Notes on Bible Readings 2025
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Sunday, January 19
Notes on the Readings
Notes on the Readings Isaiah 62: 1-5. The Vindication and Salvation of Zion Today’s Lectionary choice of this Old Testament reading for this second Sunday of Epiphany can seem puzzling. But in verse 1 Jerusalem is told that ‘her righteousness [will] shine out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch’; A light to the world - the message of Epiphany. The transformation of the people cannot be hidden, every nation will be able to see the glory of God in the people. The passage ends with marriage imagery, making a connection with the Gospel lesson for today which tells the story of the revelation of Jesus’ glory at the wedding feast in Cana.
Psalm 36: 5-10 Verses 5-10 of psalm 36 offer an image-laden portrait of God’s absolute steadfast love and faithfulness. Reading these verses allows us to join with the psalmist in lifting up praise to Yahweh — who stretches wider than the heavens, who stands firmer than the mountains, whose understanding reaches to the depths of the earth, and who provides salvation, refuge, and fountains of life for all who turn to God. In a world plagued with uncertainties and loyalty to self, the message that these verses bring is reassuring.
I Corinthians 12: 1-11. Spiritual Gifts This reading is about spirituality. Following our Christmas season of gift giving and receiving , the New Testament text for today provides a different take on the concept of giving and receiving gifts. Where popular stories about Santa Claus depict a magnanimous giver doling out longed-for presents for the sake of individual enjoyment, Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts imagines a divine giver who bestows gifts based on what will most contribute to the common good of a whole community. For Paul spirituality entails the ongoing reality and work of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives both individually and corporately.
John 2: 1-11. The Wedding at Cana The structure of John 2:1-11 is typical of a miracle story: the setting is established, a need arises, a miracle addresses that need, and there is a response to that miracle. The changing of water to wine is Jesus’ first public act in John, the first ‘sign’ of God’s presence in the world through Jesus. The ‘third day’ language in verse 1, suggesting Jesus’ resurrection after three days, is a clue to the symbolic nature of this miracle story. Present at the wedding are Jesus, his disciples, and Jesus’ mother, never called Mary in the Fourth Gospel. She is introduced first because of her prominent role in the story. The quantity the jars hold is important, the narrative emphasises each held ‘twenty or thirty gallons’ (about 100 litres) and that the servants ‘filled them up to the brim’. For the interpretation of this miracle, what matters most is that a whole lot of water becomes a whole lot of wine. By the time the chief steward tastes it in verse 9, the water had become wine. The final verse tells us the miracle at Cana is the first of Jesus’ ‘signs’. It ‘revealed his glory’, and as a result ‘his disciples believed in him’.
Notes on the Readings
Notes on the Readings Isaiah 62: 1-5. The Vindication and Salvation of Zion Today’s Lectionary choice of this Old Testament reading for this second Sunday of Epiphany can seem puzzling. But in verse 1 Jerusalem is told that ‘her righteousness [will] shine out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch’; A light to the world - the message of Epiphany. The transformation of the people cannot be hidden, every nation will be able to see the glory of God in the people. The passage ends with marriage imagery, making a connection with the Gospel lesson for today which tells the story of the revelation of Jesus’ glory at the wedding feast in Cana.
Psalm 36: 5-10 Verses 5-10 of psalm 36 offer an image-laden portrait of God’s absolute steadfast love and faithfulness. Reading these verses allows us to join with the psalmist in lifting up praise to Yahweh — who stretches wider than the heavens, who stands firmer than the mountains, whose understanding reaches to the depths of the earth, and who provides salvation, refuge, and fountains of life for all who turn to God. In a world plagued with uncertainties and loyalty to self, the message that these verses bring is reassuring.
I Corinthians 12: 1-11. Spiritual Gifts This reading is about spirituality. Following our Christmas season of gift giving and receiving , the New Testament text for today provides a different take on the concept of giving and receiving gifts. Where popular stories about Santa Claus depict a magnanimous giver doling out longed-for presents for the sake of individual enjoyment, Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts imagines a divine giver who bestows gifts based on what will most contribute to the common good of a whole community. For Paul spirituality entails the ongoing reality and work of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives both individually and corporately.
John 2: 1-11. The Wedding at Cana The structure of John 2:1-11 is typical of a miracle story: the setting is established, a need arises, a miracle addresses that need, and there is a response to that miracle. The changing of water to wine is Jesus’ first public act in John, the first ‘sign’ of God’s presence in the world through Jesus. The ‘third day’ language in verse 1, suggesting Jesus’ resurrection after three days, is a clue to the symbolic nature of this miracle story. Present at the wedding are Jesus, his disciples, and Jesus’ mother, never called Mary in the Fourth Gospel. She is introduced first because of her prominent role in the story. The quantity the jars hold is important, the narrative emphasises each held ‘twenty or thirty gallons’ (about 100 litres) and that the servants ‘filled them up to the brim’. For the interpretation of this miracle, what matters most is that a whole lot of water becomes a whole lot of wine. By the time the chief steward tastes it in verse 9, the water had become wine. The final verse tells us the miracle at Cana is the first of Jesus’ ‘signs’. It ‘revealed his glory’, and as a result ‘his disciples believed in him’.
