TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 23, 2025
Exodus 3:1-15
Reading
1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.”
Commentary
The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible and covers the period from the slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh (around 1250 BCE, if the account is historical), the Exodus itself, and the early months in the Wilderness.
Just prior to today’s story, Moses escaped from Pharaoh who heard that Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a “Hebrew” (2:11-12). Moses went to Midian, which is east of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba, about 250 miles southeast of Egypt. There, he married Zipporah, the daughter of the high priest, Reuel (2:18). Moses’ father-in-law has three different names – reflecting the multiple sources of the Moses story: Reuel, Jethro, and Hobab (Judg.4:11). In another tradition, Hobab is the son of Reuel (Num. 10.32).
Today’s reading is the first account of the “Call of Moses” at Mount Horeb (sometimes called “Sinai” as in Ex. 19:11). (A second – and different – Priestly account of the call of Moses is in Exodus 6.) The text refers to “the mountain of God” (v.1) and The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that this mountain called Horeb and Sinai “probably is a Midianite sacred place. Its location is unknown but three poems support the notion that it is southeast of Israel rather than in what we now call the Sinai Peninsula (Deut 33.2; Judg 5.4; Hab 3.3,7).”
The fact that the holy mountain has two names (Horeb and Sinai) and that Jethro is also called Reuel (2:18) and Hobab, all show that today’s reading (like most of the Torah) was woven together from several sources. The verses that refer to God as “LORD” are translations of YHWH, the sacred name in the “J” (Yahwistic) Source. The verses in today’s reading that use the word “God” are translations of the Hebrew word “Elohim” and are from the “E” (Elohistic) Source. YHWH was presented in the Torah as anthropomorphic – a God who spoke with humans and walked in the Garden of Eden. Elohim, on the other hand, was remote and transcendent. Verse 15 of today’s reading presented both understandings of the Sacred.
In today’s story, Moses saw a burning bush (v.2) when he was tending the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro (v.1). The Jewish Study Bible observes that fire is “a substance evocative of the divine because it is insubstantial yet powerful, dangerous, illuminating, and purifying.”
The JSB comments on the phrase “he was afraid to look at God” (v.6b). It notes: “Although the Bible assumes that God has a physical (usually humanlike) form, many passages suggest that seeing Him would be too awesome for humans to survive….Later Jewish philosophers, most notably Maimonides, held that God does not in fact have a physical form and that the biblical passages in question are meant as metaphors.”
The JSB suggests that Moses asked for God’s name because “he [Moses] had not been raised among his own people [the Israelites] and was therefore ignorant of their God’s name.” Other commentators say that when Moses asked for God’s name (v.13), he was seeking to “control” God. Names in Ancient Israel described who and what something or someone was. In Genesis, Adam named the animals and later – as a sign of the disorder from the Disobedience Event – named the woman “Eve.” Naming meant that the name-giver had some control over what or who was named.
Before being told the divine name (yod-heh-vav-heh or YHWH) in verse 14 (letters that emphasized the unfathomable mystery of God), God first told Moses the “meaning” of the name (“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” in v.13). The JSB says these letters are probably best translated as “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE” or “My nature will become evident from My actions.”
The NOAB notes that another meaning of the name is “I AM WHO I AM.” It opines that “ehyeh” is I AM and that “yhwh” may mean “he who causes to be.” Other translations are “I AM BECOMING WHAT I AM BECOMING.”
In addition to emphasizing the Mystery of God, the “name” also conveys God’s dynamism and changing manifestations. The translators’ notes to the NRSV say that the divine name YHWH is connected with the verb hayah or “to be.”
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Reading
1 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Commentary
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic, and Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers also taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) (likely while Paul was in Ephesus) and presented his views on several issues.
It is one of Paul’s most important letters because it is one of the earliest proclamations of Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and his resurrection and it contains the basic formula for celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
As a self-described Pharisee (Phil. 3:5), Paul knew the Hebrew Scriptures and often invoked them to emphasize his messages.
In today’s reading, Paul saw the time of the “ancestors” (v.1) (Israelites) – whom he said were the Corinthians’ spiritual forebears — in the Wilderness as a time of unending apostacy. Paul used examples from stories of the Israelites in the Wilderness to warn the Corinthians against idolatry and eating food offered to idols.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament interprets a number of the images used by Paul: the “cloud” (v.1) is the “divine presence that protected Israelites in the desert and seen as God’s Wisdom.” Although Paul described the Israelites as “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (v.2), The JANT notes that “Jewish tradition does not see this event as ‘baptism’ but regarded it as both present and proleptic [foreseen future events] salvation.”
Paul stated that the spiritual rock from which the Israelites drank was Christ (v.4). The NOAB describes this as “an intrusive, parenthetical comment by which again Paul attempts to replace the Corinthians’ ‘Wisdom’ with his own ‘Christ’ as the agent of salvation.”
In 10:7, Paul referred unfavorably to the Israelites’ eating and drinking after worshiping the Golden Calf (Ex. 32:6).
The footnotes in The NOAB are helpful: “That Paul uses distinctively Corinthian terms of “spiritual” people and things in vv.3-4 and then abruptly cites God’s displeasure with those who consume “spiritual” food and drink in v. 5 suggests that he is again borrowing and countering Corinthian language.”
The JANT points out that “If you think you are standing” (v.12) should be understood as “the posture of the righteous and redeemed” but that “falling” is the “position of the condemned.”
Luke 13:1-9
Reading
1 At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading contains two stories. The first is about random suffering and recounts two “events” that are not reported in any of the other Gospels or in other secular histories of the times.
It would have been common for Galileans to offer sacrifice at the Temple, and Pilate’s ruthless treatment of those he ruled is attested in Josephus, Philo, and others. The prevailing Jewish belief was that suffering and painful experiences were signs of God’s adverse judgment (the story of Job notwithstanding). Jesus used these two “events” as a call to repentance (vv. 3, 5). The Tower of Siloam was in the southeast corner of Jerusalem where the Pool of Siloam (referred to in John 9:7) was located. There is, however, no attestation of the Tower collapsing.
The ”parable” of the fig tree appears in all the Synoptic Gospels, but in very different forms. In Mark 11:12-14, Jesus was walking from Bethany to Jerusalem, was hungry, went to a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit (because figs were not yet in season) and said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” The NOAB sees this as “a prophetic demonstration against the Temple, … a figure for God’s judgment in Israelite tradition.”
In Matthew 21:18-19, the story is the same but Jesus said, “May no fruit ever come from you again.” And the fig tree withered at once.
Luke’s account is different, and the fig tree gets another year to produce fruit, but its fate is unknown. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary opines that it may be a parable of compassion in giving the people one more year to repent, and a “parable of crisis, which should light a fire under procrastinators and other unproductive disciples.” The fig tree in the Synoptic Gospels – and its lack of percieved productivity — may also be an analogue for the prevalent Judaism of Jesus’ time, or for the Pharisaic Judaism of the Gospel writers’ times.
2023, April 6 ~ Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
APRIL 6, 2025
Isaiah 43:16-21
Reading
16 Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old.
19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
Commentary
The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.
Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.
Today’s reading is from “Second Isaiah” and is the sequel to an extended discourse (vv. 8-15) which The New Oxford Annotated Bible says is “structured as a judicial process in which the deities of other lands, and particularly of Babylon, are challenged by the LORD to demonstrated divine status by their ability to predict the future and bring it about….The contest ends with an announcement of release from Babylonian captivity by the LORD.”
In today’s verses, the people were reminded that YHWH led them in the Exodus from Egypt (“make a way in the sea” v.16). YHWH promised to “do a new thing” (v.19) by delivering the Judeans from Babylon. The reading concluded with the theme that the Judeans were chosen (v.20) and formed by YHWH so they could praise YHWH (v.21). The Jewish Study Bible understands the passage to say: ”The liberation from Babylonian exile will prove even more impressive than the exodus from Egypt.”
Philippians 3:4b-14
Reading
4b If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Commentary
Philippi was a major city in Macedonia on the Roman road to Byzantium (Istanbul), and most of its inhabitants were Roman citizens. Paul wrote this letter from prison. For this reason, some think the letter was written from Rome around 62 CE. Other scholars note that Paul was also imprisoned earlier in Ephesus and made trips to Philippi from Ephesus. Paul had a deep affection for the believers in Philippi and thanked them for gifts sent to him in prison (4:18).
