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Engaging with Scripture and God this Week

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10.  The books of Ezra, the priest, and Nehemiah, the provincial governor, tell of those who return from exile after 539 BCE. In the ceremony of recommitment to God's instructions for covenant life, Ezra reads aloud the book of the law of Moses.

Psalm 19 celebrates God's revelation, expressed generally in creation and especially in the Jewish law. Pagans acclaimed the divinity of some elements in nature but the psalmist claims that all of nature declares the glory of Israel’s God, the only creator.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a.  The image of the community as a body was a common one in Paul's day. The Romans used it as a metaphor for the state. Paul uses the image to show that every Christian is necessary to the body and needs the help of others.

Luke 4:14-21.  In Luke, Jesus’ ministry begins at the direction of the Spirit. Jesus’ inaugural sermon in his hometown synagogue sets forth the whole meaning of Jesus’ preaching and life.  Jesus announces himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah as the anointed one that is the expected Messiah or Christ. The liberation he brings is an actual physical liberation as well as one of spiritual forgiveness.

 

Liturgy
Liturgy