2025 Sun Jan 26

I. Theme – The power given us through God’s love and presence. 

Brow of the Hill Near Nazareth" ” – James Tissot (1886-1894) 

"When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way." – Luke 4:28-30

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm – Psalm 71:1-6
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Gospel – Luke 4:21-30     

Today’s readings reveal the power given us through God’s love and presence. Jeremiah protests his call to prophesy, but God commands him to speak boldly. Paul teaches a quarreling community that, while all the spiritual gifts have value, respect and love for each other deeply empower us. Jesus proclaims that the power of his ministry will not be confined to his hometown or even to his faith community.

The two major themes in this week’s reading stand out in clear relief: Firstly, God’s grace is not always a comfortable and gentle thing to experience. Integral to God’s grace is the work of justice which distresses the comfortable and self-assured (the "no") even as it comforts the distressed (the "yes"). Jeremiah is told that his message will not only build up but break down; The psalmist reflects on his vulnerability and the threat of evil in spite of his long life of relationship with God; The love that Paul speaks about is not an easy or comfortable way to follow, but challenges our self-centredness and lethargy toward others; and finally, Jesus makes it clear that his ministry is not “friendly” and non-disruptive, but a life-changing, all-inclusive confrontation of self-righteousness and injustice

Secondly, as with Jesus’ near execution in Luke, those who choose to follow Christ in his liberating work, must expect that they will find themselves in confrontation with injustice and those who propagate it. This will inevitably lead to great sacrifice and suffering. The work of grace is not all acceptance and healing. Sometimes it is a wounding battle – not least because we are called to love even those we challenge

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Paul never met Jesus but he claims to have seen him through subjective visionary experiences (Galatians 1:12, 16; 2:2; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10). Jesus died around 30D. Around A.D. 37, Paul reported his initial apparition of “Christ” whom he identified with Jesus raised from the dead The relationship of Jesus and Paul is explored in the book Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity by James D. Tabor, a professor at UNC-Charlotte.

Tabor towards the end of his book, he lists what we know about Paul:

• “Paul calls himself a Hebrew or Israelite, stating that he was born a Jew and circumcised on the eighth day, of the Jewish tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5-6; 2 Corinthians 11:22).

• “He was once a member of the sect of the Pharisees. He ad¬vanced in Judaism beyond many of his contemporaries, being extremely zealous for the traditions of his Jewish faith (Philippians 3:5; Galatians 1:14). [He was born in Tarsus in what is today southernTurkey]

• “He zealously persecuted the Jesus movement (Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 15:9).

• “Sometime around A.D. 37 Paul had a visionary experience he describes as “seeing” Jesus and received from Jesus his gospel message as well as his call to be an apostle to the non-Jewish world (1 Corinthians 9:2; Galatians 1:11-2:2).

• “He made only three trips to Jerusalem in the period covered by his genuine letters; one three years after his apostolic call, when he met Peter and James but none of the other apostles (around A.D. 40); the second fourteen years after his call (A.D. 50), when he appeared formally before the entire Jerusalem leadership to account for his mission and gospel message to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1-10); and a third, where he was ap¬parently arrested and sent under guard to Rome around A.D. 56 (Romans 15:25-29).

• “Paul claimed to experience many revelations from Jesus, in¬cluding direct voice communications, as well as an extraordi¬nary “ascent” into the highest level of heaven, entering paradise, where he saw and heard “things unutterable” (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).

• “He had some type of physical disability that he was convinced had been sent by Satan to afflict him, but allowed by Christ so that he would not be overly proud of his extraordinary revela¬tions (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

• “He claimed to have worked miraculous signs, wonders, and mighty works that verified his status as an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12).

• “He was unmarried, at least during his career as an apostle (1 Corinthians 7:8, 15; 9:5; Philippians 3:8).

• “He experienced numerous occasions of physical persecution and deprivation including beatings, being stoned and left for dead, and shipwrecked (1 Corinthians 3:11-12; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27).

• “He worked as a manual laborer to support himself on his trav¬els (1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 9:6, 12,15).

• “He was imprisoned, probably in Rome, in the early 60s A.D. and refers to the possibility that he would be executed (Philippians 1:1-26).”

Paul’s writings occupy nearly ¼ of the New Testament. Of the 27 books, thirteen are letters attributed to Paul. To these add the book of Acts, in which Paul is the main character in sixteen of its twenty-eight chapters. Paul’s accomplishment was to bring Christianity to the Gentiles in more pure sense that did not include Jewish practices.

Letters associated with Paul with his name include seven letters that scholars believe were written by Paul

First Thessalonians (ca. 51 AD) Philippians (ca. 52-54 AD) Philemon (ca. 52-54 AD) First Corinthians (ca. 53-54 AD) Galatians (ca. 55 AD) Second Corinthians (ca. 55-56 AD) Romans (ca. 55-58 AD)

The six letters are questionable – Colossians, Ephesians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. In Hebrews does not bear Paul’s name and most scholars agree was not written by Paul

Paul is known for his travels. Here is a timeline showing followed by Paul’s travels along with maps

How is this all relevant to today ? Circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses are no longer issues which face us today. The letters demonstrates the importance of taking a stand for the Gospel against those such as those who substitute their own beliefs for it. Secondly, Galatians reminds us of the importance understand the doctrine of justification by grace through faith which was revived by Luther in the Reformation. The book also reconnects us to God’s promises related through covenants and how this reaches the height with Jesus.

Traditionally the week of prayer is celebrated between 18-25 January, between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul.

Check out the event website. The guiding biblical text for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 comes from John 11:17-27. The theme for the week, “Do you believe this?” (v. 26), takes its cue from the dialogue between Jesus and Martha when Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany following the death of their brother Lazarus.

At least once a year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (see John 17.21). Hearts are touched and Christians come together to pray for their unity. Congregations and parishes all over the world exchange preachers or arrange special ecumenical celebrations and prayer services. The event that touches off this special experience is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

For this year, 2025, the prayers and reflections for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were prepared by the brothers and sisters of the monastic community of Bose in northern Italy. This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the first Christian Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea, near Constantinople in 325 AD. This commemoration provides a unique opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the common faith of Christians, as expressed in the Creed formulated during this Council; a faith that remains alive and fruitful in our days. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 offers an invitation to draw on this shared heritage and to enter more deeply into the faith that unites all Christians.