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Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 19 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 19 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 19 Proverbs 1.20-33 James 3.1-12 Mark 8.27-38 The first nine chapters of Proverbs introduce two personified figures: Lady Wisdom and Mistress Folly. Both appeal to ‘the sons of men’; we had better not try, in the interests of inclusivity, to flatten out the genders, since …
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 5 Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 5 Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 5 Genesis 12.1–9 Romans 4.13–25 Matthew 9.9–13, 18–26 Abraham’s call (Abram, actually, at this stage; but just as we say the Archbishop was born in 1935, even though he wasn’t Archbishop then, so we don’t need to fuss about g…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 5 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 5 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 5 1 Samuel 8.4-11 [12-15] 16-20 [11.14-15] 2 Corinthians 4.13-5.1 Mark 3.20-35 So: did God want Israel to have a king, or didn’t he? The question haunts not only this passage in 1 Samuel but much of the rest of the account of the monarchy, from the ill-fated Saul right dow…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 10.44-48 1 John 5.1-6 John 15.9-17 ‘His commandments are not burdensome.’ Hard to take, that, in a world where all commandments are burdensome, where anybody telling anyone else what to do – even God telling his creatures what to do – is felt as an…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Third Sunday before Advent Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Third Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Third Sunday Before Advent Jonah 3.1-5, 10 Hebrews 9.24-28 Mark 1.14-20 ‘Once, only once, and once for all.’ The hymn that starts thus withdraws with the left hand some of what it gives with the right, hinting that Christ’s unique sacrifice is still somehow present in the e…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Sundays Before Advent The Fourth Sunday Before Advent Micah 3.5–12 1 Thessalonians 2.9–13 Matthew 24.1–14 ‘That was a really depressing morning,’ said one disciple to another, leaning back in the sparse shade of the olive tree to keep out of the mi…
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, …
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 13 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 13 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 13 2 Samuel 11.26-12.13a Ephesians 4.1-16 John 6.24-35 Hands up those who took one look at this week’s Old Testament lesson and gave it a wide berth. All right; now hands up those who seized upon it as a chance to preach on How Not To Commit Immorality. Full marks to the l…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 14 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 14 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 14 2 Samuel 18.5-9, 31-33 Ephesians 4.25-5.2 John 6.35, 41-51 Come, believe, and eat. Simple yet profound, carrying us with characteristic Johannine effortlessness from bread by the lake to the bread of life. The bridge between them is Jesus himself, who will give his fles…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 15 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 15 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 15 1 Kings 2.10-12; 3.3-14 Ephesians 5.15-20 John 6.51-58 A glance at the bits of 1 Kings 1—3 which are not read in this sequence will explain why Solomon so desperately needed wisdom. His father’s victories, though remarkable, could not be relied on for long-term security…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 23 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 23 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 23 Job 23.1-9, 16-17 Hebrews 4.12-16 Mark 10.17-31 Two moments jump out at us from this intense little drama. Jesus looks at the man and loves him; not, perhaps, our natural reaction to someone claiming to keep six out of ten commandments perfectly. (A pity Job 23.11–12 is…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Seventh Sunday of Easter (Sunday after Ascension Day) Acts 1.15-17, 21-26 1 John 5.9-13 John 17.6-19 The interesting thing about the choice of Matthias has nothing to do with Matthias himself. Nor is it the striking method of his selection, which if applied today would simpli…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 15 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 15 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 15 Proverbs 9-1-6 Ephesians 4. 25-5.2 John 6: 35, 41-51 ‘You are what you eat’, so the saying goes. Our modern western culture is wise to the fact that food is not all the same, and will not all be good for you. We are now very anxious about food additives, very aware of p…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 13 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 13 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 13 Exodus 16. 2-4, 9-15 Ephesians 4. 1-16 John 6: 24-35 This is a very revealing set of questions and answers between Jesus and the people following him. It tells us a lot about what the people thought they were looking for in Jesus, and gives us one of Jesus’s own central…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 14 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 14 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 14 1 Kings 19-4-8 Ephesians 4. 25-5.2 John 6: 35, 41-51 On the grounds that there is no point in telling someone to do something if they are already doing it, the Ephesian community must be quite like a church you know well. It is interesting how much of this section is co…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 16 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 16 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 16 Joshua 24. 1-2a,14-18 Ephesians 6. 10-20 John 6: 56-69 Peter’s tale: That’s about the only time I ever remember being sure that I’d got it right. Oh, I don’t mean that I had doubts about what came out of my mouth when I was preaching to people after the Lord had risen. …
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 18 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 18 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 18 Proverbs 22.1-2, 8-9, 22-23 James 2.1-10[11-13], 14-17 Mark 7.24-37 James’ comments about faith and works, part of his wide- ranging application of ‘the law of liberty’ (1.25, 2.12), have become famous because of their apparent contradiction of Paul’s insistence on just…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - The Second Sunday Before Advent Year A