SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Fourth Sunday of Advent Micah 5.2–5a Hebrews 10.5–10 Luke 1.39–45 The readings from Micah and Hebrews are so dauntingly obscure that it is tempting simply to concentrate on the lovely passage from Luke. Luke’s is the only Gospel that has any of John the Baptist’s biography be…
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Third Sunday of Advent Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Third Sunday of Advent Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Third Sunday of Advent Zephaniah 3.14–20 Philippians 4.4–7 Luke 3.7–18 The book of Zephaniah is not, on the whole, cheerful reading, and almost everything about it is disputed by the various commentaries on it. No one is absolutely sure when it was written, despite its firm p…
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Second Sunday of Advent Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Second Sunday of Advent Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Second Sunday of Advent Malachi 3.1–4 Philippians 1.3–11 Luke 3.1–6 The passage from Malachi and the passage from Luke go together well. At first glance, the alternative reading from Baruch (5.1–9) matches the Luke passage even better, since Luke and Baruch both seem to be qu…
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The First Sunday of Advent Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The First Sunday of Advent Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The First Sunday of Advent Jeremiah 33.14–16 1 Thessalonians 3.9–13 Luke 21.25–36 Intelligent waiting seems to be the theme of these three readings – not a bad theme for the start of Advent, but definitely to be distinguished from Aunt Juley in Forster’s Howard’s End, who goes th…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Christ the King Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Christ the King Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Christ the King Daniel 7.9-10, 13, 14 Revelation 1.4b-8 John 18.33-37 Philip Pullman’s brilliant His Dark Materials trilogy ends with the words ‘and then we’ll build . . . The republic of heaven.’ This is the vision that Lyra holds out to us after all she has learned and suffered…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Second Sunday Before Advent Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Second Sunday Before Advent Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Second Sunday Before Advent Daniel 12.1-3. Hebrews 10.11-25 Mark 13.1-8 All of today’s readings are set against the background of a disintegrating world, and all see that as something joyful. Daniel and Mark seem to be talking about the future, though there is no indication a…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Third Sunday before Advent Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Third Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Third Sunday Before Advent Jonah.3.1-5, 10 Hebrews 9.24-28 Mark 1.14-20 Hebrews is convinced that the work of Jesus is completed in the cross. And not just the work of the Son of God, but the whole providential work of God in creating us in the first place. The cross of Chris…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Fourth Sunday Before Advent Deuteronomy 6.1-9 Hebrews 9.11-14 Mark 12. 28-34 Person A: Do I love God? Well, why should I? What’s God ever done for me? I’ve worked hard all my life and nobody’s ever given me a thing. There are people out there born with everything they’ll ever…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 23 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 23 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 23 Amos 5.6-7, 10-15 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10.17-31 Is it just me, or are the readings actually getting harder at this time of year? Not only more difficult to understand, but also more sombre? Certainly, today’s reading from Hebrews has taken large quantities of caffeine, …
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 24 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 24 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 24 Isaiah 53.4-12 Hebrews 5.1-10 Mark 10.35-45 There is an extraordinary consistency in what the New Testament tells us about the mission of Jesus Christ. At the heart of all the great biblical accounts of why the Son comes and how he saves us is the cross. No New Testamen…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 25 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 25 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 25 Jeremiah 31.7-9 Hebrews 7.23-28 Mark 10.46-52 Some theologies sound a bit vague about what happens to Jesus after the resurrection. His work is completed, once for all, on the cross, he is vindicated by the Father through the resurrection, and that’s that. Then, dependi…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 22 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 22 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 22 Genesis 2. 18-24 Hebrews 1.14; 2.5-12 Mark 10.2-16 It is very tempting to go straight for the second half of the passage from Mark’s Gospel set for today, and just speculate, if possible with some sentimentality, about what Jesus meant by ‘theirs is the Kingdom of Heave…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 21 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 21 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 21 Numbers 11.4-6, 10-16, 24-29 James 5.13-20 Mark 9.38-50 Moses has had enough of the people. He has led them out of slavery, and they have been saved and protected by God’s strength throughout. They have seen the waters of the sea part just for them, they have seen water…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 20 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 20 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 20 Jeremiah 11.18-20 James 3.13-4.3, 7-8a Mark 9.30-37 What an emotional roller-coaster ride the disciples are on by this stage of Jesus’s ministry. Not that life with Jesus had ever been boring, exactly, but at least they had known what they were doing. Or they had though…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 19 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 19 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 19 Isaiah 50.4-9a James 3.1-12 Mark 8.27-38 The disciples are quite enjoying the discussion, to begin with. Every- where they’ve been with Jesus, they have heard speculation. People must have asked them, over and over again, ‘Who is your master? Where does he get his power…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 18 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 18 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 18 Isaiah 35. 4-7a James 2.1-17 Mark 7. 24-37 I suppose it’s comforting, in an Eeyore-ish kind of way, to know that ours is not the only generation of Christians to think that belief is simply a matter of the words you use, and that it doesn’t need to affect ordinary life …
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 17 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 17 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 17 Deuteronomy 4.1-2, 6-9 James 1. 17-27 Mark 7. 1-8, 15, 21-23 We rather value versatility and unpredictability in people. To say that someone is predictable is to imply that they are boring and hidebound. I suspect that this actually reflects the comparative security and…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 16 Year B