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Serving God and Sharing Good News |
Weekly Bible Notes Ordinary 12
Year C, Colour = Green
Ordinary 12 Year C
Introduction
Trinity Sunday is a special time in the church year when we remember who God is, Father Son and Holy Spirit, The Holy Trinity. This is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian and yet it is very difficult to believe that God can be one and three. Of course it is beyond human understanding, God is a mystery to us and it would be a remarkable thing if we were able to capture God within the measure of our human mind. The Christian teaching about the Trinity is not mean to be an explanation of God, rather it is a way of describing what we know about God, even though we know that humanly speaking it is beyond our reason. Read more in our Bible Notes
Opening Verse of Scripture Psalm 8:1
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have
set your glory above the heavens.
Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray
Holy God, faithful and unchanging: enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth, and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love, that we may truly worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. (Common Worship—contemporary language)
First Bible Reading
1 Kings 19 v 1 - 15Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed
all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to
say, May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time
tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them. Elijah was afraid
and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his
servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He
came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. I have
had enough, LORD, he said. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.
Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel
touched him and said, Get up and eat. He looked around, and there by his
head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate
and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second
time and touched him and said, Get up and eat, for the journey is too much
for you. So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he
travelled for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the
mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word
of the LORD came to him: What are you doing here, Elijah? He replied, I have
been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected
your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with
the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.
The LORD said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD,
for the LORD is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the
mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was
not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was
not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was
not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard
it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of
the cave. Then a voice said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? He
replied, I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites
have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets
to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to
kill me too. The LORD said to him, Go back the way you came, and go to the
Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
(This is the word of the Lord -- Thanks be to God)
Second Reading Galatians Chapter 3:22-29
Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You 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's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (This is the word of the Lord -- Thanks be to God)
Gospel Reading Luke 8:26 -39
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from
Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from
the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house,
but had lived in the tombs.
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of
his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg
you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out
of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and
foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by
the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. A
large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged
Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. When the demons
came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the
steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When those tending the pigs saw
what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and
countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they
came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting
at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those
who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.
Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave
them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and
left.
The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus
sent him away, saying, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you."
So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
(This is the word of the Lord - Thanks be to God)
Post Communion Prayer
Loving Father, we thank you for feeding us at the supper of your Son:
sustain us with your Spirit, that we may serve you here on earth until our
joy is complete in heaven, and we share in the eternal banquet with Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen
Commentary
Liberation and Freedom
The mission in Gentile territory is more than a triumph of good over evil.
In travelling to the other side of the lake and exorcising the demons from
the Gerasene man, Jesus demonstrates that His freedom and salvation is for
all. No one is beyond His love and salvation, not even those the Jews would
have thought beyond redemption. Jesus is all-powerful and all the forces of
the ritually unclean Gentile world have been overcome. There can be no
stronger demonstration that everyone is included in God's saving plan for
the world. Sadly the reaction of the majority of the population to this
newfound liberation and salvation is strange. Perhaps failing to understand
what's going on they react with fear and ask Jesus to leave. People always
have the right to choose. The offer of salvation is open to all, not all
will accept. The task that Jesus calls us to, is to present His gospel to
the world with our words and our lives, sometimes in places we don't expect.
The task of salvation is His alone and no one is beyond His love. Even in a
world where people often seem possessed and obsessed by material things or
entombed by events or circumstances God can, and does, break through, to
bring freedom, peace and salvation. However we imagine the powers that
oppress people, Jesus came to bring liberation from them.Elijah certainly felt oppressed and frightened by the powers of darkness that surrounded Jezebel, Ahab’s wide and a religious fanatic who is furious with Elijah for killing the prophets of Baal and as a result has threatened that within a day she will kill him. Fear and exhaustion generated self destructive depression. But when Elijah focuses on God, rather than being oppressed and frightened, he has a new freedom and is without fear.
Ironically sometimes it’s the very presence of Jesus that makes people feel uncomfortable and even a little bit fearful. Sometimes this can be because He begins to challenge long held beliefs and preconceptions or perhaps because they way we live is far from the ideal God intends for our lives. Perhaps we all need to hear the God’s challenge to Elijah in our own lives – ‘What are you doing here?’ When we step back from all the frenzied activity and listen to the whisper which is God’s voice we will hear again His commission for us. Like Elijah, we have to trust and obey as we move forward along our journey of living out our faith.
God sometimes chooses the strangest people, in the strangest circumstances to do His work. In the gospel reading we see Jesus instructing the Gerasene man to return to his former home, and in so doing calling him to a new vocation, giving him a new purpose and point to his life. Under Jesus' direct instruction, the Gerasene demoniac becomes the first missionary to the Gentiles. Elijah was a lonely and frightened man, full of questions about his faith and even his reason for living. If God can use people like this, how might He want to use us? Sam Cappleman
Meditation
It is likely that the story of the Gerasenes demoniac had circulated for
some time before it is recorded in Mark. Among Christians with a strongly
Jewish background the story contained potent symbols. It took place in
Gentile territory, not a holy land. Pigs are unclean animals. Cemeteries
were the abode of spirits, to be avoided in darkness. ‘Legion’ was not a
term meaning many, but a designation for one of Rome’s armies. The one
stationed in Palestine had a boar on its standard. The sea was a place a
danger, an abode of demonic powers. For people within such a system of
values Jesus, by this act, has defied the forces of the Gentile world and
exorcised the Gentile land.
Hymns
- Lord for the years 428
- For I’m building a people of power 151
- Breathe on me breath of God 67
- Guide me O thou great Jehovah 201
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
- "Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian.
- If it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die."
-
- Lord Jesus Christ, help us to be sensitive to your presence;
- Give us ears to hear your word
- Give us hearts to feel your love
- Give us minds to understand your truth
- Give us wills to practice what you teach
- To your glory Amen.
No shadow darkens the friendship which you offer to us, Lord Jesus Christ. No trivial mood or passing fancy alters the constancy of your compassion. No wind of change blows first hot and then cold, to blight the love which you offer. You call us your friends and you are faithful and true to your word. Give us grace to follow in your ways, to be unashamed to own your name Lord Jesus Christ and speak that name to those whom we meet.
O God, the King of Righteousness, lead us we pray, in the way of justice and of peace. Inspire us to break down all oppression and wrong, to gain for everyone their reward, and from every one their due service; that each may live for all, and all may care for each, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in our asking; have compassion on our weakness, and give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Lord, Jesus Christ, let me seek you by desiring you, and let me desire you by seeking you. Let me find you by loving you, and love you in finding you. Amen. St Anselm
The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen
Additional Resources
The
Summer Solstice—This week! Did you know ?
Our planet takes 365 days to orbit the Sun – the basis of our calendar
year
The Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees
This means that different parts of the globe receive varying amounts of
sunlight during the year, creating the seasons
The shortest day and longest night occurs on December 22, the winter
solstice. The longest day and shortest night occurs this week - 21st of
June is the longest day of the year. It is called the Summer Solstice.
For those living in the northern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice is the
day on which the earth, spinning on its axis, has its North Pole ‘tipped’
as far as it will go to face the sun. Because of this ‘tipping’ towards
the sun, the northern hemisphere receives the longest hours of daylight of
the year.
The further north or south you live in the world, the more pronounced the
seasons are. For example, in the far north, Alaska has sunshine 24 hours a
day during their summertime. If you live near the equator, the Sun doesn't
shift up and down in the sky as much. This means that the length of day
temperature doesn't vary as much. So countries near the equator only have
two seasons - rainy and dry.
No one knows why the Earth's axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees. Whatever the
reason, it's a good thing - if the Earth did not tilt, countries near the
poles would be cold and dark all year round. If it tilted too much, the
seasons would be very extreme – like on the planet Uranus. Here the winter
lasts for 42 years in total darkness!
Lord God, Creator of light, at the rising of your sun each morning, let
the greatest of all lights - your love - rise, like the sun, within my
heart. (from the Armenian Liturgy)
Commentary
God Chooses the Strangest People... Among early Christians, especially those with a strong Jewish background, the gospel story is rich in symbolism. It takes place across the lake from Galilee, in foreign, Gentile, territory. The demon-possessed man at the centre of the story is an outsider, probably a Gentile, and even if not, his demon-possession has rendered him unclean to the Jews. The encounter takes place in a cemetery, a place traditionally the abode of spirits, a place ritually unclean for the Jews and somewhere to be avoided in darkness. The pigs into which the spirits flee are unclean animals, and the sea into which they run was a place where demonic powers were thought to live. 'Legion' was not just a term meaning many, but a designation for a Roman army, and the one stationed in Palestine had a boar on its standard. It's a meeting of the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean, the Jewish world and the Gentile world. Above all it's a confrontation of evil powers with the Son of God, for whom they are no match. But the mission in Gentile territory is more than a triumph of good over evil. In travelling to the other side of the lake and exorcising the demons from the Gerasene man, Jesus demonstrates that His freedom and salvation is for all. No one is beyond His love and salvation, not even those the Jews would have thought beyond redemption. Jesus is all-powerful and all the forces of the ritually unclean Gentile world have been overcome. The Gentiles and their land have been exorcised and liberated. There can be no stronger demonstration that everyone is included in God's saving plan for the world.
Sadly the reaction of the majority of the population to this newfound liberation is strange. Perhaps failing to understand what's going on they react with fear and ask Jesus to leave. People always have the right to choose. The offer of salvation is open to all, not all will accept. The task that Jesus calls us to, is to present His gospel to the world with our words and our lives, sometimes in places we don't expect. The task of salvation is His alone and no one is beyond His love. Even in a world where people often seem possessed and obsessed by material things or entombed by events or circumstances God can, and does, break through, to bring freedom, peace and salvation. Rev Dr Sam Cappleman
Prayer
O God, the King of Righteousness, lead us we pray, in the way of justice and of peace. Inspire us to break down all oppression and wrong, to gain for everyone their reward, and from every one their due service; that each may live for all, and all may care for each, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in our asking; have compassion on our weakness, and give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Lord, Jesus Christ, let me seek you by desiring you, and let me desire you by seeking you. Let me find you by loving you, and love you in finding you. Amen. St Anselm
The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen
Meditation
God sometimes chooses the strangest people, in the strangest circumstances to do His work. In the gospel reading we see Jesus instructing the Gerasene man to return to his former home, and in so doing calling him to a new vocation, giving him a new purpose and point to his life. Under Jesus' direct instruction, the Gerasene demoniac becomes the first missionary to the Gentiles. If God can do this with him, how might He want to use us?
Hymns (Hymns and Psalms)
(1) Glorious things of thee are spoken 817 Tune 1, (2) Seek ye first 138, (3) Lord of creation 699 (4) Fight the good fight 710