Sunday, February 28, 2021

Readings for February 28, 2021 annotated, lectionary 26



This translation is from the New American Bible. The bolded hyperlinks  will take you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context. 

Other bolded hyperlinks  will take to collections of or meditations on other scriptures related to the principles underlying today’s readings.

Information about the meaning the original Hebrew or Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue.  They are provided beneath the reading they relate to. 

Excerpts collected in yellow  at the end of this post tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. 

Excerpts collected in green  at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us to do. 


Reading I

Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” he replied. Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.”

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger. “Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.” 

As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:  “I swear by myself, declares the LORD,  that because you acted as you did  in not withholding from me your beloved son,  I will bless you abundantly  and make your descendants as countless  as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;  your descendants shall take possession  of the gates of their enemies,  and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing—all this because you obeyed my command.”

withheld = חָשַׂךְ = ḥāśaḵ

Blue Letter Bible

Restrain, hold back, keep in check; keep for oneself, keep from; hold in check, refrain, spare, reserve; preserve, keep safely.

  

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

R. (116:9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I believed, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”
Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.


R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD.


R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

 believed = אָמַן= 'āman

Blue Letter Bible

Confirm, be faithful, uphold; be carried, make firm, established, sure; verified, confirmed; reliable, faithful, trusty; to stand firm, to trust, to be certain; to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; sustain; to be of long continuance, perennial; lean upon, build upon; confide; assurance, to be carried by a nurse; to foster as a parent or nurse.

 

Reading II

Romans 8:31-34

Brothers and sisters:

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us, who will condemn? Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised— who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

 

Verse Before the Gospel

Matthews 17:5

From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: This is my beloved Son, listen to him.

listen =κοω = akouō

Blue Letter Bible

Hear; harken; perceive; to attend to, consider what is or has been said; to understand, perceive the sense of what is said; to find out, learn; to give ear to a teaching or a teacher; to comprehend, to understand; to get;to become acquainted with;have regard to; to be taught by; to yield to, hear and obey; to yield obedience to.

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

Hear; hear of, hear tell of;hearken, give ear, esp. in proclamations; give ear to; hear and understand; be a pupil of; hear oneself called; understand, take in a certain sense.

 

Gospel

Mark 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. 

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

listen =κοω = akouō

Blue Letter Bible

Hear; harken; perceive; to attend to, consider what is or has been said; to understand, perceive the sense of what is said; to find out, learn; to give ear to a teaching or a teacher; to comprehend, to understand; to get;to become acquainted with;have regard to; to be taught by; to yield to, hear and obey; to yield obedience to.

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

Hear; hear of, hear tell of;hearken, give ear, esp. in proclamations; give ear to; hear and understand; be a pupil of; hear oneself called; understand, take in a certain sense.

 

 

What these readings tell us about God/His ways:

God put Abraham to the test

because you acted as you did in not withholding from meyour beloved son, I will bless you abundantly 

all this because you obeyed my command.”

Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.

you have loosed my bonds.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all

It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?

Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised— who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

This is my beloved Son

he was transfigured before them

his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them

This is my beloved Son

 

What these readings tell us to do:

how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me 

you acted as you did in not withholding from me

you obeyed my command

walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I believed, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”

walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I am your servant

I am your servant

Thanksgiving

call upon the name of the LORD

walk before the Lord, in the land of the living
My vows to the LORD I will pay 

walk before the Lord, in the land of the living

listen to him.

Listen to him

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Readings for February 21, 2021 annotated, lectionary 23

This translation is from the New American Bible. The bolded hyperlinks  will take you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context. 

Other bolded hyperlinks  will take to collections of or meditations on other scriptures related to the principles underlying today’s readings.

Information about the meaning the original Hebrew or Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue.  They are provided beneath the reading they relate to. 

Excerpts collected in yellow  at the end of this post tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. 

Excerpts collected in green  at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us to do. 

Reading I

Genesis 9:8-15

God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.”

God added: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.”

covenant = בְּרִית= brîṯ

Blue Letter Bible

alliance, pledge; compact; confederacy; league; eating together


Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (cf. 10) Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.


R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD.


R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Good and upright is the LORD, thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice, and he teaches the humble his way.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

keep = נָצַר= nāṣar

Blue Letter Bible

watch over; observe, guard with fidelity; to be kept close, be blockaded;protect, maintain, obey; preserve

covenant = בְּרִית= brîṯ

Blue Letter Bible

alliance, pledge; compact; confederacy; league; eating together 

humble = עָנָו=ʿānāv

Blue Letter Bible

poor, humble, afflicted, meek; lowly; miserable


Reading II

1 Peter 3:18-22

Beloved:
Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit. 

In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.

This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

 Verse Before the Gospel

Matthew 4:4

One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

 Gospel

Mark 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

 

repent = μετανοω = metanoeō

Blue Letter Bible

“to perceive afterwards” (meta, "after," implying "change," noeo, "to perceive;" nous, "the mind, the seat of moral reflection... hence signifies "to change one's mind or purpose;" to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins; reconsider; to feel sorry that one has done this or that

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

perceive afterwards; concur subsequently; change one's mind or purpose

 

believe = πιστεω = pisteuō

Blue Letter Bible

"to be persuaded of," and hence, "to place confidence in, to trust," signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence; to entrust, commit to; to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in; the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul; credit; to have a faith directed unto, believing or in faith to give oneself up to; to commit oneself trustfully

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

trust, put faith in, rely on; comply; feel confident that a thing is

 

What these readings tell us about God/His ways:

I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature

I will establish my covenant with you 

the covenant between me and you and every living creature

the covenant between me and the earth

the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings

Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth

your truth

you are God my savior.

Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth

that your compassion, O LORD, and your love are from of old
your kindness

your goodness

Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth

Good and upright is the LORD

he shows sinners the way
He guides the humble to justice

he teaches the humble his way
Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth

Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God

Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit

he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient

God patiently waited

the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him

One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert

he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan

the angels ministered to him

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God

The kingdom of God is at hand

What these readings tell us to do:

keep your covenant

keep your covenant

keep your covenant
humble

humble

keep your covenant
Repent

believe in the gospel


 

 

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Readings for February 14, 2021 annotated, lectionary 77



This translation is from the New American Bible. The bolded hyperlinks  will take you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context. 

Other bolded hyperlinks will take to collections of or meditations on other scriptures related to the principles underlying today’s readings.

Information about the meaning the original Hebrew or Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue.  They are provided beneath the reading they relate to. 

Excerpts collected in yellow  at the end of this post tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. 

Excerpts collected in green  at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us to do. 

Excerpts collected in red  at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us not to do.  

Reading I

Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants. 

***

If the man is leprous and unclean, the priest shall declare him unclean
by reason of the sore on his head. “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.”

 

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11

R. (7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile.
 

R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,” and you took away the guilt of my sin.
 

R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just; exult, all you upright of heart.

R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.


acknowledged =יָדַע =yāḏa

Blue Letter Bible

to know, learn to know; to perceive and see, find out and discern; to recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess; to be made known, be or become known, be revealed; to cause to know; understand, have (understanding); seeing; discover; to have knowledge of; to care about

confess = יָדָה = yāḏâ

Blue Letter Bible

to cast, cast down, throw down; physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; to bemoan

 

Scriptures addressing similar principles are collected at Wisdom Principles—Confessing Sin and Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin

 

Reading II

1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1

Brothers and sisters,
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
 

Alleluia

Luke 7:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst, God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel

Mark 1:40-45

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. 

Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.

He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

begged = παρακαλω = parakaleō

Blue Letter Bible

Beseech; denotes "to call to one's side," hence, "to call to one's aid;" exhort, urge; summon; to beg, entreat; call for; pray

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

call in, send for, summon; invoke; call upon; demand, require


moved with pity = σπλαγχνζομαι = splagchnizomai

Blue Letter Bible

to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity); feel sympathy

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

feel pity, compassion, or mercy 

 

coming = ρχομαι = erchomai

Blue Letter Bible

to come from one place to another; to go, follow

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   

Start, set out;go; come to, arrive at; depend upon or be concerned with

 

Scriptures addressing a similar principle are collected at Wisdom Principles—God is a Refuge for Those Who Love Him

 

What these readings tell us about God/His ways:

you fill me with the joy of salvation.

and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
you took away the guilt of my sin.

you fill me with the joy of salvation.

you fill me with the joy of salvation.

God has visited his people.

If you wish, you can make me clean

Moved with pity

he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean

The leprosy left him immediately

he was made clean

that will be proof for them

 

What these readings tell us to do:

turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble

in whose spirit there is no guile.

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble

I acknowledged my sin to youmy guilt I covered not.
I confess my faults to the LORD

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you justexult, all you upright of heart.

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble

do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God

try to please everyone in every waynot seeking my own benefit but that of the many

Be imitators ... of Christ.

kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.

people kept coming to him from everywhere.