The following links are to the Revised Common Lectionary commentary pages of Howard Wallace and Bill Loader, and are suggested as preparation for hearing the readings in worship for the Sunday indicated above.
Acts 4:5-12 see also By the Well podcast on this text
Psalm 23 see also By the Well podcast on this text
The following links are to the Revised Common Lectionary commentary pages of Howard Wallace and Bill Loader, and are suggested as preparation for hearing the readings in worship for the Sunday indicated above.
LitBit: The goodness of creation as a belief and even ontological claim makes sense for us because we first experience the blessing, sanctification, and riches of the material world in the joy and pleasure of Christian worship. There is a performative sanctioning of embodiment that is implicit in Christian worship, invoking the ultimate performative sanctioning of the body in the incarnation—which itself recalls the love of God that gave birth to the material creation—its reaffirmation in the resurrection of Jesus, and looks forward to the resurrection of the body as an eschatological and eternal affirmation of the goodness of creation.
James K. A. Smith, Desiring the Kingdom
These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.
Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 into a scholarly and academic family which, though not actively “church-going” was steeped in the humanitarian and liberal traditions that were prevalent in the Christian church within Germany in the later part of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries. Like all his siblings, he was intellectually astute, was a talented musician and well grounded in the art and literature of his time. At the same time, he rejoiced in the love of family and friends, and appreciated deeply the beauties of the natural world.
He seemed to be set for an academic career, and became lecturer in Systematic Theology at Berlin University. In the 1930s, however, Bonhoeffer became an opponent of Hitler’s National Socialism in Germany. He quickly understood that the policies of this political movement focused on mere human endeavour and a complete denial of the presence and power of God. His opposition to the policies of Hitler led ultimately to his imprisonment and death.
Before that happened, however, Bonhoeffer became a leader in the Bekennende Kirche (the “Confessing Church” which was opposed to the pro-Nazi “German Evangelical Church”), and he participated in the preparation of the “Barmen Confession”. This document rejected the doctrines of the “German Evangelical Church” – that the church was subordinate to the state, and the Word and the Spirit were subordinate to the church – and reasserted the Lordship of Christ over the Church, and the submission of the Church to the Holy Spirit and Holy Scripture.
Bonhoeffer’s influence within the worldwide Church comes from his commitment to Christian discipleship as a fundamental component of Christian community. Even before his formal ministry began (in Barcelona in 1928) he had gathered a group of friends with whom he discussed issues of faith, including questions about the difference between religion founded on human experience and community based on living in the way of Christ. Following his martyrdom in 1945, friends in Germany, England and the United States took pains to ensure that his written works were made more widely available. Books like The Cost of Discipleship (a book of addresses on the Sermon on the Mount) and Life Together (a handbook of Christian community) provide insights into Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the ways in which we are called to follow Christ.
Bonhoeffer’s poems and prayers also provide the essence of his theology and faith. Together in Song provides a poem (song number 240: “All go to God when they are sorely placed”) in which Bonhoeffer brings together an awareness of our need for God, of God’s need for us, and of God’s grace in denying no-one the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. And a section of a prayer recorded in Letters and Papers from Prison gives insight into Bonhoeffer’s confidence in and reliance on God’s presence and love:
O God, …
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light.
I am lonely, but you leave me not.
I am feeble in heart, but you leave me not.
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
Your ways are beyond understanding, but
You know the way for me. (language updated)
Graham Vawser
The following links are to the Revised Common Lectionary commentary pages of Howard Wallace and Bill Loader, and are suggested as preparation for hearing the readings in worship for the Sunday indicated above.
Easter Day Icons – Chairete (‘be full of joy’)
The icon on the front easel relates to Matthew 28: 8 – 10. “Mary and Mary Magdalene left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy. … Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ (Chairete), and they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.” “Chairete” is a term of salutation. It is linked to the verb “Chairo” meaning “Rejoice” or “Be full of joy”.
The inscription at the top of the original of this icon reads: “Christ, raised from the dead appears to the Holy Women,” and below, the women are named as “Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus.” The original is a Russian manuscript icon, painted around 1300. It was placed at the beginning of a collection of Psalms known as the Khludov Psalter. The main features are the enormous figure of Christ compared with the women, and the way the symbols of new life, the trees, seem to grow out of the women.