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes: “There is a widespread, though far from unanimous view, that Philippians represents a conflation of two or three originally separate letters.”
Today’s reading is a shift from the previous verses, and contains a repetition of Paul’s statements in opposition to those who claimed that one had to become a Jew by being circumcised before one could be a Jesus Follower (3:2-3). Paul uses strong language: “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers” (v.2) to describe those who make the claim of the need for circumcision of Gentiles.
To emphasize his standing to make these assertions, he described these opponents as “being confident in the flesh” (v.4) or placing an emphasis on physical rituals. Paul stated that he himself was circumcised (as a Hebrew) and was a blameless Pharisee (v.6). He referred to all his religious “gains” prior to knowing Christ Jesus as “rubbish” (v.8). (The Greek word is literally translated as “dog poop.”).
Paul emphasized the importance of “faith in The Christ” (v.9) – by which he meant a transformation of one’s deepest “heart” that would lead one to “know” (have a close relationship with and to experience The Christ as life-giving spirit). Paul urged his listeners to share in Christ’s sufferings “by becoming like him in his death” (v.10) – a death that was imposed on Jesus by the authorities because he lived and taught a life of selfless love. Paul aspired to attain the resurrection from the dead (v.11b). The Jewish Annotated New Testament understands this phrase to mean that Paul hoped “to become accounted worthy of, and possessing the sure hope of, securing the reward of resurrection from the dead upon Christ’s return.”
Paul acknowledged that, as a human being, he had only partially reached the goal of sharing in the sufferings of The Christ (v.12) but, using a sports analogy, that he was “pressing on” to the “prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (v.14) by “forgetting what lies behind” and “straining forward to what lies ahead” (v.14).
John 12:1-8
Reading
1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
Commentary
The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.
The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who is described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder that was to be held the night he died.
The story of Jesus’ being anointed before his Passion was told in each of the Gospels, though the stories may be a conflation of two different traditions.
In Luke’s account (Lk. 7:36-50), the event occurred in the middle of Jesus’ public ministry. In Mark (14:1-9), the event occurred two days before the Passover (and the festival of the Unleavened Bread – which Mark incorrectly separated from the Passover). In Matthew (26:6-16), the date is unspecified, but is clearly just before the Passover. In today’s reading from John, the event occurred six days before the Passover.
The place of the event is also different. In Mark and Matthew, it occurred at the home of Simon the Leper. In Luke, Jesus was at the home of a Pharisee who is later named as Simon (7:40). In John, the event occurred in Bethany (a town about two miles east of Jerusalem) at the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary.
In Mark and Matthew, the woman was not identified, and in Luke she was identified only as “a sinner” (7:37). In today’s reading the woman was Mary, Lazarus’ sister (v.3).
In Mark, Matthew and Luke, the woman had “an alabaster flask of ointment” which was described in Matthew as “very expensive.” Mark and John identify the ointment as “pure nard.” In John, Mary used a pound of nard (a Roman pound was 11.5 ounces).
Nard comes from the oil of the spikenard plant that is found in the Himalayas. Mark and John valued it at “300 denarii” which would be a year’s wages for a laborer (about $40,000 today for a worker paid $20 an hour and working 40 hours a week.)
In Mark and Matthew, Jesus’ head was anointed, but in Luke and John his feet were anointed. According to The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, perfume or oil would not usually be used to anoint feet.
In Mark and Matthew, the disciples or others present saw the anointing as a “waste” and urged that the proceeds of the nard could have been given to the poor. In John, only Judas raised this issue and the account used the story to call Judas a thief (v.6), a characterization not found in the other Gospels.
Giving alms to the poor is a Passover obligation (John 13:29). The statement “The poor you always have with you” is taken from Deut. 15:11 where YHWH commanded the Israelites to be generous to the poor in the land.
In Mark, Matthew and John, the anointing was presented as preparing Jesus for burial (v.7).
2025, March 30 ~ Joshua 5:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 30, 2025
Joshua 5:9-12
Reading
9 The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.
10 While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal, they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. 11 On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
Commentary
The Book of Joshua is part of the “Deuteronomic History” (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), most of which was written from about 650 to 600 BCE. This Book covers the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land by crossing the River Jordan (Chapters 1 to 5), the swift (and idealized) conquest by Joshua of the people who were in the land starting with Jericho (Chapters 6 to 12), the allocation of the conquered lands among the tribes (Chapters 13 to 23) and concludes with the “Covenant at Shechem” in Chapter 24 by which the people swore (acting as their own witnesses against themselve) to be faithful to YHWH. The timeframe of the events in the Book would be around 1225 BCE, if the accounts are historical.
Today’s reading is set just after the Israelites crossed the River Jordan and just before the Conquest began. It is part of a Priestly insertion into the Book and was written in the period from about 550 to 450 BCE. It reflects two major concerns of the Priestly writers – the timing and celebration of the feasts, and circumcision as a separating sign for Jews. The circumcision of all the men was described in the verses preceding today’s reading (vv. 2-8).
The reading recounted the first Passover in Canaan and Israel’s becoming an agrarian society. (Whenever the phrase “on that very day” occurs, it is a “trademark” of the Priestly concern for accuracy in the dates for celebrating rituals.)
The place of the Passover Celebration was Gilgal, which means “the round place” and is a play on words for YHWH’s “rolling away the disgrace of Egypt” (v.9). Scholars surmise that the “disgrace” refers to the fact that (according to the story) Israelite men who were born in the 40 years in the Wilderness had not been circumcised, a matter which would have been of great concern to the Priestly writers. This “disgrace” was “remedied” in the first part of Chapter 5 so that after the men were healed (v.8), they would be allowed to participate in the Passover Celebration and would be proper warriors for YHWH in the upcoming Conquest.
The Passover celebration described here was presented as occurring on two days. On the first day, the Paschal Lamb was consumed (v.11a), and on the second day, unleavened bread and parched grain (v.11b) were eaten. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary suggests that this reference in 11b was to the older festival of Unleavened Bread which was later combined with the sacrifice of a lamb to create the Passover meal as described in Exodus 12:8. The NJBC goes on to state: “In order to reconcile the date given in verse 10, scribes added the words ‘on the day after the Passover’ here and in verse 12. This gloss is in the MT [the Masoretic Text] but not in the LXX [the Septuagint].”
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Reading
16 From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Commentary
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower.
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians was written in opposition to “false apostles” (11.13). It seems to be a composite of fragments from other letters that have been lost, some of which are referred to in the letter with which we are presented. Some of the statements in the letter are inconsistent with other statements in Paul’s epistles.
Today’s reading emphasized God’s reconciliation with the world through the Christ and urged the Corinthians to be reconciled to God and with one another.
Being “in Christ” (v.17) is a phrase often used by Paul, and the footnotes to The New Oxford Annotated Bible describe being “in Christ” as “a new creation, the cosmic [or eschatological] reversal of the primordial fall” that is now in progress. The Jewish Annotated New Testament describes it as “the eschatological reversal of human sin and estrangement from the divine. The old way of looking from a human point of view has passed.”
The translators’ notes to the NRSV state that verse 19 (“in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself”) can also be translated as “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.”
The last verse (v.21) is difficult and is sometimes better understood as “Because the Christ became a human being [i.e. Jesus of Nazareth] who did not sin, we have a relationship with the Christ through which we can be in a right relationship (righteousness) with God.” The JANT adds: “sharing in God’s characteristic of righteousness.”
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Reading
1 All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So Jesus told them this parable:
11b “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘ 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe–the best one–and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Unlike the two parables that immediately precede it (the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin), the parable does not involve searching for that which is lost. The JANT points out that, notwithstanding “the joy of heaven over one sinner who repents” (v.10), none of these parables is about repenting. Sheep and coins do not repent, and the prodigal son returned for economic reasons (v.17).
In the Hebrew Bible, the first son was entitled to a “double portion” (Deut. 21:17) of his father’s estate, so if the father had two sons, the younger son would have been entitled (upon the father’s death) to one-third of the father’s estate. Some commentators have suggested that to ask for one’s inheritance while the father was alive was not only deeply disrespectful (“I treat you as dead, father”) but it would have been a severe hardship to liquidate assets to provide this share to the son. The JANT disagrees: “It is not, as is often claimed, an insult to his father, although the father’s agreeing risks appearing foolish [citing Sirach 33]. Had the son dishonored his father by asking for this request, his father should have immediately corrected him rather than indulged him.”
Not only does the son squander the money, but he also behaves like a Gentile in feeding pigs (v.15).
When he returned, it was not to repent, but so he could have food (v.17). The father’s running to the son (v.20) would be seen by the hearers as highly undignified behavior by an older person. Robes were worn for ceremonial reasons, and consuming meat (much less a fatted calf) was very unusual (v.23). Shoes/sandals were worn only by free persons; slaves would have been barefoot.
The elder son refused to recognize his brother (“this son of yours” v.30) but the father reminded him that this was his brother (v.32).
On the question of who the older son represents in the story, The JANT correctly notes: “A common reading is the identification of the older brother as the recalcitrant Pharisee, who refuses to welcome sinners. However, if the father is seen as God and the elder as the Pharisee, then the parable necessarily sees the Pharisees as heirs to God’s promises (15.31).”
2025, March 23 ~ Exodus 3:1-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 23, 2025
Exodus 3:1-15
Reading
1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.”
Commentary
The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible and covers the period from the slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh (around 1250 BCE, if the account is historical), the Exodus itself, and the early months in the Wilderness.
Just prior to today’s story, Moses escaped from Pharaoh who heard that Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a “Hebrew” (2:11-12). Moses went to Midian, which is east of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba, about 250 miles southeast of Egypt. There, he married Zipporah, the daughter of the high priest, Reuel (2:18). Moses’ father-in-law has three different names – reflecting the multiple sources of the Moses story: Reuel, Jethro, and Hobab (Judg.4:11). In another tradition, Hobab is the son of Reuel (Num. 10.32).
Today’s reading is the first account of the “Call of Moses” at Mount Horeb (sometimes called “Sinai” as in Ex. 19:11). (A second – and different – Priestly account of the call of Moses is in Exodus 6.) The text refers to “the mountain of God” (v.1) and The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that this mountain called Horeb and Sinai “probably is a Midianite sacred place. Its location is unknown but three poems support the notion that it is southeast of Israel rather than in what we now call the Sinai Peninsula (Deut 33.2; Judg 5.4; Hab 3.3,7).”
The fact that the holy mountain has two names (Horeb and Sinai) and that Jethro is also called Reuel (2:18) and Hobab, all show that today’s reading (like most of the Torah) was woven together from several sources. The verses that refer to God as “LORD” are translations of YHWH, the sacred name in the “J” (Yahwistic) Source. The verses in today’s reading that use the word “God” are translations of the Hebrew word “Elohim” and are from the “E” (Elohistic) Source. YHWH was presented in the Torah as anthropomorphic – a God who spoke with humans and walked in the Garden of Eden. Elohim, on the other hand, was remote and transcendent. Verse 15 of today’s reading presented both understandings of the Sacred.
In today’s story, Moses saw a burning bush (v.2) when he was tending the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro (v.1). The Jewish Study Bible observes that fire is “a substance evocative of the divine because it is insubstantial yet powerful, dangerous, illuminating, and purifying.”
The JSB comments on the phrase “he was afraid to look at God” (v.6b). It notes: “Although the Bible assumes that God has a physical (usually humanlike) form, many passages suggest that seeing Him would be too awesome for humans to survive….Later Jewish philosophers, most notably Maimonides, held that God does not in fact have a physical form and that the biblical passages in question are meant as metaphors.”
The JSB suggests that Moses asked for God’s name because “he [Moses] had not been raised among his own people [the Israelites] and was therefore ignorant of their God’s name.” Other commentators say that when Moses asked for God’s name (v.13), he was seeking to “control” God. Names in Ancient Israel described who and what something or someone was. In Genesis, Adam named the animals and later – as a sign of the disorder from the Disobedience Event – named the woman “Eve.” Naming meant that the name-giver had some control over what or who was named.
Before being told the divine name (yod-heh-vav-heh or YHWH) in verse 14 (letters that emphasized the unfathomable mystery of God), God first told Moses the “meaning” of the name (“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” in v.13). The JSB says these letters are probably best translated as “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE” or “My nature will become evident from My actions.”
The NOAB notes that another meaning of the name is “I AM WHO I AM.” It opines that “ehyeh” is I AM and that “yhwh” may mean “he who causes to be.” Other translations are “I AM BECOMING WHAT I AM BECOMING.”
In addition to emphasizing the Mystery of God, the “name” also conveys God’s dynamism and changing manifestations. The translators’ notes to the NRSV say that the divine name YHWH is connected with the verb hayah or “to be.”
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Reading
1 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Commentary
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic, and Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers also taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) (likely while Paul was in Ephesus) and presented his views on several issues.
It is one of Paul’s most important letters because it is one of the earliest proclamations of Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and his resurrection and it contains the basic formula for celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
As a self-described Pharisee (Phil. 3:5), Paul knew the Hebrew Scriptures and often invoked them to emphasize his messages.
In today’s reading, Paul saw the time of the “ancestors” (v.1) (Israelites) – whom he said were the Corinthians’ spiritual forebears — in the Wilderness as a time of unending apostacy. Paul used examples from stories of the Israelites in the Wilderness to warn the Corinthians against idolatry and eating food offered to idols.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament interprets a number of the images used by Paul: the “cloud” (v.1) is the “divine presence that protected Israelites in the desert and seen as God’s Wisdom.” Although Paul described the Israelites as “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (v.2), The JANT notes that “Jewish tradition does not see this event as ‘baptism’ but regarded it as both present and proleptic [foreseen future events] salvation.”
Paul stated that the spiritual rock from which the Israelites drank was Christ (v.4). The NOAB describes this as “an intrusive, parenthetical comment by which again Paul attempts to replace the Corinthians’ ‘Wisdom’ with his own ‘Christ’ as the agent of salvation.”
In 10:7, Paul referred unfavorably to the Israelites’ eating and drinking after worshiping the Golden Calf (Ex. 32:6).
The footnotes in The NOAB are helpful: “That Paul uses distinctively Corinthian terms of “spiritual” people and things in vv.3-4 and then abruptly cites God’s displeasure with those who consume “spiritual” food and drink in v. 5 suggests that he is again borrowing and countering Corinthian language.”
The JANT points out that “If you think you are standing” (v.12) should be understood as “the posture of the righteous and redeemed” but that “falling” is the “position of the condemned.”
Luke 13:1-9
Reading
1 At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading contains two stories. The first is about random suffering and recounts two “events” that are not reported in any of the other Gospels or in other secular histories of the times.
It would have been common for Galileans to offer sacrifice at the Temple, and Pilate’s ruthless treatment of those he ruled is attested in Josephus, Philo, and others. The prevailing Jewish belief was that suffering and painful experiences were signs of God’s adverse judgment (the story of Job notwithstanding). Jesus used these two “events” as a call to repentance (vv. 3, 5). The Tower of Siloam was in the southeast corner of Jerusalem where the Pool of Siloam (referred to in John 9:7) was located. There is, however, no attestation of the Tower collapsing.
The ”parable” of the fig tree appears in all the Synoptic Gospels, but in very different forms. In Mark 11:12-14, Jesus was walking from Bethany to Jerusalem, was hungry, went to a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit (because figs were not yet in season) and said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” The NOAB sees this as “a prophetic demonstration against the Temple, … a figure for God’s judgment in Israelite tradition.”
In Matthew 21:18-19, the story is the same but Jesus said, “May no fruit ever come from you again.” And the fig tree withered at once.
Luke’s account is different, and the fig tree gets another year to produce fruit, but its fate is unknown. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary opines that it may be a parable of compassion in giving the people one more year to repent, and a “parable of crisis, which should light a fire under procrastinators and other unproductive disciples.” The fig tree in the Synoptic Gospels – and its lack of percieved productivity — may also be an analogue for the prevalent Judaism of Jesus’ time, or for the Pharisaic Judaism of the Gospel writers’ times.
2025, March 16 ~ Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 16, 2025
Genesis 15:1-12,17-18
Reading
1 The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O LORD God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the LORD came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O LORD God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”
Commentary
Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (“five books”) in Greek. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.
The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God and the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.
Today’s reading follows Abram’s departure from Haran to Canaan and YHWH’s promise to make him a “great nation”; his trip to Egypt because of a famine where he passed Sarai off as his sister because she was so beautiful – even at an advanced age – so that Pharaoh would not kill him (Gen. 12); his return to Canaan and his giving his nephew Lot the lands each of the Jordan River; another promise of many offspring (Ch. 13); and his encounters with the King of Sodom and Melchizedek of Salem (an ancient name for Jerusalem) (Ch. 14).
The reading is part of an early tradition as shown by the translation of God’s name as “LORD” in all capital letters. LORD is the translation of YHWH. The earliest written tradition called God “YHWH” and presented God anthropomorphically – a God who walked in Eden and spoke directly with humans.
In today’s reading, the LORD spoke with Abram (his name had not yet been changed (17:5) and made a covenant that repeated in different words the covenant expressed in Gen. 13:14-17 that he would have substantial lands and descendants too numerous to count. The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “Some scholars view the parallel objections from Abraham (vv. 2 and 3) and divine responses (vv. 4 and 5) as first indicators of the existence of parallel non-Priestly sources (J and E) that were interwoven here and in the rest of the Pentateuch.”
The NOAB comments on verse 6 as follows: “This verse indicates that Abraham considered his objections answered. Though later tradition has generally understood God to be the one who reckoned righteousness to Abraham (e.g., Rom 4.9; Gal 3.6), the subject [of the sentence] is not specified in Hebrew. Righteousness is being true to one social obligations and commitments.” The Jewish Study Bible says: “In the Tanakh, faith does not mean believing in spite of the evidence. It means trusting profoundly in a person, in this case the personal God who has reiterated His promise.”
The name “Abram” means exalted ancestor. The name “Abraham” means the [divine] ancestor is exalted or the “ancestor of a multitude of nations (17:5)
This covenant was confirmed by cutting animals and birds in two (v.10). In Hebrew, to “make” a covenant is literally to “cut” a covenant (we might say “cut a deal”). The covenant was “sealed” when the flaming torch passed between the cut pieces of the animals. The NOAB says: “The ceremony reflects an ancient practice in which the participants in a covenant oath passed through the dismembered parts of an animal and proclaimed a similar fate on themselves if they disobeyed the terms of the agreement (cf. Jer 34.18).”
This covenant was “unilateral” or a “covenant of grant” and did not require Abram to take actions to uphold his part of the “bargain.” The covenant in Genesis 13 only told Abram to “walk through the length and breadth of the land” (13:17) that he was given.
The covenant was substantially repeated for the third time in Genesis 17 but was “bilateral” and required Abraham to “have every male among you” circumcised, which Abraham did in Gen. 17:23-27.
The NOAB notes: “The boundaries given here are the broadest definition of the promised land in the Hebrew Bible. They correspond to similarly broad ideal descriptions of the land in the Deuteronomistic history [citing 2 Sam 8, and 1 Kings 4].” The JSB notes: “The expression ‘river of Egypt’ is unparalleled. It may refer to an eastern arm of the Nile or to the Wadi El-Arish, a body of water between the Negev and the Sinai Peninsula. The Hebrew words for ‘river’ and for ‘wadi’ are very similar.”
In the omitted verses (13-16), the LORD told Abram that his offspring would be slaves in a land not theirs for 400 years. In Exodus, the Priestly writer said the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years (Ex.12:40).
Philippians 3:17- 4:1
Reading
17 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. 4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
Commentary
Philippi was a major city in Macedonia on the Roman road to Byzantium (Istanbul), and most of its inhabitants were Roman citizens. Paul wrote this letter from prison. For this reason, some think the letter was written from Rome around 62 CE. Other scholars note that Paul was also imprisoned earlier in Ephesus and made trips to Philippi from Ephesus. Paul had a deep affection for the believers in Philippi and thanked them for gifts sent to him in prison (4:18). Many scholars see the letter as a combination of two or three separate letters. Understanding the Bible points out that the church at Philippi was the first in Europe which Paul and his associate Timothy had founded (Acts 16:11- 40).
Among Paul’s apparent concerns were that some who claimed to be Jesus Followers were living “as enemies of the cross of Christ” (v.18). By this, Paul meant that these Jesus Followers did not accept the Crucifixion as central to their sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, to becoming like him in his death, and somehow attaining the resurrection from the dead (vv. 10-11).
Today’s reading also contains some of the politically subversive themes Paul presented in the letter. He asserted that Jesus Followers’ citizenship is in heaven (v.20), rather than with Rome. In many places in the Roman Empire, there were monuments depicting Caesar Augustus as savior and lord, but Paul claimed that we are “expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (v.20). This “expectation” sounds very much like a belief in a Second Coming.
Paul never tried to describe the nature of “the body of glory” of Jesus the Christ, but he did affirm that “the body of our humiliation” will be conformed to this body of glory (v.21).
Luke 13:31-35
Reading
31 Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
It is difficult to determine the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and the Pharisees during his lifetime. Some scholars suggest that Jesus had a good relationship during his lifetime, but that the authors of the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke said very harsh things about the Pharisees (and attribute these words to Jesus). It is difficult to know if Jesus spoke this way or if the evangelists included these harsh words because of the contentions between the Pharisees and the Jesus Followers after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE until the so-called “Parting of the Ways” in the late First Century.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament speaks of Luke’s presentation of the Pharisees as “puzzling, inconsistent, and complex. Positively, Luke mentions no Pharisees in the Passion Narrative and does mention Pharisees as members of the Christian community (Acts 15.5). Yet the first words attributed to the Pharisees show them as misunderstanding Jesus.” The JANT concludes its discussion: “When a pharisee inquires about the timing of the Kingdom of God (17.20-21), he can be seen as misunderstanding Jesus’ program. In their last appearance (17.37-40), ‘some’ Pharisees exhort Jesus to rebuke his disciples for hailing him as a king. They can be seen positively as fearing that the acclamation would prompt Roman reprisal; they can equally be seen as rejecting the disciples’ claims.”
In today’s reading, the Pharisees warned Jesus that Herod [Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BCE to 40 CE, and a son of Herod the Great] wanted to kill Jesus (v.31). Although some scholars have interpreted this as an attempt by the Pharisees to thwart Jesus’ performing of his mission, the warning seemed helpful on its face.
Jesus responded by referring to Herod unflatteringly (a “fox”) and obliquely criticized the Pharisees by suggesting that they had access to Herod. Jesus affirmed that he needed to “finish my work” on “the third day” — a colloquialism that meant “soon” or in a little while.
In a theme that appeared frequently in Luke, Jesus was described as a “rejected prophet” who would be killed in Jerusalem (v.33).
The last verse of today’s reading was addressed to Jerusalem which will not see Jesus again until Jerusalem says, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (a quote from Ps. 118:26). In some ancient authorities, the words “the time comes when” are not included. This can be interpreted as a reference to a Second Coming.
Because punctuation (such as quotation marks) did not exist in the First Century, it is difficult to know how much of vv. 32 to 35 was properly included in what Jesus wanted the Pharisees to tell Herod.
2025, March 9 ~ Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 9, 2025
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Reading
1 When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, 5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.” You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.
Commentary
Deuteronomy is the fifth (and last) book of the Torah and is presented as Moses’ final speech to the Israelites just before they entered the Promised Land. “Deuteronomy” comes from Greek words that mean “Second Law” and is structured as a “restatement” of the laws found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Parts of it were revised as late as 450 BCE, but the bulk of the book is generally dated to the reign of King Josiah of Judea (640-609 BCE). The pious stories of the “discovery” of the “book of the law” during renovations of the Temple and its “confirmation” by the prophetess Huldah are recounted in 2 Kings 22.
It is also the first book of the didactic “Deuteronomic History” which consists of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. This “History” teaches that when the people and kings of Israel and Judea worshiped YHWH properly, they prospered, but when they worshiped false gods, other nations (the Assyrians in 722 BCE and Babylonians in 587) conquered them.
