Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
On this page, you can find an index to all the commentary articles on the gospel lectionary readings for the whole of Year A, together with links to the video discussions between Ian and James. The articles will be reposted with updates during the year—but they are listed here for convenience and planning ahead.
Was Jesus raised in a ‘poor’ family?
It is fascinating to see the way that traditions have grown up around the celebration of Christmas, and how many of those traditions are not merely absent from the Bible, but in fact contradict not only the content of the Bible, but the heart of its message. Somehow, where the birth narratives in Scripture are all about something amazing that God has done, these Christmas traditions become moralistic tales about what we need to do.
As a result, the central message of the incarnation (and therefore of the Christmas season), that God has come to us, and this demands a response on our part to him (of repentance and faith) ends up becoming a morality tale. Instead of responding urgently to the coming of his kingdom into our lives, we just need to try harder and make some new New Year’s resolutions. It is, in effect, a secularising of the message.
And these traditions are very hard to dislodge! Traditional understanding has a deep grip on us—and this means we are deeply resistant to hearing the real challenge of God ‘tabernacling amongst us’ in the person of Jesus.
I therefore continue to seek to debunk these mythical traditions. One of the most deeply engrained is that Jesus was, unlike us, born as a poor boy into a poor family, so that we should feel sorry both for him and for the poor people around us. (Note that this message is addressed only to the comparatively wealthy!). This is a long read, but I hope you find it worthwhile, since it seeks to debunk not just this tradition about Christmas, but also a series of unrealistic and inattentive readings of the life of Jesus in the gospels.
Enjoy! (And if you enjoy, share it…!)
The flight of the holy family and fury of Herod in Matt 2 video discussion
The reading for Christmas 1, which is also the Feast of the Holy Innocents, is Matthew 2.13–18. This texts raises fascinating questions about history, how Matthew’s account here fits with…
Was Jesus born in December?
One of the problems about the development of traditions around Christmas is that people writing hymns or plays set Jesus’ birth in their own world rather than in what we…
What does Joseph bring to the story of Jesus’ origins in Matthew 1?
This Sunday’s lectionary reading for Advent 4 in Year A is Matt 1.18–25. It is a short reading, but laden with significance as Matthew gives his distinctive account of Jesus’…
The gospel of God in Romans 1 video conversation
The lectionary epistle reading for Advent 4 in Year A is Romans 1.1–7, which is a single sentence in Greek! Paul offers not just an opening greeting, but a programmatic…
Who Owns Jesus? Tommy Robinson and The Dirty Revival
The fury over a Christmas carol event exposes the ideological gatekeeping hollowing out British Christianity. Jason Clark writes: Over the last few days, my social media feeds—shaped by the strange,…
Telling the Christmas story without a stable for children
Contrary to popular tradition, Jesus was not born in a stable! Why? Because the ‘manger’ where he was laid was at the bottom of the main living area of a…
What does 1 Peter teach us today?
When I first learnt New Testament Greek, the set text for our class was (slightly oddly!) 1 Peter. This has left me with an affection for the letter—so I was…
Does Jesus disappoint our expectations in Matthew 11?
The lectionary gospel reading for Advent 3 in Year A is Matt 11.2–11, and as usual is rather truncated, so you might want to extend the reading by a verse…
The coming of Jesus unites us in James 5 video discussion
The epistle for Advent 3 in Year A is James 5.7–10. The lectionary makes an odd choice here, and we really need to read on to verse 11 as well….
The elephant in the nativity room?
John Hudghton writes: Around this time of year my nerdy mind turns to constructing an authentic biblical nativity scene. This amuses my family, to say the least. I try to…
