scholarship. serving. ministry.
This Sunday’s lectionary reading for Year A, Epiphany 3, is Matt 4.12–23. The epistle is 1 Cor 1.10–18, where Paul gets into the issues of factions and divisions. The video for that reading can be found here, and is linked at the end of this piece, as is the video on Matthew 4. The gospel … Continue Reading
The lectionary reading for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity in Year C is the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12.13–21. It is one of several parables that is unique to Luke, and includes features that connect it with other Lukan parables. The video discussion of this passage can be found here (and is … Continue Reading
For Trinity 3 in this Year C, we finish our mini-series on Galatians with (most of) the final chapter, Galatians 6.[1-6] 7-16. (The lectionary choice is again slightly odd; the first part should be read, and strangely it omits the final two verses for no obvious reason.) There is not an obvious structure to what … Continue Reading
Wesley Hill explores why the New Testament scholar’s legacy echoes beyond the halls of the academy: “[T]he meaning of Scripture is ultimately written on the tablets of fleshy hearts,” wrote Richard Hays in the conclusion to his groundbreaking book Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul. This statement was true not only of the … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary for the Third Sunday before Advent at the end of this Year B is Mark 1.14-20, the beginning of Jesus’ active ministry in Galilee following his baptism in the Jordan and testing in the wilderness. I have to say I have found what the lectionary does with the opening chapter of Mark’s … Continue Reading
As we reach the end of the lectionary year, we are going back to the beginning, to where we started in the Gospel of Mark! This reading overlaps with some of the earlier ones in the year, but also patches in the verses that we previously missed out. As usual with Mark, his account is … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 17 in this Year B is Mark 9.30–37 (the reading for Trinity 16 three years ago because of where the weekends fall). In our reading of Mark, we have leap-frogged from the confession at Ceasarea Philippi, over the Transfiguration (which is considered at other times in the lectionary) … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 17 in Year B is Mark 9.30–37. In our reading of Mark, we have leap-frogged from the confession at Ceasarea Philippi, over the Transfiguration (which is considered at other times in the lectionary) and the following deliverance episode, to a short cluster of sayings, though stopping short of … Continue Reading
The gospel reading for Trinity 14 in Year A, Matt 18.15–20, comes within the fourth of the five collections of teaching organised by Matthew to, in some sense, present Jesus as a new Moses. Having focussed on discipleship (Matt 5–7), mission (Matt 10), and the kingdom of heaven (Matt 13), this collection gathers sayings on … Continue Reading
The gospel reading for Trinity 14 in Year A, Matt 18.15–20, comes within the fourth of the five collections of teaching organised by Matthew to, in some sense, present Jesus as a new Moses. Having focussed on discipleship (Matt 5–7), mission (Matt 10), and the kingdom of heaven (Matt 13), this collection gathers sayings on … Continue Reading
Come with me, if you will, on an adventure of biblical imagination in Revelation 21 and 22. The New Jerusalem that is described there by John is mostly taken to be a place in which the people of God dwell with the presence of God—but what would happen if we interpreted everything in the vision as a … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
This blog is reader supported, not funded in any other way. Why not make a one-off or regular donation. You do that directly through PayPal
or through Ko-fi.
Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Christmas Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