The Deuteronomic History emphasized the need for worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple is described in today’s passage as “the place the LORD God [YHWH] will choose as a dwelling for his name” (v.2). It is noteworthy that the Temple is not where YHWH resides, but only the “Presence” or the Name.
Today’s reading prescribed actions at the Temple for the Festival of Weeks, a celebration of the Spring harvest. After the Babylonian Exile, the Festival also came to be associated with the giving of the Law at Sinai and was later called Pentecost (50 days after Passover) in First Century Judaism (Acts 2:1). As The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes, today’s passage gave a theological and historical basis for two laws regarding tithing that were already in Deuteronomy 14:22-29. The NOAB also notes that in verse 4, the priest sets down the offering, but in verse 10, the individual does so. It suggests that verses 3 and 4 are a “later addition intended to emphasize the role of priests in the ceremony.”
The Festival of Weeks was one of the three festivals in which Jews were expected to go the Temple in Jerusalem each year to make offerings. The other two were Passover and the celebration of the Fall harvest, called the Festival of Booths or Tabernacles (remembering the flimsy dwellings inhabited during the time in the Wilderness). Verses 3 and 4 are seen as a later insert to emphasize the role of the priests at the Temple.
Today’s reading also contains an early synopsis of the story of the Exodus and the entry into Israel (vv.5b-9). This synopsis does not contain the giving of the Law at Sinai or many of the details in Genesis and Exodus. It is much shorter than the synopsis of Jewish History from Abraham to the Destruction of Jerusalem contained in Nehemiah 9:7-31 – an account written after the Exile and about 200 years after the first version of Deuteronomy.
When Nehemiah was written, the stories in Genesis and Exodus had been more fully developed by the priestly writers and were included in the Torah that was read by Ezra to the people in 443 BCE (Neh.8). The Jewish Study Bible observes that “the inclusion of the Sinai/Horeb narrative is a relatively late, secondary addition [to the Torah]. Sinai seems to be incorporated into the larger narrative only in exilic or later texts (Ps. 106; Neh. Ch.9).”
Romans 10:8b-13
Reading
8b “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Commentary
Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among other messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.
The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.
In today’s reading, Paul paraphrased Isaiah 28:16 (“One who trusts [in the cornerstone YHWH is laying in Zion] will not panic”) by saying that “no one who believes in Jesus as Lord will be put to shame” (v.11). The Jewish Annotated New Testament says: “Isaiah’s original meaning of trust in God to avoid fear here becomes a promise of vindication.”
Paul emphasized that “there is no distinction [among the Jesus Followers] between Jew and Greek (Gentiles); the same Lord is Lord of all” (v.12). As support for this assertion, Paul interpreted Deuteronomy 30:14 (“The word [the Torah, the commandments] is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe”) as establishing that the “word of faith” is on each believer’s lips and in their hearts (v.8b).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament understands that proclamation of the good news was an important theme for Paul and the phrase “confess with your lips” (v.9) expressed his concern that some Israelites were not proclaiming the good news that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead (v.9).
Paul took the phrase “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v.13) from the prophet Joel, who wrote about the “terrible Day of the LORD [YHWH]” in which only those who call upon the LORD would be saved (Joel 2:32). Paul’s used this phrase as part of his over-all message that “belief in your heart that God raised [the Christ] from the dead” (v.9) is transformative and causes the true believer to be “justified” – in a right relationship with God and others. The JANT sees righteousness as an expression of one’s intent, of doing right for the right reasons (v.10).
The NOAB points out that calling Jesus “Lord” is the same as referring to Jesus the Christ as “God.” The word in Greek for Lord is “Kyrios” – the same word used to translate YHWH in the Septuagint.
Luke 4:1-13
Reading
1 After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'”
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading is the “Temptation in the Wilderness.” An abbreviated version appears in Mark 1:12-13 in which the Spirit “drove” Jesus to the Wilderness. Matthew 4:1-11 presented the same three temptations (showing that the source is “Q”), but in a different order.
The period of 40 days is reminiscent of the 40 years the Israelites were said to have been in the Wilderness during the Exodus, The word “forty” is a translation of a word that means “a long time” just as “three days” is a euphemism for “a short time.” We use the same metaphors when we say: “I’ll be there in a second” or “I’ll be with you in a minute.”
The JANT points out that the quotations from the Hebrew Bible that were reportedly used by the Satan and Jesus are paraphrases of verses from the Septuagint and are different from the Masoretic Texts.
In First Century Jewish thought, the Satan was not considered the embodiment of evil (as Satan later became) but rather was a part of the heavenly court whose role was to test the righteous.
Luke uses the word “diaboulou” which is generally translated as “the devil” and reflects movement towards seeing the tempter as evil. Although both Matthew and Luke both contain an offer by the devil to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world (vv.5-6), only Luke makes the point that all these kingdoms “have been given over” (v.6) to the devil so that he presently rules the world and can give the kingdoms to whom he pleases.
The JANT notes that the quote used by the devil “he will command his angels to protect you” (vv.10-11) is (somewhat ironically) taken from Psalm 91:11-12, in which God promises to protect the people against demonic foes.
The departure of the devil “until an opportune time” (v.13) foreshadowed the devil’s reappearance in Luke 22:3 when “Satan (in Greek satanas) entered into Judas called Iscariot.”
2025, March 2 ~ Exodus 24:29-35; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28b-43a
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MARCH 2, 2025
Exodus 34:29-35
Reading
29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Commentary
The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah/Pentateuch and covers the period from the slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh (around 1250 BCE, if the account is historical), the Exodus itself, and the early months in the Wilderness.
Today’s reading is set at Mount Sinai (“Horeb” in other parts of Exodus and in Deuteronomy) during the time in the Wilderness.
Because of this reading from the Hebrew Bible and today’s Gospel reading, many Christians refer to this Sunday as “Transfiguration Sunday.” In this reading, Moses’ face shone when he came down from Mount Sinai after speaking with YHWH (translated as LORD in all capital letters). On the mountain, he (Moses) wrote the “words of the covenant” (the Ten Commandments or the Ten Words) on tablets as directed by YHWH (34:27-28).
The account in today’s reading was Moses’ second return from the top of Mount Sinai. Just a few chapters earlier, Moses came down from the mountain with the Commandments written by YHWH in the first account (31:18). In that instance, when Moses and YHWH saw that the Israelites built a Golden Calf, YHWH threatened to destroy them. Moses pleaded with YHWH to reverse that decision and YHWH relented (Chapters 32 and 33). The Jewish Study Bible notes: “The present text appears to combine two different traditions about what the terms of the covenant were.”
There also appear to be multiple sources as to when Moses put a veil over his face. In one instance, he put it on after he gave the people the Commandments (v.33), but in another verse and he put the veil over his face when speaking to the Israelites and removed it whenever he spoke to YHWH face-to-face (v.34).
The Hebrew words saying that Moses’ face “shone” (v.29) or in other translations “was radiant” shares an etymological root with the word “horn” (as in a source of sound projection). In his translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), Jerome rendered these Hebrew words as “was horned.” This unfortunate translation was the basis for Michelangelo’s statue of Moses showing him with horns and led to the anti-semitic belief that Jews had horns.
Moses’ speaking with God face-to-face became an important aspect of the description of the expected Messiah when this account in Exodus was combined with two verses in the Book of Deuteronomy. In one verse, YHWH promised to “raise up for them [the people of Israel] a prophet like you [Moses].” (Deut. 18.18) The other verse stated that no other prophet in Israel has been known by God face-to-face (Deut. 34.10).
Today’s Gospel reading presents Jesus of Nazareth as conversing with Moses and Elijah, and notes that “the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white” (Luke 9:29).
2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
Reading
12 Since then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13 not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. 14 But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
4:1 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
Commentary
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower.
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians is considered an authentic letter of Paul’s and was written in opposition to “false apostles” (11.13). It seems to be a composite of fragments from at least two – and perhaps five — other letters that have been lost, some of which are referred to in the letter with which we are presented. Some of the statements in the letter are inconsistent with other statements in Paul’s epistles.
Moses’ veil was presented in the Hebrew Bible as a protection for the Israelites (Ex. 34:35) because looking at Moses’ shining face was too overpowering. Moses put a veil over his face after he gave the people the Commandments (v.33) and he removed the veil whenever he spoke to YHWH face-to-face (v.34).
But in today’s reading and in the verses preceding today’s reading, Paul described the Israelites existence under the law of Moses as a “ministry of death” (v.7). Paul said the “glory” (Torah) was being set aside (v.13) and he reinterpreted the veil worn by Moses as a metaphor for unenlightenment (vv.14-15). Paul’s comments were supersessionist and argued that the minds of the “people of Israel” were “hardened” (v.14).
Paul stated the veil is only set aside in Christ (v.14) and we (Christians) now see the glory of the Lord because we have “unveiled faces” and are being “transformed from one degree of glory to another” (v.18).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes: “Even the places in which Paul differs from Jewish thinking — his negative attitude towards the law (e.g., his interpretation [3.12-18] of Moses’ veil in Ex 34 as showing that the law is obsolete and not a path to true knowledge of God) … suggests he consistently thinks within a Jewish framework. It is one more irony of this letter that in order to deny the validity of the “old” covenant of the flesh that God made with the Jews, Paul depends on proof from those biblical writings that embody that covenant, through which he loudly and proudly proclaims his own Jewish heritage.”
Luke 9:28b-43a
Reading
28b Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” — not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading follows the accounts of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah (9:18-20), Jesus’s first prediction of his death (vv.21-22), and his statement that discipleship will require followers to take up their cross daily (v.23).
Jesus took his “inner circle” (Peter, James, and John) and went up on an unspecified mountain where he was transfigured and appeared with Moses (representing the Torah) and Elijah (representing the prophets). The New Oxford Annotated Bible notes: “This account recalls an intense religious experience, the exact nature of which is uncertain. The aura of unnatural brilliance is associated with mystical experiences elsewhere (Ex 34.29-35; Mt 17.9; Acts 9.3).” The JANT opines, however, that Moses and Elijah do not represent Torah and the Prophets and more likely represent Israel’s preeminent prophets both of whom faced rejection.
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that only Luke recounts the topic of the conversation among Jesus, Moses and Elijah – “his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (v.31).
The statement that Peter, James, and John were “weighed down with sleep” (v.32) may indicate that the Transfiguration occurred at night and anticipated the same sleeping condition when they were supposed to keep watch for Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (22:45).
Peter’s desire to make three dwellings (v.33) was his reaction to make permanent a numinous moment and to keep Moses and Elijah present.
The “cloud” is a customary image for God (as in Exodus 13) and the “voice” is similar to the voice and words spoken at Jesus’ baptism (3:22).
In the second part of today’s reading, the healing of the child possessed by a spirit is also found in the other Synoptic Gospels (Mark 9:14 and Matt. 17:14).
The JANT says that calling the people “a faithless and perverse generation” was reminiscent of Moses’ last words to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land – “degenerate children who have dealt falsely with him [YHWH] a perverse and crooked generation” (Deut. 32:5, 20). Most scholars agree that this Deuteronomic ”Song of Moses” in Chapter 32 was a late insertion reflecting the Judeans’ faithlessness that led to the Exile.
2025, February 23 ~ Genesis 45:3-11,15; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 23, 2025
Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Reading
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there–since there are five more years of famine to come–so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'”
15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Commentary
Today’s reading is near the conclusion of the story of Joseph, the longest continuous story about a single person in the Bible (Chapters 37 to 50 in the Book of Genesis). The Jewish Study Bible describes it as a “coherent novella, with a subtle and well-crafted plot.”
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob. He and Benjamin (the 12th son) were the sons of Rachel and were Jacob’s favorites. His 10 older brothers were jealous of him and threw him in a pit to die. At the suggestion of Judah (the fourth son), Joseph’s life was spared and he was sold into slavery to Ishmaelites (descendants of Abraham’s son by Hagar) and taken to Egypt by Midianites. There, he was sold to Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh, who put him in charge of his house.
Joseph was very handsome, and Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him. When Joseph refused her, she falsely accused him of rape and Joseph was imprisoned. When in prison, Joseph interpreted dreams for the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. Later, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and Pharaoh placed Joseph in charge of the affairs of the nation. Joseph’s interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dreams was accurate and Egypt prepared for (and survived) a famine.
The famine also hit Israel, and Jacob sent his 10 oldest sons to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph did not identify himself to them. Later, when grain ran out again for Jacob and his sons, they went back to Egypt a second time to buy grain. As demanded by Joseph in the first visit, they brought Jacob’s youngest son, Benjamin, with them.
Joseph directed his steward to hide his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack of grain, and then accused the brothers of stealing his silver cup. He demanded that Benjamin remain in Egypt as his slave.
Judah knew this would break Jacob’s heart and he agreed to be Joseph’s slave if Joseph would spare Benjamin. Judah’s selflessness showed Joseph that he (Judah) was a true brother to Benjamin and his other brothers.
Hearing this affirmation of brotherhood, Joseph identified himself to his brothers in today’s emotional reading. In the reading, he attributed all of the events of his life (including his being sold into slavery) as actions directed by God. Joseph expressed the theology that for God, the last word is a word of life (vv. 5, 7).
The JSB observes that the theology of the Joseph story is different from most of the rest of Genesis. “Whereas the patriarchal narrative is replete with appearances of God or His messengers, and oracles from them, Joseph never sees or hears God or his messengers….Rather, God works here in a hidden way, secretly guiding the course of human events, even bringing good out of human evil (50.20).”
The Joseph Story came from at least two different sources. This is shown by the references in Chapter 37 to both Ishmaelites and Midianites, and the references to God both as YHWH (translated as LORD in all capital letters) in Chapter 39 and in 49:18, and as “Elohim” (translated as “God”) in the remaining chapters. In the final chapters of Genesis, Jacob is sometimes called “Israel” the name given to him by the man/angel/God with whom he wrestled in Chapter 32 of Genesis.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “[Judah’s agreement to be Joseph’s slave] is a prime example of a text in the Joseph story where Judah, rather than the elder Reuben, plays the role of the most powerful and prominent son [citing other texts, including the recommendation to spare Joseph’s life in Gen. 37:26-27]. These texts have typically been assigned to the early Yahwist or Judah-Israel layer of the story.”
1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50
Reading
35 Someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. 43 It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Commentary
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic, and Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers also taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) (likely while Paul was in Ephesus) and presented his views on several issues.
It is one of Paul’s most important letters because it is one of the earliest proclamations of Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and his resurrection, and it contains the basic formula for celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
Today’s reading continues Paul’s extended discussion of “resurrection.” The Corinthians were Hellenists who generally accepted the Platonic division between the body and the “immortal soul.”
Paul asserted that there is both a “physical body” (v.44) that will perish when it is “sown” like a grain of wheat (v.37), and a “spiritual body” when it is raised (v.44). To make this clear, Paul stated that Adam was a “man of dust” and that when persons are resurrected, they bear “the image of the man of heaven” (v.49). It is noteworthy that in verse 47 Paul reversed the two Creation Myths. In the first, humans were in the “image of God” and in the second, the human (adam) was made from adamah, fertile earth.
In analyzing this passage, The Jewish Annotated New Testament says;”The resurrected body, including that of Jesus, is compositionally different from the mortal body (see 15.42n.)” which, footnote, in turn, reads “Sown, the body in which one is born. Imperishable, unsusceptible to disease, death, and decay.”
In the verses that follow today’s reading, Paul spoke of resurrection at the end times: “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability and this mortal body must put on immortality” (vv. 52-53).
Luke 6:27-38
Reading
27 Jesus said, “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading has comparable sayings as found in Matt. 5:38-48, an early portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Because they are in both Matthew and Luke but are not in Mark, the source of these sayings is “Q” (the “Sayings Source”).
The moral imperative presented in these passages is high. Not only must one follow the “Golden Rule” of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (v.31), but we are told to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us (v.27). Retaliation is forbidden (v.29a) and the standard for generosity is very high (vv. 29b and 30). We are told not to judge others (v.37a) and that if we want to be forgiven, we are required to forgive others (v.37b).
The JANT points out that the last part of verse 38 is similar to sayings in Exodus 22:22-24 and Obadiah 1:15.
