Gleanings from the Text
1 John 3:1-7
From antiquity, readers have noticed the similarities between the epistles ascribed to John and the Gospel that bears the same name. So, it is quite natural for us to note the parallels found with our lectionary text. When our pericope begins, “You know what kind of love the Father has given to us (3:1),” one could easily invoke John 3:16 as the faith confession that the community “knows.” In addition, the language of “children of God (3:1, 2)” can be read as an echo of John 1:12. In both texts, incorporation into the Divine family includes an understanding of the community of believers.
Despite such similarities, many scholars believe that the Epistles reflect the mindset of a community that existed several decades after the original audience of the Johannine Gospel. In I John, tense changes support this hypothesis. For example, the present tense sense that, “we are children of God” made in 3:1 and 3:2, is paired with a future understanding: “what we will be (3:2b, c).” Such looking ahead does suggest that, as generations passed, the believers continued to anticipate “when the Messiah would be revealed” (3:2), but with a newfound priority of sustaining community with hope in the present age.
Therefore, one way of reading the First Epistle is as a development of theological claims initiated in the Gospel. For instance, what it means to have “hope” in the Messiah is explicated throughout the Johannine Gospel, but here it is specifically nuanced with a call to piety: the notion that each would “purify” the self “just as the Messiah is pure (3:3).” The author further ups the ante by advancing a quid pro quo argument: since the Messiah was revealed “in order to take away sin” and “sin is not in him,” then “all who are remaining in him” are not sinning either (3:5 – 6). The Gospel does contain beautiful phrases about “remaining” in Jesus (6:56; 8:31; 15:4, 7), but the Epistle alone makes this direct connection to sinlessness. In case there is any doubt, the pericope concludes with an exhortation: “Let no one deceive you (3:7)!” As the Messiah is righteous, so is the “one who is doing righteousness.” Such exhortations to high ethical standards of living represent one possible theological claim by a community striving to discern the meaning of the Word made flesh.
Food for Thought
I have read, albeit briefly, this Epistle as representing one vein of the theological reasoning put into practice in a faith community. Certainly, this text provides important ideas for living out faith on the ground; personally, I am inspired by the certainty of the pronouncement, “we are children of God” combined with the humble acknowledgement that “what we will be” is not yet revealed (3:2). This does offer hope in uncertain and even painful times. But (and one can attribute this to my Calvinist leanings), I admit that I am suspicious of any absolute claim that appears to set unequivocal distinctions between the righteous and the sinners (3:6. 7). Such stringent categorization may very well inspire some to noble acts of piety, but I am concerned about the possibility of denigration into finger-pointing and even outright nastiness: I John 3:8 libels ones committing sin as from the Devil!
Sink Your Teeth into This!
In the summer of 2007, I had the opportunity to attend an interfaith conference with Religions for Peace. While engaging in dialogue with fellow Muslim and Jewish theological students, I was acutely sensitive to Christianity’s infamous role in propagating worldwide imperialism. In light of this tragic history, I found myself limiting my theological statements to what I thought were universal (and therefore non-offensive!) statements about the Divine. Finally, after I had made one too many of these bland comments, an Orthodox Jewish woman threw up her hands: “You are a Christian! You cannot just leave Jesus at the door!”
How do we, as Christians, reconcile our absolutist claims in Scripture that have undeniably caused death and destruction with our firm convictions that God has revealed God’s own self in the flesh for the good of the world? Even attempting an answer is beyond the scope of my assignment here, but as the reader wrestles with this question in an increasingly pluralistic society, I commend the notion of “we are” held in tension with “what we will be” as a fruitful starting point…one that does not require us to leave Jesus at the door!
About the Author
Andrew Taylor-Troutman has completed his coursework for the Masters of Divinity degree and will officially graduate from Union-PSCE in May, 2009. He and his wife, Ginny, plan to move to Charlottesville, where Andrew has accepted admission to the University of Virginia in a biblical studies program that places New Testament exegesis in conversation with Muslim and Jewish scholars and the sacred texts of these traditions. Andrew is also one of the founders and editors of Join the Feast and can be reached at andrew.taylortroutman@union-psce.edu.
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Friday, March 6, 2009
April 19, 2009 - Acts 4:32-35 - Greg Bolt
Gleanings From The Text
Acts 4:32-35
In this brief passage, Luke uses the ancient rhetorical device known as “chiasmus”, which is used to order the details of a story into an inverted parallelism. It usually follows the pattern of ABCB`A` with C as the vertex in the middle as a focal point.
A. Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, an no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. (4:32)
B. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. (4:33a)
C. And great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them. (4:33b-34a)
B`. For as many as owned land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the feet of the apostles. (4:34b-35a)
A`. And it was distributed to each as any had need. (4:35b)
In this case, the renunciation of private ownership and sharing of goods is A (4:32), the redistribution of goods according to need is A` (4:35b), the great power of the apostles is B (4:33a), and apostles’ authority as seen by the laying of proceeds of what was sold at their feet is B` (4:34b-35a). The focal point (C) in this chiasmus is Luke’s emphasis on the need for God’s grace when we seek to be in community and share the gifts of God with one another.
Food For Thought
At first glance this passage appears to advance an impossible standard. How many of us would willingly give all of our possessions for the common good? When reading this passage recently with my youth group, some heard a call to communism. But, based on further reflection on this passage, it is more about grace than a vow of poverty. Luke places the grace of God at the center of this passage. This grace implores those in this group to act with one heart and soul; it drives them to respond to the needs of others before tending to their own wants and desires. If we focus only on the actions of the group without understanding its motivations, we miss Luke’s point that all needs are met in responding to grace granted to us by God through Jesus Christ. If the group did not act with one heart and soul, the sharing of goods would be an empty gesture and one destined to failure. Since this group acts with one heart and soul, it is uplifted and held as an example to the growing community of believers.
Sink Your Teeth Into This!
When reading this pericope, I was reminded of my childhood. When I was in elementary school, I had a group of friends that in some ways acted with one heart and soul. I hesitate to claim that the grace of God was overtly upon a group of young, energetic, and sometimes rambunctious boys, but I think the similarity holds. We could be found together at all hours of the day and night and in all parts of the neighborhood. We would spend hours at each other’s houses for sleepovers, video games, and whatever else we could dream up.
Different people had different things to offer: one had a video game system, one had a big back yard, one had a basketball goal, and one had the best action figures. But the beauty of this group was that we all treated them as if they were held in common. When the group was at my house, we ate the food provided there; if we were at another’s house, we ate there. We shared everything, from clothes and toys to meals and games, so it was like we were all living in abundance. We shared, not out of duty or a sense of rule, but out of a sense of community and grace. It is that type of community that can only come when the members are acting with one heart and soul. Maybe in the long run we should listen to the call from Christ that we should have faith like a child.
Works Consulted
The New Interpreter’s Bible: Acts, Introduction to Epistolary Literature, Romans, 1 Corinthians Volume X, Abingdon Press Nashville, TN 1995.
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Acts 4:32-35
In this brief passage, Luke uses the ancient rhetorical device known as “chiasmus”, which is used to order the details of a story into an inverted parallelism. It usually follows the pattern of ABCB`A` with C as the vertex in the middle as a focal point.
A. Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, an no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. (4:32)
B. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. (4:33a)
C. And great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them. (4:33b-34a)
B`. For as many as owned land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the feet of the apostles. (4:34b-35a)
A`. And it was distributed to each as any had need. (4:35b)
In this case, the renunciation of private ownership and sharing of goods is A (4:32), the redistribution of goods according to need is A` (4:35b), the great power of the apostles is B (4:33a), and apostles’ authority as seen by the laying of proceeds of what was sold at their feet is B` (4:34b-35a). The focal point (C) in this chiasmus is Luke’s emphasis on the need for God’s grace when we seek to be in community and share the gifts of God with one another.
Food For Thought
At first glance this passage appears to advance an impossible standard. How many of us would willingly give all of our possessions for the common good? When reading this passage recently with my youth group, some heard a call to communism. But, based on further reflection on this passage, it is more about grace than a vow of poverty. Luke places the grace of God at the center of this passage. This grace implores those in this group to act with one heart and soul; it drives them to respond to the needs of others before tending to their own wants and desires. If we focus only on the actions of the group without understanding its motivations, we miss Luke’s point that all needs are met in responding to grace granted to us by God through Jesus Christ. If the group did not act with one heart and soul, the sharing of goods would be an empty gesture and one destined to failure. Since this group acts with one heart and soul, it is uplifted and held as an example to the growing community of believers.
Sink Your Teeth Into This!
When reading this pericope, I was reminded of my childhood. When I was in elementary school, I had a group of friends that in some ways acted with one heart and soul. I hesitate to claim that the grace of God was overtly upon a group of young, energetic, and sometimes rambunctious boys, but I think the similarity holds. We could be found together at all hours of the day and night and in all parts of the neighborhood. We would spend hours at each other’s houses for sleepovers, video games, and whatever else we could dream up.
Different people had different things to offer: one had a video game system, one had a big back yard, one had a basketball goal, and one had the best action figures. But the beauty of this group was that we all treated them as if they were held in common. When the group was at my house, we ate the food provided there; if we were at another’s house, we ate there. We shared everything, from clothes and toys to meals and games, so it was like we were all living in abundance. We shared, not out of duty or a sense of rule, but out of a sense of community and grace. It is that type of community that can only come when the members are acting with one heart and soul. Maybe in the long run we should listen to the call from Christ that we should have faith like a child.
Works Consulted
The New Interpreter’s Bible: Acts, Introduction to Epistolary Literature, Romans, 1 Corinthians Volume X, Abingdon Press Nashville, TN 1995.
Read more!
April 12, 2009 - Mark 16:1-8 - John Carroll
Gleanings From the Text
Mark 16:1-8
Only once do I recall hearing an Easter sermon based on the Easter narrative of the Gospel of Mark (chapter 16). That’s not really surprising, as Mark’s ending has often been regarded as incomplete and unsatisfying. Consider the way both Matthew and Luke fill out the story in their own gospels (Matthew 28; Luke 24), or the way Mark’s own story grew longer and longer in the history of its textual transmission. (The earliest reliable ending, at verse 8, received a variety of extensions.) But the unit for proclamation today is 16:1-8. Let the story end where it does!—which of course means the narrative ends in a way that only begins to open up possibilities, closes in a fashion so true to form for this gospel. Mark leaves us, at the end of the story, with hope, to be sure (along with fear and confusion), but also face to face with profound mystery. The God of Mark’s ending works in our world in ways that defy expectation and elude our every attempt at control.
Food for Thought
Mark’s readers observe as Mary Magdalene, Mary [mother?] of James, and Salome bring spices to the tomb on Easter morning to honor Jesus. (Do they know that an anonymous woman has already anointed him for burial, at least in his interpretation of her gesture [14:3–9]?) Like other “minor” characters in Mark who exemplify insight and faithfulness missing in the inner circle of disciples, these women step forward to extend devoted care to Jesus after his death. Thus they become the first to hear the good news of Jesus’ resurrection; they, not the twelve who fled in panic at the scene of Jesus’ arrest, are the faithful followers who must - beyond the narrative - have been the first to proclaim the Easter message.
Mark, though, withholds that report from the reader, leaving as a last impression not attentiveness to the word but fearful silence. But who are we to find fault with these women, whom fear reduces to silence as the gospel ends? Faced with God’s disruption of things as they are in this world, overcoming even death’s imperious final word to human life, their path — and ours — to joyful hope, to living faith, is neither swift nor easy. If there is hope for the future, it rests not on disciples’ insight and obedience but on Jesus’ fidelity to his promise (“He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there, as he told you” [v. 7]), and on God’s mighty reign, which continues, right to the end of the story, to transform and re-create in yeast-like, mustard-seed ways, full of mystery.
And that means Mark’s narrative ending does what this whole gospel does: it invites and evokes faith, openness to seeing God’s work in the world when our eyes can’t show it to us.
Sink Your Teeth into This!
Mark’s Easter story speaks powerfully to our time and culture. To be sure, Easter worship is festive and joyous, as it should be. Yet on this Easter with Mark’s gospel, may the proclamation of the gospel not be too easy and confident, lest we fail to notice the real obstacles to authentic faith in this narrative, and in our world. God is God, and that means despair yields to hope, life emerges from death.
And through our own encounters with the Risen Lord, our experiences of divine presence, we do come to know good news, but it is sometimes difficult to believe. So the last image of Mark’s gospel — fearful silence — gives us a crucial role to play. The message is now entrusted to us to proclaim, in our time. The burden, and delight, of witness now falls to us.
For further reading and reflection
Donald H. Juel, A Master of Surprise: Mark Interpreted (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994), 107–21.
Biographical Information
John Carroll is Harriet Robertson Fitts Memorial Professor of New Testament at Union-PSCE, where he has taught since 1992 and served as academic dean for nearly ten years. He is perhaps best known for his unique blend of music (trombone), sports (baseball) and humor (puns), although he hopes that his commentary-in-process on the Gospel of Luke (New Testament Library) will eventually compete with those identity markers.
Read more!
Mark 16:1-8
Only once do I recall hearing an Easter sermon based on the Easter narrative of the Gospel of Mark (chapter 16). That’s not really surprising, as Mark’s ending has often been regarded as incomplete and unsatisfying. Consider the way both Matthew and Luke fill out the story in their own gospels (Matthew 28; Luke 24), or the way Mark’s own story grew longer and longer in the history of its textual transmission. (The earliest reliable ending, at verse 8, received a variety of extensions.) But the unit for proclamation today is 16:1-8. Let the story end where it does!—which of course means the narrative ends in a way that only begins to open up possibilities, closes in a fashion so true to form for this gospel. Mark leaves us, at the end of the story, with hope, to be sure (along with fear and confusion), but also face to face with profound mystery. The God of Mark’s ending works in our world in ways that defy expectation and elude our every attempt at control.
Food for Thought
Mark’s readers observe as Mary Magdalene, Mary [mother?] of James, and Salome bring spices to the tomb on Easter morning to honor Jesus. (Do they know that an anonymous woman has already anointed him for burial, at least in his interpretation of her gesture [14:3–9]?) Like other “minor” characters in Mark who exemplify insight and faithfulness missing in the inner circle of disciples, these women step forward to extend devoted care to Jesus after his death. Thus they become the first to hear the good news of Jesus’ resurrection; they, not the twelve who fled in panic at the scene of Jesus’ arrest, are the faithful followers who must - beyond the narrative - have been the first to proclaim the Easter message.
Mark, though, withholds that report from the reader, leaving as a last impression not attentiveness to the word but fearful silence. But who are we to find fault with these women, whom fear reduces to silence as the gospel ends? Faced with God’s disruption of things as they are in this world, overcoming even death’s imperious final word to human life, their path — and ours — to joyful hope, to living faith, is neither swift nor easy. If there is hope for the future, it rests not on disciples’ insight and obedience but on Jesus’ fidelity to his promise (“He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there, as he told you” [v. 7]), and on God’s mighty reign, which continues, right to the end of the story, to transform and re-create in yeast-like, mustard-seed ways, full of mystery.
And that means Mark’s narrative ending does what this whole gospel does: it invites and evokes faith, openness to seeing God’s work in the world when our eyes can’t show it to us.
