TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 19, 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.
1 Kings 19:1-15a
Reading
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9 At that place he came to a cave and spent the night there.
Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.”
Commentary
The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel. These books were given their final form around 550 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)
After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. His wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.
The prophet Elijah is the subject of today’s reading. Just prior to these verses, Elijah invoked the power of YHWH to overcome the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel in the Northern part of Israel. He brought fire upon a huge sacrifice, rain to end a drought, and then killed all the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).
Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done (v.1). Jezebel swore to kill Elijah (v.2), so he ran away as far south in Israel as he could – first to Beer-sheba and then to the Wilderness where he hoped to die (v.4). (The theme of a prophet wishing to die out of a sense of isolation and failure was repeated in Jonah 4:3.)
YHWH’s angels provided food to Elijah so he could journey to Horeb and continue his ministry. (For the Deuteronomists, the holy mountain was called “Horeb” rather than Sinai. “Sinai” was the name used by the authors of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.) Elijah’s receiving food in the wilderness was parallel to Hagar’s story in Genesis 21:19.
The Jewish Study Bible points out that a person could cover 20-25 miles a day walking. If Elijah walked for 40 days and 40 nights (v.8), he could have covered between 800 and 1,000 miles. The JSB suggests that 40 is merely a “formulaic number” for a long time.
When Elijah was at Horeb, the voice of YHWH came to him in the silence (vv.12-13) and told him to anoint Hazael as king of Aram (modern Syria). In the verse after today’s reading, Elijah was told to commit treason by anointing Jehu as King of Israel even while Ahab was still alive (v.16).
This is not the first instance of treasonous activity in the Deuteronomists’ accounts. YHWH told Samuel to anoint David as King even when Saul was still alive. (1 Sam.16:13).
Isaiah 65:1-9
Reading
1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.
2 I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices
3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks
4 who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places, who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels
5 who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
6 See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps
7 their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
8 Thus says the LORD: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
Commentary
The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.
Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.
Today’s reading is set in the time after the return and follows a lament by the people (Chapter 64) claiming that YHWH seems to be continuing to punish the people.
Today’s reading is YHWH’s response and noted that the people acted as if they were self-sufficient and did not call on YHWH for help (v.1). The middle verses (3-5) are descriptions of pagan practices adopted by some Israelites and verses 6 and 7 set forth their punishments. According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, “sacrifices in gardens” (v.3) were sacrifices “in open-air sanctuaries and involved the invocation of nature deities, often with overt sexual content.”
The last two verses of today’s reading are YHWH’s promise that he would raise up those who were the righteous remnant and true servants of YHWH.
Galatians 3:23-29
Reading
23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Commentary
Galatia was a large Roman province in what is now western Turkey. This letter was likely written by Paul in the late 40’s or early 50’s (CE), and deals in part with controversies between Jewish Jesus Followers and Gentile Jesus Followers regarding the continuing importance of Torah (Law) to Jesus Followers. In particular, did Gentiles have to be circumcised and follow the Kosher dietary law to become Jesus Followers? If not, what was the role of Torah for both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers?
These issues are also described in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).
Galatians is a “transitional” letter in that – when compared to Paul’s last letter (Romans) — it shows an evolution in his views on the relationship between the Torah and the Gentile Jesus Followers. In many ways, the letter was a defense of Paul’s Gentile mission as whole.
In today’s reading, Paul spoke of the Jewish Law as “guarding and imprisoning” us until the Christ came so that “we might be justified by faith” (vv. 23-24). The Introduction to Galatians in The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that verse 24 has been understood to imply that Judaism and the Torah are “redundant, and perhaps even an obstacle to God’s plan for human salvation.” The NOAB noted, however, that Paul did not draw this conclusion, and expressly rebutted it in Romans 9-11 by acknowledging the continuing force of the Torah and the need for Jewish Jesus Followers to continue to observe it.
Understanding many of the terms used by Paul is often challenging for modern readers. As a devout Jew, Paul recognized the value of the Law, but his conversion caused him to see that “justification” (or righteousness) was no longer a matter of obeying specific laws, but of living a life of faithfulness. “Justified” is to be understood as “being in right relationships with God, others, the world and oneself.” (A page of type in which the right and left margins are straight is described as “justified.”)
The term “faith” as used by Paul also needs to be understood in context. “Faith” is a translation of the Greek word “pistis” – a word that conveys an active quality. The word is perhaps better understood as “faith-ing” or “active faithfulness.” For Paul, “faith” was not a matter of intellectually assenting to a series of doctrines (as many Christians today think of “Faith”).
Instead, “faith” is living a life of loving faithfulness as Jesus of Nazareth lived his life and trusting – as he did — that death will not have the final victory. For Paul, the Resurrection allowed him (and allows us) to encounter the Risen Christ.
Faithfulness to the Christ and a life of loving others also enables us to recognize our essential unity in which there is no Jew or Greek (Gentile), slave or free, male or female (v.28), for we are all one in the Christ.
In footnotes, the NOAB and The Jewish Annotated New Testament state that a “disciplinarian” (paidagōgos) in verses 24 and 25 was a household slave who escorted the master’s son outside the house school to keep him out of trouble and who sometimes punished the boy for his behavior. The Greek word is also translated as “trainer” or “guardian.”
Luke 8:26-39
Reading
26 Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” – 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading is also found in Mark and Matthew, although Matthew set the story as occurring in Gadara, which is a more likely location because Gerasa was 15 miles inland. Both Gadara and Gerasa were in the area known as the Decapolis, the area east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River (modern Jordan).
The Decapolis was primarily non-Jewish. Everything about the man possessed by demons (in Matthew, there were two men) was unclean: living in tombs and not wearing clothes (v.27). Unlike the disciples who were confused by Jesus’ identity (v.25), the Demoniac called him “Son of the Most High God” (v.28).
In the First Century, having knowledge of the name of a supernatural power gave the knower an advantage in dealing with the person or power. The Demoniac’s response “Legion” (v.30) represented a division of the Roman Army consisting of 5,000 soldiers, so the name showed the power of the demons who possessed the man and was also a not-so-subtle “dig” at the Roman occupiers.
The demons begged to be sent into the herd of swine (Mark said there were about 2,000) and they rushed into a lake (a “sea” in Mark and Matthew) and drowned. Swine were unclean for Jews, but not for Gentiles.
Having lost a sizeable herd of swine would have been a significant economic loss for the residents of the area, and it is not surprising that they asked Jesus to leave (v.37) before he adversely affected their economic situation further.
The request by the cured man to become a follower (v.38) and Jesus’ direction to him to declare what God had done for him in his home. Instead, the man declared what Jesus had done for him (v.39).
2022, July 24 ~ Hosea 1:2-10; Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:6-19; Luke 11:1-13
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 24, 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 1:2-10
Reading
2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” 3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 And the LORD said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. 7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”
8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.”
10 Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”
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. The Jewish Study Bible describes it as “a period of apostasy, social disintegration, wrongful leadership, failed alliances, and a lack of reverence for the LORD.”
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 (747 BCE) 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.
His main themes were Israel’s abandoning of the LORD, the LORD’s punishment for that abandonment, calls for Israel’s repentance, and hope of a reconciliation.
Hosea sometimes referred to the Northern Kingdom as “Ephraim” (the largest tribe and named for Joseph’s son) or “Samaria,” its capital.
Hosea used powerful symbolic images of marriage and faithlessness to describe the covenant relationship between YHWH and Israel. He described Israel as a promiscuous woman and an unfaithful wife (v.2) and his wife’s children were given symbolic names – “God sows” (v.4), “not pitied” or “not loved” (v.6) and “not my people” (literally, “no-kin-of-mine”)(v.9). Hosea interpreted the unfolding disaster as a divine punishment for Israel’s violating the commands of YHWH by worshiping other gods and saw the Assyrians as God’s instrument.
The name “Jezreel” (God sows) is the name of an actual place in Israel. The Jezreel Valley is one of the most fertile parts of Israel (even today). It was the place where Jeroboam’s predecessors (the House of Jehu) staged a bloody coup against Ahab in 842 BCE. (Ironically, according to 2 Kings 9-10, the coup by Jehu was directed by YHWH through the prophet Elisha.) The name itself also includes a double meaning in that similar Hebrew words (zr and zrh) mean “to sow” and “to scatter.”
Hosea said that YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) had pity on Judea (v.7). Although Hosea addressed the situation in Northern Israel, The Jewish Study Bible points out that “its intended readers were the Judeans who could constructively reflect on the demise of the Northern Kingdom.” This reflection on Israel’s demise and the reforms of King Josiah (640-609 BCE) did not last, however, and Judea was conquered by the Babylonians in 597 BCE.
Genesis 18:20-32
Reading
20 The LORD said to Abraham, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! 21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.”
22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the LORD, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh do not let the LORD be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the LORD. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh do not let the LORD be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
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 traces Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”).
This week’s reading begins after the “men” left Mamre and “looked toward” Sodom (v.16). Abraham went with them and sent them on their way. YHWH then had an internal conversation in which YHWH considered not disclosing to Abraham YHWH’s plan to destroy Sodom (v.17). Treating Abraham as a prophet (as later described in 20:7), YHWH disclosed the plan of destruction because Abraham would “become a great and prosperous nation” (v.18).
To learn if “the outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great” (v.20), this anthropomorphic YHWH checked on it (v.21), just as YHWH did in deciding the fate of Babel (Gen 11:5).
In today’s reading, Abraham conducted a back-and-forth negotiation with a very human-like YHWH regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. By appealing to YHWH’s sense of fairness and justice, Abraham got YHWH to reduce to 10 the number of “righteous” people needed to save the cities.
The Jewish Study Bible notes that Abraham’s plea for mercy is not that YHWH save the innocent and punish the guilty, but that the entire city be spared. YHWH agreed to forgive all for the sake of the innocent. The JSB goes on: “The underlying theology maintains that the righteous effect deliverance for the entire community….This idea is prominent in rabbinic literature where it underlies the notion of thirty six righteous individuals for whom the world endures.”
Nevertheless, the two cities were destroyed by YHWH in the next chapter.
In verse 27, Abraham referred to himself as “but dust and ashes.” This is the same phrase used by Job after the theophany near the end of the book (Job 42:6)
Colossians 2:6-19
Reading
6 As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 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. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
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 other letters.
Today’s reading is the theological core of the Letter to the Colossians – that Jesus the Christ was the living embodiment of God (v.9) and that the fullness of one’s humanity comes by “living one’s life in [Jesus the Christ]” (v.6).
The author noted that the Colossians had orally received Christ and warned against “philosophy” (other ethical or religious teachings) and practices associated with some forms of 1st Century Judaism: “elemental spirits” (v.8), physical circumcision (v.13), matters of food and drink (v.16), and observing festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths (v. 16).
The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees the reference to the “shadow of what is to come” (v.17) as “Platonic language indicating the superiority of Christ.” The church’s growth (the body) grows through the Christ which is “growth from God” (v.19).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that in this section, the author “simultaneously condemns Greek philosophical tradition, Jewish legal teaching and pagan worship.” Unlike Paul’s authentic letters, Colossians speaks of resurrection in the present (“you were also raised with him [Christ] through faith” in baptism (v.12).
Luke 11:1-13
Reading
1 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything, because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
This reading is in two parts – the first is Luke’s shorter version of the Lord’s Prayer, as compared to the one in Matthew 6:9-13. The NAOB points out that there is an eschatological cast to the petitions (“Thy kingdom come; thy will be done”) that look towards an end-times. But there are also concerns related to daily life.
The second part of the reading relates to persistence in prayer, Although it does not say that the praying person will get precisely what the person is praying for, the assurance given is that the person will “get whatever he needs” (v. 8); “the door will be opened” (v.10); and the heavenly Father will “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (v.13). All of these are open-ended and indefinite but tell us that our prayers will be “answered” in some way.
2022, July 17 ~ Amos 8:1-12; Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 17, 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.
Amos 8:1-12
Reading
1 This is what the LORD GOD showed me– a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by.
3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” says the LORD GOD; “the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!”
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.
8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
9 On that day, says the LORD GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.
11 The time is surely coming, says the LORD GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.
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.
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.
In today’s reading, Amos 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 weighted for the seller.
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.
The reading has some clever linguistic aspects. In verse 2, the basket of fruit symbolized the immanence of Israel’s end. The Hebrew words for “fruit” (qayits) and for “end” (qets) sound alike. Amos saw fruit but YHWH saw the end of Israel as an independent nation.
The reading described the “Day of the LORD” – a time of terror and mourning and darkness at noon (v. 9), a motif used by the authors of the Gospels in describing the Crucifixion (see Mark 15:33). A solar eclipse was a customary portent for divine punishment.
Amos said that YHWH would remember these misdeeds and punish the evildoers. In 722 BCE, only 40 years later, Assyria conquered Israel and scattered its wealthy class.
Genesis 18:1-10a
Reading
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 8 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.”
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 the account of three “men” (identified as YHWH in verses 1 and 13) who came to Abraham’s tent at Mamre (whose oaks were regarded as oracles). The NOAB points out that the motif of secretly divine visitors is widespread in ancient folklore.
In this story, the relation between the three visitors and YHWH is not clear. The narrative speaks of them as a group (“They said”), but in verse 13, “the LORD said to Abraham.”
Abraham’s “hospitality” was overwhelming. Three measures of flour (v. 6) would have been the equivalent of about 150 pounds of flour and would have produced a large number of average-size loaves of bread. Slaughtering an entire calf (v.7) would have produced about 500 pounds of meat if the calf were between 6 and 12 months old. Quite a feast for three men!
One of the men predicted that Sarah (who was over 90 years old) would have a son in a year (v.10).
In the verses that follow today’s reading, Sarah’s laughed (v.12) when she heard what the man said. This laugh anticipated the name of her son, Isaac (which means “he laughs”).
Colossians 1:15-28
Reading
15 Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers — all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him — 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25 I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
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 other letters.
Today’s reading is highly theological and focuses on the Christ as the “image of God,” the “firstborn of all creation” (v.15), as existing before all things and that in which all things hold together (v.17). It is “High Christology” in the sense that on a spectrum from “the Christ is fully human” to “the Christ is fully divine,” the presentation is much closer to the latter than to the former. It presents a Christology that is higher than any other New Testament Book.
The Christ has a greater role in creation (v.16) than Wisdom has in Proverbs 8 and is not only the firstborn of all creation (v.15) but also the firstborn from the dead (v.18). Just as the LOGOS is the organizing principle in John 1:1, so too is the Christ (v.17).
The author referred to Gentiles as “estranged” from God (v.21) before receiving the good news. The word “estranged” appeared only in the “Deutero-Pauline” letters – the ones written by Paul’s disciples after Paul’s death.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that “faith” (or pistis) shifted from meaning faithfulness, trust, and trustworthiness (as in Paul’s authentic letters) to a “belief” in specific statements.
In verses 23 to 29, the author of Colossians self-identified as “Paul.” In the seven authentic letters written by Paul himself, it was very rare for Paul to use his own name, except in the greetings in the letters.
Luke 10:38-42
Reading
38 As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
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 last week’s Parable of the Good Samaritan. According to John 11, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (who is not mentioned in any gospel except John) lived in Bethany, a town east of Jerusalem. Because Martha welcomed Jesus into “her” home (v.1), she is presented as a householder, and therefore a person of means.
According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, “this enigmatic account affirms the importance of listening to Jesus and at the same time the account shows Jesus’ openness to and acceptance of women among his followers.”
2022, July 10 ~ Amos 7:7-17; Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 10, 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.
Amos 7:7-17
Reading
7 This is what the LORD God showed me: the LORD was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the LORD said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, `Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'”
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, `Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
16 “Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. You say, `Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
17 Therefore thus says the LORD: `Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'”
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 told Israel/Isaac (the northern 10 tribes) that Israel’s religious and political institutions did not measure up to YHWH’s plumb line and that Israel and its “high places” (shrines) would be destroyed if it did not reform (vv.8-9).
Amos then disputed with the King’s appointed priest, Amaziah, who told Amos to stop prophesying in Israel because the people would be discouraged by (“not endure”) what Amos said (v.10) about Israel being exiled (v.11). He told Amos to go back to Judea (vv. 12-13).
Amos responded that he was not a “professional” prophet who could be “bought” but had been called by YHWH to prophesy to Israel (vv. 14-15) and had no choice — thus lending additional authority to what he was saying.
Amos said that YHWH would remember these misdeeds and punish the evildoers. In 722 BCE, Assyria conquered Israel and scattered its wealthy class.
Samaria was the capital of Israel, and because Assyrians intermarried with Samaritans, they were later looked down upon by Judeans and Galileans.
Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Reading
9 Moses said to the people of Israel, “The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, 10 when you obey the LORD your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ 14 No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”
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.
The first part of today’s reading 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.”
Scholars agree that verses 1 to 10 in Chapter 30 are an insertion as shown by the reference to the “book of the law” in verse 10. This is a later addition because the Torah itself 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.
Verses 11 to 14 challenged the assumption that divine wisdom was not knowable, and the reference to the “word” being “in your mouth” (v. 14) reflects the reality that oral transmission of texts was prevalent in non-literate societies. Scholars agree that the word “Surely” in verse 11 is better translated as “Because” and follows logically from the last verse of Chapter 29.
Colossians 1:1-14
Reading
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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 concerns about apocalyptic and mystical practices that were occurring in Colossae and were inconsistent with Paul’s understanding of being a Jesus Follower. The letter began with a complimentary description of the Colossians’ lives but then attacked unnamed teachers who observed Jewish rituals.
Scholars debate whether this letter was written by Paul or by his disciples in the decades 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 other letters.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that “the letter presents the idea that the believers’ lives are completely transformed by Christ’s death and resurrection instead of Paul’s usual tension between the only partially fulfilled present and the future resurrection and full enjoyment of Christ’s benefits.”
The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that the authentic epistles speak of “justification” and “sanctification” in the present tense but reserve “salvation” for the future. In Colossians, salvation is a present reality and justification has no place at all.
In today’s reading, the author emphasized faith, love and hope as the key Christian virtues (vv. 4-5) and adopted an apocalyptic theme in contrasting light and darkness (vv. 12-13). He expressed the theme that believers are redeemed and receive forgiveness of sin in Christ (v. 14).
“Redemption” (apolutrosis in the Greek) (v.14) conveyed the sense of ransoming or being bought back, the way something already owned is redeemed from a pawn shop. As the JANT notes, “forgiveness” (v.15) never appears in Paul’s authentic letters but is found in Colossians and Ephesians.
Luke 10:25-37
Reading
25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading is the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which a “lawyer” (an expert in the law of Moses and likely a “scribe”) questioned Jesus. The lawyer’s response to Jesus’ question (v.27) tracked Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The phrase “justify himself” (v.29) is understood as the lawyer’s attempt to show that he was righteous and acceptable to God.
The trip from Jerusalem to Jericho was about 18 miles and involved a drop in elevation of about 1,700 feet. It was regarded as notoriously dangerous, so the situation in the story would have resonated with Jesus’ audience. The Greek word for “robbers” (v.30) is lestes, which connotes violent criminals.
To Jesus’ Jewish audience, the compassionate intervention by a Samaritan would have been shocking and thoroughly unexpected. Samaritans were looked down upon by Jews because they were seen as ethnically different as a result of the intermarriage of Assyrians with persons in Samaria after the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE. Samaritans had a different version of the Torah and worshiped at a different holy mountain.
The care provided by the Samaritan included oil (which worked as a salve) and wine which was used as an antiseptic for the wounds. According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, two denarii would have provided about two months of lodging at an ancient inn.
2022, July 3 ~ 2 Kings 5:1-14; Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 3, 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.
2 Kings 5:1-14
Reading
1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my LORD were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his LORD just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Aram said, “Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”
He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”
8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, `Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
Commentary
The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel. These books were given their final form around 550 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)
After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. His wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.
Consistent with the theological view that YHWH controlled all that occurs, the authors of Kings asserted, somewhat surprisingly, that YHWH gave victory to Naaman, a general of Aram (modern Syria) over Israel around 850 BCE (v. 1). This occurred presumably because King Ahab and his successors did not worship YHWH faithfully.
Elisha, the successor to Elijah, was in Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel at this time. The King of Aram heard from his wife (who learned from an Israeli slave girl) that Elisha was a prophet who could cure Naaman of his leprosy (which could have been any skin ailment). The King sent Naaman to Elisha and to the King of Israel along with staggeringly generous offerings (750 lbs. of silver and 150 lbs. of gold). Naaman also had a letter from the King of Aram to the King of Israel asking that Naaman be cured of his leprosy (v.5).
The King of Israel’s reaction emphasized that YHWH controlled life and death (v.7) and it also showed the foolishness of the Kings of Israel. The King refused the gifts and (in his anger and frustration) was about to tell Naaman to return to Aram. Elisha prevailed on the King of Israel to allow Naaman to come to see that he (Elisha) was a true prophet (speaker for God).
Elisha’s prescription did not involve divine guidance or prayer as Naaman expected (v.13). Instead, Elisha directed Naaman to wash seven times in the River Jordan. After initially refusing to do so, Naaman’s servants convinced him, and he went to the River Jordan and was healed (v.14).
In the verses that follow today’s reading, Naaman stated that YHWH’s power was not territorially limited to the lands of Israel and Judea – it extended to the whole world (v.15), an important theological message the Deuteronomists sought to convey. Naaman also took some soil from Israel so he could make offerings to YHWH (v.17).
The Jewish Study Bible points out: “One motif of the story is that people of higher status are dependent on people of lower status: Naaman on counsel from his wife reporting information from and Israelite slave girl (vv.2-3); the king of Aram on the king of Israel, and the latter on Elisha (vv.5-8); and Naaman on the advice of his own servants and Elisha (vv.13-15).”
Isaiah 66:10-14
Reading
10 Thus says the LORD: “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her–
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom.
12 For thus says the LORD: I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.”
Commentary
The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.
Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.
Today’s reading was set in the time after the return and presented Jerusalem as a nourishing mother for the returning Judeans (vv. 10-11). In verse 13, however, the metaphor changed so that YHWH was presented as the mother who will “comfort her son” (v.13) but will rage against his foes (v.14).
Galatians 6:1-16
Reading
1 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. 5 For all must carry their own loads.
6 Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.
7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.
11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised — only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! 16 As for those who will follow this rule — peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
Commentary
Galatia was a large Roman province in what is now western Turkey. This letter was likely written by Paul in the late 40’s or early 50’s (CE), and deals in part with controversies between Jewish Jesus Followers and Gentile Jesus Followers regarding the continuing importance of Torah (Law) to Jesus Followers. In particular, did Gentiles have to be circumcised and follow the Kosher dietary law to become Jesus Followers? If not, what was the role of Torah for both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers?
These issues are also described in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).
Galatians is a “transitional” letter in that – when compared to Paul’s last letter (Romans) — it shows an evolution in his views on the relationship between the Torah and the Gentile Jesus Followers.
These issues were also described in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).
Today’s reading is the conclusion of this letter. Paul continued to emphasize that the Spirit enabled believers to live out the principle of love (the “law of Christ” in v.2), thus fulfilling the law without slavishly observing the law’s requirements. He noted that teachers deserved support from their students (v.6).
He affirmed the opposition of “the flesh” to the Spirit and emphasized that whether or not a person is circumcised is not important (vv. 12-15).
In the final words of today’s reading, Paul asked for peace and mercy upon the “Israel of God” (v.16) – words that are unique to this verse. Scholars understand these words as meaning the “true Israel,” that is, those who followed Paul’s understanding of the Gospel rather than those who followed the teachings of Paul’s opponents. The blessing was conditional – it was “for those who follow this rule” (v.16).
Luke 10:1-11,16-20
Reading
1 The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!’ 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
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 reminiscent of YHWH’s direction to Moses to appoint 70 elders to assist him (Ex. 24 and Num. 11). The instructions given by Jesus are very specific and have antecedents in the Hebrew Bible: take no purse, or bag or sandals, greet no one (lest you be delayed) (v.4) is the instruction given by Elisha to his servant; use a specific greeting (v.5), a greeting used by messengers sent by David (1 Sam. 25:6); and laborers deserve to be paid (v.7) echoes Deut. 24:15.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that shaking the dust off one’s feet “in protest” (v.11) was a statement that the disciples were not responsible for the fate of the inhospitable.
In the omitted verses (12-15), Jesus said that the towns that rejected his disciples would have a fate similar to Sodom and that the towns of Chorazin (about two miles north of Capernaum) and Bethsaida should have repented because of the deeds of power done in them (v.13). Jesus went on that the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon would have repented (v.13b).
The joyful return of the 70 was met with a statement about Satan’s falling from heaven like a flash of light (v.18). This image is based on Isaiah 14:12-14 in which YHWH overcame two Canaanite gods (whose names are translated as Morning Star and Dawn) and brought them down to Sheol. The New Oxford Annotated Bible provides this analysis: These gods “fall from heaven as a result of rebellion. In Christianity, the myth reemerges as the fall of Lucifer and his attendant angels (cf. Lk.10.18).”
The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that the Hebrew word for “Day Star” comes into Latin as “Lucifer” (lit. ’light bringer’)” and that by the First Century CE, the concept of Sheol had begun to morph into “hell” as a permanent place of damnation.
2022, June 26 ~ 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21; Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 26, 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.
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Reading
1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
Commentary
The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel. These books were given their final form around 550 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)
After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. His wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.
Today’s story recounts the succession of the prophet Elijah by his faithful disciple, Elisha, who asks for a “double share” (the share of an oldest son) of Elijah’s spirit (v.9). According to Biblical chronology, the events took place about 840 BCE, after the reigns of Ahab and the two kings who followed him.
The account has a number of parallels to the stories of Moses and his successor, Joshua. Elijah and Elisha crossed from the west bank of the Jordan River to the east bank (v.8), just as Moses and Joshua crossed the Sea of Reeds. After Elijah was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot (v.11), Elisha parted the Jordan and crossed to the west side just as Joshua did (v.14). According to The Jewish Study Bible, “Crossing the Jordan east of Jericho indicates that the place of Elijah’s assumption was near Mt. Nebo where Moses had died (Deut.34:1-6). Thus, in his death, as in earlier texts, Elijah is patterned after Moses.”
Because Elijah was assumed into heaven and did not die, his return to earth was (and is) seen as a harbinger of the coming of the Messiah. This tradition is based in part on Mal. 3:23-24 (“Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the awesome, fearful day of the LORD.”)
A place/chair for Elijah is left open at the table (and often the doors of homes are left open) at Passover Seders in the event Elijah might return that night. In many ways, John the Baptist is portrayed as an Elijah-like figure in the Gospels.
1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
Reading
15 The LORD said to Elijah, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.”
19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” 21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah and became his servant.
Commentary
The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel. These books were given their final form around 550 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)
After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. His wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.
Today’s reading picks up where last week’s reading ended: Elijah slew the prophets of Baal (19:1); Jezebel swore revenge on Elijah (v.2); Elijah fled as far south as he could go (v.3); and in the wilderness, the word of the LORD came to him in the sheer silence (v.12).
The orders given by the LORD to Elijah were extraordinary. He was directed to anoint Hazael as a new king of Aram (Syria) – a foreign country – and to anoint Jehu (who was not in the line of succession) to be king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha as his successor. As it turned out according to the Book of Kings, Elisha anointed Hazael (8:7-15) and Jehu (9:1-13). Hazael become an enemy of Israel and made war on Israel. Jehu had a long reign from 842 to 814 BCE.
A “mantle” was a symbol of authority, and Elijah threw his over Elisha (v.19) and he became Elijah’s “servant” (v.20). The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that the same Hebrew word was used for Joshua’s relationship to Moses, although it is translated as “assistant” or “attendant” in other contexts.
Because Elisha had a yoke of oxen – or perhaps 12 yoke (v.19) – he was a person of means, so giving up his life as farmer and slaughtering the oxen to provide food for others (v.20) would have represented a significant economic sacrifice.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Reading
1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Commentary
Galatia was a large Roman province in what is now western Turkey. This letter was likely written by Paul in the late 40’s or early 50’s (CE), and deals in part with controversies between Jewish Jesus Followers and Gentile Jesus Followers regarding the continuing importance of Torah (Law) to Jesus Followers. In particular, did Gentiles have to convert to Judaism, be circumcised and follow the Kosher dietary law to become Jesus Followers? If not, what was the role of Torah for both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers?
These issues were also considered in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).
Galatians is a “transitional” letter in that – when compared to Paul’s last letter (Romans) — it shows a mid-point in the evolution in his views on the relationship between the Torah and the Gentile Jesus Followers. In Romans, Paul’s positions were more nuanced.
In his description of his confrontation with Peter in Antioch (2:11-15), Paul said that observing Jewish law was an unnecessary burden for Gentiles, particularly when Jewish Jesus Followers were not observant (v.14). He then went on to argue that observance of the Jewish Law by Gentiles was inconsistent with acceptance of the gospel (vv.15-21).
Today’s reading is part of the final chapters of the Letter. In it, Paul presented the practical application of his views. He emphasized that the Christ gives us freedom to love one another through the Spirit (“become slaves/servants to one another” v.13). Paul contrasted this freedom with being compelled to follow rules under the Law (v.18).
When Paul enumerated the “works of the flesh” (v.19) he included many sins of the mind – idolatry, jealousy, anger, and envy to name just a few. For Paul, “the flesh” was not the human body, but rather those human inclinations (“passions and desires” v.24) that oppose the Spirit of Love within us.
Luke 9:51-62
Reading
51 When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village.
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading follows a series of seemingly unrelated accounts: the Transfiguration (9:28-36); healing a boy possessed by a demon (37-43); a prediction of betrayal (44-45); an argument among the disciples about who is the greatest (46-48); and Jesus’ directive not to stop the activities of an unknown exorcist (49-50).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that Jesus’ self-designation as “Son of Man” (v.58) indicates both that he is a mortal (Ezek. 2:1) and an apocalyptic redeemer (Dan.7:13-14).
The Samaritans lived in the area between the Galilee and Judea. They were regarded negatively by Jews as a distinct ethnic and religious group because, after the conquest by Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 BCE, some Assyrians intermarried with the Samaritans. The Samaritans’ holy mountain and place of worship was Gerizim (see John 4). Samaritans were therefore not likely to assist Jewish pilgrims going to Jerusalem for Passover.
The question from James and John about “bringing down fire” (v.54) was a reference to Elijah’s calling down fire on Ahab’s troops (2 Kings 1:10-12).
The statement “let me go and bury my father” (v.59) might imply that the man’s father was dead, but Jesus’ response “let the dead bury their own dead” (v.60) clearly suggested that the man’s father was not dead. The meaning of the man’s initial statement is therefore to be understood as “I’ll come join you after my father is dead.”
The response of the other person “but let me first say farewell to those at my home” is reminiscent of Elisha’s response to Elijah when Elijah called him to be his assistant (1 Kings 19:9-16).
2022, June 19 ~ 1 Kings 19:1-15a; Isaiah 65:1-9; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 19, 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.
1 Kings 19:1-15a
Reading
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9 At that place he came to a cave and spent the night there.
Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.”
Commentary
The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel. These books were given their final form around 550 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)
After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. His wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.
The prophet Elijah is the subject of today’s reading. Just prior to these verses, Elijah invoked the power of YHWH to overcome the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel in the Northern part of Israel. He brought fire upon a huge sacrifice, rain to end a drought, and then killed all the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).
Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done (v.1). Jezebel swore to kill Elijah (v.2), so he ran away as far south in Israel as he could – first to Beer-sheba and then to the Wilderness where he hoped to die (v.4). (The theme of a prophet wishing to die out of a sense of isolation and failure was repeated in Jonah 4:3.)
YHWH’s angels provided food to Elijah so he could journey to Horeb and continue his ministry. (For the Deuteronomists, the holy mountain was called “Horeb” rather than Sinai. “Sinai” was the name used by the authors of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.) Elijah’s receiving food in the wilderness was parallel to Hagar’s story in Genesis 21:19.
The Jewish Study Bible points out that a person could cover 20-25 miles a day walking. If Elijah walked for 40 days and 40 nights (v.8), he could have covered between 800 and 1,000 miles. The JSB suggests that 40 is merely a “formulaic number” for a long time.
When Elijah was at Horeb, the voice of YHWH came to him in the silence (vv.12-13) and told him to anoint Hazael as king of Aram (modern Syria). In the verse after today’s reading, Elijah was told to commit treason by anointing Jehu as King of Israel even while Ahab was still alive (v.16).
This is not the first instance of treasonous activity in the Deuteronomists’ accounts. YHWH told Samuel to anoint David as King even when Saul was still alive. (1 Sam.16:13).
Isaiah 65:1-9
Reading
1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.
2 I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices
3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks
4 who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places, who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels
5 who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
6 See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps
7 their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
8 Thus says the LORD: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
Commentary
The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.
Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.
Today’s reading is set in the time after the return and follows a lament by the people (Chapter 64) claiming that YHWH seems to be continuing to punish the people.
Today’s reading is YHWH’s response and noted that the people acted as if they were self-sufficient and did not call on YHWH for help (v.1). The middle verses (3-5) are descriptions of pagan practices adopted by some Israelites and verses 6 and 7 set forth their punishments. According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, “sacrifices in gardens” (v.3) were sacrifices “in open-air sanctuaries and involved the invocation of nature deities, often with overt sexual content.”
The last two verses of today’s reading are YHWH’s promise that he would raise up those who were the righteous remnant and true servants of YHWH.
Galatians 3:23-29
Reading
23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Commentary
Galatia was a large Roman province in what is now western Turkey. This letter was likely written by Paul in the late 40’s or early 50’s (CE), and deals in part with controversies between Jewish Jesus Followers and Gentile Jesus Followers regarding the continuing importance of Torah (Law) to Jesus Followers. In particular, did Gentiles have to be circumcised and follow the Kosher dietary law to become Jesus Followers? If not, what was the role of Torah for both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers?
These issues are also described in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).
Galatians is a “transitional” letter in that – when compared to Paul’s last letter (Romans) — it shows an evolution in his views on the relationship between the Torah and the Gentile Jesus Followers. In many ways, the letter was a defense of Paul’s Gentile mission as whole.
In today’s reading, Paul spoke of the Jewish Law as “guarding and imprisoning” us until the Christ came so that “we might be justified by faith” (vv. 23-24). The Introduction to Galatians in The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that verse 24 has been understood to imply that Judaism and the Torah are “redundant, and perhaps even an obstacle to God’s plan for human salvation.” The NOAB noted, however, that Paul did not draw this conclusion, and expressly rebutted it in Romans 9-11 by acknowledging the continuing force of the Torah and the need for Jewish Jesus Followers to continue to observe it.
Understanding many of the terms used by Paul is often challenging for modern readers. As a devout Jew, Paul recognized the value of the Law, but his conversion caused him to see that “justification” (or righteousness) was no longer a matter of obeying specific laws, but of living a life of faithfulness. “Justified” is to be understood as “being in right relationships with God, others, the world and oneself.” (A page of type in which the right and left margins are straight is described as “justified.”)
The term “faith” as used by Paul also needs to be understood in context. “Faith” is a translation of the Greek word “pistis” – a word that conveys an active quality. The word is perhaps better understood as “faith-ing” or “active faithfulness.” For Paul, “faith” was not a matter of intellectually assenting to a series of doctrines (as many Christians today think of “Faith”).
Instead, “faith” is living a life of loving faithfulness as Jesus of Nazareth lived his life and trusting – as he did — that death will not have the final victory. For Paul, the Resurrection allowed him (and allows us) to encounter the Risen Christ.
Faithfulness to the Christ and a life of loving others also enables us to recognize our essential unity in which there is no Jew or Greek (Gentile), slave or free, male or female (v.28), for we are all one in the Christ.
In footnotes, the NOAB and The Jewish Annotated New Testament state that a “disciplinarian” (paidagōgos) in verses 24 and 25 was a household slave who escorted the master’s son outside the house school to keep him out of trouble and who sometimes punished the boy for his behavior. The Greek word is also translated as “trainer” or “guardian.”
Luke 8:26-39
Reading
26 Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” – 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
Today’s reading is also found in Mark and Matthew, although Matthew set the story as occurring in Gadara, which is a more likely location because Gerasa was 15 miles inland. Both Gadara and Gerasa were in the area known as the Decapolis, the area east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River (modern Jordan).
The Decapolis was primarily non-Jewish. Everything about the man possessed by demons (in Matthew, there were two men) was unclean: living in tombs and not wearing clothes (v.27). Unlike the disciples who were confused by Jesus’ identity (v.25), the Demoniac called him “Son of the Most High God” (v.28).
In the First Century, having knowledge of the name of a supernatural power gave the knower an advantage in dealing with the person or power. The Demoniac’s response “Legion” (v.30) represented a division of the Roman Army consisting of 5,000 soldiers, so the name showed the power of the demons who possessed the man and was also a not-so-subtle “dig” at the Roman occupiers.
The demons begged to be sent into the herd of swine (Mark said there were about 2,000) and they rushed into a lake (a “sea” in Mark and Matthew) and drowned. Swine were unclean for Jews, but not for Gentiles.
Having lost a sizeable herd of swine would have been a significant economic loss for the residents of the area, and it is not surprising that they asked Jesus to leave (v.37) before he adversely affected their economic situation further.
The request by the cured man to become a follower (v.38) and Jesus’ direction to him to declare what God had done for him in his home. Instead, the man declared what Jesus had done for him (v.39).
2022, June 12 ~ Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 12, 2022
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Reading
1 Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
4 “To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.
22 The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.
23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth–
26 when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world’s first bits of soil.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,
29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,
31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.”
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) woud lead to destruction.
Today’s reading is about Wisdom as the feminine aspect of the Sacred (vv. 1-3) who speaks to all the people (v.4) and in particular (in an omitted verse) to the “simple ones” (v.5).
In the second part of today’s reading, Wisdom was described as being present at Creation and as the first of God’s creations (vv.22-31).
Romans 5:1-5
Reading
1 Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Commentary
Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last, and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among other messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.
Nero’s predecessor (Claudius) had expelled the Jews from Rome in 49 CE. During Nero’s reign (54-68 CE), he allowed Jews (including Jewish Jesus Followers) to return, and this created tensions within the Jesus Follower Community. (They were not called “Christians” until the 80’s.)
Paul died in 62 or 63 CE. Accordingly, the Temple in Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 70) was in full operation all during Paul’s life. As a Jew who was also a Jesus Follower, Paul continued to have expectations about the fullness of the Coming of the Messiah, one of the important themes in Romans.
Today’s reading speaks of being “justified by faith” (v.1). Understanding these terms in Paul’s context is often challenging for modern readers. For example, “justified” (v.1) is more properly understood as “being in right relationships with God, others, the world and oneself.” (A page of type in which the right and left margins are straight is described as “justified.”)
The word “faith” is a translation of the Greek word “pistis” – a word that conveys an active quality. The word is perhaps better understood as “faith-ing” or “active faithfulness.” For Paul, “faith” was not a matter of intellectually assenting to a series of doctrines (the way many Christians today think of “Faith”). Instead, “faith” is living a life of loving faithfulness in the same way that Jesus of Nazareth lived his life in faithfulness.
John 16:12-15
Reading
12 Jesus said to the disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
Commentary
The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.
The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who was described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder that was to be held the night he died.
Most scholars agree that the Gospel was written around 95 CE, at a time when the “parting of the ways” between the Jesus Follower Movement and Rabbinic Judaism was accelerating.
Today’s reading is part of the “Farewell Discourse and Prayer of Jesus” that begins at 13:31 and continues to 17:26. There are numerous themes in the Discourse, and a substantial amount of repetition. Scholars suggest that some of the themes in the Discourse reflect the situation when the Gospel itself was written in the late First Century.
Generally, the lengthy Discourse is divided into four units: (a) announcement of the hour and farewell; (b) exhortation to the disciples about the community in the face of external hostility; (c) consolation for the sorrowing disciples; and (d) Jesus’ prayer for the disciples.
Today’s reading repeated John 15:15-17 and again presented Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples as a “Spirit of truth” (v.13). This promise was fulfilled in the Fourth Gospel when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the locked room on the first day of the Resurrection. John 20:21-22 reads: “When he had said this [Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.], he breathed on them and said to them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ” This imparting of the Holy Spirit is often called “Little Pentecost” as compared to the “Big Pentecost” described in Acts 2.
The statements in this reading about the “Spirit” and the “Father” became important in the eventual development of the doctrine of the Trinity.
2022, June 5 ~ Acts 2:1-21; Genesis 11:1-9; John 14:8-17
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 5, 2022 — PENTECOST
Acts 2:1-21
Reading
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs– in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17`In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”
Commentary
The book called “The Acts of the Apostles” was written around 85 to 90 CE by the anonymous author of the Gospel According to Luke. The first 15 chapters of Acts are a didactic “history” of the early Jesus Follower Movement starting with the Ascension of the Christ and ending at the so-called Council of Jerusalem where it was agreed that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised and keep all the Kosher dietary laws to become Jesus Followers.
Chapters 16 to 28 of Acts are an account of Paul’s Missionary Journeys, his arrest, and his transfer to Rome – and the stories are not always consistent with Paul’s letters.
The Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles see the Holy Spirit as the driving force for all that happens. The events surrounding today’s reading exemplify this.
Today’s reading was set in the early days of the Jesus Follower Movement in Jerusalem. The Jesus Follower Movement remained a sect within Judaism even after the Destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE.
Today’s reading is an account of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles on Pentecost. It is presented as a fulfillment of the promise made by the Resurrected Christ in Acts 1:5 just before the Ascension.
Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks) was a well-established Jewish Festival occurring 50 days after Passover (Deut. 16:9). The Feast of Weeks celebrated the spring barley harvest and also remembered the giving of the land (Deut. 26:1). In the Second Century CE, the Feast was changed by the rabbis to a celebration of the giving of the Law at Sinai. The Apostles (as devout Jews) came together for the Feast of Weeks, along with Jews from many nations.
The account uses two of the customary images for the Holy Spirit – wind and fire (vv. 2 and 3). The image of God acting by wind is based on Gen. 1:2, and the theophany of God as fire is found in Is. 66:15.
According to The Jewish Annotated New Testament, Galileans (v.7) were frequently regarded as ignorant by persons in Jerusalem.
The ability of listeners to hear the Apostles in their native languages (v.8) directly reverses of the impact of the Tower of Babel Story (Gen. 11) in which people could not understand one another. The list of the nations foreshadows the spread of the Jesus Follower Movement, and the listing is generally from east to west, but (somewhat surprisingly) did not include some of the areas that were discussed in Acts such as Syria, Macedonia, Cilicia, and Achaia.
Peter was presented as the spokesperson for the Apostles (v.14) and stated that the coming of the Spirit was the fulfillment of the prophet Joel’s description of the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-32). The technique of having a person give a speech appropriate to the circumstances was characteristic of Hellenistic accounts at the time.
Genesis 11: 1-9
Reading
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” 5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth
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 by scholars 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 Book of Genesis comes mostly from two of these sources, one called “J” (for Yahwistic) and the other called “P” (for Priestly). The two sources present God very differently. In “J” materials, God is presented anthropomorphically (God speaks directly with Adam and Eve, walks in the Garden, smells burnt offerings, and has human-like feelings, as in today’s reading). The name used for God in the “J” materials is YHWH, and this is translated in the NRSV as “LORD” in all capital letters.
The first eleven chapters of Genesis are called the “Primeval History” and presented ancient sacred myth-stories that “explain” the origin of realities such as the presence of suffering in the world and the multiplicity of languages described in today’s Tower of Babel Story. Moreover, the story preserved a perceived divine-human boundary, a boundary set in Gen. 3:22-23 when YHWH drove the humans out of the Garden.
The story is curiously placed. In Chapter 10, post-flood humanity was already divided into nations each with its own language (Gen. 10:31-32). Nonetheless, this story attributes the multiplicity of languages to YHWH’s confusing (or confounding) their language. The Jewish Study Bible says this an account of how Babylon got its name, and that making a tower “with its top in the heavens” (v.4) can be compared to the prideful boast of the king of Babylon in Is. 14:13.
As an anthropomorphic God, YHWH needed to come down from heaven to see the tower and the city (v.5). As in Gen. 1:26, YHWH acted as a heavenly court (“let us go down”) to confuse the humans’ language (v.7).
YHWH showed human qualities when YHWH was concerned that the people would “make a name for themselves” (v.4). In the next chapter, God promised to “make his [Abram’s] name great” (Gen. 12:2), reinforcing the view that God controls all that happens.
John 14:8-17, 25-27
Reading
8 Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Commentary
The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.
The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder that was to be held the night he died.
Most scholars agree that the Gospel was written around 95 CE, at a time when the “parting of the ways” between the Jesus Follower Movement and Rabbinic Judaism was accelerating.
Today’s reading is part of the “Farewell Discourse and Prayer of Jesus” that begins at 13:31 and continues to 17:26. There are numerous themes in the Discourse, and a substantial amount of repetition. Scholars suggest that some of the themes in the Discourse reflect the situation when the Gospel itself was written in the late First Century. Most agree that the Prayer in Chapter 17 constituted a separate unit.
Generally, the lengthy Discourse is divided into four units: (a) announcement of the hour and farewell; (b) exhortation to the disciples about the community in the face of external hostility; (c) consolation for the sorrowing disciples; and (d) Jesus’ prayer for the disciples.
Today’s reading is part of the exhortation and follows Jesus’ statement “I am the Way, the Light and the Truth” (v.6) and the affirmation that Jesus is the true revelation of the Father (v.7).
In understanding the words “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (v.9), The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests: “To ‘see’ Jesus is not a visual experience but one of personal knowledge; therefore to know Jesus and to understand his life is to understand and know the life of God.”
In addition to affirming the connection between the Father and the Son (v.9), the gospel writer extended that connection so that all who believe in Jesus as the Christ by following Jesus’ example of love will share the connection to the Father and will do works even greater than those done by Jesus (v.12).
In The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, Spong paraphrased verses 8 to 15 as follows: “God is not an external being that you must locate and recognize in some place. Look at me, Philip. I am in the Father and the Father is in me. God works in me; God speaks through me. That is your destiny also. The secret, however, is for you to keep the new commandment. You have to love, not for gain, but for love’s sake. When I am gone, the spirit of truth will come to you. This will be God dwelling in you and you dwelling in God.”
The promise of the Advocate/Paraclete/Comforter which is the “Spirit of truth” (v.17) is a force which will abide in true believers. The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that the image of the “spirit of truth” is found in Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls) texts.
Spong’s understanding of verses 16 to 26 is instructive:
The spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, will come to stand where I have stood. This spirit, called the Counselor, will bear witness to me. As I abide in God …so you must abide in me.
What Jesus is describing here is not redemption of the fallen, but transformation of the open. There is and will be no separation in our oneness. God is part of you; you are part of God. The same life and love that flow from God through the vine of Christ will flow into God’s people who are the branches. There is now a mystical and mutual indwelling that will create a new humanity. Mutual indwelling is not to be understood as an authority-subject, a master-slave or even a savior-sinner relationship. It is rather a startling new way by which we are to understand the divine. We have abandoned the God from above the sky. That God has now entered life. We met this God first in Jesus, and now the world will see that God in those who will some day call themselves the “body of Christ.”
In interpreting verse 27, Spong offers: “The spirit will be the source of peace – not peace that is the mere absence of conflict, not peace as the world gives, but peace that is beyond the world’s conflict. It is the peace of being that which one most deeply is, the peace that enables one to bear pain, conflict and even death while knowing that nothing can finally destroy that person.”
2022, May 29 ~ Acts 16:16-34; Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21; John 17:20-26
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MAY 29, 2022
Acts 16:16-34
Reading
16 With Paul and Silas, we came to Philippi in Macedonia, a Roman colony, and, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” 18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
Commentary
The book called “The Acts of the Apostles” was written around 85 to 90 CE by the anonymous author of the Gospel According to Luke. The first 15 chapters of Acts are a didactic “history” of the early Jesus Follower Movement starting with the Ascension of the Christ and ending at the so-called Council of Jerusalem where it was agreed that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised and keep all the Kosher dietary laws to become Jesus Followers.
Chapters 16 to 28 of Acts are an account of Paul’s Missionary Journeys, his arrest, and his transfer to Rome – and the stories are not always consistent with Paul’s letters.
Today’s reading continues where last week’s reading left off by recounting Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. In Philippi, a Roman colony in Macedonia (northern Greece), Paul and Silas were again going to the synagogue to make converts of “God Fearers” (Gentile sympathizers to Hellenistic Judaism who observed some Jewish practices and customs).
As they went to the synagogue, a slave-girl who had powers of divination followed them for a number of days and called them “slaves of the Most High God” (v.17). Paul got annoyed and exorcised the spirit of divination out of the slave-girl (v.18).
The slave-girl had “brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune telling” (v.16) and the owners of the slave-girl realized they had lost a lot of money. They accused Paul and Silas of trying to convert Romans (which was unlawful). Paul and Silas were flogged and imprisoned.
Just as the apostles had been miraculously released from prison in Chapter 5 of Acts, Paul and Silas’ chains were broken by an earthquake. Though they were freed, they did not run away. The jailer’s thought of killing himself (v.27) was not an over-reaction. Herod had killed the guards when Peter escaped from prison with the assistance of an angel (Acts 12:19). The jailer was so moved by Paul’s and Silas’ remaining in the jail that he and all his household became Jesus Followers.
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
Reading
12 At the end of the visions I, John, heard these words: “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
16 “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
Commentary
The Book of Revelation is also known as the “Apocalypse” (from a Greek word meaning an “unveiling” or “disclosure” of a new age or of heaven, or both). Apocalyptic writing generally described a dire situation ruled by evil powers that could be overcome only by the “in-breaking” of a force (such as God) to bring about a new age.
Like the apocalyptic writings in the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Revelation used extreme images and metaphors to describe the conflict between good and evil. Apocalyptic literature is often presented as a revelation from God conveyed by an angel or other heavenly body. Apocalyptic writings used symbolic language to convey God’s hidden plan.
The author identified himself as “John” but most scholars conclude that the author of Revelation was not John the Apostle because of the reference to the 12 apostles in 21:14. Because of the internal references in the Book, most scholars date the book to the late First Century.
Today’s reading is regarded by scholars as an epilogue and consisted of portions of the last chapter of Revelation. It presented Jesus as being the “Alpha and Omega” (v.13) and a vision of the coming of Jesus which will happen “soon” (v. 20).
Those who wash their robes in the Blood of the Lamb are understood to be those who have suffered persecution and they will have a right to the Tree of Life (v.14) and to enter the New Jerusalem. The grace of the Lord will be with all the saints (v.21).
John 17:20-26
Reading
20 Jesus prayed for his disciples, and then he said. “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Commentary
The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.
The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who is described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder that was to be held the night he died.
Most scholars agree that the Gospel was written around 95 CE, at a time when the “parting of the ways” between the Jesus Follower Movement and Rabbinic Judaism was accelerating.
Today’s reading is part of the “Farewell Discourse and Prayer of Jesus” that begins at 13:31 and continues to 17:26. There are numerous themes in the Discourse, and a substantial amount of repetition. Scholars suggest that some of the themes in the Discourse reflect the situation when the Gospel itself was written in the late First Century. Most agree that the Prayer in Chapter 17 constituted a separate unit.
Generally, the lengthy Discourse is divided into four units: (a) announcement of the hour and farewell; (b) exhortation to the disciples about the community in the face of external hostility; (c) consolation for the sorrowing disciples; and (d) Jesus’ prayer for the disciples.
Today’s reading is the last part of the prayer and is a prayer for all who will believe though the word of the disciples (v.20). This prayer concluded both the Farewell Discourses that began in 13:31 and the Jesus Prayer in Chapter 17. It is a prayer that Jesus offered for himself, for his disciples, and for future believers.
The prayer is consistent with the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel in that Jesus said, “you loved me before the foundation of the world” (v.24) just as the Prologue asserted “In the beginning was the LOGOS (1:1).
The prayer offered a sense of “vertical” unity between the Father and the Christ and also a “horizontal” unity between the Father/Son and the disciples/believers (v.21). The prayer continued that Jesus the Christ has made God’s name known to believers (v.26).
In The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, Bishop John Shelby Spong offered this understanding of the final part of Jesus’ Prayer in Chapter 17:
Unity, the inner connectedness of life and love, brings together God and the human, the Ground of Being and being. Again and again the Fourth Gospel drives home its point. God is not an external, distant entity; God is a life we enter, a love we share, the ground in which we are rooted. The call of Christ is not into religion, but into a new mystical oneness. The death of Jesus will not be the end of his life; it will be the moment when the meaning of God is ultimately revealed, the moment in which Jesus will be glorified, because the world will see God in him when he is on the cross. There Jesus will reveal God as the portrait of expanded life, limitless love, and enhanced being . It is an invitation to walk through the door of Christ (“I am the door,” John 10:9), to follow the way of Christ (“I am the way,” John 14:6) and to enter into the expanded life of Christ (I am the resurrection,” John 11:25).
The final part of this prayer asks that those who become followers may be with Christ “where I am to behold my glory “ (John 17:24). This is not a request to go to a place where one can be reassured by seeing what eyes cannot normally see. It is instead a request that the life of God, found in the person of the Christ, can be seen in the followers of Jesus and that we too may reveal the glory of God. It is a prayer that the essence of love may be “in them as I am in them.” The good news of the gospel, as John understands it, is not that you – a wretched, miserable, fallen sinner—have been rescued from your fate and saved from your deserved punishment by the invasive power of a supernatural, heroic God who came to your aid. Nowhere does John give credibility to the dreadful, guilt-producing and guilt-filled mantra that “Jesus died for my sins.” There is rather an incredible new insight into the meaning of life. We are not fallen; we are simply incomplete. We do not need to be rescued, but to experience the power of an all-embracing love. Our call is not to be forgiven or even to be redeemed; it is to step beyond our limits into a new understanding of what it means to be human. It is to move from a status of self-consciousness to a realization that we share in a universal consciousness. John’s rendition of Jesus’ message is that the essence of life is discovered when one is free to give life away, that love is known in the act of loving and the call of human life is to be all that each of us can be and then to be an agent of empowering others to be all that they can be.
That is the meaning to which the signs in John’s gospel point. That is the message spoken over and over in the Farewell Discourses. That is the essence of this prayer, which John has created to place upon the lips of Jesus.
2022, May 22 ~Acts 16:9-15; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5; John 14:23-29
/in Uncategorized /by Thomas O'BrienTODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
MAY 22, 2022
Acts 16:9-15
Reading
9 During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
11 We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13 On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15 When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
Commentary
The book called “The Acts of the Apostles” was written around 85 to 90 CE by the anonymous author of the Gospel According to Luke. The first 15 chapters of Acts are a didactic “history” of the early Jesus Follower Movement starting with the Ascension of the Christ and ending at the so-called Council of Jerusalem where it was agreed that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised and keep all the Kosher dietary laws to become Jesus Followers.
Chapters 16 to 28 of Acts are an account of Paul’s Missionary Journeys, his arrest, and his transfer to Rome – and the stories are not always consistent with Paul’s letters.
The Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles see the Holy Spirit as the driving force for all that happens. The events surrounding today’s reading exemplify this.
Today’s reading is one of the first stories from the second half of Acts which describes Paul’s missionary journeys. This trip is described as “Paul’s Second Missionary Journey” because it was a trip to “every city where we [Paul and Barnabas] proclaimed the word of the Lord” (15:36).
At the time of his vision (v.9), Paul was in the areas called Troas (the largest city in which was Troy), a part of what is now northwestern Turkey near the Strait of the Dardanelles. The trip from Troas to Philippi, an important Roman colony in Macedonia (northern Greece), was a sea voyage of about 75 miles from Troas with a stop at the island of Samothrace.
Somewhat curiously, in the verses preceding Paul’s vision, he was “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (v.6) and “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” to go into Bithynia (v.8). Asia was a Roman province in western Asia Minor to the east of Troas and Bithynia was a Roman province to the east of Asia.
For the first time in Acts, the narrator became plural (“we immediately tried”), a usage that continued intermittently during the balance of the book. The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests “it may reflect either Luke’s use of an eyewitness source or his desire to create that impression.”
According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Philippi was “populated by discharged Roman soldiers [the enlistment term of Roman soldiers was 20-25 years] who received grants of land and enjoyed the special civil rights that pertained to a Roman Colony (freedom from taxation, Roman legal procedures.”
Paul often went to synagogues as a likely place to make converts to the Jesus Follower Movement (the Way), particularly among Gentiles who were sympathetic to Judaism (called “God Fearers”) and would have been in synagogue for Sabbath worship.
In today’s account, Lydia was described as “a worshiper of God” and a dealer in purple cloth (v.14). The phrase “worshiper of God” is understood as equivalent to a “God Fearer.” Purple cloth was one of the most expensive (the color for rulers). As a dealer in purple cloth, Lydia was a person of means who had a “household” (v.15)
In saying that the “Lord opened Lydia’s heart” (v.14) – the author of Luke/Acts emphasized that the Holy Spirit was the force that brought about conversions to the Jesus Follower Movement. As was customary at the time, dependents followed the head of the household in religious matters, so Lydia’s household was also baptized (v.15).
Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5
Reading
10 In the spirit the angel carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut by day– and there will be no night there. 26 People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Commentary
The Book of Revelation is also known as the “Apocalypse” (from a Greek word meaning an “unveiling” or “disclosure” of a new age or of heaven, or both). Apocalyptic writing generally described a dire situation ruled by evil powers that could be overcome only by the “in-breaking” of a force (such as God) to bring about a new age.
Like the apocalyptic writings in the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Revelation used extreme images and metaphors to describe the conflict between good and evil. Apocalyptic literature is often presented as a revelation from God conveyed by an angel or other heavenly body. Apocalyptic writings used symbolic language to convey God’s hidden plan.
The author identified himself as “John” but most scholars conclude that the author of Revelation was not John the Apostle because of the reference to the 12 apostles in 21:14. Because of the internal references in the Book, most scholars date the book to the late First Century.
Today’s reading is from the last two chapters of Revelation and presented a vision of a New Jerusalem coming out of heaven (v.10). (Most of Jerusalem, including the Temple, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, about 30 years before Revelation was written.)
The New Oxford Annotated Bible describes the phrase “in the spirit” (v.10) as “a state of prophetic ecstasy, a state of altered consciousness” similar to that found in the Book of Ezekiel. The tour of the heavenly city recalled God’s heavenly temple in Ezekiel 40-42.
The author of Revelation had extensive knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, and the New Jerusalem was presented as an “idealized” place.
It needed no Temple (v.22) because God and the Lamb are its “Temple.” It was a place of safety (its gates never need to close). It did not need the sun or the moon to give it light (v.23).The river of the water of life (v.1) was a reference to Eden in Genesis. The people see God’s face (are fully aware of God’s presence), just as Moses spoke with God face to face.
The phrase “nothing accursed shall be found there” (v.3) was a reversal of the curses (bad consequences) of the Disobedience Event in Eden (Gen. 3:14-19).
John 14:23-29
Reading
23 Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, `I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now, I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”
Commentary
The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.
The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who is described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder that was to be held the night he died.
Most scholars agree that the Gospel was written around 95 CE, at a time when the “parting of the ways” between the Jesus Follower Movement and Rabbinic Judaism was accelerating.
Today’s reading is part of the “Farewell Discourse and Prayer of Jesus” that begins at 13:31 and continues to 17:26. There are numerous themes in the Discourse, and a substantial amount of repetition. Scholars suggest that some of the themes in the Discourse reflect the situation when the Gospel itself was written in the late First Century. Most agree that the Prayer in Chapter 17 constituted a separate unit.
Generally, the lengthy Discourse is divided into four units: (a) announcement of the hour and farewell; (b) exhortation to the disciples about the community in the face of external hostility; (c) consolation for the sorrowing disciples; and (d) Jesus’ prayer for the disciples.
Today’s reading is part of the first section, and Jesus’ response was to a question posed by Judas (not Iscariot), “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
The interpretation of Jesus’ response offered by Bishop John Shelby Spong in The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic is informative:
Jesus says: You must understand that this manifestation is an internal one, not an external one. The revelation of God comes with the ability to love beyond your limits. If you love me, you will keep my word to love one another and the Father will love you as the Father has loved me. Then the Father and the son will come to you and dwell in you. We will make our home in you – this is Jesus’ summation.
Jesus concludes this part of the discourse by saying, “I have spoken to you while I am still with you” (John 14:25). He then tries to prepare his disciples for his absence. The Holy Spirit will come when I am gone, he says. The spirit will teach you all things and will bring to remembrance all that I have said. I leave you with peace. It is not the kind of peace the world seeks, but it is the kind of peace that will enable you to grasp the reality you will have to endure. Rejoice, because I go to the Father and only when I depart can the spirit come to you . Please recognize that the world has no power over me. The world can not kill who I am. I am part of who God is and you will be also. I do what the Father commands because I love the Father. You do what I command because you love me. That is the pathway to understanding.