These values continued to be presented in Luke in stories that emphasized compassion, such as the Good Samaritan. They are also exhibited by Jesus’ healing of the ear of the high priest’s servant in Gethsemane, in the forgiveness of one’s enemies by Jesus on the Cross (Luke 23:34), and by Stephen, the first martyr, in his dying words (Acts 7:60). God’s mercy (v.36) and kindness even to the “ungrateful and wicked” (v.35b) is exemplified in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
2025, February 16 ~ Jeremiah 17:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 16, 2025
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Reading
5 Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD.
6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
7 Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.
8 They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
9 The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse– who can understand it?
10 I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.
Commentary
After the righteous and reforming King Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo (from which we get the Greek word Armageddon) in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Babylonians deported many Judean leaders to Babylon in 597 and a larger number in 586 (the Babylonian Exile). Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e., speaking for YHWH) began around 609 and continued until 586 BCE when he died in Egypt.
Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 586 BCE) and the First Century. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were different versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The Greek Septuagint Translation (the LXX – dating from 300 to 200 BCE) has some chapters that are not in the Hebrew versions.
Jeremiah is largely a prophet of doom and gloom, so much so that the English word “jeremiad” is defined as a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes. In the Bible, the Book of Lamentations was placed after the Book of Jeremiah because of the (incorrect) view that Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations.
Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” were added later by writers whose theological outlook was closely aligned with the Deuteronomists. (In fact, Chapter 52 in Jeremiah is virtually word-for-word with 2 Kings 24:18 to 25:30 written by the Deuteronomists after the Exile.)
Today’s reading is in “poetry style” and reflects an over-arching theme found in the Deuteronomic History (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) — that the downfalls of Northern Israel in 722 BCE and Judea in 587 BCE were the result of the failure of the people and their kings to trust in YHWH and worship YHWH faithfully.
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary sees chapters 14 through 17 as a unit, the general theme of which is the sins of the people and the vengeance of YHWH. This section opens with the description of a drought (14:1-15:9).
In the verses that immediately precede today’s reading, the prophet asserted that the guilt of Judah was “inscribed with a stylus of iron, engraved with a diamond point on the tablet of their hearts” (17:1). The Jewish Study Bible notes that “in Jeremiah, this engraved sin will ultimately be replaced by divine instruction (Torah) written on the heart when the covenant is restored see 31:31-34.”
Today’s verses are seen as “wisdom” verses, and used imagery from the Psalms and Proverbs. The prophet said, “Those who trust in mere mortals” are “cursed” and will live in “an uninhabited salt land.” (vv.5-6). He continued that those who trust in YHWH (translated LORD in all capital letters) will bear fruit (v.8). YHWH would give to all according to their ways – the fruit of their doings (v.10).
This Deuteronomic worldview can be summarized as “Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad.” This view should be contrasted to the views in the Book of Job (bad things happen to good people) and the Book of Ecclesiastes (bad things happen at random).
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Reading
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ–whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
Commentary
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic, and Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers also taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) (likely while Paul was in Ephesus) and presented his views on several issues.
It is one of Paul’s most important letters because it is one of the earliest proclamations of Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners and his resurrection and it contains the basic formula for celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
Today’s reading continued Paul’s extended discussion of “resurrection of the dead.” The Corinthians were Hellenists who generally accepted the Platonic division between the body and the “immortal soul.” In this Chapter, Paul emphasized that “there are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies” (v.40). What is sown [buried] is a “physical body, it is raised as a spiritual body.” (v.44).
In today’s verses, Paul argued that the Corinthians’ belief that Christ was raised from the dead can only be true if the notion of resurrection of the dead is a reality. “For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised” (v.16).
Notwithstanding his earlier statement in 15:3 (“Christ died for our sins”), Verse 17 makes clear Paul’s understanding that the Resurrection is the event that frees us from sin (“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”)
Describing the Resurrection of the Jesus the Christ as “the first fruits of those who have died” (v.20), Paul went on (in next week’s reading) to affirm the powerful and hopeful belief that “all will be made alive in Christ” (v.22) so that Jesus’ Resurrection is not a “one time event” but the inauguration of the general resurrection of all (v.20).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament, citing Josephus, points out that Pharisees, but not all Jews of the Second Temple period, expected bodily resurrection at the end times.
Luke 6:17-26
Reading
17 Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading is the first part of Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” (a “level place” v.17) and is an analogue to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). The two Sermons do not appear in other Gospels and are considered based on “Q” material.
Understanding the Bible notes that “the Lukan Beatitudes are shorter, simpler, and directed at the hearers – you! [“disciples” v.20] Whereas Matthew spiritualizes their meaning ‘blessing those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail,’ Luke gives a bluntly material version. .. In a passage unique to his Gospel, Luke concludes the Beatitudes with ‘woes’ (‘alas for you’) in which the ‘rich’ and ‘well fed’ are cursed with future loss and hunger.” The “woes” are the antitheses of the blessings in verses 20-23.
The crowd, if it came from “all Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon” (v.17) would have been large indeed. Most likely, this is Lukan hyperbole. The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that “unclean” spirits (v.18) is a religious term representing degrees of holiness.
Unlike Matthew’s Beatitudes which relate to spiritual conditions, these Beatitudes refer to economic, social, and emotional conditions. Some scholars have suggested that the Greek word Makarioi that is translated as “Blessed” or “Fortunate” is itself a translation of an Aramaic word (the language Jesus spoke) that connotes “being on the right path.”
Luke again emphasized that the “ancestors” spoke well of false prophets, but treated true prophets badly. He cautioned his listeners that they as the followers of the Son of Man will be excluded, reviled, and defamed (v.23) – most likely a reference by Luke to the difficult relationship between Jesus Followers and the Pharisees in the late First Century.
Isaiah 6:1-13; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 9, 2025
Isaiah 6:1-13
Reading
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” 9 And he said, “Go and say to this people: `Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.’
10 Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is utterly desolate; 12 until the Lord sends everyone far away, and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.
13 Even if a tenth part remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains standing when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.
Commentary
The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.
Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.
Today’s reading is referred to as “the Call of Isaiah.” To identify years in which events occurred, it was common to use the year of a particular king’s reign. Isaiah’s call is dated to the year King Uzziah of the Kingdom of Judea died (v.1). This was 742 or 733 BCE (scholars are not sure of the chronology), but it was clearly a time when the Assyrian Empire was becoming more dominant. The Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel (the Northern 10 Tribes) in 722 BCE. The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that Isaiah’s ”call” served as an introduction to the prophet’s comments on Judean politics and treaties in chapters 7 and 8.
The scene of Isaiah’s Call was intended to inspire awe and it used hyperbole (the hem of the Lord’s robe fills the temple) (v.1) to create that sense. The LORD was surrounded by angels – seraphs (literally, “burning ones”) with six wings, two of which cover their faces (so as not to look upon God), two of which cover their “feet” (a customary euphemism in Hebrew Scriptures for one’s private parts), and two of which to maintain their position around the throne). The Jewish Study Bible notes: “This is one of many passages indicating that some biblical authors conceive of God as a physical being whom a few people can see.”
Using a customary literary device (as Moses did when he was called by YHWH), Isaiah protested that he could not speak for the LORD. Isaiah said he had “unclean lips” (v.5) and was unworthy to be in the LORD’s presence. In a metaphorical response, a seraph touched Isaiah’s lips with a live coal (v.7). After this purification, just as Samuel responded to the LORD’s call in 1 Sam. 3, Isaiah responded with the same words: “Here I am, send me” (v.8).
The refusal of persons to listen and understand the prophet’s message was expressed in ironic terms (vv. 9-10) and “explained” the failure of the people and kings of Judea to change their behaviors. It also assumed (as most of the Hebrew Bible did) that the LORD controls all that happens, including the refusal of people to hear a prophet’s message. The JSB notes: “God no longer desires repentance; rather, God wants to vent divine anger on the nation.”
The NOAB suggests that the LORD’s sending “everyone far away” (v.12) anticipated “the devastation of Judah during the Assyrian campaign of 701 BCE.” It is also regarded by some scholars as a post-exilic addition that referred to the Babylonian Exile from 587 to 539 BCE. The NOAB agrees that the “stump” (v.13) was also a post-exilic reference to the “remnant” – the Judeans who returned to Jerusalem after the Exile.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Reading
1 I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you — unless you have come to believe in vain.
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them — though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Commentary
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic, and Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers also taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it means to be a Jesus Follower. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) (likely while Paul was in Ephesus) and presented his views on several issues.
