This passage occurs in the RCL during year C, most recently June 2016.
This passage also occurs in the Narrative Lectionary, Year 3, most recently Feb. 2017.
Summary: A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. story. It is a beautiful story of what forgiveness looks and feels like.
It is profound that this passage is paired with the Galatians 2:15-21 reading. In that passage we hear about what the process of justification (forgiveness) and sanctification (Christian living) look like in propositional truth form. In this passage, we see what it looks like in narrative form. I love the Paul passage, but the Luke one may be easier to preach on. What does justification look like: The world's opinion of you has not changed, but you can worship the crucified savior. What does sanctification look like: The world's opinion of you has not changed, but you can go in peace. As either Paul or Luke portray it, sin does not go away, either inside or outside, but Christ's love, given to us in faith, gives peace and joy.
Key words:
ηλειφεν (from αλειφω, aleipho, meaning "anoint", 7:38) This word is interesting because of where it appears in the Old Testament (or the Old Testament translated into Greek, the Septuagint). Priests were anointed (Exodus 40:13; Numbers 3:3); those in grief mourn (2 Samuel 12:20; 14:2). Either of these offer great ways to think about Jesus: He is being anointed priest by a grand sinner; or the woman is in mourning over his death. I vote for the later because she uses μυρον (7:37) or myrrh, which is used for the burial of the dead.
Note: Although this word means anointed, it is not the same word as anoint like a king. That word in Greek is "Christ"!
αγαπη (agape, meaning "love", 7:42) The proper/necessary/automatic response to forgiveness is love. Duh. But...why is this not always the case for us when we experience forgiveness? Perhaps we do not believe we have sinned; perhaps we do not know what love is. The story suggests that the Pharisee, being unaware of his sins, did not appreciate his forgiveness and therefore did not love (or know how to love?). If this is the case, then good preaching should make us feel really bad (right!?) in order to make us realize how much Jesus loves us. I think this is somewhat true, but I wonder what else there might be.
Another take: the new creation loves and rejoices in forgiveness. But this is often hidden from us. We don't feel forgiveness and we don't feel love when we are in church and experience church. God preaching reminds us that even when we don't "feel" it, God is still present, forgiving us and renewing us, even amid death and sin, that are always present realities.
To put it another way -- how do I know I am forgiven? We have permission to worship the cruficified savior.
εχαρισατο (from χαριζομαι, charizomai, meaning "forgive" or "grace", 7:42) It is important, at least to me, to acknowledge that humans do not forgive each other. We can be gracious to each other and cancel debts, but forgiveness of sin belongs to God. This is why there is such consternation that Jesus actually forgives (αφιημι). Outside of commissioned priests, finding examples of humans forgiving each other is truly rare in Scripture, if arguably at all. We are called to be gracious to one another and forgive (if not bear) one another's burdens. But when it comes to a final reckoning, this belongs to God, and not my neighbor.
σεσωκεν (from σωζω, sozo, meaning "save", 7:50) Beautiful use of perfect tense in Greek. The faith saved her in the past but creates a future state of being saved.
ειρηνην (Irene (extra "n" is because its accusative case), meaning "peace" 7:50) This is a stark look at the peace of Christ. The community looks down on her, yet she has peace. Peace in Christ does not mean the external reality has changed. It means inside we know who Jesus is and that Jesus loves us.
αυτιας ("of theirs", 8:3) This feminine plural dative...means this: women were funding Jesus ministry. They were also commissioned.
Showing posts with label Luke 7. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Luke 7. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
Luke 7:11-17
This passage occurs in the RCL, Year 3, most recently June 5, 2016.
Summary: Luke paints a vivid picture of a funeral here. I have two points I'd like to emphasize. First, that human grief over death is real. In our culture we expect people to move on so quickly. I think the church, even the church of the resurrection, should be a place where we have compassion on people as they grieve. Secondly, Jesus raises this child up. We often refer to Jesus "three fold messianic" prediction where he speaks of his death on the cross and resurrection. In Luke 7, 8 and 9 he raises up three only begotten children, perhaps also a place of foreshadowing his great work of resurrection.
