuing presence in the world.
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JOHN 18:33-37 Jesus had been accused by his opponents of claiming to
be king of the Jews, a treasonable offense in the Roman empire. This exchange
between Jesus and Pilate tells us what the early church believed about the true
nature of Jesus' sovereignty. It was spiritual, not political; but it certainly
has political implications.
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ACTS 1:1-11 Many anomalies exist in the reports of the apostles’
post-resurrection activities. In this passage they are specifically instructed
to stay in Jerusalem. During this time, they witness many appearances of Jesus.
Naturally, they begin to question what purpose Jesus had in mind, and even more
naturally, they got it wrong. |
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ACTS 2:1-21. Pentecost celebrates the climax of the Gospel. On
this day all the benefits of the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ rush into our lives and into the church through the gift of the
Holy Spirit. The coming of the Spirit makes this Good News available
to the whole world. |
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ACTS 10:44-48.
This story reads like the story of Pentecost in Acts 2 and was
intended as its sequel. Before Peter had finished preaching, the Holy
Spirit came upon the household of Cornelius, a Roman military officer
and a Gentile. Jewish Christians accompanying Peter were astonished
that the Spirit had come to a gathering of Gentiles. With the baptism
of Cornelius and his household a new phase of the church's mission
began in earnest. |
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ROMANS 8:12-17. Paul
claims that having the Spirit of the risen Christ is the key to Christian
discipleship. The Spirit dwelling within us enables us to live as the people of
God rather than as slaves to the value system of the world around us.
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ROMANS 8:22-27. Paul clarifies some of the distinctive work of the
Spirit in us. By entering into our deepest longings, the Spirit serves as
intercessor for us and the whole creation.
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2 CORINTHIANS
6:1-13. This passage should be read in connection with the preceding
passage beginning at 5:11. Paul had a continuing conflict with the Corinthians
Christians. They did not always accept him and his preaching as he would have
preferred. Despite extreme difficulties he reiterates his appeal that the
Corinthians respond to the message of reconciliation with God through Jesus
Christ.
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2 CORINTHIANS
5:6-17. Paul confidently celebrates faith in the love of Christ that has
motivated and sustained him through years of difficult ministry to the Gentiles.
He fervently proclaimed that anyone who believed and followed Christ had become
a new creation and could see the whole of life in this world from a spiritual
point of view.
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2 CORINTHIANS 8:7-15 Paul delicately proposes that the Corinthians
complete their collection for the famine-stricken Christians in Jerusalem. He
has as much concern that the Corinthians learn how to be generous as he does
that they make a large contribution. Gracious giving to help those in need is
based on Christ's own sacrifice for them - and for us.
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2 CORINTHIANS 12:2-10 In the midst of a conflict with the Corinthian
Christian community, Paul tells about two of his deepest spiritual experiences.
In one he had an ecstatic theophany when he received an exceptional revelation.
He does not say exactly what the revelation was. In the other, he fervently
prayed to have the unidentified cause of great suffering removed, but was given
instead the reassurance that God's grace would be sufficient for his every need.
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GALATIANS 4:4-7 Unfamiliar with the
later tradition of the virgin birth, Paul gave a theological and scriptural
interpretation to the birth of Jesus. Instead he focused on the redemption
of all humanity effected through Jesus, the fulfillment of Israel's hope.
Stating that God's Son was "born of a woman, born under the law," he places
Jesus in continuity with Jewish tradition.
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EPHESIANS 1:3-14 While the address of this letter cites Paul as its
author, many scholars attribute it to someone who knew his other letters and
teaching very well, but also summarized and extended his thought even further.
It has been suggested that this letter began as a prayer of blessing and a
sermon to new converts preparing for baptism at Pentecost.
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EPHESIANS 1:15-23. Using the traditional Hebrew berakah or prayer
of blessing as his model, the apostle presents his majestic vision of humanity
in God’s universal plan of salvation. Through the death, resurrection and
ascension of Christ all things in heaven and earth have been brought under the
reign of God’s sovereign love.
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EPHESIANS 2:11-22 The author of the letter strove to create a sense
of unity among the several classes of converts in the early church. Gentiles and
Jews are most prominent in this attempt to reconcile very significant
differences. The crucial element is their common faith in what Jesus' sacrifice
on the cross did in giving everyone access to God.
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