It is one of Paul’s most important letters because it is one of the earliest proclamations interpreting Jesus’ death as being on behalf of sinners (v.3), proclaiming his resurrection (v.4), and because it contains the basic formula for celebrating the Lord’s Supper (11:17-34).
In today’s reading, Paul presented an early creed about the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. In saying that “Christ died for our sins,” (v.3) the word “for” can be understood as “on account of” or “because of” or “to atone for.” The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that the phrase “for our sins” may evoke part of the Suffering Servant Songs, Isaiah 53:5 (“But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed”.)
The phrase that the Christ was raised “in accordance with the scriptures” (v.4) became part of the Nicene Creed. The JANT notes that it is not clear to which scriptures Paul referred in this phrase. It suggests that the “scriptures” may be Jeremiah 23:5 (“I will raise up for David a righteous branch”) and Hosea 6:2 (“On the third day, he will raise us up and we shall be whole by his favor.”)
Corinthians was written before any of the Gospels and it is therefore the first discussion of the appearances of the risen Christ. Paul asserted that the risen Christ appeared first to Cephas (Peter) and the twelve (v.5) — rather than to women as presented in Matt. 28:9, or Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9 and John 20:14), or to two disciples at the inn on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:31).
Paul then said the Christ appeared to James (presumably the brother of Jesus) and then to “all the apostles.” (v.7), which seems to contradict his earlier statement about the appearance to “the twelve.” Finally, Paul listed himself as a person to whom the Christ “appeared” though there is no suggestion in the Epistles (or in Acts 8, 22 or 26) that this appearance (presumably Paul’s Damascus Road Experience) was a physical appearance of the Christ.
Paul described himself “untimely born” and as “the least” of the apostles (v.9). The JANT says: “untimely born, like a stillbirth, referring either to Paul’s appearance or early hostility to the gospel.” In claiming to be “the least” Paul was still making clear to the Corinthians that his authority arose from his being an “apostle.” He asserted that he “worked harder” (v.10) than any of the other apostles.
Today’s reading served as an introduction to Paul’s extended discussion of “resurrection of the dead” in Chapter 15. The Corinthians were Hellenists who generally accepted the Platonic division between the body and the “immortal soul.” Paul emphasizes that not only the body is resurrected, but the entire person, and Paul used the “resurrection of the dead” to encompass the entirety of resurrection.
Luke 5:1-11
Reading
1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading has a number of elements that appear in other gospels. Teaching by the Sea of Galilee (or Gennesaret) appeared in the other Synoptic Gospels, as does the call of the fishermen to become “fishers of people” (v.10). The huge draught of fish appeared in the Fourth Gospel in an Epilogue (21:4-7) as a post-resurrection event.
The JANT understands “hearing the Word of God” (v.1) as meaning hearing the Torah as interpreted by Jesus, and “Master” (v.5) as the word Luke used for “Rabbi.” The decision to “leave everything” (v.11) included one’s home, business, and family. This decision to leave fishing and follow Jesus also appears in the other Synoptic Gospels.
The JANT also notes that “Lord” (v.8) is kyrios in Greek, which can be understood as “sir” (Adon in Heb.), and is the same word used in the LXX to translate YHWH.
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that this story “paints the first strokes of his [Luke’s] very flattering and deeply appreciative portrait of Peter.” It continues: “Luke has the deepest respect for Simon Peter, describing his founding role in the primitive church in Acts. Luke also eliminates negative remarks found about Peter in Mark 8:32-33 (when Peter rebuked Jesus for saying he would be killed and Jesus referred to Peter as “Satan”).”
2025, February 2 ~ Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 2, 2025
Malachi 3:1- 4
Reading
1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight — indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
Commentary
The Book of Malachi is the last book of the 12 “Minor” Prophets – so called because these books are much shorter than the three “Major” Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). Malachi’s name literally means “my messenger” and the book appears to have been written in the Persian Period – the 5th Century BCE, after the Second Temple was built around 505 BCE and close in time to Ezra and Nehemiah (c. 475-450 BCE).
Malachi asserted that the “Day of the Lord” was coming soon, and the “messenger” of the Day of the Lord was identified as Elijah (4:5). In most prophetic books, the Day of the Lord was presented as a time of wrath, darkness, fear, and trembling.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “The extravagant hopes of the restoration prophets had not materialized (Hag 2.6-9; Zech 8.15, 20-23). The Temple had been rebuilt but the ideal age had not begun. Malachi probably spoke to a disheartened audience which questioned both the love (1.2) and justice (2.17) of God. Malachi reversed the discussion: God, he avers, has been faithful to the covenant (1.2; 2.5-7; and esp. 3.6 ‘For I the LORD do not change’); it is Judah that has been faithless (1.6; 2.8, 14; 3.8). Furthermore, any lingering doubts about divine justice will be addressed and overcome, the prophet states, soon enough when the LORD comes in judgment (2.17-3.5; 3.16-4.6).”
The Jewish Study Bible notes: “As a whole, the book is aimed at persuading its readership to follow the Torah of Moses or at strengthening their resolve to continue to do so. This message must be understood within the book’s historical setting, soon after the canonization of the Torah. Thus, the book presents a prophetic voice that ultimately asserts the superiority of Torah over prophecy.”
In today’s reading, Malachi described YHWH’s messenger (v.2) as one who is like “refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap.” (Fuller’s soap is a harsh clay/soap/lye used to whiten clothes or remove impurities from wool.) After the refining and cleansing, the offerings of Judah/Jerusalem would again be pleasing to YHWH (v.4).
In the Synoptic Gospels, the “messenger” was identified as John the Baptist (Matt.11:10-14; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 1:17, 76). John the Baptist was described in many ways as a “new Elijah.”
Hebrews 2:14-18
Reading
Since God’s children share flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
Commentary
The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution. The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that it is the only document in the Scriptures that contains a sustained discussion on the nature of the Christ, and that the letter was supersessionist in stating that the temple cult (which had to be repeated, and was therefore inferior – 10:1-5) was superseded by the “superior” one-time sacrifice of Jesus.
Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. According to The JANT, the language, style and purpose of the letter to the Hebrews is markedly different from the authentic Pauline epistles. The letter used the most sophisticated Greek in the New Testament and introduced a number of important theological themes such as the idea of the Christ as the “high priest of our confession” (3:1) and simultaneously, the perfect sacrifice (5:8). The first four chapters explored the word of God as spoken through the Son (v.2).
The JANT observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek. Understanding the Bible states: “Employing a popular form of Platonic thought, the writer assumes the existence of two parallel worlds: the eternal and perfect realm of spirit above, and the inferior, constantly changing world below. Alone among New Testament authors, he attempts to show how Christ’s sacrificial death links the two opposing realms of perishable matter and eternal spirit.”
The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought both to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”
At the same time, the author argued in today’s reading that Jesus was fully human (‘shared flesh and blood” v.14) so that by destroying the power of the devil, he would free others from the fear of death. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that Hellenistic Judaism understood that death was not part of God’s plan for human beings, and that death was brought into the world in the Disobedience Event in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:17-19). The JANT notes that the author in using the phrase “make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people” (v.17) accepted the traditional view that atonement required sacrifices.
The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”
The NJBC observes that the author of Hebrews overstates the case: “God’s preferring obedience to sacrifice is interpreted as God’s repudiation of the OT sacrifices and their replacement by the self offering of Jesus.”
Luke 2:22-40
Reading
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed– and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 50% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
According to The NOAB and The JANT, there were no prescribed rites of purification for the father or a newborn. There was a rite of purification for the mother of a son 40 days after birth as prescribed in Leviticus 12. Apart from today’s passage, neither Simon nor Anna is otherwise known from the scriptures. The JANT points out that persons did not reside in the Temple (v.37).
The statement that every firstborn male shall be designated as “holy to the Lord” (v.23) was based on Exodus 13:2, and The NJBC suggests that the story of the presentation of Jesus by Luke may be intended as an echo of Samuel’s presentation by Hannah at the “house of the LORD” at Shiloh (1 Sam. 1:24).