Sunday, January 12
Notes on the Readings
Isaiah 43: 1-7 Restoration and Protection Promised
Isaiah 43:1-7 is a beautifully constructed piece of poetry that attempts throughout its seven verses to reconstruct the exiles’ understanding of their identity.
The image in the opening verses of Isaiah 43 is of a God who redeems what God has created. God gets intimately involved, and is willing to pay the price to set the captives free. If other nations choose to wage war, then so be it. God will work, in the meantime, to bring freedom and redemption to the downtrodden.
The passage contains these moving words of reassurance:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
Psalm 29 The Voice of God in a Great Storm
The context of this powerful psalm was someone experiencing the lightning, thunder, and wind of a storm coming in from the Mediterranean Sea. The Psalm found its way into the Psalter, not to provide a fitting song for the choir on a rainy day, but more likely, it proved appropriate for a festival where Yahweh’s Kingship or glory was celebrated.
When and by whom was the Psalm written? Verse 1 suggests it belongs to a collection for the king. Few scholars think that David is the author, though it may well be an early piece. More likely, it was written by a worship leader at an Israelite worship centre. It is some unknown poet followed by a worship leader calling every living being in heaven and on earth to worship the Creator.
Acts 8: 14-17
When Philip proclaimed the gospel to the Samaritans, they believed, repented, and were baptised in water – but they did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This only happened when Peter and John came from Jerusalem, laid hands on them and prayed that they might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In this account the delay in the Samaritans receiving the Spirit was because the Samaritans were not Gentiles, but they were not considered fully Jewish either. They were on the fringes of Judaism. Peter at Pentecost had said that the promise of the Spirit was for all. It was not clear to the Jews if the Samaritans were included. By delaying the gift of the Spirit, Jesus acted to save his community from a potential division into a Jewish Christianity and a Samaritan Christianity.
Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
John was quite sure that he was only the forerunner. The King was still to come and with him would come judgment. The winnowing fork was a great flat wooden shovel; with it the grain was tossed into the air; the heavy grain fell to the ground and the chaff was blown away. And just as the chaff was separated from the grain so the King would separate the good and the bad.
John painted a picture of judgment, but it was a judgment which a man could meet with confidence if he had discharged his duty to his neighbour and if he had faithfully done his day's work.
V21-22. The Baptism of Jesus
In Jesus' baptism something happened. In the moment of baptism God spoke to Jesus. The voice of God came to him and told him that he had made the right decision.
God said to him, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." So in the baptism it was recognised, first that Jesus was the Messiah, God's anointed King; and second, that this involved not power and glory, but suffering and a cross.
Notes on the Readings
Isaiah 43: 1-7 Restoration and Protection Promised
Isaiah 43:1-7 is a beautifully constructed piece of poetry that attempts throughout its seven verses to reconstruct the exiles’ understanding of their identity.
The image in the opening verses of Isaiah 43 is of a God who redeems what God has created. God gets intimately involved, and is willing to pay the price to set the captives free. If other nations choose to wage war, then so be it. God will work, in the meantime, to bring freedom and redemption to the downtrodden.
The passage contains these moving words of reassurance:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
Psalm 29 The Voice of God in a Great Storm
The context of this powerful psalm was someone experiencing the lightning, thunder, and wind of a storm coming in from the Mediterranean Sea. The Psalm found its way into the Psalter, not to provide a fitting song for the choir on a rainy day, but more likely, it proved appropriate for a festival where Yahweh’s Kingship or glory was celebrated.
When and by whom was the Psalm written? Verse 1 suggests it belongs to a collection for the king. Few scholars think that David is the author, though it may well be an early piece. More likely, it was written by a worship leader at an Israelite worship centre. It is some unknown poet followed by a worship leader calling every living being in heaven and on earth to worship the Creator.
Acts 8: 14-17
When Philip proclaimed the gospel to the Samaritans, they believed, repented, and were baptised in water – but they did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This only happened when Peter and John came from Jerusalem, laid hands on them and prayed that they might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In this account the delay in the Samaritans receiving the Spirit was because the Samaritans were not Gentiles, but they were not considered fully Jewish either. They were on the fringes of Judaism. Peter at Pentecost had said that the promise of the Spirit was for all. It was not clear to the Jews if the Samaritans were included. By delaying the gift of the Spirit, Jesus acted to save his community from a potential division into a Jewish Christianity and a Samaritan Christianity.
Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
John was quite sure that he was only the forerunner. The King was still to come and with him would come judgment. The winnowing fork was a great flat wooden shovel; with it the grain was tossed into the air; the heavy grain fell to the ground and the chaff was blown away. And just as the chaff was separated from the grain so the King would separate the good and the bad.
John painted a picture of judgment, but it was a judgment which a man could meet with confidence if he had discharged his duty to his neighbour and if he had faithfully done his day's work.
V21-22. The Baptism of Jesus
In Jesus' baptism something happened. In the moment of baptism God spoke to Jesus. The voice of God came to him and told him that he had made the right decision.
God said to him, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." So in the baptism it was recognised, first that Jesus was the Messiah, God's anointed King; and second, that this involved not power and glory, but suffering and a cross.
Your donation will help to maintain Pilgrim People’s sound worship and preaching