Mark 12:13-17

This passage is found in the Narrative Lectionary Year 2 (Most recently: Feb 28, 2016)

Summary:  The basic sermon point is this:  Everything belongs to God; taxes are for good or for bad, to be paid.  I'd like to dwell a bit more on two other terms:  image and inscription.  These words unpack the tension of old and new creation.

Two Words:
εικων (icon/image):  Humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26/27; even after the fall, humans are still in the image of God (Gen 9:6)).  After these passages in Genesis, the idea of humanity in the image of God recedes into the background of the Old Testament.  Most of the time, when there are divine images, they are graven images of other gods.

Two possible directions for a sermon:
- The image of Caesar is of a human.  Any human is in the image of God, and therefore it is an image of God.  Therefore the coin belongs to God, not just to Caesar.  We live in a world that is God's, but somehow also of kings and emperors.  Sometimes the image of God seems in the background against the world's chaos and injustice!
- The image of Caesar is a graven image of another god.  Jesus is calling them out because even though they don't use these coins inside the temple, they still live in the world of Caesar coins.  In fact, they carry with them an image of a false god (in fact, they were caught red handed with this image in their pocket!)

The New Testament makes scare reference to the idea of image of God, but when it does, it normally refers to Christ as the image of God:
- Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.
- 1 Corinthians 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;

There is the thought that we will be transformed into this image (Romans 8:29) and also
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
- Colossians 3:10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.

In fact, there is only one reference to image of God outside of the Gospel, Christ and the transformational power of the Holy Spirit:
1 Corinthians 11:7 For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man.

Even with this passage, the overall New Testament emphasis on "image of God" is to the new creation's image of Christ, rather than the old creation's image.

This then is rather interesting:  Is Caesar in the image of Christ?  It pushes harder on what we mean by image of God; how creation and restoration relate to the image of God.

επιγραφη (inscription):  This word comes into the Gospel's one other time:  the inscription on the cross when Jesus has an "epigraph" or "inscription" King of the Jews.  Does Caesar or Jesus deserve that title?  (Clearly Jesus). 

I am not sure if its great for a sermon, but this passage and the other passages these key words allude to suggest a real tension between the old and new creation as well as the "now and not yet" of Jesus' power in the world.

A reminder of translation difficulties:
The Pharisees try to "butter" Jesus up with praise.  Their praise though is really tough to translate.  Verse 14 literally reads:
And going they said to him, "Teacher we know that you are true/genuine and it is not a concern to you about anyone; for you do not look in to the face of people, but teach upon the truth the way of God."
They are trying to get across the point that Jesus is not superficial and does not try to please people with his teachings.  This would be a very odd way to say it in modern English!  In this case the literal translation almost certainly fails.  One must message the translation to something like:
"Teacher, we know that you are a genuine person, who truly teaches the way of God, not concerned for what people might think of you or what their status is..."  Or something like that.

Mark 8:27-9:8

Here is a look at the Mark passage for Feb 7 Narrative Lectionary selection: 8:27-9:8

The brilliance of Mark is how he weaves stories together.  This is great gift but also challenge of preaching on Mark!
Mark 8:27-38: http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2012/09/mark-827-38-2012_11.html
Mark 9:2-10:  http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2012/02/mark-92-10.html

Mark 4:26-34

This passage is found in Narrative Lectionary, Epiphany Season, Year B (Most recently: January 17, 2016)

Here is my post for Mark 4:26-34
http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2012/06/mark-426-34.html

I suggest three possible directions for a sermon:
1)  Reflection on church growth and how a congregation can open themselves to this
2)  Reflection on daily dying and rising and what growth looks like in a Lutheran context
3)  Reflection on Christ as the mustard seed

Also, for those doing the parable of the sower, here is my commentary on Matthew's version of this parable; while not the exact same, perhaps some helpful insights into the passage:
http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2011/07/matthew-1318-23.html

