Weekly Bible Notes, 17th August 2003
20th Sunday in Ordinary
Year B, Green
| First Reading: | Galatians 3:26-4:7 |
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| Second Reading: | Luke 15:11-32 | |
| Commentary: | A Glorious Inheritance | |
| Meditation: | Meditation | |
| Prayers: | Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead |
Opening Verse of Scripture桺salm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To them belongs eternal praise. Amen
Collect Prayer for the Day桞efore we read we pray
Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church,: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
First Bible Reading
Galatians 3:26-4:7You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham抯 seed, and heirs according to the promise. What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 揂bba, Father.?So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God)
Second Reading Luke 15:11-32
(When the Gospel is announced: Glory to Christ our Saviour)
Jesus continued: 揟here was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to
his father, 慒ather, give me my share of the estate.?So he divided his
property between them.
揘ot long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no-one gave him anything.
揥hen he came to his senses, he said, 慔ow many of my father抯 hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.?So he got up and went to his father.
揃ut while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 揟he son said to him, 慒ather, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.?
揃ut the father said to his servants, 慟uick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let抯 have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.?So they began to celebrate.
揗eanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 慪our brother has come,?he replied, 慳nd your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.?
揟he older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 慙ook! All these years I抳e been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!?
搼My son,?the father said, 憏ou are always with me, and everything I
have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of
yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.??(This is the
Gospel of Christ ?Praise to Christ our Lord)
Post Communion Prayer
Holy Father, who gathered us here around the table of your Son to share this meal with the whole household of God: in that new world where you reveal the fullness of your peace, gather people of every race and language to share in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Commentary: A Glorious Inheritance
Today抯 readings talk about sons and son ship. In the sense
of Galatians we are all (both male and female) sons of God, for it was the
sons who inherited the riches of the father. And, as we are all 憇ons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus? we too all inherit the riches of God the
Father, through His Son Jesus Christ. Paul stresses how it makes no
difference what our background has been, we are all 慼eirs according to the
promise?and inheritors of the riches of God抯 grace.
In the gospel reading the younger son had asked His father for his share of
his worldly inheritance and after the son had 慻ot together all he had?
which literally can be translated as 憈urned into cash? he left for a
foreign land and a so called good time. Eventually the money ran out and he
had to turn to feeding pigs to survive. Under Jewish law this made him so
ritually unclean that he couldn抰 even pray to God. For Luke, a non Jew,
there could be no further distance between a person and God. But we see in
the story that his loving father ran out to meet the prodigal son on his
return (who by this time had probably acquired a very chequered background!)
and slaughtered the very best beef for him to celebrate his safe homecoming.
Whatever our state, however we find ourselves Jesus reminds us in this story
that we have a loving Father in heaven who always cares about us, listening
for our prayers, no matter how poor, dirty, lost, hurt, or headstrong we
are.
The father ran out to meet the son, met him when he was still far off. He
didn抰 wait for him to get right back to the house, he went out to meet his
son on his way back home, where the son did not expect to see or meet him.
The son was probably head down, trudging along still trying to work out
exactly what he was going to say when he met his father and brother! Jesus
too sometimes meets us wherever we happen to be and where we least expect
it. Meets us when we抮e still not quite sure what we want to say to Him, but
like the prodigal son know that acknowledging our sin and returning and
meeting with Him is our only hope.
Meditation
The
elder brother was angry about his father抯 kindness. Are there times when we
get angry about God the Father抯 compassion and kindness to others, perhaps
shown to those of little or other faith or those we deem to be criminals and
sinners?
How do we become more like the father and less like the elder brother?
Hymns (Hymns & Psalms)
- There抯 a wideness in God抯 mercy, 230
- Amazing Grace, 215
- Come, let us sing of a wonderful love, 691
- And can it be that I should gain, 216
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
Grant, Almighty God, that while your Son
Jesus Christ is exalted to the throne of heaven, we may not be weighted
down
by the things of earth, but set our
affection on the things above, where He is seated at your right hand, and
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen
Blessed are you, Lord God almighty, who gave your Son, Jesus Christ, to be
our redeemer and the author of
everlasting life; and exalted Him above all for ever; that at all times and
in all places we might be partakers of His power and His glory. Amen
The God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus,
establish, strengthen and settle you in the faith; and the blessing of God
Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain
with you always. Amen
| First Reading: | Galatians 3:26-4:7 |
| Second Reading: | Luke 15:11-32 |
| Commentary: | A Glorious Inheritance |
| Meditation: | Meditation |
| Prayers | Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead |
| Sermon: | Lost and Found |