Sink Your Teeth into This!
Mark’s Easter story speaks powerfully to our time and culture. To be sure, Easter worship is festive and joyous, as it should be. Yet on this Easter with Mark’s gospel, may the proclamation of the gospel not be too easy and confident, lest we fail to notice the real obstacles to authentic faith in this narrative, and in our world. God is God, and that means despair yields to hope, life emerges from death.
And through our own encounters with the Risen Lord, our experiences of divine presence, we do come to know good news, but it is sometimes difficult to believe. So the last image of Mark’s gospel — fearful silence — gives us a crucial role to play. The message is now entrusted to us to proclaim, in our time. The burden, and delight, of witness now falls to us.
For further reading and reflection
Donald H. Juel, A Master of Surprise: Mark Interpreted (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994), 107–21.
Biographical Information
John Carroll is Harriet Robertson Fitts Memorial Professor of New Testament at Union-PSCE, where he has taught since 1992 and served as academic dean for nearly ten years. He is perhaps best known for his unique blend of music (trombone), sports (baseball) and humor (puns), although he hopes that his commentary-in-process on the Gospel of Luke (New Testament Library) will eventually compete with those identity markers.
April 5, 2009 - Mark 11:1-11 - Kirby Lawrence Hill
Gleanings from the Text
Mark 11:1-11
There are interesting juxtapositions that we find in this section of Mark. Immediately before our text is an account of the healing of Bartimaeus, a blind man in Jericho. When he hears that Jesus is passing through, more than once this man shouts, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He throws off his cloak in coming to Jesus to regain his sight. As Jesus comes down the Mount of Olives, there is more shouting. This time a crowd shouts, “Hosanna,” which in addition to being an expression of praise, is also a call for mercy – ‘Save, now, we pray.’ There is mention once again of their ancestor, David, along with quotes from the Psalm 118. Cloaks are once again mentioned, this time as being placed on the colt Jesus is riding or on the road before him. The pilgrims coming to Jerusalem were gathering for Passover, a celebration of deliverance. Bartimaeus is delivered from his blindness and he follows Jesus on the way; would that we could clearly see what is happening as Jesus enters Jerusalem, so we can follow him faithfully.
Prior to Jesus’ entrance, there are details about obtaining what he would ride into town. Zechariah 9:9 calls upon Zion to rejoice upon the entrance of her king, who triumphantly but humbly rides on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Surprisingly, the account is more descriptive about details of the donkey and the donkey detail sent to obtain it than it is about the entrance into the city. Jesus is very purposeful in how he will enter. “The one who comes in the name of the Lord” stays in Jerusalem just long enough to go into the temple to look around before heading back to Bethany, where he had started earlier in the day. More focus on the temple is yet to come.
Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan suggest there was not only a procession from the Mount of Olives on the east that day, but also a Roman procession entering from the west, which would have had as a focal point the Roman governor named Pontius Pilate. The juxtaposition of these two processions would have set up quite a contrast. One came as an expression of empire and military occupation whose goal was to make sure oppressed people did not find deliverance. It approached the city using horses, brandishing weapons, proclaiming the power of empire. The other procession was quite a contrast, using a donkey and laying down cloaks and branches along the road. The one who was coming in the name of the Lord quietly, but profoundly, proclaimed the peaceful reign of God.
Food for Thought
There are not only challenging juxtapositions in the text, but also in our church observances of Holy Week. If we move directly from a Palm Sunday procession to an Easter parade, we will have missed the story and experience of the passion that is more than a part of the deliverance offered by the One who comes in the name of the Lord. How then can we proclaim our praises with palms and psalms, yet move beyond a focus solely on the procession? Mark emphasizes the mode and the manner of the entrance over the procession itself. How Jesus enters Jerusalem is the focus. Will the way we celebrate that entrance be a further proclamation of the peaceful reign of God?
Sink Your Teeth Into This
My wife went into labor with our first-born right after the worship service on a Palm Sunday thirteen years ago. She was in the bell choir that played that day and we wonder about the vibrations that might have led to the time of a significant entrance into our world. It was a painful, joyous time – an entrance with ramifications we did not fully understand, but that offered great hope. Another interesting juxtaposition – Palm Sunday and new life! What was the baby’s name? Grace!
Works Referenced
Borg, Marcus and Crossan, John Dominic, The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem, HarperOne, 2007.
Biographical Information
Kirby Lawrence Hill is Pastor of Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington, Maryland. He graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1984 and has previously served churches in Memphis and Atlanta.
Read more!
Mark 11:1-11
There are interesting juxtapositions that we find in this section of Mark. Immediately before our text is an account of the healing of Bartimaeus, a blind man in Jericho. When he hears that Jesus is passing through, more than once this man shouts, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He throws off his cloak in coming to Jesus to regain his sight. As Jesus comes down the Mount of Olives, there is more shouting. This time a crowd shouts, “Hosanna,” which in addition to being an expression of praise, is also a call for mercy – ‘Save, now, we pray.’ There is mention once again of their ancestor, David, along with quotes from the Psalm 118. Cloaks are once again mentioned, this time as being placed on the colt Jesus is riding or on the road before him. The pilgrims coming to Jerusalem were gathering for Passover, a celebration of deliverance. Bartimaeus is delivered from his blindness and he follows Jesus on the way; would that we could clearly see what is happening as Jesus enters Jerusalem, so we can follow him faithfully.
Prior to Jesus’ entrance, there are details about obtaining what he would ride into town. Zechariah 9:9 calls upon Zion to rejoice upon the entrance of her king, who triumphantly but humbly rides on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Surprisingly, the account is more descriptive about details of the donkey and the donkey detail sent to obtain it than it is about the entrance into the city. Jesus is very purposeful in how he will enter. “The one who comes in the name of the Lord” stays in Jerusalem just long enough to go into the temple to look around before heading back to Bethany, where he had started earlier in the day. More focus on the temple is yet to come.
Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan suggest there was not only a procession from the Mount of Olives on the east that day, but also a Roman procession entering from the west, which would have had as a focal point the Roman governor named Pontius Pilate. The juxtaposition of these two processions would have set up quite a contrast. One came as an expression of empire and military occupation whose goal was to make sure oppressed people did not find deliverance. It approached the city using horses, brandishing weapons, proclaiming the power of empire. The other procession was quite a contrast, using a donkey and laying down cloaks and branches along the road. The one who was coming in the name of the Lord quietly, but profoundly, proclaimed the peaceful reign of God.
Food for Thought
There are not only challenging juxtapositions in the text, but also in our church observances of Holy Week. If we move directly from a Palm Sunday procession to an Easter parade, we will have missed the story and experience of the passion that is more than a part of the deliverance offered by the One who comes in the name of the Lord. How then can we proclaim our praises with palms and psalms, yet move beyond a focus solely on the procession? Mark emphasizes the mode and the manner of the entrance over the procession itself. How Jesus enters Jerusalem is the focus. Will the way we celebrate that entrance be a further proclamation of the peaceful reign of God?
Sink Your Teeth Into This
My wife went into labor with our first-born right after the worship service on a Palm Sunday thirteen years ago. She was in the bell choir that played that day and we wonder about the vibrations that might have led to the time of a significant entrance into our world. It was a painful, joyous time – an entrance with ramifications we did not fully understand, but that offered great hope. Another interesting juxtaposition – Palm Sunday and new life! What was the baby’s name? Grace!
Works Referenced
Borg, Marcus and Crossan, John Dominic, The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem, HarperOne, 2007.
Biographical Information
Kirby Lawrence Hill is Pastor of Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington, Maryland. He graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1984 and has previously served churches in Memphis and Atlanta.
Read more!
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