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Andrew Goddard writes: The election process for the new General Synod of the Church of England is now well underway with the voting period having opened just over a week ago on Monday 21st September and closing on Monday 12th (postal) or Tuesday 13th October (online). Results will be declared over the rest of that … Continue Reading
The harsh reality of demographics means that the numbers of stipendiary clergy will continue to decline significantly over the next ten years. What will that mean in practice for the future of the Church? What issues does it raise—and is anyone actually facing up to these questions? Save the Parish, who are campaigning (not least … Continue Reading
The first part of our passage is claimed to show that Jesus overturned the Jewish food laws. The second part is claimed to show that Jesus was racially prejudiced just as we are. Neither is true. The lectionary gospel reading for this Sunday, Trinity 11 in Year A, includes one mandatory pericope and an optional … Continue Reading
The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 11 in Year A is Matthew 15.[10-20] 21-28. If we take the whole text, there are two episodes which are both commonly misinterpreted. The first part concerns the dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees about the washing of hands, and his teaching of the disciples about whether ‘unclean’ food … Continue Reading
At last! After the detours in Luke-Acts and John for the series of feasts around Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity, the lectionary finally brings us back to the Gospel according to Matthew for Trinity 2 in Year A! Whew! The reading set, Matt 9.35–10.8, is slightly odd, in that it bridges from one section of Matthew, … Continue Reading
The first Sunday after Trinity (formerly known as Pentecost 2) is also often used to celebrate the feast of St Barnabas, who was responsible for receiving, encouraging, and working with the apostle Saul/Paul. In our lectionary reading, Acts 11.19–30, he performs a vital role in encouraging the believers in Antioch and advocating for them to … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Trinity Sunday in this Year A is Matt 28.16–20. As with the readings in Years B and C, it is short and compact. (See below for commentary on this, and here for video discussion of it, and here for video discussion of the epistle from 2 Cor 13, both … Continue Reading
This week, the Church of England released headline figures for church attendance in 2025. This is collated from the parish returns done in October each year, and Ken Eames and the statistics team in Church House do a great job. Before plunging into the numbers and offering some reflection, it is worth addressing the common … Continue Reading
The discovery by two disciples of the empty tomb, and Mary Magdelene’s encounter with Jesus, in John 20.1–18, is one of the main options for the gospel reading for Easter Sunday in Year A (the alternative is Matt 28.1–10). And it is, in many ways, the most appealing choice, because of its polished literary form, … Continue Reading
In April last year, Bible Society published a report called The Quiet Revival, and I interviewed the main researcher behind it, Rhiannon McAleer. The report made a number of claims, based on research by YouGov, including both a significant change in attitude amongst young people, and a significant change in church attendance. It provoked much … Continue Reading
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
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 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 marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
