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On this page, you can find an index to all the commentary articles on the gospel lectionary readings for the whole of Year A, together with links to the video discussions between Ian and James. The articles will be reposted with updates during the year—but they are listed here for convenience and planning ahead.
On Trinity 5 in Year C, the gospel reading is the very well-known and widely misread story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10.38–end. You can find the video discussion of the passage here, and video discussion of the epistle for the week, Col 1.15–28, the so-called ‘Christ hymn’, here. Both are also linked at … Continue Reading
The Sunday lectionary NT epistle for Lent 4 is 2 Cor 5.16–21. The gospel lectionary reading is Luke 15.1-3, 11b-32, the parable of the Forgiving Father (or the Prodigal Son), which works well with it. Many people will be preaching on the theme of Mothering Sunday—but that is in danger of missing out on this … Continue Reading
The lectionary epistle reading for the Fourth Sunday before Lent in Year C is 1 Corinthians 15.1–11. Paul here offers a summary of the gospel that he has both received and passed on to the Corinthians—and it has some fascinating features. What is the role here of the ‘gospel tradition’? What are the key elements … Continue Reading
I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word or phrase in the Bible, or a theme or section of Scripture, and the ideas that it expresses. At the end of this piece I list the previous articles I have written for them. Here I explore what Scripture says … Continue Reading
The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 20 in this year B is Mark 10.17–31, the story of the so-called ‘rich’ ‘young’ ‘ruler’. But two of these terms are supplied by Matthew and Luke, and Mark has some significant unique elements to the way he tells the story. Why does Jesus appear to challenged someone who … Continue Reading
In the last few weeks I have been busy with the media, and this is a reflection of the fact that there are more and more opportunities for us to engage in broadcast media than ever before. Quite apart from the (literally) millions of podcasts and pre-recorded YouTube videos, there is demand for live radio, … Continue Reading
The Lord’s Prayer must surely be the central devotional text in the Christian faith. Tom Wright (in his short book The Lord and his Prayer) comments: When Jesus gave his disciples this prayer, he was giving them part of his own breath, his own life, his own prayer. The prayer is actually a distillation of … Continue Reading
I first met Tom Creedy when he was doing Masters-level study at the college in Nottingham where I taught, and we have kept in good touch ever since. I was delighted to see that this week it has been announced that he is now the Publishing Director at Inter-Varsity Press (IVP), which for the last … Continue Reading
The Sunday lectionary gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent in Year B is Mark 1.9–15. Come and join Ian and James as they discuss the text in the video above, or explore the commentary below. I have to say I am finding what the lectionary is doing with the opening chapter of Mark’s … Continue Reading
The episode of Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman in the lectionary reading for Trinity 11 in Year A from Matt 15.21–28 (or Syrophoenician woman as she is called in the parallel Mark 7.24–30) often brings readers up short, containing as it does what appears to be a rather shocking insult. Jesus is seeking to … 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
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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 power preaching Revelation same sex unions sexuality Teaching theology video Year B Year C