Key Words:
First, a note. Luke paints a vivid picture of a funeral here in a just a few sentences.
Words related to death:
τεθνηκως 12: Particle form of "to die"
εκκομιζω 12: To carry out, often referring to act of carrying body for burial
σορος 14: coffin, bier
νεκρος 15: corpse (death in general)
κλαιε ("wail", 7:13) Some translations put this as weep. While it can mean weep, it signifies an intensity much more like "wail" than "weep." Like when Hagar is alone in the wilderness; or Joseph sees his brother; or when Mary is searching for the risen Christ.
χηρα ("widow"; 7:13) In this culture, a widow was not simply a marital status, but also a financial one. A widow would have lacked resources, likely. Her son was her social security. This detail can open up the door for a nice contrast between the story of the widow at Nain and the Centurion at Capernuam.
μονογενη ("only begotten", 7:13) Jesus heals three "only begotten" children in Luke 7, 8 and 9. While Jesus himself is never referred to as the only-begotten son in Luke, this three fold healing suggests foreshadowing for Jesus resurrection.
προφητης ("prophet", 7:16) The word prophet appears 24 times in Luke, often from Jesus' lips. Most often Jesus refers to prophets in two ways: Those who were killed or those who spoke of his (eventual) coming. To put it another way, people often associate being a prophet with the capacity to speak about the future (Harry Potter) or the audacity to speak about social justice. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus depicts the prophets as people who spoke of him and got killed for doing so.
For example:
Luke 13:34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! Luke 18:31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
But more to the point, look at how Jesus describes the work of prophets on the road to Emmaus:
Luke 24:25 Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!
Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you -- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled."
As a side note: Jesus does declare himself greater than a prophet (Luke 7:26 says that John was greater than a prophet; Luke 16:16 that the Good News, not the Law and Prophets, is proclaimed through him).
εσπλαγχνισθη ("compassion", from σπλαγχνιζομαι, 7:13) I've frequently mentioned this before but this verb comes from the noun for intestines. In his gut Jesus felt sorry for the woman.
Grammar point:
μη + present verb (as in "weep" in 7.13) means "no longer do such and such," implying the action was going on before this.
Summary: Luke paints a vivid picture of a funeral here. I have two points I'd like to emphasize. First, that human grief over death is real. In our culture we expect people to move on so quickly. I think the church, even the church of the resurrection, should be a place where we have compassion on people as they grieve. Secondly, Jesus raises this child up. We often refer to Jesus "three fold messianic" prediction where he speaks of his death on the cross and resurrection. In Luke 7, 8 and 9 he raises up three only begotten children, perhaps also a place of foreshadowing his great work of resurrection.
Key Words:
First, a note. Luke paints a vivid picture of a funeral here in a just a few sentences.
Words related to death:
τεθνηκως 12: Particle form of "to die"
εκκομιζω 12: To carry out, often referring to act of carrying body for burial
σορος 14: coffin, bier
νεκρος 15: corpse (death in general)
κλαιε ("wail", 7:13) Some translations put this as weep. While it can mean weep, it signifies an intensity much more like "wail" than "weep." Like when Hagar is alone in the wilderness; or Joseph sees his brother; or when Mary is searching for the risen Christ.
χηρα ("widow"; 7:13) In this culture, a widow was not simply a marital status, but also a financial one. A widow would have lacked resources, likely. Her son was her social security. This detail can open up the door for a nice contrast between the story of the widow at Nain and the Centurion at Capernuam.
μονογενη ("only begotten", 7:13) Jesus heals three "only begotten" children in Luke 7, 8 and 9. While Jesus himself is never referred to as the only-begotten son in Luke, this three fold healing suggests foreshadowing for Jesus resurrection.
προφητης ("prophet", 7:16) The word prophet appears 24 times in Luke, often from Jesus' lips. Most often Jesus refers to prophets in two ways: Those who were killed or those who spoke of his (eventual) coming. To put it another way, people often associate being a prophet with the capacity to speak about the future (Harry Potter) or the audacity to speak about social justice. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus depicts the prophets as people who spoke of him and got killed for doing so.
For example:
Luke 13:34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! Luke 18:31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
But more to the point, look at how Jesus describes the work of prophets on the road to Emmaus:
Luke 24:25 Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!
Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you -- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled."
As a side note: Jesus does declare himself greater than a prophet (Luke 7:26 says that John was greater than a prophet; Luke 16:16 that the Good News, not the Law and Prophets, is proclaimed through him).
εσπλαγχνισθη ("compassion", from σπλαγχνιζομαι, 7:13) I've frequently mentioned this before but this verb comes from the noun for intestines. In his gut Jesus felt sorry for the woman.
Grammar point:
μη + present verb (as in "weep" in 7.13) means "no longer do such and such," implying the action was going on before this.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Luke 7:1-10
This passage occurs in the RCL, Year C, most recently May 29, 2016
Summary: Like so many passages in Luke, there is layer of meaning regarding faith, healing and the Word of God; there is also another layer of complex social dynamics. Luke presents cultural rules and norms that are both being obeyed and broken. How to preach this?
One possibility is to ignore the social dynamics and focus on faith and healing (ie, preach as if you were preaching from Matthew's Gospel, in which the story is simpler!)
1) Jesus heals, even through the prayers of others;
2) Faith in Jesus changes everything; outsiders can have faith too.
Another way is to portray Jesus action over-and-against the social reality of his day. The world then and today is a messy, complex and broken place. The world is one of haves and have-nots; of powerful people with agendas (...in those days a decree went out from Emperor...) In spite of all of this, Jesus compassion and power triumph!
Key Words:
λαος ("people", 7:1). The word means "the people", as in the commoners. Luke pays careful attention to the λαος (36 references; Matthew 14; Mark 3 and John 2). This word sets up quite a contrast to Jesus interactions the rest of the pericope, where he is dealing with the leaders, religiously and politically. This reminds us that while Jesus cares for the commoners, he also cares about the leaders too. Compared to him, we are all chumps ;-)
δουλος ("servant" or "slave", 7:2) Because American history is defined by our freedom from England and then the freedom of slaves, we tend to value "freedom" greatly. Furthermore, we look with disgust on the entire concept of slavery. While I do not defend slavery, it is worth pointing out that within Greco-Roman culture slavery meant something different than American antebellum plantation-style slavery. At the very least, not all slaves were abused and many were considered part of the house. The centurion will even call the slave his "παις" or child; he considers the slave "εντιμος" or honored; so honored in fact, he seeks out Jesus' healing. This is a reminder that economic and social boundaries both then and today are often complex. More generally, the whole scene is one that really puts the preacher in a tough spot -- it is clearly a different world, one that we cannot imagine. An occupying army general asks the local Jewish healer for a favor regarding his boy-slave and then is found, bizarrely, to have more faith than anyone.
διασωζω ("save" or "heal"; 7:3) The root word here is σωζω, or save. It has dia- as a prefix. This prefix can intensify a verb, like adding the adverb "thoroughly." The point is that Jesus' salvation includes earthly healings.
αξιος ("worthy"; 7:4; appears later as a verb in 7:7) A reminder of the honor-shame dynamics in this culture (of which I know little). I do feel comfortable making two points though. First, it seems questionable whether Jesus should have been doing this healing for a non-Jew, especially a member of the opposing army. In fact, one must wonder about the relationship between the Centurion and Jewish leaders; could then even speak to each other directly? This is a difficult point for us to address or even consider as Americans. Second, Jesus power is overturning the cultural expectations of everyone.
πιστις ("faith"; 7:9) A reminder that faith is not a belief in a set of abstract principles, but trust in the divinity of Christ and the salvation he brings.
Two small notes on verb construction that point toward something deeper:
παρακαλεω ("encourage", 7:4). This verb is in the imperfect suggesting repeated action. It is unclear why they needed to repeat the request -- perhaps because they felt it important, or because Jesus didn't want to do it. But something about their continued urging moves Jesus.
μη σκυλλου ("no longer be troubled", 7:6) A reminder about the negative present imperative: μη + present imperative means "no longer" ie, you were doing this, but stop and continue to stop this. (Often used in the construction "No longer be afraid" when angels begin speaking to humans.)
Lastly, two words that come into English related to health
υγιαινω -- "hygiene" (the υ has a rough breathing mark)
ιαομαι -- "iatry" like "psychiatry"
Summary: Like so many passages in Luke, there is layer of meaning regarding faith, healing and the Word of God; there is also another layer of complex social dynamics. Luke presents cultural rules and norms that are both being obeyed and broken. How to preach this?
One possibility is to ignore the social dynamics and focus on faith and healing (ie, preach as if you were preaching from Matthew's Gospel, in which the story is simpler!)
1) Jesus heals, even through the prayers of others;
2) Faith in Jesus changes everything; outsiders can have faith too.
Another way is to portray Jesus action over-and-against the social reality of his day. The world then and today is a messy, complex and broken place. The world is one of haves and have-nots; of powerful people with agendas (...in those days a decree went out from Emperor...) In spite of all of this, Jesus compassion and power triumph!
Key Words:
λαος ("people", 7:1). The word means "the people", as in the commoners. Luke pays careful attention to the λαος (36 references; Matthew 14; Mark 3 and John 2). This word sets up quite a contrast to Jesus interactions the rest of the pericope, where he is dealing with the leaders, religiously and politically. This reminds us that while Jesus cares for the commoners, he also cares about the leaders too. Compared to him, we are all chumps ;-)
δουλος ("servant" or "slave", 7:2) Because American history is defined by our freedom from England and then the freedom of slaves, we tend to value "freedom" greatly. Furthermore, we look with disgust on the entire concept of slavery. While I do not defend slavery, it is worth pointing out that within Greco-Roman culture slavery meant something different than American antebellum plantation-style slavery. At the very least, not all slaves were abused and many were considered part of the house. The centurion will even call the slave his "παις" or child; he considers the slave "εντιμος" or honored; so honored in fact, he seeks out Jesus' healing. This is a reminder that economic and social boundaries both then and today are often complex. More generally, the whole scene is one that really puts the preacher in a tough spot -- it is clearly a different world, one that we cannot imagine. An occupying army general asks the local Jewish healer for a favor regarding his boy-slave and then is found, bizarrely, to have more faith than anyone.
διασωζω ("save" or "heal"; 7:3) The root word here is σωζω, or save. It has dia- as a prefix. This prefix can intensify a verb, like adding the adverb "thoroughly." The point is that Jesus' salvation includes earthly healings.
αξιος ("worthy"; 7:4; appears later as a verb in 7:7) A reminder of the honor-shame dynamics in this culture (of which I know little). I do feel comfortable making two points though. First, it seems questionable whether Jesus should have been doing this healing for a non-Jew, especially a member of the opposing army. In fact, one must wonder about the relationship between the Centurion and Jewish leaders; could then even speak to each other directly? This is a difficult point for us to address or even consider as Americans. Second, Jesus power is overturning the cultural expectations of everyone.
πιστις ("faith"; 7:9) A reminder that faith is not a belief in a set of abstract principles, but trust in the divinity of Christ and the salvation he brings.
Two small notes on verb construction that point toward something deeper:
παρακαλεω ("encourage", 7:4). This verb is in the imperfect suggesting repeated action. It is unclear why they needed to repeat the request -- perhaps because they felt it important, or because Jesus didn't want to do it. But something about their continued urging moves Jesus.
μη σκυλλου ("no longer be troubled", 7:6) A reminder about the negative present imperative: μη + present imperative means "no longer" ie, you were doing this, but stop and continue to stop this. (Often used in the construction "No longer be afraid" when angels begin speaking to humans.)
Lastly, two words that come into English related to health
υγιαινω -- "hygiene" (the υ has a rough breathing mark)
ιαομαι -- "iatry" like "psychiatry"
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