52 Reflections on Faith - The big picture: God and evil
52 Reflections on Faith - The big picture: God and evil
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
The big picture:God and evil I think most people know the expression ‘Keep your eye on the big picture’. Sometimes, when we’re getting bogged down in minutiae and arguing about detail, someone says, ‘OK, keep your eye on the big picture.’…
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 17 - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 17 - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 17 Make clean our hearts, o God, and renew a spirit within us, that we may seek and serve in joy and gladness and bring others into the glory of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is a live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen…
Traces of Glory Year B - The Second Sunday of Christmas - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - The Second Sunday of Christmas - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Traces of Glory The Second Sunday of Christmas Year B Jeremiah 31. 7-14 Ps. 147. 12-20 Or: Ecclus. 24. 1-12 Canticle: Wisdom of Solomon 10. 15-21 Ephesians 1. 3-14 John 1. [1-9] 10-18 Blessed be you, 0 God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; you have blessed us with every spirit…
Traces of Glory Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Traces of Glory The Fourth Sunday of Advent Year B 2 Samuel 7. 1-11,16: Magnificat or Ps. 89. 1-4, 19-26 (or 1-8): Romans 16. 25-27: Luke 1. 26-38 Lord, you are with us wherever we go: you are our God and the Rock of our salvation.You come to us each day and always. Lord, open ou…
Traces of Glory Year B - The Second Sunday of Advent - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - The Second Sunday of Advent - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Traces of Glory The Second Sunday of Advent Year B Isaiah 40. 1-11: Ps. 85. [1-2] 8-13: 2 Peter 3. 8-15a: Mark 1. 1-8 Lord, grant us a glimpse of your glory: open our eyes to your coming to us, that we may know you are with us always, and that you are a very present help in troub…
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 9 - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 9 - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 9 O Lord of light and vision, open our eyes to behold your presence, to perceive your love and to see your presence for us; that rejoicing in your presence and strengthened by your love we may do your will and become what you have called us to be; through Jesus Christ our …
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Demonstration in the Temple
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Demonstration in the Temple
by BRF - Dick France
A DEMONSTRATION in the TEMPLE Mark has carefully interwoven two themes here, as the scene shifts repeatedly between the temple and a fig tree on the Bethany road, thus: Verse 11, temple; verses 12–14, fig tree; verses 15–19, temple; verses 20–25, fig tree; verse 27, temple (which…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Dose of Cold Water
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Dose of Cold Water
by BRF - Dick France
A DOSE of COLD WATER The command to maintain silence must have been deflating enough, but what follows is far harder to take. The martyrdom of the Son of man The exciting title ‘Messiah’ is immediately dropped, and Jesus speaks of himself, as he usually does, as the ‘Son of man’.…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Difficult Visit to Nazareth
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Difficult Visit to Nazareth
by BRF - Dick France
A Difficult Visit to Nazareth Nazareth was a small, rather insignificant village tucked away in the hills between the lake of Galilee and the Mediterranean, and away from the main centres of population. It was Jesus’ home (1:9, 24), but for the whole of his public activity so far…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Dead and Buried
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Dead and Buried
by BRF - Dick France
DEAD & BURIED The sabbath The Jewish day began and ended at sunset. So the evening of that Friday would be the beginning of the sabbath. The desire to bury the body of Jesus before the sabbath began was partly due to the convention that it was not proper for the body to remain pu…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Before the Sanhedrin
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Before the Sanhedrin
by BRF - Dick France
BEFORE the SANHEDRIN Mark carefully sets the scene at the high priest’s house on a double stage: Jesus before the full council of the Sanhedrin (v. 53; note again the full listing of the dignitaries) and Peter out in the courtyard among the servants (v. 54). As the spotlight fall…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Woman To Be Remembered
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Woman To Be Remembered
by BRF - Dick France
A TELLING CONTRAST In these verses a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of the religious professionals is followed by an example of true piety. But the example is not of a prominent religious figure, but of a poor widow whom everyone (and especially the scribes?) would overlook. Tr…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Betrayal & Arrest
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Betrayal & Arrest
by BRF - Dick France
Betrayal and Arrest The arrest of Jesus is carried out by an armed ‘crowd’, not specifically described as either soldiers or police, but sent out with the authority of ‘the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders’. Mark has used this full listing of the component groups of the…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Telling Contrast
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Telling Contrast
by BRF - Dick France
A TELLING CONTRAST In these verses a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of the religious professionals is followed by an example of true piety. But the example is not of a prominent religious figure, but of a poor widow whom everyone (and especially the scribes?) would overlook. Tr…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts