Weekly Bible Notes, 16th March 2003
Lent 2
Year B, Purple
First Reading: | Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 |
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Gospel Reading: | Mark 8:31-38 | |
Commentary: | Taking the Easy Way Out | |
Meditation: | Covvenant | |
Prayers: | for Sunday and the week ahead |
Opening Verse of Scripture—Psalm 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray
Almighty God, you show to those who are in error the light of your truth, that they may return to the way of righteousness: grant to all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion, that they may reject those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
First Bible Reading Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
Abram fell face down, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." (This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God)
Gospel Reading: Mark 8:31-38
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (This is the Gospel of Christ:. All: Praise to Christ our Lord)
Post Communion Prayer
Almighty God, you see that we have no power of ourselves to help
ourselves: keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls;
that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body,
and from evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen
Commentary: Taking the Easy Way Out
The covenant between God and His people is a common theme through much of the Old Testament, beginning with God's covenant with Noah in Genesis 9, sealed with the Rainbow, moving on through to the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 and 17, and to its renewal with Moses in Exodus 19, and on to the covenant with King David, described in Ps 89. Each of the descriptions, and the covenants themselves, build on the previous ones, expanding them and making them more complete. And in each of them we see common characteristics. The one with Abraham in the Old Testament reading is no exception.
The covenant is conditional; 'walk before me and be blameless. I will (then) confirm my covenant between me and you'. The covenant is inclusive; 'for I have made you a father of many nations', so much so that Abram's name is changed from Abram (high father) to Abraham (father of many).
The covenant is eternal; 'an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come'. God's covenant relationship, a conditional, inclusive and eternal relationship; initiated by God for the benefit of His people.
Later in the Old Testament Jeremiah introduces the concept of a New Covenant to come, needed because the Old Covenant is becoming broken beyond repair. And in Christ this New Covenant, which we remember at our celebration of Holy Communion, was inaugurated. It too is conditional (on our response to it), inclusive (it is open to all who respond) and eternal (it has no time boundaries attached to it). But to inaugurate this New Covenant, Christ had to fulfil His mission on earth as Messiah, to die upon the cross and to be raised to eternal life.
For Peter this causes real confusion. In Mark 8 v 29, just before today's reading, Peter has just declared that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Now in Mark 8 v 32 we have the remarkable exchange where Peter rebukes Jesus! Peter knows what Messiahs should do. Messiahs rule! They don't die! What is Christ thinking about?
For Christ, God incarnate on Earth, it would have been simple to take the easy way out, to literally play God, to snap His fingers and have the world at His beck and call - to take the way of pomp, luxury, riches and ultimate power. But that would not have established the New Covenant relationship with God the father. And so Jesus, in obedience to the Easter Cross and His father's will, chose the way of humility, sacrifice and painful death. Chose the way that brought light from darkness and life from death. Peter ultimately came to understand this.
As disciples we are not called to atone for the sins of the world through death on a cross. But we are called to participate in Jesus self-sacrificial calling. For each one of us, Lent is a time to reflect on what that means for us personally. What it means not to take the easy way out. To take up the Easter cross of Christ, day by day.
Peter later denied Christ but subsequently became a fearless witness to Jesus' new way of life. There can be times when we deny Christ, by our thoughts, words and actions. Times which we often regret. But forgiven by the risen Christ, and renewed by His Holy Spirit we too can become powerful witnesses to the love of Christ in the world. Like Peter, we may not always understand what Christ is doing fully. Like Peter we may say the wrong things at the wrong times. But like Peter, we too can live out the New Covenant of Christ and begin and continue to transform the world. Sam Cappleman
Meditation
The readings for the second Sunday of Lent focus on salvation. Mark is clear, we are saved by Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection. The story of that salvation starts with God's calling of Abram to be the father of many nations, sealed through the covenant He made with him. It ends with us and our response to God's call, a call sealed through the new covenant made possible by the Easter Christ.
Hymns (Mission Praise)
- New every morning, 480;
- Jehovah Jireh, 354
- I heard the voice of Jesus say, 275
- The God of Abraham praise, 645
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead.
Used at the Consecration of the new extension to
the Garden of Remembrance
Let us pray to God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray that God's presence may always be found in this place by all who turn to Him: when people gather here to seek your face and offer praise and prayer. When we commend your servants into your hands to pass through death to you. When we seek forgiveness and grace here, peace and reassurance, strength and consolidation. Amen |
Go before us, Lord, in all that we do, with your most
gracious favour, an guide us with your continual help, that in all our
works, begun, continued and ended in you, we may glorify your holy
name, and finally by your mercy obtain everlasting life; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen
Lord God Almighty, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen May the Lord teach you to know yourselves, that you may be truly penitent; so to repent that you may be truly forgiven; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen |