Gleanings From The Text
Ephesians 1:3-14
Like 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 and 1 Peter 1:3-9, Ephesians’ introduction begins with a blessing (berakah), a liturgical formula used to praise God for creation and redemption, as well as to describe God’s character as the giver of blessings to the people. But where 2 Corinthians and 1 Peter then shift to the current situations of their communities, Ephesians does not follow suit until chapters 4 and 5. Pheme Perkins notes that this extended blessing is “combined with the rhetorical understanding of ‘eulogy’ as eloquence or fine speaking in praise of someone.” In this sense, our text is not a theological treatise, but a poetic affirmation of faith meant to sustain and encourage the Ephesians in their worshiping life together.
It is also important to note that in the letters in which Paul’s authorship is undisputed, the expected return of Christ is conveyed in the near future, while Ephesians places significant emphasis on the cosmic nature of the church—the universal church conveys God’s wisdom as part of God’s eternal purpose (3:9-11)—with Christ as its head (1:22). We catch glimpses of this theme in our text’s blessing—God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, God has made known the mystery of divine will to us, and God’s plan for the fullness of time is to gather up all things in heaven and earth in Christ, through whom we have obtained an inheritance. Our response is to live for the praise of God’s glory in Christ.
Food For Thought
Although the author of Ephesians does not use the term “election” directly, the language of choice, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, grace and divine plan within this passage all point to this theological doctrine. Election is a source of great comfort to some and great distress to others, and preaching and/or teaching this text will most likely reveal both ends of this spectrum.
George W. Stroup offers five key insights on election pertaining to this passage in Ephesians. First, election is “a statement about the wonder of God’s grace in Jesus Christ…It is above all else an affirmation that the God Christians know in Jesus Christ is gracious beyond the wildest reaches of their imaginations.” Second, election is about God’s sovereign will, not our actions—our text notes in verses 5, 9, and 11 that “God’s choosing or election is rooted in the good pleasure and mystery of God’s counsel and will.” Third, Christ is to be the “looking glass” in which Christians should consider their election, as God’s election is always through Christ. Stroup points to Calvin and Barth, who claimed that by looking at the life of Christ and seeing the grace and mercy of God, we should be assured that we are included in God’s promises. Fourth, election “reminds Christians that they are adopted children of God;” this adoption is a gift, not a right. Fifth, we must be mindful that God’s election “does not make Christians ‘special’ in relation to other people, but calls them to specific tasks of serving God and neighbor.”
Sink Your Teeth Into This!
Terms like election, redemption, and adoption have become part of my theological vocabulary while at seminary, and while I believe that there is a plan for the fullness of time, my eyes do not always see it in the world around me. In a world full of injustice, pain and division, these words of adoption, grace and gathering all things up are sometimes hard to hear. Indeed, there is tension between what God has already done in Christ and what is left to be done in the world.
When I took Hebrew, our professor, Dr. Carson Brisson, would end class with the same benediction every day. One line of this benediction comes to mind as I reflect on Ephesians 1:3-14 — “May you be blessed and a blessing.” God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and our right response to these blessings is to live for the praise of Christ’s glory. As the church, we are to live lives of service, working for peace and reconciliation among our brothers and sisters all over the world through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Works Consulted
Martin, Ralph P., Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, Interpretation series (Atlanta: John Knox, 1991).
Perkins, Pheme, “The Letter to the Ephesians,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 11, (Nashville: Abingdon, 2000).
Stroup, George W., “Theological Perspective: Ephesians 1:3-14,” in David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds., Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 3, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009), 230-234.
Biographical Information
Elizabeth Smith (M.Div) is a 2009 graduate of Union-PSCE. Originally from Texas, she is moving to Connecticut and starting a 9-month Chaplain Residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital at the end of August. Gently-used coats and snow tires are welcome!
Read more!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
July 5, 2009 - Mark 6:1-13 - Mark Zaineddin
Gleanings from the Text
Mark 6: 1-13
Like much scripture, this passage is full of richness and this for contemplation, interpretation, and discovery. As many have previously commented, this passage asks us to consider the humanity of Jesus as well as, perhaps, examine our own human nature.
Structurally, the passage is very similar to Mark 3:7-35, but only in reverse. Could this be to reinforce an important point that the writer is trying to make? Both pericopes are ultimately about Jesus being accepted by outsiders and rejected by those who intimately know him. It is strangers who believe and have faith in Jesus and are drawn to his capacity to heal the ill and exorcise demons; it is kinfolk (Mark 3) and hometown neighbors (Mark 6) that chide and admonish him, who cannot believe that a carpenter and the “son of Mary” could be a prophet with extraordinary powers. The pericopes also feature the naming or commissioning of his twelve apostles.
Today’s Gospel reading can be neatly divided into two parts. In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus returns home (presumably to Nazareth) only to be shunned and snubbed by those who have known him since his youth. Not only do they not have faith in him, but they also take offense at (were scandalized by/stumbled over [from the Greek εσκανδαλιξαντο]) what he is presumably doing (Mark 6:3). In Mark 6:7-13, Jesus departs to the villages and commissions his disciples, sending them out in pairs. It is interesting here that the author Mark is more concerned with the practicalities of their mission (what they are to take and how they are to behave) than with the mission itself (Myers et. al., 72).
A few additional points are worth mentioning. First, we see the real humanity of Jesus highlighted in this pericope. Jesus is described in terms of his trained profession (τέκτων, which can be translated craftsman, workman, worker in wood, and possibly even stonemason although the tradition suggests that Jesus was a carpenter). Furthermore, he is known to be a son with siblings. The fact that he is referred to as Mary’s son, rather than that of Joseph could be interpreted in many ways. Has Joseph died? Is this a denunciation on behalf of the villagers who see him perhaps as an illegitimate child? Could it be the writer’s way of referring to the virgin birth? Different authors have offered varying explanations (see Hare, 69). Finally, here Jesus exhibits human emotional qualities. Jesus is amazed at his hometown residents’ unbelief (Mark 6:6).
A second point is that Jesus’ powers (Mark 6:5) seem to be dependent upon the faith that others have in him. We see this regularly in Mark (e.g. 2:5 and 5:34). But, here, it is unbelief or disbelief that seems to inhibit Jesus (Mark 6:5). What does this suggest?
Food for Thought
Unlike the prodigal son in Luke (Luke 15:11-32) who, after months or years away, is welcomed back with open arms by his father, Jesus’ neighbors upon his return home reject him simply for who he is or whom they believe him to be. They cannot understand where or how Mary’s “kid”, the carpenter, received wisdom and ability for power “done by his hands.” Do we too often make assumptions about individuals whom we believe we know well but have not seen in years? Have we lost faith in them as children and believe, now decades later, they will act the same? This is a striking passage that warns us not to make such crass assumptions.
Furthermore, how does our faith, or lack there of, in God and humanity affect outcomes in concrete situations? Although we may not have the prophetic powers of Jesus, whether or not we believe or have faith in a person may have a stunning effect on a particular state of affairs. Situations often require trust and reciprocal responses of faith. As Douglas Hare puts it, “God’s power is unlimited, but its expression is correlated with the response of faith. An imperfect but helpful analogy is provided by human relationships; love, to be fully experienced, must be returned” (Hare, 70). Just as Jesus’ neighbors, with their unbelief, seemed to affect his ability to perform wondrous acts, our negativities and disbeliefs often hinder the hopeful outcomes we seek to attain.
Sink Your Teeth Into This!
In 1973, the New York Mets found themselves in last place at the end of the month of August. Baseball fans were writing off the team. Once again, a reputation preceded them: there were a group of young talent players and a few veterans that always seemed to fall short. Then Tug McGraw, an able relief pitcher, rallied his teammates and their fans behind the slogan, “You Gotta Believe”. And they did, winning 21 of their last 29 games and going from worst to first. The pennant was won because the team had faith, the fans had faith; all heard the rallying call and responded. None would heed to their supposed reputation.
In Northern New Mexico, reputation is often tied family origin. Just like Jesus was Mary’s “boy”, here Virgil might be known as Floyd’s son. Furthermore, last names carry a lot of weight for better or worse. While not denying the importance of family connections, sometimes it seems that the individual can get lost in the family; that is, the reputation of the family can cloud how we might understand the individual and his or her own worth and ability.
Yet, when we begin to believe in the individual worth of each and every person, might it just be that miracles -- real or perceived -- can happen? Miracles from a shoddy 1973 baseball team; miracles from the Martinez kid in Espanola; miracles from Mary’s boy, the carpenter, who has just returned home to Nazareth.
Works Cited or Referenced
Hare, D. R. A. Westminster Bible Companion: Mark. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996.
Myers, C., Dennis. M., Nangke, J., Moe-Lobeda, C., and S. Taylor. “Say To This Mountain”: Mark's Story of Discipleship. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books,1997.
Perkins, P. “Mark” in The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. VIII. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Williamson, L. Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Mark. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1983.
Biographical Information
Mark Zaineddin is a 2008 Union-PSCE graduate. A native Northeasterner, he know finds his home and work in the Southwest at Ghost Ranch, a PC(USA) national education and retreat center in Abiquiu, NM. He encourages all to come and visit, whether it is your first time or fortieth.
Read more!
Mark 6: 1-13
Like much scripture, this passage is full of richness and this for contemplation, interpretation, and discovery. As many have previously commented, this passage asks us to consider the humanity of Jesus as well as, perhaps, examine our own human nature.
Structurally, the passage is very similar to Mark 3:7-35, but only in reverse. Could this be to reinforce an important point that the writer is trying to make? Both pericopes are ultimately about Jesus being accepted by outsiders and rejected by those who intimately know him. It is strangers who believe and have faith in Jesus and are drawn to his capacity to heal the ill and exorcise demons; it is kinfolk (Mark 3) and hometown neighbors (Mark 6) that chide and admonish him, who cannot believe that a carpenter and the “son of Mary” could be a prophet with extraordinary powers. The pericopes also feature the naming or commissioning of his twelve apostles.
Today’s Gospel reading can be neatly divided into two parts. In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus returns home (presumably to Nazareth) only to be shunned and snubbed by those who have known him since his youth. Not only do they not have faith in him, but they also take offense at (were scandalized by/stumbled over [from the Greek εσκανδαλιξαντο]) what he is presumably doing (Mark 6:3). In Mark 6:7-13, Jesus departs to the villages and commissions his disciples, sending them out in pairs. It is interesting here that the author Mark is more concerned with the practicalities of their mission (what they are to take and how they are to behave) than with the mission itself (Myers et. al., 72).
A few additional points are worth mentioning. First, we see the real humanity of Jesus highlighted in this pericope. Jesus is described in terms of his trained profession (τέκτων, which can be translated craftsman, workman, worker in wood, and possibly even stonemason although the tradition suggests that Jesus was a carpenter). Furthermore, he is known to be a son with siblings. The fact that he is referred to as Mary’s son, rather than that of Joseph could be interpreted in many ways. Has Joseph died? Is this a denunciation on behalf of the villagers who see him perhaps as an illegitimate child? Could it be the writer’s way of referring to the virgin birth? Different authors have offered varying explanations (see Hare, 69). Finally, here Jesus exhibits human emotional qualities. Jesus is amazed at his hometown residents’ unbelief (Mark 6:6).
A second point is that Jesus’ powers (Mark 6:5) seem to be dependent upon the faith that others have in him. We see this regularly in Mark (e.g. 2:5 and 5:34). But, here, it is unbelief or disbelief that seems to inhibit Jesus (Mark 6:5). What does this suggest?
Food for Thought
Unlike the prodigal son in Luke (Luke 15:11-32) who, after months or years away, is welcomed back with open arms by his father, Jesus’ neighbors upon his return home reject him simply for who he is or whom they believe him to be. They cannot understand where or how Mary’s “kid”, the carpenter, received wisdom and ability for power “done by his hands.” Do we too often make assumptions about individuals whom we believe we know well but have not seen in years? Have we lost faith in them as children and believe, now decades later, they will act the same? This is a striking passage that warns us not to make such crass assumptions.
Furthermore, how does our faith, or lack there of, in God and humanity affect outcomes in concrete situations? Although we may not have the prophetic powers of Jesus, whether or not we believe or have faith in a person may have a stunning effect on a particular state of affairs. Situations often require trust and reciprocal responses of faith. As Douglas Hare puts it, “God’s power is unlimited, but its expression is correlated with the response of faith. An imperfect but helpful analogy is provided by human relationships; love, to be fully experienced, must be returned” (Hare, 70). Just as Jesus’ neighbors, with their unbelief, seemed to affect his ability to perform wondrous acts, our negativities and disbeliefs often hinder the hopeful outcomes we seek to attain.
Sink Your Teeth Into This!
In 1973, the New York Mets found themselves in last place at the end of the month of August. Baseball fans were writing off the team. Once again, a reputation preceded them: there were a group of young talent players and a few veterans that always seemed to fall short. Then Tug McGraw, an able relief pitcher, rallied his teammates and their fans behind the slogan, “You Gotta Believe”. And they did, winning 21 of their last 29 games and going from worst to first. The pennant was won because the team had faith, the fans had faith; all heard the rallying call and responded. None would heed to their supposed reputation.
In Northern New Mexico, reputation is often tied family origin. Just like Jesus was Mary’s “boy”, here Virgil might be known as Floyd’s son. Furthermore, last names carry a lot of weight for better or worse. While not denying the importance of family connections, sometimes it seems that the individual can get lost in the family; that is, the reputation of the family can cloud how we might understand the individual and his or her own worth and ability.
Yet, when we begin to believe in the individual worth of each and every person, might it just be that miracles -- real or perceived -- can happen? Miracles from a shoddy 1973 baseball team; miracles from the Martinez kid in Espanola; miracles from Mary’s boy, the carpenter, who has just returned home to Nazareth.
Works Cited or Referenced
Hare, D. R. A. Westminster Bible Companion: Mark. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996.
Myers, C., Dennis. M., Nangke, J., Moe-Lobeda, C., and S. Taylor. “Say To This Mountain”: Mark's Story of Discipleship. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books,1997.
Perkins, P. “Mark” in The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. VIII. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Williamson, L. Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Mark. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1983.
Biographical Information
Mark Zaineddin is a 2008 Union-PSCE graduate. A native Northeasterner, he know finds his home and work in the Southwest at Ghost Ranch, a PC(USA) national education and retreat center in Abiquiu, NM. He encourages all to come and visit, whether it is your first time or fortieth.
Read more!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
June 28, 2009 - 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 - Fred Westbrook
Gleanings from the Text
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
In this passage, Paul appeals for funding for the community of Jesus followers in Jerusalem led by James, called the "Poor Ones," just as Jesus had said, "blessed are the poor." The church in Jerusalem had taken seriously sharing in common all they had as one Christian community. In this offering he's taking up, Paul is trying to bring together Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and pagan Christians from throughout the rest of the world; many he had evangelized. This appeal was for the cause of Unity for the early church, because of the terrible schism between these two groups reported in Galatians.
Paul felt this collection, if acceptable to the "saints" in Jerusalem, would bring to them a great gift for the wealth of the larger church, a true sharing of the wealth. Notice he's saying something here repeatedly about "equality," "he gathering much, he had nothing left over, and he gathering little had no less." Paul is repeating the story of the gathering of manna during the Exodus. The people in Corinth knew that the people of the Church in Jerusalem were sharing everything in common. Now Paul's appealing to the Corinthians, "you said you would support this cause, now follow through." You don't have to give what you don't have, but each should give according to
his ability or capacity.
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
In this passage, Paul appeals for funding for the community of Jesus followers in Jerusalem led by James, called the "Poor Ones," just as Jesus had said, "blessed are the poor." The church in Jerusalem had taken seriously sharing in common all they had as one Christian community. In this offering he's taking up, Paul is trying to bring together Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and pagan Christians from throughout the rest of the world; many he had evangelized. This appeal was for the cause of Unity for the early church, because of the terrible schism between these two groups reported in Galatians.
Paul felt this collection, if acceptable to the "saints" in Jerusalem, would bring to them a great gift for the wealth of the larger church, a true sharing of the wealth. Notice he's saying something here repeatedly about "equality," "he gathering much, he had nothing left over, and he gathering little had no less." Paul is repeating the story of the gathering of manna during the Exodus. The people in Corinth knew that the people of the Church in Jerusalem were sharing everything in common. Now Paul's appealing to the Corinthians, "you said you would support this cause, now follow through." You don't have to give what you don't have, but each should give according to
his ability or capacity.
Food For Thought
One of the things I find fascinating about this whole passage is that the words "gift" and "grace" are used interchangeably by Paul. I think the parallel of these two words is a key for understanding this passage, and even understanding something fundamentally about Paul's life.
While there was a great difference in practice between Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (who still looked to purity rituals, with a traditional Jewish understanding of the law) and pagan Christians to whom Paul had delivered the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul proclaimed that everyone who believed was in Christ. He did not believe the pagan group had to follow the Jewish group's mandates regarding ritualistic law and purity.
When Paul finally takes the collection to Jerusalem, he's put in an awkward position. No one will see him or talk to him to accept the money, until he goes through the ritual baths and is purified. He goes to the ritual baths in the cause of peace and STILL ends up getting arrested. The arrest is aided by Jewish Christians. Under arrest again! This begins his long trip back to Rome and his eventual death.
Here in our passage is what Paul is giving his life for: he's appealing to each of us reading in the Christian community of faith to put aside those temptations that divide us one from another and be one in Christ.
Sink Your Teeth Into This
Look at the battles in the church today over amendments to the constitution of the Presbyterian Church and other battles in other Protestant denominations.
One group feels like if you behave one way, you're affecting the purity of the church, of if you behave another way, the believer is too constrained by the law, and isn't able to honor God's gifts to all people. Folks considered unrepentant with practices in relationships and sexuality considered ungodly, even an abomination by others, are excluded from the community of faith. There's this big tension in the church today not unlike what it was in the time of Paul. Paul is
trying to heal the rift - this big division between followers of Christ. At first, the Church in Jerusalem wouldn't even accept the collection when Paul delivered it!
The Jerusalem collection represents a major bargain by Paul, to give his own life up to join the church together in the cause of the Gospel. He chooses to give the church an opportunity, to re-find if you will, a unified vision, what he believes is a continuation of the vision of Jesus Christ found in the "open table," and which includes the notion that all of the earth is "one world under divine justice" rather than under Imperial rule from Rome [Crossan, In Search of Paul]. Paul seeks to follow Jesus in this divine cause and invites us to as well.
We could understand this passage in terms of one's "annual giving to the church," but I think there is something deeper here about how one gives his or her life to Christ. Paul has something to say about how you might encounter God's grace in Jesus as both grace and gift to share and give back to God, by giving back to the larger vision and the wider community of God's people, even to give ourselves back to continue God's creative work of redemption here and now.
Biographical Information
Fred Westbrook, D.Min. graduated from Union in May 1983. An artist and poet living in Durham NC, Fred is a Minister Member at Large in New Hope Presbytery of the PCUSA. He preaches monthly at Northgate Presbyterian Church in Durham, and other area churches, while overseeing Duke Chapel's Media Ministry. President and CEO of C'Access Inc., Fred manages multiple projects regarding online medical education or instructional technology at Duke University.
June 21, 2009 - Mark 4:35-41 – Berry French and Clark Scalera
Gleanings From the Text
Mark 4:35-41
The location of this text within the Gospel of Mark is of primary importance. Jesus has been preaching to the home crowd throughout Galilee and has gathered quite a following. Mark 3:9 indicates that the crowds of people are growing so numerous that Jesus has his disciples prepare a boat so that he will not be crushed. For the majority of chapter 4, Mark then stations Jesus in this boat, preaching from it like a pulpit to the congregation which is safely held at a distance on the shore (Mark 4:1).
When evening comes Jesus and the disciples leave the shore in this same boat and set out to, of all places, Gentile lands. There, Jesus will surprisingly heal an unclean, unreligious, demon-possessed foreigner and send him to proclaim the Gospel to even more Gentiles (Mark 5:19-20). The movement of Jesus and his message across major geographic, cultural, and religious boundaries is the location of this pericope.
Can the mighty wind and waves that the disciples encounter on this voyage be understood as representative of challenges the church faces when it is called to expand the scope of its ministry?
An additional focal point of this text is Jesus’ authority over the created world. This miracle story echoes the story of Jonah where Jonah is aroused and called upon to pray that his ship might be saved (Jonah 1:6). The parallel between the two stories is then sharply broken in order to present Jesus as greater than a prophet (and also as one who follows God instead of fleeing). Instead of praying, Jesus himself rebukes the storm and commands the wind and the waves to be silent and muzzled. A calm then emerges that demonstrates Jesus’ control over the chaotic elements which threaten the disciples. Both Jesus’ authority and willingness to take action raise questions about who Jesus is and how we are to put our trust in him.
Food for Thought
Written initially for a church enduring stress, tribulation, and even persecution, this text provided a comforting reminder that Jesus is Lord over the Church and over all creation. In a similar manner, this story from Mark can provide comfort to our church today. Often, we can feel overwhelmed by the pressure, demands, and conflicts within our church and society. We may feel as though our small boat will be torn apart as we try to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that cross divides of geography, culture, and religion. We can find assurance in our faith that Jesus does indeed “care that we are perishing” and that Jesus does go with us even in our small and scarcely seaworthy boats.
Sink Your Teeth Into This
Last year, I had the joy and privilege of traveling to the Holy Land with Union-PSCE’s Middle East Travel Seminar. Among the most lasting impressions from the trip was the time that we spent on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was a powerful thing to see the hillsides that Jesus and the disciples walked upon. It was both beautiful and profound to look out across this large lake and see the far shore.
As we stood there in modern day Israel looking over to the shores of the Kingdom of Jordan, professor Sam Balentine remarked, “That is all that separated the ancient Israelites from the Gentile nations.” Recognizing in this experiential way that the Sea of Galilee is only a mile or two wide in places had a profound impact on me. It helped me understand in a new way just how close the religiously “clean” and “unclean” lived.
The Israelites and Gentiles would have been neighbors, would have had to trade and interact with one another. In some ways, Jesus’ crossing over to their shores in a boat would have been utterly unremarkable. Yet, the gesture of him going to heal people across the lake, going to proclaim the gospel and share in life and ministry, was enough to cause great storms and waves in the early church.
The storms, coupled with the Gospel’s eventual spread into socially and religiously unclean lands, give me perspective on how we are called to have faith and share faith across boundaries – boundaries that may challenge or even offend our religious institutions.
Biographical Information
Clark Scalera and Berry French are Pastoral Residents at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC. Clark graduated from Union-PSCE in 2007, and Berry in 2008.
Works Referenced
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, KY, 1996.
Williamson, Lamar, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Mark (John Knox Press: Atlanta, GA, 1983.
Read more!
Mark 4:35-41
The location of this text within the Gospel of Mark is of primary importance. Jesus has been preaching to the home crowd throughout Galilee and has gathered quite a following. Mark 3:9 indicates that the crowds of people are growing so numerous that Jesus has his disciples prepare a boat so that he will not be crushed. For the majority of chapter 4, Mark then stations Jesus in this boat, preaching from it like a pulpit to the congregation which is safely held at a distance on the shore (Mark 4:1).
When evening comes Jesus and the disciples leave the shore in this same boat and set out to, of all places, Gentile lands. There, Jesus will surprisingly heal an unclean, unreligious, demon-possessed foreigner and send him to proclaim the Gospel to even more Gentiles (Mark 5:19-20). The movement of Jesus and his message across major geographic, cultural, and religious boundaries is the location of this pericope.
Can the mighty wind and waves that the disciples encounter on this voyage be understood as representative of challenges the church faces when it is called to expand the scope of its ministry?
An additional focal point of this text is Jesus’ authority over the created world. This miracle story echoes the story of Jonah where Jonah is aroused and called upon to pray that his ship might be saved (Jonah 1:6). The parallel between the two stories is then sharply broken in order to present Jesus as greater than a prophet (and also as one who follows God instead of fleeing). Instead of praying, Jesus himself rebukes the storm and commands the wind and the waves to be silent and muzzled. A calm then emerges that demonstrates Jesus’ control over the chaotic elements which threaten the disciples. Both Jesus’ authority and willingness to take action raise questions about who Jesus is and how we are to put our trust in him.
Food for Thought
Written initially for a church enduring stress, tribulation, and even persecution, this text provided a comforting reminder that Jesus is Lord over the Church and over all creation. In a similar manner, this story from Mark can provide comfort to our church today. Often, we can feel overwhelmed by the pressure, demands, and conflicts within our church and society. We may feel as though our small boat will be torn apart as we try to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that cross divides of geography, culture, and religion. We can find assurance in our faith that Jesus does indeed “care that we are perishing” and that Jesus does go with us even in our small and scarcely seaworthy boats.
Sink Your Teeth Into This
Last year, I had the joy and privilege of traveling to the Holy Land with Union-PSCE’s Middle East Travel Seminar. Among the most lasting impressions from the trip was the time that we spent on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was a powerful thing to see the hillsides that Jesus and the disciples walked upon. It was both beautiful and profound to look out across this large lake and see the far shore.
As we stood there in modern day Israel looking over to the shores of the Kingdom of Jordan, professor Sam Balentine remarked, “That is all that separated the ancient Israelites from the Gentile nations.” Recognizing in this experiential way that the Sea of Galilee is only a mile or two wide in places had a profound impact on me. It helped me understand in a new way just how close the religiously “clean” and “unclean” lived.
The Israelites and Gentiles would have been neighbors, would have had to trade and interact with one another. In some ways, Jesus’ crossing over to their shores in a boat would have been utterly unremarkable. Yet, the gesture of him going to heal people across the lake, going to proclaim the gospel and share in life and ministry, was enough to cause great storms and waves in the early church.
The storms, coupled with the Gospel’s eventual spread into socially and religiously unclean lands, give me perspective on how we are called to have faith and share faith across boundaries – boundaries that may challenge or even offend our religious institutions.
Biographical Information
Clark Scalera and Berry French are Pastoral Residents at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC. Clark graduated from Union-PSCE in 2007, and Berry in 2008.
Works Referenced
Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, KY, 1996.
Williamson, Lamar, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Mark (John Knox Press: Atlanta, GA, 1983.
Read more!
June 14, 2009 - 2 Corinthians 5:6-17 - Fairfax F. Fair
Gleanings From the Text
2 Corinthians 5:6-17
This brief passage raises a number of intriguing questions. What does it mean to be “at home in the body?” Is the author (Paul) wishing his life away when he writes, “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord?” What must we do to please the Lord?
The gist of this text is the effect of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That act of God has changed everything for all times, and God’s act has changed us. We are no longer the same. Our perspective on others is different. The one we knew as flesh and blood – Jesus Christ – has broken through the finitude of human existence and done something wholly new. Our experience with the Christ has irrevocably altered our raison d’etre.
Several points should be made in the exposition of this text. Take a careful look at verse 14: “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all ...” Notice that this does not restrict the salvific effects of Christ’s death to the circumcised, to believers, or to any other group or classification of people. The statement is unequivocal: Christ has died for all.
“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (v17). This verse is worthy of careful attention. Consider the verb, gegonen. It is perfect tense, which denotes the continuance of completed action. What is its subject? It makes a difference! J. Paul Sampley lays out various possibilities in the New Interpreter’s Bible, volume XI, pages 93-94.
Food for Thought
Throughout human history the inclination has been to erect barriers, to self-select for privilege, to build dividing walls of hostility. The radical nature of sin infects our relationships. We may want to impose feelings of superiority on others. The truth of Jesus Christ is absolute. As Peter testifies in the Acts of the Apostles, “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34-43). The death of Jesus Christ is for all people.
Convicted of this truth, we can no longer regard anyone “from a human point of view.” What is a human point of view? We see disabilities where God sees possibilities. We see differences as flaws; God sees our individuality as beauty.
Sink Your Teeth into This!
From time to time one sees a child’s T-shirt with wisdom hidden beneath a grammatical veil. The shirt proclaims, “God don’t make no junk.” No one – child or adult, privileged or bereft, accomplished or dependent – is without earth-changing value. Jesus Christ voluntarily gave up his life for each of us. If we have that kind of value to God, blinders should fall off for the rest of us. We are to treat one another, regardless of personal feelings, as beloved children of God, human beings for whom Christ died.
In the pressures of everyday living, when we struggle to provide for our families, to find a sure path through economic minefields, to fend off the slings and arrows leveled at us, our tendency may be to strike out at another. This text requires us to pause. No one is beyond the circle of Jesus’ love. If we are in Christ – a part of his family, a beneficiary of his death and resurrection, a guest at his table – we must treat all others as valued fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We can no longer regard them from a human point of view.
A powerful sermon can be developed on this text, calling all of us to a re-evaluation of how we treat one another and to the theological basis for that treatment. We must be consistently gracious, merciful, and forgiving. We stand to be convicted of our sins. We deserve condemnation. Instead, the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. We are forgiven and made new, again and again. Let us see one another not from a human point of view but with the eyes of Christ. Then let us live in an abundance of love.
Biographical Information
Fairfax F. Fair is Pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church, Louisville, KY
Read more!
2 Corinthians 5:6-17
This brief passage raises a number of intriguing questions. What does it mean to be “at home in the body?” Is the author (Paul) wishing his life away when he writes, “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord?” What must we do to please the Lord?
The gist of this text is the effect of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That act of God has changed everything for all times, and God’s act has changed us. We are no longer the same. Our perspective on others is different. The one we knew as flesh and blood – Jesus Christ – has broken through the finitude of human existence and done something wholly new. Our experience with the Christ has irrevocably altered our raison d’etre.
Several points should be made in the exposition of this text. Take a careful look at verse 14: “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all ...” Notice that this does not restrict the salvific effects of Christ’s death to the circumcised, to believers, or to any other group or classification of people. The statement is unequivocal: Christ has died for all.
“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (v17). This verse is worthy of careful attention. Consider the verb, gegonen. It is perfect tense, which denotes the continuance of completed action. What is its subject? It makes a difference! J. Paul Sampley lays out various possibilities in the New Interpreter’s Bible, volume XI, pages 93-94.
Food for Thought
Throughout human history the inclination has been to erect barriers, to self-select for privilege, to build dividing walls of hostility. The radical nature of sin infects our relationships. We may want to impose feelings of superiority on others. The truth of Jesus Christ is absolute. As Peter testifies in the Acts of the Apostles, “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34-43). The death of Jesus Christ is for all people.
Convicted of this truth, we can no longer regard anyone “from a human point of view.” What is a human point of view? We see disabilities where God sees possibilities. We see differences as flaws; God sees our individuality as beauty.
Sink Your Teeth into This!
From time to time one sees a child’s T-shirt with wisdom hidden beneath a grammatical veil. The shirt proclaims, “God don’t make no junk.” No one – child or adult, privileged or bereft, accomplished or dependent – is without earth-changing value. Jesus Christ voluntarily gave up his life for each of us. If we have that kind of value to God, blinders should fall off for the rest of us. We are to treat one another, regardless of personal feelings, as beloved children of God, human beings for whom Christ died.
In the pressures of everyday living, when we struggle to provide for our families, to find a sure path through economic minefields, to fend off the slings and arrows leveled at us, our tendency may be to strike out at another. This text requires us to pause. No one is beyond the circle of Jesus’ love. If we are in Christ – a part of his family, a beneficiary of his death and resurrection, a guest at his table – we must treat all others as valued fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We can no longer regard them from a human point of view.
A powerful sermon can be developed on this text, calling all of us to a re-evaluation of how we treat one another and to the theological basis for that treatment. We must be consistently gracious, merciful, and forgiving. We stand to be convicted of our sins. We deserve condemnation. Instead, the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. We are forgiven and made new, again and again. Let us see one another not from a human point of view but with the eyes of Christ. Then let us live in an abundance of love.
Biographical Information
Fairfax F. Fair is Pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church, Louisville, KY
Read more!
Friday, April 3, 2009
May 31 - Ezekiel 37:1-14 - Joshua T. Andrzejewski
Gleanings From the Text
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The Hebrew word ruah (spirit, breath) appears eight times in the first ten verses of the pericope, and once in its conclusion. The NRSV translation fails to make evident the connection between God’s “spirit” and the animating “breath” that gives life to the bodies in verse 10. The spirit of God is a unifying force that leads to life.
The verb hayah (to live) occurs six times in the pericope, usually appearing alongside ruah. The counterpoint to hayah in this pericope is ’etsem (bones), a word that occurs ten times and symbolizes the state of Israel: hopeless, cut off, dead.
Food for Thought
Ezekiel’s report of the valley of dry bones comes up often in discussions of resurrection imagery in the Old Testament; however, this vision has more to do with restoration than resurrection. Kevin Madigan and Jon Levenson put it this way: “The question it answers is not the familiar, self-interested one, ‘Will I have life after death?’ but rather a more profound and encompassing one, ‘Will God honor [the] promises to [the] people?’” (155). Madigan and Levenson’s book is an accessible introduction to the afterlife concept as it develops from the prophets to the time of Jesus.
Ezekiel began his prophetic work around 591 BCE, was taken into exile in Babylon in 597 BCE, lived through the destruction of Jerusalem ten years later, and continued his work until at least 571 BCE (Petersen, 139). He was designated a sopeh, a sentinal, and commanded to warn people of the coming destruction. In this week’s pericope, the exile has occurred and Ezekiel’s work is now to give his listeners the hope of restoration – “I will place you on your own soil” (verse 14).
Be sure to check out Job 10:8-9, 11 and Genesis 2:4-9 for intertextual connections.
Sink Your Teeth Into This
God’s promises have been impossible from the very start. There is the call of Abraham and Sarah, two impossibly old folks who were charged with giving birth to a nation as plentiful as the stars in the sky. The nation did grow up, but before too long it had been enslaved. When God liberated the people, they continually fell away – even when they had been given their own land, even when they had judges, kings, and prophets to try and keep them in line.
Ezekiel was faced with a situation in which a promise made thousands of years ago, a promise that seemed too good to be true, was turning out to be exactly that. The exile was one of the most traumatic events in Jewish history, and there’s a whole book of the Bible – Lamentations – dedicated to the words of despair and hopelessness God’s people felt at that time. The land was supposed to remind them of God’s promise; the king was supposed to remind them of God’s promise; the Temple was supposed to remind them of God’s promise. Now all those things were gone and the people were left despondent – utterly alone. We can hear their anguish in the words of Psalm 137.
Despite the 2,500 years that separate us from Ezekiel, I think each of us must have some idea how he felt, how his people felt. I suspect that there are things many of us treasure as reminders of God’s promise: a passage of scripture; words spoken by a dear friend at just the right moment; the memory of a particular star in the sky one night. They are meaningless to anyone else, but to us they are touchstones to which we cling when everything else falls away. Now imagine that you’ve lost even those, and I think you begin to grasp the magnitude of the exile.
So we return to that painful conversation between Ezekiel and God. Painful because Ezekiel knew. “Mortal, can these bones live?” And the prophet knew the answer; he knew it was impossible.
And yet, that’s precisely what happens in the vision that follows. In essence, God says, “You think it’s impossible for me to restore my people from exile? I’m going to show you that I could do something infinitely more impossible than that. Not only am I going to restore the bones and sinew and flesh, but I am going to return my breath to these bodies, and they are going to live again.
“I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.” God keeps promises, even though they have been impossible from the very start.
Biographical Information
Joshua T. Andrzejewski is a second-level student at Union-PSCE in Richmond within the Masters of Divinity and Christian Education programs. He grew up in Levittown, Pennsylvania – the birthplace of suburbia – and found his way to Richmond through Project Burning Bush. This summer, he will serve as a resident teacher for the program. Next year, he will be doing a year-in-ministry as a chaplain at a level-1 trauma center in Richmond. He can be reached at josh.andrzejewski@gmail.com.
Works Referenced
Kevin J. Madigan & Jon D. Levenson, Resurrection: The Power of God for Christians and Jews (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 146-155.
David L. Petersen, The Prophetic Literature (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 137-168.
Read more!
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The Hebrew word ruah (spirit, breath) appears eight times in the first ten verses of the pericope, and once in its conclusion. The NRSV translation fails to make evident the connection between God’s “spirit” and the animating “breath” that gives life to the bodies in verse 10. The spirit of God is a unifying force that leads to life.
The verb hayah (to live) occurs six times in the pericope, usually appearing alongside ruah. The counterpoint to hayah in this pericope is ’etsem (bones), a word that occurs ten times and symbolizes the state of Israel: hopeless, cut off, dead.
Food for Thought
Ezekiel’s report of the valley of dry bones comes up often in discussions of resurrection imagery in the Old Testament; however, this vision has more to do with restoration than resurrection. Kevin Madigan and Jon Levenson put it this way: “The question it answers is not the familiar, self-interested one, ‘Will I have life after death?’ but rather a more profound and encompassing one, ‘Will God honor [the] promises to [the] people?’” (155). Madigan and Levenson’s book is an accessible introduction to the afterlife concept as it develops from the prophets to the time of Jesus.
Ezekiel began his prophetic work around 591 BCE, was taken into exile in Babylon in 597 BCE, lived through the destruction of Jerusalem ten years later, and continued his work until at least 571 BCE (Petersen, 139). He was designated a sopeh, a sentinal, and commanded to warn people of the coming destruction. In this week’s pericope, the exile has occurred and Ezekiel’s work is now to give his listeners the hope of restoration – “I will place you on your own soil” (verse 14).
Be sure to check out Job 10:8-9, 11 and Genesis 2:4-9 for intertextual connections.
Sink Your Teeth Into This
God’s promises have been impossible from the very start. There is the call of Abraham and Sarah, two impossibly old folks who were charged with giving birth to a nation as plentiful as the stars in the sky. The nation did grow up, but before too long it had been enslaved. When God liberated the people, they continually fell away – even when they had been given their own land, even when they had judges, kings, and prophets to try and keep them in line.
Ezekiel was faced with a situation in which a promise made thousands of years ago, a promise that seemed too good to be true, was turning out to be exactly that. The exile was one of the most traumatic events in Jewish history, and there’s a whole book of the Bible – Lamentations – dedicated to the words of despair and hopelessness God’s people felt at that time. The land was supposed to remind them of God’s promise; the king was supposed to remind them of God’s promise; the Temple was supposed to remind them of God’s promise. Now all those things were gone and the people were left despondent – utterly alone. We can hear their anguish in the words of Psalm 137.
Despite the 2,500 years that separate us from Ezekiel, I think each of us must have some idea how he felt, how his people felt. I suspect that there are things many of us treasure as reminders of God’s promise: a passage of scripture; words spoken by a dear friend at just the right moment; the memory of a particular star in the sky one night. They are meaningless to anyone else, but to us they are touchstones to which we cling when everything else falls away. Now imagine that you’ve lost even those, and I think you begin to grasp the magnitude of the exile.
So we return to that painful conversation between Ezekiel and God. Painful because Ezekiel knew. “Mortal, can these bones live?” And the prophet knew the answer; he knew it was impossible.
And yet, that’s precisely what happens in the vision that follows. In essence, God says, “You think it’s impossible for me to restore my people from exile? I’m going to show you that I could do something infinitely more impossible than that. Not only am I going to restore the bones and sinew and flesh, but I am going to return my breath to these bodies, and they are going to live again.
“I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.” God keeps promises, even though they have been impossible from the very start.
Biographical Information
Joshua T. Andrzejewski is a second-level student at Union-PSCE in Richmond within the Masters of Divinity and Christian Education programs. He grew up in Levittown, Pennsylvania – the birthplace of suburbia – and found his way to Richmond through Project Burning Bush. This summer, he will serve as a resident teacher for the program. Next year, he will be doing a year-in-ministry as a chaplain at a level-1 trauma center in Richmond. He can be reached at josh.andrzejewski@gmail.com.
Works Referenced
Kevin J. Madigan & Jon D. Levenson, Resurrection: The Power of God for Christians and Jews (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 146-155.
David L. Petersen, The Prophetic Literature (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 137-168.
Read more!
May 24, 2009 - Psalm 1 - J.P. Kang
Gleanings From the Text
Psalm 1
Psalm 1 (along with Psalm 2 in some early collections) invites and welcomes the reader and hearer, not only to the Psalter proper, but beyond to a comprehensive vision of life. As such, special consideration may be paid to its anticipatory function and paradigmatic significance.
The somewhat irregular literary structure of Psalm 1 may be summarized by this pair of telescoping statements: “Happy the one . . . whose way is known by the LORD,” and perhaps parenthetically, “Not so the wicked . . . whose way will perish.” (vv. 1, 4, 6). This “didactic poetry” (so Krauss, p. 114) thus presents two ways and their corresponding destinies (see Mays, Psalms, pp. 43–44), thereby exhorting readers and hearers to choose the abundant life (a theme to which the Johannine lections for this Sunday also relate).
Food for Thought
v. 1: The opening word, Heb. ʾašrê (Gk. makarios), is translated as “happy” (e.g., NRSV and JPS) or “blessed” (e.g., KJV and NIV). How does the choice affect the understanding of the identity or character of “the righteous”?
v. 2: “the law” (JPS: “the teaching”) is “the Torah of YHWH” (Gk. nomos kuriou). What is Torah and what is the Christian’s relationship to it? For the semantic range of tôrâ (and much more!), see S. Dean McBride, Jr., “Perspective and Context in the Study of Pentateuchal Legislation” [read at Google Books].
Are life’s possibilities really as starkly opposed as the psalmist concludes? If the profile of the “righteous” strikes one as idealistic and/or hypocritical, it might be instructive to consider the exhortations to perpetual joy, prayer, and thanksgiving in 1 Thess 5:16–18. Many of us may even find it easier to identify, for various reasons, with the “wicked”! How, then, can we preach Psalm 1 without simply moralizing?
Sink Your Teeth into This!
Mays comments that “Psalm 1 teaches that life is a journey through time; living chooses a particular route of existence” (Psalms, p. 43; emphasis mine). Heschel observed that “The Bible is more concerned with time than space” (The Sabbath, pp. 6–7) and that our goal is to “become attuned to holiness in time” (p. 10).
The vital and temporal rhythms of sowing and reaping give root to the Psalm’s contrast of fecundity (“fruit in its season,” v. 3) and barrenness (“chaff that the wind drives away,” v. 4). If the sacred journey is yet one of perpetual struggle with the two ways, then it should come as no surprise that we should experience disproportionate yields in various seasons.
By God’s grace may we all hear this word, accept it, and bear fruit!
For further reading and reflection
John Calvin, Commentary on The Book of Psalms [read at CCEL].
Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man (Farrar, Straus and Young, 1951).
Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 1–59: A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988), 112–22.
James L. Mays, Psalms (Interpretation; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994), 40–43.
James L. Mays, Preaching and Teaching the Psalms (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 161–63.
Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs: NavPress Publishing Group, 2002). [read at BibleGateway]
S. Dean McBride, Jr., “Perspective and Context in the Study of Pentateuchal Legislation,” pp. 47–60 in Old Testament Interpretation: Past, Present, and Future (edited by James L. Mays, David L. Petersen, Kent Harold Richards; Nashville: Abingdon, 1995). [read at Google Books].
Biographical Information
J. P. Kang is a recent graduate of Union–PSCE (Ph.D., Bible, 2007), and currently calls Seattle home. He was born in Wheeling, WV, to Presbyterian minister Edwin Kang (UTS B.D., 1966) and Mae Kang, and grew up as a missionary kid in Zaïre and Japan. He can be reached at jpkang@alum.mit.edu and via his blog at http://mymachero.com/.
Read more!
Psalm 1
Psalm 1 (along with Psalm 2 in some early collections) invites and welcomes the reader and hearer, not only to the Psalter proper, but beyond to a comprehensive vision of life. As such, special consideration may be paid to its anticipatory function and paradigmatic significance.
The somewhat irregular literary structure of Psalm 1 may be summarized by this pair of telescoping statements: “Happy the one . . . whose way is known by the LORD,” and perhaps parenthetically, “Not so the wicked . . . whose way will perish.” (vv. 1, 4, 6). This “didactic poetry” (so Krauss, p. 114) thus presents two ways and their corresponding destinies (see Mays, Psalms, pp. 43–44), thereby exhorting readers and hearers to choose the abundant life (a theme to which the Johannine lections for this Sunday also relate).
Food for Thought
v. 1: The opening word, Heb. ʾašrê (Gk. makarios), is translated as “happy” (e.g., NRSV and JPS) or “blessed” (e.g., KJV and NIV). How does the choice affect the understanding of the identity or character of “the righteous”?
v. 2: “the law” (JPS: “the teaching”) is “the Torah of YHWH” (Gk. nomos kuriou). What is Torah and what is the Christian’s relationship to it? For the semantic range of tôrâ (and much more!), see S. Dean McBride, Jr., “Perspective and Context in the Study of Pentateuchal Legislation” [read at Google Books].
Are life’s possibilities really as starkly opposed as the psalmist concludes? If the profile of the “righteous” strikes one as idealistic and/or hypocritical, it might be instructive to consider the exhortations to perpetual joy, prayer, and thanksgiving in 1 Thess 5:16–18. Many of us may even find it easier to identify, for various reasons, with the “wicked”! How, then, can we preach Psalm 1 without simply moralizing?
Sink Your Teeth into This!
Mays comments that “Psalm 1 teaches that life is a journey through time; living chooses a particular route of existence” (Psalms, p. 43; emphasis mine). Heschel observed that “The Bible is more concerned with time than space” (The Sabbath, pp. 6–7) and that our goal is to “become attuned to holiness in time” (p. 10).
The vital and temporal rhythms of sowing and reaping give root to the Psalm’s contrast of fecundity (“fruit in its season,” v. 3) and barrenness (“chaff that the wind drives away,” v. 4). If the sacred journey is yet one of perpetual struggle with the two ways, then it should come as no surprise that we should experience disproportionate yields in various seasons.
By God’s grace may we all hear this word, accept it, and bear fruit!
For further reading and reflection
John Calvin, Commentary on The Book of Psalms [read at CCEL].
Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man (Farrar, Straus and Young, 1951).
Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 1–59: A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988), 112–22.
James L. Mays, Psalms (Interpretation; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994), 40–43.
James L. Mays, Preaching and Teaching the Psalms (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 161–63.
Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs: NavPress Publishing Group, 2002). [read at BibleGateway]
S. Dean McBride, Jr., “Perspective and Context in the Study of Pentateuchal Legislation,” pp. 47–60 in Old Testament Interpretation: Past, Present, and Future (edited by James L. Mays, David L. Petersen, Kent Harold Richards; Nashville: Abingdon, 1995). [read at Google Books].
Biographical Information
J. P. Kang is a recent graduate of Union–PSCE (Ph.D., Bible, 2007), and currently calls Seattle home. He was born in Wheeling, WV, to Presbyterian minister Edwin Kang (UTS B.D., 1966) and Mae Kang, and grew up as a missionary kid in Zaïre and Japan. He can be reached at jpkang@alum.mit.edu and via his blog at http://mymachero.com/.
Read more!
May 17, 2009 - John 15:9-17 - Barry Chance
Gleanings from the Text
John 15:9-17
This text is part of Jesus’ farewell discourse in John. This discourse focuses mainly on preparing the disciples for life and ministry post-Easter and thus the topics include the coming of the Holy Spirit, persecution, and the nature of the continuing community of faith. This particular pericope is the second half of a section that began at 15:1 and focuses on the image of the vine as a symbol of the interconnectedness of Jesus and his disciples.
A few words of particular interest in the Greek:
Agape – One of three Greek words for love, John favors this word when speaking about a self-giving love as best illustrated by the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.
Philos – Most often translated “friend” it is more literally “loved one.”
In this pericope, Jesus effectively says “I love (agape) you, so I call you loved ones (philos).” The theological implication is that the identity of the disciples is tied up in the fact that they are loved—they are Friends of Jesus—Friends of God.
Food for Thought
What does it mean to be a Friend of God? When Jesus says “Love one another as I have loved you” he gives us a clue as to where we might begin to reorder our relationships with God and one another.
1. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” To be a friend is to give generously of yourself to your friends.
2. “I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” Friends do not hold back from one another; rather, the basis of friendship is trust and openness.
3. “I appointed you to go and bear fruit.” Friends take each other seriously; they recognize the gifts and purposes of the other and seek to help the other live a meaningful life.
Some might hear the commandment to love and wonder if it is still love if it is commanded. There is no good way to resolve that; however, I wonder how it might change the debate if we think of love as an action instead of a sentiment. If love is more about what I do to my neighbor than what I feel about my neighbor, does that change the dynamic? Perhaps sometimes we need to practice being loving until we learn how to love.
Sink Your Teeth Into This:
“You’re my friend ain’t you mamma? I mean daddy. I mean, Mr. Barry?” I hear those words at least once a week. Sometimes it is while I am shaking hands as people file out of the sanctuary, but usually it is at Bible study on Wednesday night. My answer is always “Yes, Mae,* and you’re my friend.”
Mae is one of the students in my congregation’s Friendship Bible Study, a weekly study for adults with intellectual disabilities. The class is called Friendship because the curriculum we use comes from Friendship Ministries, but I can think of no better name because it reminds me and all of the other mentors that our role is to be a friend.
Friendship has not always come easily to all of my friends. Some of them have been mocked, excluded, and abused because they are different. Some have difficulty expressing themselves and people aren’t patient with them as they try. Some are just hard to befriend. Still, they are my friends and Jesus teaches us what that means.
Friends give generously, trust and are open with each other, and help each other live meaningful lives. Friends tell the legislature when the laws aren’t working, say enough when someone is overmedicated, log many miles in the car getting people to church, share the details of their lives, let others pray for them, and help each other discover and use the gifts that God has given them.
* I have changed the name to protect my friend’s privacy.
For Further Reading & Reflection
Nouwen, Henri J. M. Adam, God’s Beloved. (Orbis Books: Maryknoll, NY, 2004)
Hauerwas, Stanley and Jean Vanier. Living Gently in a Violent World. (IVP Books: Downers Grove, IL, 2008)
www.friendship.org
Biographical Information
Barry Chance (M.Div., ’05) lives in Shreveport, LA, with his wife Katie. He is the pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church where he teaches a weekly Bible study for adults with intellectual disabilities. He also serves on the board of two ministries that serve the needs of people with intellectual disabilities - Evergreen Presbyterian Ministries and Friendship Ministries - and would love to speak with anyone looking for ways to include people with disabilities into the full life of the church. Read more!
John 15:9-17
This text is part of Jesus’ farewell discourse in John. This discourse focuses mainly on preparing the disciples for life and ministry post-Easter and thus the topics include the coming of the Holy Spirit, persecution, and the nature of the continuing community of faith. This particular pericope is the second half of a section that began at 15:1 and focuses on the image of the vine as a symbol of the interconnectedness of Jesus and his disciples.
A few words of particular interest in the Greek:
Agape – One of three Greek words for love, John favors this word when speaking about a self-giving love as best illustrated by the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.
Philos – Most often translated “friend” it is more literally “loved one.”
In this pericope, Jesus effectively says “I love (agape) you, so I call you loved ones (philos).” The theological implication is that the identity of the disciples is tied up in the fact that they are loved—they are Friends of Jesus—Friends of God.
Food for Thought
What does it mean to be a Friend of God? When Jesus says “Love one another as I have loved you” he gives us a clue as to where we might begin to reorder our relationships with God and one another.
1. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” To be a friend is to give generously of yourself to your friends.
2. “I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” Friends do not hold back from one another; rather, the basis of friendship is trust and openness.
3. “I appointed you to go and bear fruit.” Friends take each other seriously; they recognize the gifts and purposes of the other and seek to help the other live a meaningful life.
Some might hear the commandment to love and wonder if it is still love if it is commanded. There is no good way to resolve that; however, I wonder how it might change the debate if we think of love as an action instead of a sentiment. If love is more about what I do to my neighbor than what I feel about my neighbor, does that change the dynamic? Perhaps sometimes we need to practice being loving until we learn how to love.
Sink Your Teeth Into This:
“You’re my friend ain’t you mamma? I mean daddy. I mean, Mr. Barry?” I hear those words at least once a week. Sometimes it is while I am shaking hands as people file out of the sanctuary, but usually it is at Bible study on Wednesday night. My answer is always “Yes, Mae,* and you’re my friend.”
Mae is one of the students in my congregation’s Friendship Bible Study, a weekly study for adults with intellectual disabilities. The class is called Friendship because the curriculum we use comes from Friendship Ministries, but I can think of no better name because it reminds me and all of the other mentors that our role is to be a friend.
Friendship has not always come easily to all of my friends. Some of them have been mocked, excluded, and abused because they are different. Some have difficulty expressing themselves and people aren’t patient with them as they try. Some are just hard to befriend. Still, they are my friends and Jesus teaches us what that means.
Friends give generously, trust and are open with each other, and help each other live meaningful lives. Friends tell the legislature when the laws aren’t working, say enough when someone is overmedicated, log many miles in the car getting people to church, share the details of their lives, let others pray for them, and help each other discover and use the gifts that God has given them.
* I have changed the name to protect my friend’s privacy.
For Further Reading & Reflection
Nouwen, Henri J. M. Adam, God’s Beloved. (Orbis Books: Maryknoll, NY, 2004)
Hauerwas, Stanley and Jean Vanier. Living Gently in a Violent World. (IVP Books: Downers Grove, IL, 2008)
www.friendship.org
Biographical Information
Barry Chance (M.Div., ’05) lives in Shreveport, LA, with his wife Katie. He is the pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church where he teaches a weekly Bible study for adults with intellectual disabilities. He also serves on the board of two ministries that serve the needs of people with intellectual disabilities - Evergreen Presbyterian Ministries and Friendship Ministries - and would love to speak with anyone looking for ways to include people with disabilities into the full life of the church. Read more!
May 10, 2009 - 1 John 4:7-21 - Carol Clarke
Gleanings from the Text
1 John 4:7-21
By now, the Easter lilies have withered along with the enthusiasm of some for preaching more of “John,” either Gospel or epistles. In addition to the recurrent Johannine themes, however, this pericope offers an eloquent and theologically rich treatment of divine love.
Biblical scholar Raymond Brown attributed these writings to the “community of the Beloved Disciple.” The Johannine community experienced conflict and some left, but the perspective of the writer(s) is less that of an outsider telling them how they got it wrong than an insider imploring them to get it right. Here the prophetic word is spoken as reasoned exhortation (first person plural and third person references).
Words worth noting --
Love -- agape love; some form of which (noun, verb, or vocative of address) appears 27 times in 15 verses.
God is love (verses 8 and 16). We teach our children these words almost as soon as they can talk. Not only by implication and example, but by divine essence, God is love. John Wesley commented: “[God] is said to be love; intimating that this is his darling, his reigning attribute, the attribute that sheds an amiable glory on all his other perfections.”
Love perfected -- It has realized its full potential; its purpose is fulfilled and so it is mature, full-grown.
Boldness -- Not bodacious audacity but confidence which stands in awe of what God has done for us in Christ. We can live without fear of judgment because Christ is our “atoning sacrifice” (NRSV).
Abiding -- When we love, we are living at home (abiding) in God, because God (Father, Son, and Spirit) is the source and substance of divine love and our love for one another.
Food for Thought
A song we love to sing from the 60’s is “If I Had a Hammer” by Hays and Seeger. The first stanza contains the line: “I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land.” Relationships sometimes have to be hammered out before we can sing and celebrate them.
How far do we have to go to hate someone? Does personal preference or intolerance count? Is indifference toward others equivalent to hatred?
About the Johannine community conflict -- Did the very strength of the arguments made within the community contribute to its undoing? Did these people seem a little too sure of themselves for others? Were there significant socioeconomic differences (see 3:23)? Was the conflict really theological? (We humanoids are good at putting a theological face on interpersonal conflicts or outright prejudice.) Are our “brothers and sisters” only believers who believe as we do?
What can we learn from this passage about mentoring or counseling in times of conflict?
Sink Your Teeth into This
God has given us a tremendous gift in one another. As we love those we can see, we learn to love God whom we can’t see.
The first faces that many of us can remember seeing are those of our mothers and fathers. The flawed humanity that we are and that they were is somehow used by God to teach us to love. Now that’s miraculous!
One of my earliest memories is playing too close to an embankment, dancing and swinging my doll in the air. Somehow she flew out of my hands and fell 20 feet to the creek bank below. My mom rescued me and my doll. Now that I think on it, today would be a good day to say thanks to her and to God for love.
References
Raymond Brown. The Community of the Beloved Disciple (Paulist Press, 1979).
Judith Lieu. I, II, and III John: A Commentary (Westminster John Knox, 2008).
John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/)
1 John 4:7-21
By now, the Easter lilies have withered along with the enthusiasm of some for preaching more of “John,” either Gospel or epistles. In addition to the recurrent Johannine themes, however, this pericope offers an eloquent and theologically rich treatment of divine love.
Biblical scholar Raymond Brown attributed these writings to the “community of the Beloved Disciple.” The Johannine community experienced conflict and some left, but the perspective of the writer(s) is less that of an outsider telling them how they got it wrong than an insider imploring them to get it right. Here the prophetic word is spoken as reasoned exhortation (first person plural and third person references).
Words worth noting --
Love -- agape love; some form of which (noun, verb, or vocative of address) appears 27 times in 15 verses.
God is love (verses 8 and 16). We teach our children these words almost as soon as they can talk. Not only by implication and example, but by divine essence, God is love. John Wesley commented: “[God] is said to be love; intimating that this is his darling, his reigning attribute, the attribute that sheds an amiable glory on all his other perfections.”
Love perfected -- It has realized its full potential; its purpose is fulfilled and so it is mature, full-grown.
Boldness -- Not bodacious audacity but confidence which stands in awe of what God has done for us in Christ. We can live without fear of judgment because Christ is our “atoning sacrifice” (NRSV).
Abiding -- When we love, we are living at home (abiding) in God, because God (Father, Son, and Spirit) is the source and substance of divine love and our love for one another.
Food for Thought
A song we love to sing from the 60’s is “If I Had a Hammer” by Hays and Seeger. The first stanza contains the line: “I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land.” Relationships sometimes have to be hammered out before we can sing and celebrate them.
How far do we have to go to hate someone? Does personal preference or intolerance count? Is indifference toward others equivalent to hatred?
About the Johannine community conflict -- Did the very strength of the arguments made within the community contribute to its undoing? Did these people seem a little too sure of themselves for others? Were there significant socioeconomic differences (see 3:23)? Was the conflict really theological? (We humanoids are good at putting a theological face on interpersonal conflicts or outright prejudice.) Are our “brothers and sisters” only believers who believe as we do?
What can we learn from this passage about mentoring or counseling in times of conflict?
Sink Your Teeth into This
God has given us a tremendous gift in one another. As we love those we can see, we learn to love God whom we can’t see.
The first faces that many of us can remember seeing are those of our mothers and fathers. The flawed humanity that we are and that they were is somehow used by God to teach us to love. Now that’s miraculous!
One of my earliest memories is playing too close to an embankment, dancing and swinging my doll in the air. Somehow she flew out of my hands and fell 20 feet to the creek bank below. My mom rescued me and my doll. Now that I think on it, today would be a good day to say thanks to her and to God for love.
References
Raymond Brown. The Community of the Beloved Disciple (Paulist Press, 1979).
Judith Lieu. I, II, and III John: A Commentary (Westminster John Knox, 2008).
John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/)
Biographical Information
Carol Clarke (MDiv. 1999, ThM. 2001) who has worked in the Louisville Presbyterian Center and pastored in Virginia and Pennsylvania, has just moved to Marble Falls, Texas.
May 3, 2009 - All Texts - Various Contributors
A Special Invitation!
Today we invite you to participate in blogging about the lectionary passages assigned for May 3, 2009. Give us a brief though, anecdote, or insight that occurs to you as you sink your teeth into the texts. We want to create the opportunity for genuine online interaction, so get typing!
Lectionary Texts for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23:1-6
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
Today we invite you to participate in blogging about the lectionary passages assigned for May 3, 2009. Give us a brief though, anecdote, or insight that occurs to you as you sink your teeth into the texts. We want to create the opportunity for genuine online interaction, so get typing!
Lectionary Texts for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23:1-6
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
Feel free to answer any or all of the following questions in the comments section below:
- What is your first response to the pericopes for this week?
- What do you find most challenging in these texts?
- What is one thing you would choose to say about these passages?
- Do you have a particular insight to share?
- Do any of these passages bring a memory to mind?
- How have these texts impacted your life?
- What should a congregation come away knowing after having heard a sermon based on one of these passages?
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