TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 14, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Isaiah 5:1-7
Reading
1 Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
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. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”
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.
The Jewish Study Bible points out that one of major religious issues faced by First Isaiah was the extent to which Judea should attempt to confront its enemies by using military and diplomatic means and the extent it should rely on YHWH to protect them. Isaiah (unlike most of his contemporaries) preferred the latter option.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that two themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is behind all historical events and (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship.
Today’s reading is part of First Isaiah. The first part is characterized as a “love song” (v.1) for the prophet’s “beloved” – identified in verse 7 as YHWH. In ancient poetry, a vineyard was often a symbol of someone who is beloved, and YHWH’s beloved was identified as “the house of Israel and the people of Judah” (v.7).
In the third verse, the voice shifted from that of the prophet to the voice of YHWH asking for persons to judge between YHWH and the vineyard (Judea).
Because the vineyard yielded wild grapes (v.4), YHWH stated that the vineyard would be trampled down and made a waste (vv.5-6). This occurred when the Assyrians conquered Northern Israel in 722 BCE and Babylonians conquered Judea in 597 BCE.
Like many other prophets, Isaiah criticized injustice in Israel and Judah. Using clever word plays in Hebrew, the author noted that where YHWH expected justice (“mispat”), there was bloodshed (“mishpah”). YHWH expected righteousness (“tsedaqah) but heard a cry (“tse’aqah”) (v.7).
Jeremiah 23:23-29
Reading
23 Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back– those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
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 mostly 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.)
One of the consistent themes in Jeremiah was his ongoing battles with the “court” prophets who told the king what the king wanted to hear and who opposed Jeremiah at every turn.
Todays reading is in prose and asserts that because YHWH is omnipresent (v.23), YHWH was aware of the lies that some (false) prophets were speaking in YHWH’s name (v.25). In the Scriptures, dreams were sometimes seen as messages from God, but here Jeremiah accused the false prophets of claiming that dreams were a basis to “forget YHWH’s name” (v.27).
In describing YHWH’s word as a “hammer that breaks rock into pieces” (v.29), the prophet emphasized the great power of true prophesy.
Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2
Reading
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.
32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. 36 Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented – 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Commentary
The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.
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. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament described Hebrews as the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contained a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is also often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism.
In today’s reading, the author asserted that it was “faith” that enabled (or caused) a large number of notable events that were recounted in the Hebrew Bible (vv. 29-38).
Many of the references are clear, but some are not. Rahab (v.31) was a prostitute who hid Joshua’s spies from the King of Jericho before Joshua crossed the River Jordan. According to Josh. 2:8-12, Rahab gave a (Deuteronomic) speech to the spies about YHWH’s power. She also demanded that Joshua give her and her family safe passage – knowing that Joshua was going to destroy Jericho and kill all its inhabitants. She is mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Matt:1:5.
Judges 4-5 told of Barak, a fearful Jewish general who was unwilling to face the Canaanite army unless Deborah, the prophet, accompanied him. Because of the LORD’s help, he won the battle, but the Canaanite general, Sisera, escaped and hid in the tent of a Kenite woman, Jael. Jael induced him to sleep, and while asleep, drove a tent peg into his temple.
It is difficult to understand why Jephthah is included. As described in Judges 11-12, he was the leader of Israel’s forces against the Ammonites. He made a vow to YHWH that if he were successful, he would make a burnt offering of the first person to come out of his house upon his return. When he returned home, the first person he saw was his beloved daughter, and he sacrificed her to YHWH.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that “resurrection” (v.35) refers to the raising of dead children by Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4, and that the reference to “better resurrection” refers to the belief that persons killed by Antiochus IV would be resurrected but that Antiochus IV would not. (2 Macc.7:14-15).
All the Christian Scriptures were written in Greek, and the Greek word for “faith” in the Letter is “pistis” – a word that has an active connotation and can fairly be understood as “faithfulness.” Faith is not presented in this letter (or in Paul’s genuine letters) as an intellectual assent to a series of propositions (as “Faith” is often understood today). Instead, as stated in the beginning of Chapter 11, Faith is action based on “the conviction of things not seen” (11:1).
The reading concluded with the supersessionist view that although the faithful persons in the Hebrew Bible were “commended” (v.39), they could not be made “perfect” (or complete) without Jesus as the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” (12:2).
Luke 12:49-56
Reading
49 Jesus said, “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50
I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain’; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present 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 parallel to Matt. 10:34-36 in which Jesus said, “I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.”
In this passage from Luke, the word “fire” is understood by some commentators as Jesus bringing judgment, but others understand “fire” as a symbol of purification. Earlier in Luke, Jesus’ baptism was described as “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16) and in Acts of the Apostles, the presence of the Holy Spirit was shown by “divided tongues, as of fire” (Acts 2:3).
Commentators understand Jesus’ “baptism” (v.50) to be a reference to his own death.
The language about dividing a household (v.53) echoed the prophet Micah 7:6 who described the society of Judea in the late 700’s BCE as “the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; your enemies are members of your own household.”
But in Malachi 4:6, the prophet spoke of the Messiah as one who “will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents.”
The second part of the reading is also in Matthew in which Jesus told the Pharisees and Sadducees that they are not able to “interpret the signs of the times” (Matt.16:3).
2022, October 2 ~ Lamentations 1:1-6; Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
OCTOBER 2, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Lamentations 1:1-6
Reading
1 How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal.
2 She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among the nations,
and finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter.
5 Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.
6 From daughter Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
Commentary
In Christian versions of the Bible, Lamentations is included between Jeremiah and Ezekiel because of a tradition that the book was written by Jeremiah (just as the Psalms were incorrectly attributed to David and most Wisdom Literature was attributed to Solomon). In the Hebrew Bible, Lamentations is not included with the Prophets, but is situated among the “Writings.”
Lamentations consists of a sequence of five lyric poems that lament the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the beginning of the Exile in 586 BCE. It was written in the period from 586 BCE and 520 BCE when the Exile was over and the Temple was being rebuilt.
The first four chapters of Lamentations are written as an acrostic in which the first letter of each successive verse follows the sequence of the Hebrew alphabet.
Today’s verses are the opening part of an extended lament over Jerusalem, which has lost its lovers (i.e. allies) (v.2) and now lives among the “nations” (Gentiles) (v.3). The theology of the verses is consistent with the Deuteronomic belief that if one engages in “bad acts” the consequences will be bad, and YHWH was punishing Jerusalem for its transgressions (v.5).
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Reading
1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous–
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
2:1 I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
2 Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
Commentary
After the death of the good King Josiah in 609 BCE, Judea went into a sharp decline, culminating with the Babylonian Exile, the first part of which began in 597 BCE and the second part of which began in 586 and lasted until 539 BCE. Josiah emphasized the Torah, but in the reign of his successors “the law became slack” (v.4).
Habakkuk prophesied (spoke for YHWH) from the time Josiah’s death to the first deportation of Judean leaders in 597 BCE. He was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah and his messages are similar to Jeremiah’s.
In today’s readings, Habakkuk lamented the destruction and violence in Judea and the lack of justice. In the verses between today’s readings, he spoke for YHWH and said that the Chaldeans (Babylonians) would serve as the instrument of God’s justice to punish the Judeans.
In the second part of today’s reading, YHWH replied that divine justice will come “at the appointed time” because of the righteous (vv.3-4).
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Reading
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our LORD.
3 I am grateful to God — whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did — when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, 12 and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. 13 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
Commentary
The Letters to Timothy and Titus are called “Pastoral Letters” because they concerned the internal life, governance and behavior of the early Christian churches and their members. Most scholars agree they were written in the early Second Century in Paul’s name by some of his followers (Paul died in 63 CE). Writing a document in someone else’s name (pseudepigrapha) was a common practice in the First and Second Centuries. By then, the Jesus Follower Community had become more institutionalized and concerns about “heresy” had arisen.
The Pastoral letters were written to Paul’s “co-workers” but have a broader audience. By the time they were written, Paul was regarded as an authoritative figure of the past.
2 Timothy purported to be written from prison (v.8) and is more personal than 1 Timothy. The author, writing as Paul, treated Timothy as his “beloved child” (v.2), loyal disciple and his spiritual heir. In the letter, Paul was portrayed as near death. Timothy was presented as a “third generation” Jesus Follower who followed both his grandmother and his Jewish mother (Acts 16:1-3).
Today’s reading contains a typical “Pauline salutation” followed by a “thanksgiving” for Timothy’s faith (vv. 3-7). “Paul” showed his connection to Judaism in saying that he worshiped “as my ancestors did” (v.3). Speaking as Paul, the author emphasized that his understanding of the gospel is the true one and presented the gospel proclamation in shorthand form in verses 9 and 10.
“Paul” asserted his status as a herald, apostle, teacher, and sufferer (vv. 11-12) as a prelude to criticizing persons who “have turned away from me” (v.15). The reference to “that day” in verse 12 showed the growing belief within the Jesus Follower Movement in a Second Coming of Christ when the Kingdom of God would be fulfilled.
Luke 17:5-10
Reading
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
7 “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, `Come here at once and take your place at the table’? 8 Would you not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? 9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'”
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 two distinct thoughts. The first set of verses criticized the apostles for having a lack of “faith” (pistis in Greek and understood better as “faithfulness”). In effect, even a miniscule amount (a mustard seed) of faithfulness could overcome a large tree (v.6). In Matt. 17:20, faith could “move mountains.”
The second part of the reading called for service without a desire for reward, and that doing one’s duty does not bring a reward.
2022, September 25 ~ Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
SEPTEMBER 25, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Reading
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, 3 where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him.
6 Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came to me: 7 Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” 8 Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
9 And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; 12 and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, 14 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
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.
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 a portion of an extended post-Exilic prose insert that begins at Jer. 31:38. The New Oxford Annotated Bible refers to this section as an “Appendix” to the “Book of Consolation” (Chapters 30 and 31) in which the writer said that YHWH would restore Judea after the Exile.
Today’s reading purported to be set in 588 BCE (v.1), just before the Exile began. The NOAB notes that chronologically, this Chapter should follow Chapter 37. In 588, the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem for a second time, and King Zedekiah imprisoned Jeremiah. The Jewish Study Bible says that the grounds for Jeremiah’s imprisonment would have been “treason because of his claims that God had given Jerusalem into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.” Jeremiah was able, however, (through Baruch) to arrange the purchase of land even though he was in prison.
Jeremiah’s purchase of land was intended to show a faith in the future restoration of Judea and was a metaphor for God’s promise to restore Jerusalem. The purchase price of 17 shekels of silver would have been seven ounces of silver (about $150 today) – a price much lower than the prices of other sales recorded in the Bible.
The sale of the land to Jeremiah by his cousin Hanamel was consistent with the law in Leviticus 25:25 that if a family member has financial difficulties, his land should be sold to a relative. The NAOB characterized this (vv.9-14) as “the most detailed account of a business transaction in the Bible.”
Baruch, referred to in v.13, was Jeremiah’s secretary and was said to have recorded portions of what became the “Book of Jeremiah” (Jer. 36:4).
Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Reading
1 Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
4 Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall;
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music;
6 who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
Commentary
After Solomon died in 930 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel with 10 tribes) and the South (called Judea with two tribes). Each of the Kingdoms had its own king.
The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous but was a time of great inequality between rich and poor in which large landowners gained control of the lands of small farmers. (A three-liter bottle of wine is called a “Jeroboam.”)
Amos was a cattle herder and cared for fig trees in Judea, but he was called by YHWH to go north to prophesy (speak for the LORD) against the evils in Israel from about 760 to 750 BCE. Amos is one of the 12 “minor” prophets whose works are shorter than the three “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). He was the first (chronologically) of the prophets whose words left an indelible stamp on later thought in Israel about God. He used vivid language and called for justice and righteousness, terms that deal with social equality and concern for the disadvantaged.
The writings included announcements that the “Day of the LORD” was imminent and urged that the special covenant with the LORD entailed special ethical responsibilities. Some of his presentations are indictments, some are exhortations, and others are visions.
In today’s reading, Amos (speaking for YHWH) harshly criticized the conspicuous consumption by the wealthy in both Jerusalem/Zion (v.1) and in Northern Israel and predicted their doom. His mention of the “ruin of Joseph” (v.6) was a colloquial reference to the impending destruction of Northern Israel by Assyria in 722 BCE.
The “back story” to this reference to “the ruin of Joseph” is that according to Numbers 18, the Tribe of Levi was not allocated land because they were priests and received tithes from the other tribes. Therefore, there would have been only 11 tribes receiving land. To fix this, Joseph was not counted as one of the 12 tribes, but Joseph’s two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) were both counted among the 12 Tribes of Israel and allocated land.
Because the Tribe of Ephraim became the largest and most prosperous of the Northern 10 tribes and King Jeroboam was an Ephraimite, the nation of Northern Israel was sometimes referred to as “Ephraim” or “Joseph.”
The reference to David (v.5) reflected the tradition that David was an accomplished musician (1 Sam. 16:23) who played the lyre to soothe King Saul. Later Jewish tradition attributed the authorship of the entire book of Psalms to David.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible notes that revelry (v.7) was “marzeah” in Hebrew, a ritual banquet of Canaanite origin.
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Reading
6 There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will bring about at the right time — he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
Commentary
The Letters to Timothy and Titus are called “Pastoral Letters” because they concerned the internal life, governance and behavior of the early Christian churches and their members. Most scholars agree they were written in the early Second Century in Paul’s name by some of his followers (Paul died in 63 CE). Writing a document in someone else’s name was a common practice in the First and Second Centuries. By then, the Jesus Follower Community had become more institutionalized and concerns about “heresy” had arisen.
The Pastoral letters were written to Paul’s “co-workers” but have a broader audience. By the time they were written, Paul was regarded as an authoritative figure of the past.
Today’s reading is most of the last chapter of the letter. The author emphasized contentment (v.6), the translation of the word “autarkeia”) which The NAOB described as a Stoic term meaning “self-sufficiency.”
He cautioned against love of money as a “root of all kinds of evil” (v.10). The author encouraged the active “pursuit” of righteousness and “fighting the good fight of the faith” (v.12). The reference to Pontius Pilate in verse 13 is the only mention of him (outside the Gospels and Acts) that appears in the New Testament. The “manifestation” (epiphaneias in Greek) is a reference to the Second Coming, a term used in many of the Pastoral Letters.
The references in verses 15 and 16 of God as all powerful, immortal, and invisible reflect the influence of Greek philosophy on the Jesus Follower Movement.
Luke 16:19-31
Reading
19 Jesus said, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24 He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house — 28 for I have five brothers– that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”
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 part of a chapter that deals primarily with the danger of riches. The “rich man” (v.19) in this story has historically been named “Dives” – which is Latin for “rich man.” Being dressed in purple was a sign of wealth. Purple was difficult to produce because it was derived from a specific kind of shellfish. The rich man’s selfishness was shown by his failure to assist the poor man “at his gate” (v.20).
The poor man named “Lazarus” is not to be confused with the brother of Martha and Mary who was raised from the dead by Jesus as recounted in John 11.
The story does not describe Lazarus’ character, but his presence “with Abraham” (v.22) indicated a blessed afterlife condition. The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that “salvation in the Gospel of Luke is not contingent upon Jesus’ sacrificial death.”
Even in Hades, the rich man saw the poor man as a servant in that he asked Abraham to send him to the rich man with a drop of water (v.24) and to send him to “my father’s house” (v.27) to warn his brothers.
Although the reference in the text to someone coming back from the dead was to the poor man (v.28), some commentators see the reference in verse 31 (“someone rising from the dead”) as evoking Jesus’ Resurrection. After the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the primary division between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees was whether Jesus had been resurrected.
2022, September 18 ~ Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
SEPTEMBER 18, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
Reading
18 My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.
19 Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land: “Is the LORD not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
(“Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?”)
20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”
21 For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?
9:1 O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!
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.
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 was structured as an extended lament by the City of Jerusalem over its fate. In verses 19a and 20, the writer quoted the people of Judea (which included Jerusalem) who bemoaned their situation – either in anticipation of the conquest by the Babylonians or after it. In verse 21, “Lady Jerusalem” mourned for all the people of Judea.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that YHWH’s parenthetical interjection in verse 19b about the worship of foreign idols was intended to show the disingenuousness of the people’s complaints.
“Balm in Gilead” (v. 22) refers to the medicinal resin of the storax tree found in Gilead, an area east of the Jordan River in what is now modern Jordan.
The “slain of my poor people” (v.9:1) most likely represents a post-destruction perspective.
Amos 8:4-7
Reading
4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath,
so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
and practice deceit with false balances,
6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”
7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely, I will never forget any of their deeds.
Commentary
After Solomon died in 930 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel with 10 tribes) and the South (called Judea with two tribes). Each of the Kingdoms had its own king.
The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous but was a time of great inequality between rich and poor in which large landowners gained control of the lands of small farmers. (A three-liter bottle of wine is called a “Jeroboam.”)
Amos was a cattle herder and cared for fig trees in Judea, but he was called by YHWH to go north to prophesy (speak for the LORD) against the evils in Israel from about 760 to 750 BCE.
Amos is one of the 12 “minor” prophets whose works are shorter than the three “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). He was the first (chronologically) of the prophets whose words left an indelible stamp on later thought in Israel about God. He used vivid language and called for justice and righteousness, social equality, and concern for the disadvantaged.
His writings included announcements that the “Day of the LORD” was imminent and urged that the special covenant with the LORD entailed special ethical responsibilities. Some of his presentations are indictments, some are exhortations, and others are visions.
Today’s reading is the continuing portion of Amos’ vision of a basket of fruit (v.1). In this portion of Amos’ prophesy, he criticized the unfair and fraudulent business practices of the wealthy and their impatience for the Holy Days to pass (v.5) so they could resume bilking the poor, enslaving them (v.6), and taking their lands.
An ephah (v.5) was about 35 pounds and making an “ephah small” would be to cheat the customer. “False balances” (v.5) are scales that were weighted in favor of the seller. “Sweepings of the wheat” (v.8) referred to selling the chaff instead of wheat.
According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, “buying the poor … and needy” likely refers to outright slavery as opposed to “selling the righteous” (2:6) into debt slavery.
Amos said that YHWH would remember these misdeeds and punish the evildoers (v.7). In 722 BCE, only 40 years later, Assyria conquered Israel and scattered its wealthy class.
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Reading
1 First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all — this was attested at the right time. 7 For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Commentary
The Letters to Timothy and Titus are called “Pastoral Letters” because they concerned the internal life, governance and behavior of the early Christian churches and their members. Most scholars agree they were written in the early Second Century in Paul’s name by some of his followers (Paul died in 63 CE). Writing a document in someone else’s name was a common practice in the First and Second Centuries. By then, the Jesus Follower Community had become more institutionalized and concerns about “heresy” had arisen.
The Pastoral letters were written to Paul’s “co-workers” but have a broader audience. By the time they were written, Paul was regarded as an authoritative figure of the past.
Today’s reading urged accommodation by the Jesus Followers to the worldly authorities for the sake of the peace of the church. In urging this, the writer did not address the fact that the Roman Emperor claimed to be divine and required to be worshiped. The writer affirmed that there is “one God” (v.5), a reformulation of the Jewish statement (the “Shema”) found in Deut. 6:4-9.
The idea of Christ Jesus as a “ransom” (v. 6) traces back to Mark 10:45 (“For the Son of Man came … to give his life as a ransom for many”). This idea, in turn, was primarily derived from the Fourth Servant Poem of Isaiah (Is. 52:13 to 53:12) which portrayed Judea as a suffering servant during the Babylonian Exile (587-539 BCE).
Luke 16:1-13
Reading
1 Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, `What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, `A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, `And how much do you owe?’ He replied, `A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, `Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
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 two parts, the first of which is about the dishonest manager. The second part (vv.10-13) is an admonition about the need to be faithful in small matters and to be faithful and honest with what belongs to another. The verses conclude with the maxim that one cannot serve two masters – God and wealth (“mamōna” in the Greek). The New Oxford Annotated Bible notes that the Greek word mamōna is the same as an Aramaic word that means “riches” and can have the meaning of “that in which one fully trusts.”
The NOAB describes the first part of the reading as “enigmatic” because the “master” praised the dishonest servant for his shrewdness (v.8) even though it worked to the master’s disadvantage. In the Christian Scriptures “shrewdness” is not typically presented as desirable virtue, particularly (as here) where it involves cheating one’s master.
The meaning of verse 9 is difficult – was Jesus in fact urging people to “make friends by means of dishonest wealth”? This advice would be entirely inconsistent with the values in the second part of the reading (vv.10-13).
Another way to read verse 9 is to understand it as ironic on multiple levels. Analyzing it phrase by phrase, when the dishonest wealth is gone, into what kind of “eternal homes” will these “friends” be able to invite those persons who become their friends “by means of dishonest wealth”? Do these kinds of “friends” even have “eternal homes” into which they could invite these dishonest persons? Could Jesus actually be saying ironically: “Sure, try that dishonesty strategy and see where it gets you in the long run. It won’t really get you anywhere.”
2022, September 11 ~ Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Exodus 32:7-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
SEPTEMBER 11, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Reading
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse – 12 a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them.
22 “For my people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.”
23 I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
27 For thus says the LORD: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
28 Because of this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above grow black; for I have spoken, I have purposed; I have not relented nor will I turn back.
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.
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.)
In today’s reading, the first two verses are in “prose style” and serve as an introduction to the warnings to Jerusalem given in the years just before the Babylonian conquest in 597 BCE and the Babylonian Exile in 587 BCE.
In the verses preceding today’s reading, YHWH said “I am bringing evil from the north” (v.8), a reference to the Babylonians. In verse 9, Jeremiah held the Judean leadership (particularly the prophets) responsible for Judea’s fate. In verse 10, the NRSV reads that Jeremiah said that YHWH had deceived the people. In The Jewish Study Bible, the translator’s note observes that the LXX says that “they [the people] shall say” that YHWH deceived the people.
The balance of the reading (except for verse 27) is in “poetry style.” In it, the prophet saw the results of God’s judgment, and portrayed the upcoming destruction as a reversal of creation as described in Gen. 1:1-2:4a.
YHWH condemned evil (v.22) and saw the cities in ruins because of YHWH’s fierce anger (v.26). Verse 27 is a later insertion (after the Exile ended in 539 BCE) that YHWH would not make the destruction a “full end” and that there would be a restoration.
Exodus 32:7-14
Reading
7 The LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; 8 they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, `These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'” 9 The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10 Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”
11 But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, `It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, `I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'” 14 And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
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.
At Mount Sinai, Moses received the Law from YHWH for 40 days and nights. (“forty” is a euphemism in the Bible for “a long time.”) While Moses was away, the people under Aaron (Moses’ brother) became impatient and cast a calf made from gold earrings that Egyptian women (somewhat curiously) gave them when they left Egypt (32:4). Aaron also built an altar and proclaimed a festival to YHWH (v.5).
YHWH was presented in today’s passage as having very human qualities. At first, the angry God disowned the Israelites and the role YHWH played int their liberation (v.7), said Moses brought them out of Egypt, and determined to “consume them” (v.10).
Moses responded that “they are your people” (v.11) and suggested that the Egyptians would question YHWH’s power and motives if the Israelites had been rescued by YHWH and then were killed (v.12). He reminded YHWH of the promises by YHWH to the Patriarchs, and YHWH’s mind was changed about bringing disaster on the people (v.14). The reversal did not, however, fully respond to Moses’ requests in verse 13. The Jewish Study Bible points out that Moses would later have to implore both YHWH and the Israelites to reconcile further in order for YHWH to lead them to the Promised Land.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Reading
12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the foremost. 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Commentary
The Letters to Timothy and Titus are called “Pastoral Letters” because they concerned the internal life, governance and behavior of the early Christian churches and their members. Most scholars agree they were written in the early Second Century in Paul’s name by some of his followers (Paul died in 63 CE). Writing a document in someone else’s name was a common practice in the First and Second Centuries. Scholars note that the tone and vocabulary in the Pastoral Letters are different from Paul’s authentic letters.
By the time these letters were written, the Jesus Follower Community had become more institutionalized and concerns about “heresy” had arisen. The Pastoral letters were written to Paul’s “co-workers” but had a broader audience. By the time they were written, Paul was regarded as an authoritative figure of the past.
In Acts of the Apostles 16:1, Timothy was described as having a Jewish mother and a Greek father. He was one of Paul’s co-missionaries and is described as Paul’s “loyal child” (v.2).
Today’s reading, as a prelude to opposing false teachings, presented a portrait of Paul. “Paul” asserted his authority by saying that his conversion occurred “because [Jesus] judged me faithful and appointed me to his service (v.12). He acknowledged that he had been a “blasphemer, persecutor and a man of violence” (v13) – a description consistent with descriptions of Paul in 1 Cor. 15:9 and Acts 8:1 and 9:1-2.
The authors stated that “the saying is sure” (a common phrase in the Pastoral Letters) that Jesus the Christ came to save sinners (v.15) and made Paul “an example to those who would come to believe in [Jesus] for eternal life” (v. 16).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that the phrase “King of the ages” (v.17) is likely a Greek rendering of the Hebrew words “melek ha-olam” (King of the Universe) which is a part of every Jewish blessing. This verse is structured as a doxology – a statement of praise.
Luke 15:1-10
Reading
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
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 comes just before the parable of the Prodigal Son.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that owning 100 sheep mean that the person was one of considerable wealth. Portraying God as a shepherd was common in the Hebrew Bible and is found in Psalms 23, 78, 80 and 100. Moses was also a shepherd when he had his Burning Bush Experience in Exodus 3.
Since the shepherd who looks for the lost sheep is understood as God, the woman searching for the lost coin should be seen as a feminine depiction of God. The JANT points out that “friends and neighbors” (v.9) are feminine nouns in Greek, indicating that they were female associates of the woman who found the lost coin.
Some commentators note that a sensible and practical shepherd would never put 99 sheep at risk just to find one lost sheep. This fact in the parable underscores the enormity of God’s mercy, forgiveness and having all persons in the “fold.”
2022, September 4 ~ Jeremiah 18:1-11; Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
SEPTEMBER 4, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Jeremiah 18:1-11
Reading
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your 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.
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 “prose style” and contains two critical aspects of the theology of the Deuteronomists: (a) YHWH – like a potter — is in charge of everything and can “shape evil against” Israel (v.11) and “declare concerning a nation” (v. 7); and (b) that if a nation or an individual obeys YHWH’s commands and “turns from evil” (v.8), God will change the decision, and good outcomes will result. God was presented as not capricious but responsive to repentance. These themes are present in all the books written and edited by the Deuteronomists (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings).
Many scholars agree that the tone of this passage is “Post-Exilic” – that is, it was written to the community in Judea after the Exile as both an explanation of why the Exile occurred and as a warning against failing to worship YHWH fully going forward.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Reading
15 Moses said to all Israel the words which the LORD commanded him, “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings, and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
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).
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.
Today’s reading is a continuation of Chapter 29 and expresses a theme found in all the Deuteronomic books (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings): “if you do good, you will get good, but if you do bad, you will get bad.” Indeed, life outside the covenant will lead to death but observing the commandments will lead to prosperity and life.
Scholars agree that verses 1 to 10 in Chapter 30 (which precede today’s reading) are a later insertion between Chapter 29 and today’s reading as shown by the reference to the “book of the law” in verse 10. The Torah itself (as a unified book) did not exist until it was finalized and codified in the 5th Century BCE. Similarly, the word “again” shows that the text was directed at the returning exiles from Babylon in 500 BCE rather than the Israelites in the Wilderness in 1200 BCE.
Rather than seeing the Exile and the other conquests of Judea as the result of the greater economic and military might of foreign nations, these conquests were portrayed as the result of failing to obey the commandments of the LORD (v. 16) and being “led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them” (v.17).
Verses 16 and 17 start with “if” and reflect the Deuteronomists’ understanding that the Covenant with the LORD was conditional. Judea failed to live up to its part of the covenant, and this is why it suffered.
The Jewish Study Bible points out that “in the technical language of Near Eastern treaties ‘love the LORD and walk in his ways’ (v.16) means to act loyally and to honor the commitments of the treaty.”
Philemon 1-21
Reading
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God 5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. 7 I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9 yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love — and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother– especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Commentary
The Letter to Philemon is the shortest of the letters attributed to Paul and is presented as his last letter in the Bible. (When Jerome translated Paul’s letters into Latin for the Vulgate, he arranged them from the longest to the shortest on the theory that the longer letters were more important.) Today’s reading contains all but three of the verses of the entire letter.
The letter was written from prison, but the site was not specified. Paul was sending the slave Onesimus (whose name means “helpful”) back to Philemon with the hope he will be “useful” (v.11) and with a request to free Onesimus as a “brother in the Lord” (v. 16). Paul noted that he himself converted Philemon (“owing me in your own self” v.19).
Depending on which verses the reader emphasizes, The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that Onesimus was the slave of Philemon (v.16) and either ran away from his master after causing him some financial loss (vv.15,18) or he was sent by his owner to serve Paul in prison (v.13).
There are also multiple interpretations of Paul’s vague requests to Philemon regarding Onesimus: (a) to receive him back and forgive his transgressions whatever they may have been (vv.17-18); (b) to send him back to Paul to take care of Paul’s needs in prison (vv.13-14); or (c) receive him back and free him (vv.16, 21). The final decision is left up to Philemon (v.14) but Paul was clearly leaning on Philemon to “do the right thing” (v.14).
Luke 14:25-33
Reading
25 Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
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 emphasized the costs of discipleship and the need for total devotion if one is to be a follower of Jesus. The language in verse 26 (“hate father and mother etc.”) is stronger than parallel sayings in Matthew 10:37 (“whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”) and in John 12:25 (“Those who love their life lose it and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”)
The need to “carry the cross and follow me” (v.27) is parallel to sayings in Mark 8:34 and Matt.10:38 and is understood as the need to be willing to risk death or endure other sufferings.
Verses 28 to 32 are practical admonitions and examples of recognizing in advance the cost of an endeavor. The conclusion in verse 33 is that one must give up all one’s possessions if one is to be a disciple of Jesus the Christ is a theme Luke repeats a number of times.
2022, August 28 ~ Jeremiah 2:4-13; Sirach 10:12-18; Proverbs 25:6-7; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 28, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading. Today’s track 2 has a choice of two readings.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Reading
4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.
5 Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
6 They did not say, “Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?”
7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things But when you entered you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, “Where is the LORD?” Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children’s children.
10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing.
11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD,
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
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.
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 consists of a “covenant lawsuit” brought by YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters) against Jacob and “all the families of Israel” (v.4). Jacob and Israel are interchangeable names – Jacob’s name was changed to “Israel” in Genesis 32 when he wrestled with a man/angel/God.
This first part of this reading was addressed to Northern Israel and is understood by The Jewish Study Bible as an attempt by Jeremiah to persuade Northern Israel (which had been conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE) to “accept the rule of King Josiah and the religious authority of the Jerusalem Temple, thereby reuniting all Israel as in the days of David and Solomon.” The JSB notes that verses 1 to 3 were a later addition to include Judea in the covenant lawsuit after the death of King Josiah in 609 BCE.
In the “lawsuit,” YHWH declared innocence in the relationship with Israel and said the people have been unfaithful without cause and ungrateful for all YHWH had done for them, including bringing them out of Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land (vv. 5-8). The priests knew the law but did not know God (v.8) and false prophets preached in the name of Baal. (Archeological evidence shows that Baal worship and YHWH worship coexisted in Israel until after the Exile (587-539 BCE).
The last part of the reading is an accusation against Israel and its children – the hearers of the prophesy (v.9) – for changing its gods (v.11) and forsaking the fountain of “living water” (v. 13) The image of “living water” was used in the conversation between Jesus of Nazareth with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:10.
Sirach 10:12-18
Reading
12 The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker.
13 For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out abominations. Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities and destroys them completely.
14 The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers and enthrones the lowly in their place.
15 The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations, and plants the humble in their place.
16 The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations and destroys them to the foundations of the earth.
17 He removes some of them and destroys them and erases the memory of them from the earth.
18 Pride was not created for human beings, or violent anger for those born of women.
Commentary
The Book of Sirach is not included in the Jewish version of the Hebrew Bible but is included in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox versions of the Bible. Protestants place Sirach in a separate section of the Bible called the “Apocrypha” (which means “hidden books”).
The book is known by the name of its author, and its full title is “The Wisdom of Jesus [which is Greek for Yeshua or Joshua], son of Sirach.” In the Roman Catholic tradition, the book is known as “Ecclesiasticus” (“the Church’s book”).
It was written between 200 and 180 BCE, during a time when the Seleucids (from Syria) were ruling Judea and trying to impose Greek gods upon the Judeans. Ben Sira described himself as a “scribe” (a person of learning).
The Prologue to Sirach (written by Sirach’s grandson after 132 BCE) contains the first reference in Jewish Literature to “the Law, the Prophesies, and the rest of the books” – the division of the Hebrew Bible into three parts. The book primarily consists of “traditional” advice to young men in the Jewish community, consistent with the advice given to young men in the Book of Proverbs.
In today’s reading, Sirach stated that human pride and sin lead to retribution by the Lord – a view consistent with Deuteronomy’s over-all theme that if you do good, good things will happen, but if you do bad things (such as worship false gods), bad things will happen.
Proverbs 25:6-7
Reading
6 Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great;
7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.
Commentary
In Christian Bibles, the Book of Proverbs is included in the “Wisdom Literature,” but in the Jewish Bible (the “TaNaK”), it is part of the “Writings.” The other two parts of the Jewish Bible are The Torah and The Prophets. The name “TaNaK” is an acronym for the first letters of the Hebrew words for each of these sections: the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketubim.
Although Proverbs claimed to be written by Solomon (965-930 BCE) (1:1), most scholars agree that these sayings were compiled over a lengthy period and put in their final form around 450 BCE. In fact, two Chapters of Proverbs (22:17 to 24:34) were copied almost word-for-word from Egyptian wisdom literature dating to about 1100 BCE.
Most of the sayings in Proverbs were presented as teachings from the elders and were aimed at young men to enable them to cope with life. They generally advised that moral living (diligence, sobriety, self-restraint, selecting a good wife, and honesty) will lead to a good life. Unlike most guidance in the Hebrew Bible, Proverbs was aimed at individuals, rather than to the nation.
The authors of Proverbs seemed to be convinced that everyone who attended to the wisdom of the past and employed powers of reason could know what to do and what to avoid. Wisdom is the virtue that encompasses all other virtues. In that sense, there is a tension between the ”teaching” of Proverbs and the Torah – which emphasized the revealed law.
The usual translation of a recurring theme in Proverbs is that “fear” of YHWH (translated as LORD – all capital letters in the NRSV) is the beginning of wisdom. Many scholars suggest, however, that “awe of YHWH” or “reverence for YHWH” better captures the sense of the authors of the Proverbs.
Proverbs acknowledged the limitations of human wisdom but also offered a clear view of divine reward and punishment: Wisdom (equated with righteousness) would bring success, but folly (or wickedness) would lead to destruction.
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Reading
1 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4 Let marriage be held in honor by all and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
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.
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. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.
Today’s reading is from the final chapter of the Letter and was primarily an exhortation for moral uprightness by the Jesus Followers. The Greek word for “mutual love” (v.1) is philadelphia — described in The Jewish Annotated New Testament as most commonly used to describe the affection between siblings.
The mention of “entertaining angels” (v.2) was a reference to Abraham’s over-the-top hospitality to three strangers/angels/God at Mamre (Gen. 18). The reference to “he” in verse 5 is to YHWH and a promise made by YHWH to Joshua in Josh.1:5. The purported quote in verse 6 is a loose paraphrase of Psalm 118.6.
Reflecting an evolving Christology, the author affirmed that The Christ is the same today and forever (v.8), and through The Christ – as the unifying force of all reality — the community was able to offer sacrifices pleasing to God (v. 16).
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Reading
1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
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 gauge Jesus’ relationship with the Pharisees during his lifetime. In today’s reading, Jesus was dining (presumably by an invitation which he accepted) at the house of a leader of the Pharisees (v.1). By the time the Gospels According to Matthew, Luke and John were written, however, the relationship between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees was competitive and strained, and these three Gospels contain criticisms of the Pharisees not found in Mark. The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes: “Scholars correctly describe [Luke’s} Gospel’s presentation of Pharisees as puzzling, inconsistent and complex.”
In the verses before today’s reading, Jesus turned the tables on the “lawyers and Pharisees” by asking them if it was lawful to cure people on the sabbath. When they were silent, he cured a man who had dropsy.
The “parable” in today’s reading was an expansion of verses from Proverbs 25 (which will not likely be read in many churches.) The notion of being “repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” was based on Dan. 12:2 (“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt.” – the first clear Biblical reference to a resurrection, final judgment, and afterlife.) “Many” suggested not all will rise.
2022, August 21 ~ Jeremiah 1:4-10; Isaiah 58:9b-14; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 21, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Reading
4 The word of the LORD came to me saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, LORD God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”
7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.”
9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
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 627 and continued until 586 BCE when he fled to Egypt and died there.
Jeremiah was descended from the priestly line of Eli (v.1) and his prophesying for 40 years was seen as a parallel to the 40 years Moses led the Israelites in the desert. He was a constant opponent of King Jehoiakim (608-598) who was an Egyptian sympathizer and of King Zedekiah, (597-586) a Babylonian appointee who nevertheless went to war with Babylon in 597 BCE.
Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 587 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.
Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” are thought to have been 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 describes Jeremiah’s call in terms that are reminiscent of the calls of Moses in Exodus 3, of Gideon in Judges 6, and of Isaiah in Isaiah 6. In this sense, Jeremiah was presented as a “prophet like Moses” who would be raised up as anticipated in Deut. 18:15.
Just as with Moses, Gideon and Isaiah, Jeremiah claimed (v.6) he was not fit to speak for YHWH (translated as “LORD” in all capital letters), but YHWH touched Jeremiah’s mouth (v.9) and put words in it so that he could speak for YHWH, just as a seraph touched Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal (Is.6:6-7).
The phrase in verses 4 and 7 (“the word of the LORD came to me”) appears multiple times in the Book of Jeremiah and gave a clear statement that Jeremiah was not speaking for himself but was speaking for YHWH. Serving as a “prophet to the nations” (v.5) meant that he was not only a prophet to Judea but also to non-Jews, although most of Jeremiah’s prophesy to “nations” was oracles against them.
The phrase “to destroy and overthrow and to build up and plant” (v.10) expressed a key theme expressed in Jeremiah, particularly in the prose passages attributable to the Deuteronomists – Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Babylonians but would be rebuilt after the Exile ended.
Isaiah 58:9b-14
Reading
9b If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
13 If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
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. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”
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.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that two themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is behind all historical events and (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship.
Just before today’s reading from Third Isaiah, the prophet was told by YHWH to reveal to the people (“the house of Jacob”) who returned to Jerusalem that their way of living was immoral, and that prayer and sacrifices without serious moral reformation did not please YHWH (vv. 1-5).
Instead of fasting and sacrifices, the LORD wanted justice, freedom for the oppressed, sharing of food, bringing the homeless into one’s home, and sharing one’s goods and clothing (vv. 6-8).
In today’s reading, the author spoke for YHWH who told the Judeans to “remove the yoke” from the downtrodden and stop having contempt for one another (“pointing the finger”) (v.9b).
YHWH offered conditional encouragement to the Judeans that YHWH would guide the people, make them prosperous, the ruins of Jerusalem would be rebuilt, and their fortunes would be restored if they cared for the hungry (v.10) and properly observed the Sabbath (v.13).
Hebrews 12:18-29
Reading
18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion 23 and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
Commentary
The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.
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. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament described Hebrews as the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contained a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is also often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism.
Today’s reading reflects the growing separation – after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. – between the Jesus Follower Movement (which morphed into Christianity in the last part of the First Century) and Pharisaical Judaism (which morphed into Rabbinic Judaism).
The author contrasted Mount Sinai as a place of terror with Mount Zion where the spirits of the righteous are made perfect by Jesus. He said the blood of Abel cried for vengeance (Gen. 4:10) but the blood of Jesus “speaks a better word” (v. 24).
He paraphrased the prophet Haggai 2:6 for the expression “Yet once more” as a basis for the removal of created things in favor of “that which cannot be shaken” (v. 27). The actual context in Haggai is that the LORD would cause the return of riches from foreigners so the Temple could be rebuilt in splendor after the Exile ended in 539 BCE.
Luke 13:10-17
Reading
10 Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
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 about Jesus’ healing a woman on the sabbath tells a story found in the other gospels and in other places in Luke (for example 14:1-6). In the 30+ years after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the early Jesus Follower Movement regarded “putting the sabbath in its place” an important distinguishing factor from its rival movement, Pharisaic Judaism.
As the belief in Satan as a force of evil continued to expand in the First Century, the gospel writer had Jesus state that the woman’s crippling was the result of Satan’s having bound her for 18 years (vv.11 and 16). This idea was also reflected (for example) in Luke 11:14 when Jesus cast the demon out of person who was mute. The gospel writer presented Jesus as setting persons free from their bondages (v.12 and 16).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that the word “the entire crowd was rejoicing” (v.17) showed that “they correctly find no violation of halakhah [Jewish Law].”
2022, August 14 ~ Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 23:23-29; Hebrews 11:2912-2; Luke 12:49-56
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 14, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Isaiah 5:1-7
Reading
1 Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
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. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”
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.
The Jewish Study Bible points out that one of major religious issues faced by First Isaiah was the extent to which Judea should attempt to confront its enemies by using military and diplomatic means and the extent it should rely on YHWH to protect them. Isaiah (unlike most of his contemporaries) preferred the latter option.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that two themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is behind all historical events and (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship.
Today’s reading is part of First Isaiah. The first part is characterized as a “love song” (v.1) for the prophet’s “beloved” – identified in verse 7 as YHWH. In ancient poetry, a vineyard was often a symbol of someone who is beloved, and YHWH’s beloved was identified as “the house of Israel and the people of Judah” (v.7).
In the third verse, the voice shifted from that of the prophet to the voice of YHWH asking for persons to judge between YHWH and the vineyard (Judea).
Because the vineyard yielded wild grapes (v.4), YHWH stated that the vineyard would be trampled down and made a waste (vv.5-6). This occurred when the Assyrians conquered Northern Israel in 722 BCE and Babylonians conquered Judea in 597 BCE.
Like many other prophets, Isaiah criticized injustice in Israel and Judah. Using clever word plays in Hebrew, the author noted that where YHWH expected justice (“mispat”), there was bloodshed (“mishpah”). YHWH expected righteousness (“tsedaqah) but heard a cry (“tse’aqah”) (v.7).
Jeremiah 23:23-29
Reading
23 Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back– those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
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 mostly 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.)
One of the consistent themes in Jeremiah was his ongoing battles with the “court” prophets who told the king what the king wanted to hear and who opposed Jeremiah at every turn.
Todays reading is in prose and asserts that because YHWH is omnipresent (v.23), YHWH was aware of the lies that some (false) prophets were speaking in YHWH’s name (v.25). In the Scriptures, dreams were sometimes seen as messages from God, but here Jeremiah accused the false prophets of claiming that dreams were a basis to “forget YHWH’s name” (v.27).
In describing YHWH’s word as a “hammer that breaks rock into pieces” (v.29), the prophet emphasized the great power of true prophesy.
Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2
Reading
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.
32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. 36 Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented – 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Commentary
The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.
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. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament described Hebrews as the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contained a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is also often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism.
In today’s reading, the author asserted that it was “faith” that enabled (or caused) a large number of notable events that were recounted in the Hebrew Bible (vv. 29-38).
Many of the references are clear, but some are not. Rahab (v.31) was a prostitute who hid Joshua’s spies from the King of Jericho before Joshua crossed the River Jordan. According to Josh. 2:8-12, Rahab gave a (Deuteronomic) speech to the spies about YHWH’s power. She also demanded that Joshua give her and her family safe passage – knowing that Joshua was going to destroy Jericho and kill all its inhabitants. She is mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Matt:1:5.
Judges 4-5 told of Barak, a fearful Jewish general who was unwilling to face the Canaanite army unless Deborah, the prophet, accompanied him. Because of the LORD’s help, he won the battle, but the Canaanite general, Sisera, escaped and hid in the tent of a Kenite woman, Jael. Jael induced him to sleep, and while asleep, drove a tent peg into his temple.
It is difficult to understand why Jephthah is included. As described in Judges 11-12, he was the leader of Israel’s forces against the Ammonites. He made a vow to YHWH that if he were successful, he would make a burnt offering of the first person to come out of his house upon his return. When he returned home, the first person he saw was his beloved daughter, and he sacrificed her to YHWH.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that “resurrection” (v.35) refers to the raising of dead children by Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4, and that the reference to “better resurrection” refers to the belief that persons killed by Antiochus IV would be resurrected but that Antiochus IV would not. (2 Macc.7:14-15).
All the Christian Scriptures were written in Greek, and the Greek word for “faith” in the Letter is “pistis” – a word that has an active connotation and can fairly be understood as “faithfulness.” Faith is not presented in this letter (or in Paul’s genuine letters) as an intellectual assent to a series of propositions (as “Faith” is often understood today). Instead, as stated in the beginning of Chapter 11, Faith is action based on “the conviction of things not seen” (11:1).
The reading concluded with the supersessionist view that although the faithful persons in the Hebrew Bible were “commended” (v.39), they could not be made “perfect” (or complete) without Jesus as the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” (12:2).
Luke 12:49-56
Reading
49 Jesus said, “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50
I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain’; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present 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 parallel to Matt. 10:34-36 in which Jesus said, “I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.”
In this passage from Luke, the word “fire” is understood by some commentators as Jesus bringing judgment, but others understand “fire” as a symbol of purification. Earlier in Luke, Jesus’ baptism was described as “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16) and in Acts of the Apostles, the presence of the Holy Spirit was shown by “divided tongues, as of fire” (Acts 2:3).
Commentators understand Jesus’ “baptism” (v.50) to be a reference to his own death.
The language about dividing a household (v.53) echoed the prophet Micah 7:6 who described the society of Judea in the late 700’s BCE as “the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; your enemies are members of your own household.”
But in Malachi 4:6, the prophet spoke of the Messiah as one who “will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents.”
The second part of the reading is also in Matthew in which Jesus told the Pharisees and Sadducees that they are not able to “interpret the signs of the times” (Matt.16:3).
2022, August 7 ~ Isaiah 1:1,10-20; Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16; Luke 12:32-40
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 7, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2022, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Isaiah 1.1,10-20
Reading
1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more;
13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation — I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
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. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”
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.
The Jewish Study Bible points out that one of major religious issues faced by First Isaiah was the extent to which Judea should attempt to confront its enemies by using military and diplomatic means and the extent it should rely on YHWH to protect them. Isaiah (unlike most of his contemporaries) preferred the latter option.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that two themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is behind all historical events and (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship.
Today’s reading is from First Isaiah and is an indictment of Israel (and particularly Judea) for religious infidelity. The first verse (inserted by a later editor) sets the time period as being from 735 BCE (the ending years of the reign of Uzziah – also known as Azariah) to the 14th year of the reign of Hezekiah (701 BCE – when the Assyrians conquered most of Judea and besieged Jerusalem). This was a time of the ascendancy of the Assyrian Empire which conquered Northern Israel in 722 BCE and threatened Judea during all this time.
The balance of the reading is a strong prophetic statement condemning worship divorced from social justice (vv. 10-17), a theme also found in Amos, Micah, and Jeremiah. Sodom and Gomorrah (v.10) were commonly used symbols for divine judgement on immorality. In Genesis, the evil done by those cities was not showing hospitality (a high value) by threatening to commit sexual violence upon visitors to Lot’s home (Gen.19:5).
The call for purification (v.16) was not a substitute for moral purification, but a sign of the purification of learning to do good and seek justice (v.17).
The verses then shifted from condemnation to a legal argument (v.18) in which YHWH offered forgiveness if Judea repented but said Judea would be “devoured by the sword” (v.20) if it did not repent. Except for a short period of Deuteronomic reform under King Josiah (640 to 609 BCE) Jerusalem did not repent, and it was conquered by the Babylonians – the successors to the Assyrians – in 597 BCE. The Exile began in 587 BCE.
Genesis 15:1-6
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.
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 were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.
The first 11 Chapters of Genesis are called the “primeval history” which ends with the Tower of Babel story — an “etiology” (story of origins) relating to the scattering of humankind and the multiplicity of languages. The last chapter of the primeval history also traces Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”).
Today’s reading is one of the versions of the covenant between YHWH and Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (v.5). The other versions of the covenant are in Gen.12:1-3 and Gen.17:1-27.
The reference to Eliezer of Damascus is understood by some commentators as indicating that Abram had adopted him because he did not expect to have a natural heir. It appears that Eliezer was the “servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had” (Gen. 24:2) whom Abraham later sent to Haran to find a wife for Isaac.
In speaking of Abram’s “belief in the LORD” (v.6), The Jewish Study Bible translates the word as “trusts” and affirms that belief (when used in the Tanakh) does not mean believing in spite of the evidence. Instead it means trusting profoundly in someone, here YHWH. The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees “righteousness” (tzedakah in Hebrew) as “being true to one’s social obligations and commitments” and that Abram believed that YHWH would be true to the promises made to him.
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Reading
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old– and Sarah herself was barren– because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
Commentary
The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.
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. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament described Hebrews as the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contains a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism.
Today’s reading presented faith as insight into a sacred world of reality and spoke of faith as a concrete reality by using words such as “assurance” and “conviction.” An example of faith was Abraham’s obedience to leave his homeland and travel to Canaan (Genesis 12). His faith was rewarded by his being the father of numerous descendants. In some manuscripts of Hebrews, Sarah’s faith is paralleled to Abraham’s and she is also presented as a heroic person of faith.
The ”city” (v.10) is understood by commentators as the heavenly Jerusalem.
Luke 12:32-40
Reading
32 Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
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 Parable of the Rich Fool (vv. 16-21) and lengthy advice (vv.22-32) to not worry about material possessions. Consistent with sayings in the other Synoptic Gospels and Acts, persons were urged to lay up “treasure in heaven” and were reminded that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (v.34)
The focus of the reading then shifted to watchfulness, readiness, and faithfulness. Using imagery of a wedding banquet as a messianic event, the exhortation advised that the “master” (Kyrios in Greek – usually translated “LORD”) will serve those slaves whom he finds alert (v.37).
The motif of the master serving others is found in John’s account of the Last Supper in which Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (John 13:3-16). It is also in Mark 10:45 in stating that the Son of Man came “not to be served but to serve” and in Luke 22:27 in response to the controversy among some of the apostles about who is the greatest.
2022, July 31 ~ Hosea 11:1-11, Ecclesiastes 1:1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 31, 2022
During Pentecost Season 2020, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.
The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.
The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.
Hosea 11:1-11
Reading
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and offering incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
5 They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword rages in their cities, it consumes their oracle-priests, and devours because of their schemes.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
10 They shall go after the LORD, who roars like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west.
11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria;
and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD.
Commentary
After Solomon died in 928 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel with 10 tribes) and the South (Judea with two tribes). Each Kingdom had its own king.
The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous, but a time of great inequality between rich and poor in which large landowners gained control of the lands of small farmers and mistreated the poor.
Hosea is one of the 12 “minor” prophets whose works are shorter than the three “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). He was a contemporary of Amos. His prophesying (speaking for YHWH) began towards the end of the reign of King Jeroboam II and continued until Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE. He severely criticized the political, social, and religious life in the Northern Kingdom. He was the first of the prophets whose speeches were collected and edited as literary documents.
In today’s reading, Hosea shifted his metaphor of Israel from being an unfaithful wife to Israel as a special (but wayward) child of YHWH who rejected God’s call and made sacrifices to Baal (v.2). These are two of the most intimate metaphors for the relationship of Israel and YHWH.
In today’s reading, the author used a number of different names for Israel, particularly “Ephraim.” Ephraim (v.3) was one of Joseph’s sons and was the name of the largest of the 10 tribes that comprised Northern Israel. The prophet referred to the Exodus from Egypt (v.1) and emphasized the influence of YHWH in Israel’s beginnings (v.3).
Hosea noted (perhaps as a later addition to the text) that Assyria would be the “king” of Northern Israel (v.5), an event that occurred in 722 BCE when Assyria conquered Israel.
In the last half of today’s reading, Hosea (still speaking for the LORD – all capital letters in the NRSV) said that YHWH’s compassion overcame divine anger. He said that YHWH would not treat Israel as Admah and Zeboiim (v.8) were treated. According to Deuteronomy 29:23, these two cities destroyed when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.
God’s change of heart and the decision not to obliterate Ephraim (v.9) was tied to the second part of the verse “For I am God and no mortal.” The lion’s roar (v.10) was not threatening but was a summons to its cubs.
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23
Reading
2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. 14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
2:18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me – 19 and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? 23 For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
Commentary
Ecclesiastes was written by a person known in Hebrew as Qohelet (which means the “Gatherer” of Wisdom, or “Teacher” or “Preacher”). Because the book contains Persian and Aramaic “loan-words,” the book is generally dated to the middle of the time of Persian rule of Judea (539 to 333 BCE). (Loan-words are words borrowed from one language to another; for example, “rendezvous” is a loan-word in English from French.)
The Persian Period was one of great prosperity, in large measure because of the introduction of standard coinage in the Middle East. In this period, however, the individual was an insignificant part of a large Empire.
Ecclesiastes is included in the Writings (Ketubim) in the Hebrew Bible, but in the Wisdom Books in Christian Bibles. In Judaism today, it is read on Sukkot, the celebration of the fall harvest and the ending of the yearly Torah cycle.
In verse 12, Qohelet assumed the persona of Solomon, the traditionally wise king who reigned from 968 to 928 BCE, but the book was written much later.
The over-arching theme in Ecclesiastes is that everything is “vanity” (the Hebrew word, hebel, is also translated as “vapor” or “breath” and is used 38 times in the book). Our lives are transient and insignificant. “Vanity” described all that is ephemeral, insubstantial, enigmatic, or absurd. Qohelet asserted that the fruit of one’s toil and one’s wisdom and knowledge cannot be taken with us when we die. Death is inevitable for all.
The Jewish Study Bible notes that later commentators pointed out that “futility” applied to actions by humans for themselves alone but acts done on behalf of others in service to God can last and be worthwhile.
“Vanity of vanities” (v.2) was a way of expressing a superlative in Hebrew and means “utter vanity.” “Toil” (v.18) meant not only work, but the fruit of one’s work, and toil does not give you any advantages in the face of death.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 formed the basis for The Byrds song “There is a Season, Turn, Turn, Turn.”
The concluding themes of the book are to enjoy life while you can, for after death there is nothingness.
Colossians 3:1-11
Reading
1 If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8 But now you must get rid of all such things– anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11 In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Commentary
Colossae was a town in what is now western Turkey. A Jesus Follower community was founded there by Paul’s associate, Epaphras (1:7). The letter is short (three chapters) and expressed concern about apocalyptic and mystical practices that were inconsistent with Paul’s understanding of being a Jesus Follower.
Scholars debate whether this letter was written by Paul or by his disciples in the decade after Paul’s death in 63 CE. It lacks many terms used in Paul’s authentic letters and its style is more liturgical than Paul’s letters.
In today’s reading, the author gave a series of ethical exhortations to the Colossians. These exhortations are derived from last week’s reading (“when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” 2:12). The sins were described as “earthly” (v.5) and the author described the pre-baptismal life as a catalogue of vices (v.8).
The author concluded with one of Paul’s most important theological insights – that the Christ (the Messiah) is the ultimate unifying principle and force for all reality. “The Christ is all and is in all” (v.11) so that there is no longer a dichotomy between the “sacred” and the “profane” just as there is no essential difference between a Gentile (a “Greek”) and Jew, slave and free and the like (v.11). According to The Jewish Annotated New Testament, a “barbarian” was a person who spoke no Greek and a “Scythian” was the epitome of an uncivilized person in Greek literature.
Luke 12:13-21
Reading
13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward 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.
In the first part of today’s reading, Jesus refused to enter a dispute between two brothers about an inheritance. Although the rule in Deuteronomy 21.17 mandated that the oldest brother would receive an extra share (2/3 if there were only two brothers), The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that “postbiblical practice allowed parents freedom in bequests.”
Using this dispute as an introduction, the reading continues with what is often called “The Parable of the Rich Fool.” In characterizing the man as “rich” (v.16), Luke generally meant that the person did not use his wealth to support the poor.
The advice the rich man gave to his soul (“relax, eat, drink and be merry” in v.19) was a paraphrase of advice in Ecclesiastes 8:15.
The phrase translated as “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you” (v.20) literally was “Fool! In this night, your soul they demand from you.” The subject “they” may be a circumlocution for God, or angels, or the man’s possessions. The question about whose possessions they will be echoes themes in Ecclesiastes.