On the easel on the west side of the church is a Resurrection icon (Anastasis). In this case, the original is a crusader icon, which means it displays Venetian influences. Venice captured Constantinople during the 4th Crusade in 1204 and ruled there until 1261. The Venetian rulers influenced the art work. Hence the bold reds, the lavish clothes and cross, and the western phylactery on Aaron. The risen Christ is lifting Adam and Eve from their graves as he tramples on the gates of Hell. Of the many other features in this very rich icon, note how the colour deepens in the almond shaped Mandorla that surrounds Jesus. As a believer journeys ever deeper into the presence of God, the light becomes dimmer, not brighter, as if entering a cloud, the cloud of the presence in the Old Testament and the cloud of unknowing in medieval spirituality.
PRAYER
You greet us with great joy, risen Lord Jesus, and we respond with ‘Hallelujah!”
“Your is the glory, risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory you o’er dear have won.”
Raise us to new life with you, and with all the saints and martyrs.
Take us with you on the journey into the presence of the Father.
“The Spirit and the bride say ‘Come’,
And let everyone who hears say ‘Come’,
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes, take the water of life as a gift. ….
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
The story which follows the crucifixion of Jesus appears in several Gospels.
Matthew (27: 55-61) tells of the many women who were there. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, and had provided for him. Among these were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Mark adds Salome.)
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimethea, named Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there. Luke adds: It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning. The women prepared spices and ointments.
John adds: Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred pounds.
The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the Middle Ages to the Baroque.
The model for this icon comes from Ethiopia. Several parts of the story are included in the one icon – the women looking on at the empty crosses (left corner), – The wrapping of Jesus by Joseph of Arimethea while the head of Jesus rested in the lap of Mary, and Mary Magdalene looks on, – and finally the wrapped body is placed in the tomb (right top). The tree which is central may depict the new life which will come with the Resurrection.
PRAYERS
Almighty God, whose precious Son, Jesus Christ, ministered to the spiritual needs of Nicodemus under cover of darkness, and was himself, in turn, cared for quietly on the dark night of his death; we thank you that the reverberation of such actions continues until the present time, and offers impetus and encouragement to all who seek to meet the “night” needs of people everywhere. (From John Carden: A Procession of Prayers)
Merciful God, whose servant, Joseph Arimethea, with reverence and godly fear, prepared the body of our Lord and Saviour for burial, and laid it in his own tomb; Grant us, your faithful people, grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our lives. (USA. Feast of Joseph of Arimethea, 31 July)
In the Eastern Church, the Crucifixion is primarily understood as a prelude to the Resurrection. In the monastery church of Daphne, Athens, for example, the Crucifixion icon is on the left (north) of the altar and the Resurrection icon is on the right (south) of the altar. The sequence is read from left to right, so the table represents the tomb. In the Eucharist, the body and blood of the dead Christ are taken from the “tomb” to become alive in the people, who are the living body of Christ.
While we live through the events of Easter one at a time, they should not be separated, but at each stage we see the whole story of salvation.
This large crucifixion is original, though the mother of Jesus and the Beloved Disciple have been borrowed from the icon displayed earlier.
PRAYER: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
The icon is faithful the narrative, which is told in all four Gospels, though with some variations. It captures the moment when Judas reaches out to dip his bread into the bowl with Jesus. Judas has no halo, and is presented in profile. In iconography, if a person’s face is turned away, i.e. in profile, it indicates that that person is unworthy. Jesus is aware of both the betrayer and the deny-er when he speaks of the forgiveness of sins, a phrase that is picked up in the Eucharistic liturgy in the words of institution.
This icon is a Greek, Byzantine icon. The date is not known, but it looks like a modern version of an old, traditional icon.
Also on display tonight is an Ethiopian Foot Washing. It is still practiced in Ethiopia as in the New Testament.
An icon of Jesus before Pilate can also be seen. This icon has been developed from the Mosaics in St Mark’s in Venice, which was built around 1,000 AD.
PRAYER: Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner.
The following links are to the Revised Common Lectionary commentary pages of Howard Wallace and Bill Loader, and are suggested as preparation for hearing the readings in worship for the Sunday indicated above.
Two sets of readings are suggested today: one for Palm Sunday, and one for Passion Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-9a and
Psalm 31:9-16 (for Passion Sunday)
or Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (for Palm Sunday) see also By the Well podcast on this text
Passion and Palm Sunday: Philippians 2:5-11
Passion Sunday: Mark 15:1-39 (40-47) (or 14:1 – 15:47)
or Palm Sunday: John 12:12-16