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The lectionary gospel reading for Trinity 11 in Year C, Luke 14.1, 7–14—though the whole passage should be read—continues to engage with material that is unique to Luke, arranged in Luke’s distinctive order, and bridging the worlds of the original context of Jesus and Judaism and Luke’s context in wider Roman culture. The passage comes … Continue Reading
If you enjoy these videos, why not buy us a coffee? The gospel reading for Trinity 10 in Year C is Luke 13.10–17, a short but remarkable story of Jesus healing a woman bent double. It has a striking literary structure, which can be thought of as a kind of literary diptych; the effect is … Continue Reading
The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 9 in this Year C is Luke 12.49–56, continuing in a substantial section of teaching of Jesus gathered together by Luke. In this part of the gospel, we find some of Jesus’ toughest teaching about the reality of judgement and the cost of following him. (The lectionary oddly cuts … Continue Reading
The lectionary reading for Trinity 7 in this Year C is Colossians 3.1–11, the last of our mini-series in this letter. We are at a classic hinge point in Paul’s letter; having told us everything that God has done for us in Christ (the indicative), he now moves on to explore what the response to … Continue Reading
The lectionary epistle for Trinity 6 is Colossians 2.6-15 (and the gospel is Luke 11.1–13, Jesus’ teaching on prayer). Paul continues to expand on the implications of who Jesus is for our discipleship. He draws strong parallels in his language with the Spirit in Ephesians 5, and deploys metaphors of plants, buildings, and athletes to … Continue Reading
Our reading for Trinity 5 in Year C continues our mini-series in Colossian, following on from last week’s passage with Col 1.15–28. (Once more the lectionary does odd things, giving us a long, dense reading and then, inexplicably, cutting off the last verse of the chapter.) There is much scholarly debate on this passage—was Paul … Continue Reading
The lectionary reading for Trinity 4 in Year C is Colossians 1.1–14, the opening greetings and prayer of Paul for the followers of Jesus he has not met in an ekklesia which he did not plant. Paul adapts the standard letter greetings in a striking way, and his two part prayer/introduction (there is a break … 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
The lectionary readings for Trinity 2 in Year C are Galatians 5.1, 13-25 Luke 9.51-end. In Galatians 5, Paul explores the meaning of freedom in Christ. This is not freedom to indulge the desires of our sinful human nature (the ‘flesh’) but the freedom to fulfill the law in obedience to God by the power … Continue Reading
The lectionary readings for Trinity 1 in Year C are Galatians 3.23-29 and Luke 8.26-39. In Gal 3, Paul is dealing with the question of the relationship between faith and law, something he will revisit in next week’s reading from Gal 5. Both are from God, so cannot be fundamentally opposed. And yet Paul sees … Continue Reading
The lectionary readings in this Year C for Trinity Sunday are John 16.12–15 and Romans 5.1–5, both quite short readings. Western eyes often read Romans 5 in individual terms, but the honour/shame/glory motif needs to be understood corporately. The surprising combination of hope and suffering shows that Paul’s eschatology stands behind this—the future has broken … 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
