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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
Lectionary Reflections Year A - The Second Sunday Before Advent Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Sundays Before Advent The Second Sunday Before Advent Zephaniah 1.7, 12–18 1 Thessalonians 5.1–11 Matthew 25.14–30 The word ‘gospel’ means ‘good news’, and Christians believe that, in Jesus Christ, the whole world is offered the good news of God’…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 23 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 23 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 23 Mark 10: 17-31 Gaze at the man kneeling before Jesus, with such an expression of expectation. He is devoted to this new, charismatic leader. He firmly believes he is already a disciple, and now he has asked for a special message for him, personally. He obviously has tre…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 23 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 23 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 23 Exodus 32.1–14 Philippians 4.1–9 Matthew 22.1–14 The party was ready, the guests were on the way, but somehow they got distracted. Today’s gospel fits Exodus 32 like a glove, forming a combined warning. Readers of Exodus p…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 14 year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 14 year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 14 Genesis 37.1–4, 12–28 Romans 10.5–15 Matthew 14.22–33 A recently published letter from Qumran (4QMMT) helps us to see what Paul is talking about here. It mostly contains priestly regulations. But the last part is a fresh t…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 10 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 10 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 10 Isaiah 55.10–13 Romans 8.1–11 Matthew 13.1–9, 18–23 Why is God so profligate? With the second half of today’s reading from Matthew, the emphasis switches from God’s action to our response; but the first half of the story is …
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 20 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 20 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 20 Jonah 3.10—4.11 Philippians 1.21–30 Matthew 20.1–16 Did Jonah ever get the point? The author deliberately chooses an open ending. Jonah knows his God quite well, but that doesn’t mean he has to like him. He thinks God is rid…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 18 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 18 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 18 Ezekiel 33.7–11 Romans 13.8–14 Matthew 18.15–20 I suppose we can take comfort from the fact that today’s passage from Matthew needed to be written at all, because you don’t need to give advice where it is already being follo…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 19 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 19 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 19 Genesis 50.15–21 Romans 14.1–12 Matthew 18.21–35 It is very annoying to think that God may have different standards of judgement from ours. All three of today’s readings warn that the obvious surface reaction to one particul…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 19 Year A