Ezra 1:1-4; 3:1-4, 10-13

These passages are found in the Narrative Lectionary, Advent 3, Year 2. (Most recently Dec 13, 2015)

Summary:  Ezra is a complex story about the relationship between the church and state; between religious freedom and persecution; between civic religion and cult.  Given what is happening in our country, this seems like a profoundly relevant passage.  Challenge -- making it connection to Christmas and Advent?  I think one can find this in chapter 3:10-13 and the idea that the foundation has been laid, but the building is not yet there.  We praise God for the foundation, but wait for the fullness of the temple.
Key words: 

רוח ("rauch" meaning "spirit"; 1:1) The NIV translates this as "heart."  It is literally "spirit."  The imagery is that God awoke the spirit of Cyrus.  This is an interestingly reflection on how God interacts with the powerful in the world.  Oh, Lord, send again your spirit to awaken our leaders!

נדבה ("nedabah" meaning "freewill offering";1:4)  This can refer to a specific type of offering, see here for info on this.  What is significant is that the people would be under no royal edict to offer this worship.  It seems strange that, first, Cyrus would allow people to go home, second, that he would allow people to rebuild the temple, and then third, would not compel people to worship there.  (Later in 3:4, there will be mandatory offerings too, but this time imposed by the Jewish religious leaders, not the Persian king.)

כאיש אחד  (a preposition, a noun and an adjective meaning "as one man" translated "together"; 3:1)  The NRSV translates this as "together" but I don't think that this gives a the sense of unity here full justice!  Perhaps this is the unity we experience as we worship on Christmas Eve!

הוסד ("whosed" from a verb meaning "to establish or found";3:11)  What I want to point out here is that though foundation is laid, it will be years before the temple is built.  Numerous obstacles will occur including a seemingly friendly offer from Samaritans that turns into a total road block.  (This is a reminder that religious freedom and worship are not always easy!) 
Perhaps in this we can connect to Advent -- we give thanks to the Lord, like the ancient Jews, because the foundation of the new world of Jesus Christ has been laid, but we have not yet seen the full tabernacle.  Just the foundation is good enough though, for praise!

Josiah Reform: 2 Kings 22

This passage is found in the Narrative Lectionary for Advent 1, year 2 (Most recently Nov 29, 2015).

Note:  My hope is to make this passage helpful for Advent 1 preaching.
My approach to this passage for Advent 1 will be to talk about the gift that is Advent.  By gift I do not mean some sort of rigid battle against Christmas in our church or homes for four weeks.  Rather by gift I mean the reminder and invitation to focus on Christ these coming weeks.  How can our home and house be a dwelling place of God?  I think a sharper Advent message about repentance is possible; this year I will focus on the gift of Advent, home devotions and worship of Christ.

בית ("bet" meaning "house": 22:4,5,6):  The word of the temple here is the house of God. We often call our churches houses of worship, but house of God?  The description, in both its "everyday-ness" but also its "holiness" is a fertile juxtaposition.  How can our church be a house of God?  How can our own homes be a house of God?  Part of Advent  is the grand theme of preparing our life for the second coming of Christ.  Perhaps a more realistic assignment is preparing our homes for company.  A happy middle -- preparing our homes to celebrate the first coming of Christ?!

חלדה ("Huldah", 22:14)  Just a reminder we have a prophetess here.  This like 600 BC and we have women speaking the truth to power.

נתנ ("nathan" meaning "give"; 22:5,8,9, 10)  This word can be tricky to spot, in spite of the fact that it is one the most common Hebrew words in the Bible.  The word is tricky first because linguistically "n"s tend to disappear when prefixes or suffixes get attached.  (This is true in English and Latin - con-operation becomes cooperate, e.g.)  This word is also tricky to spot because it is often translated in different ways (to avoid repetition of the word 'give').

In this passage, נתנ can mean "entrust" as in vs 5 when Josiah orders the money given (entrusted) to the supervisors and eventually workers.  It can also mean "present" when the priest is presented with the book of the Law (vs 10).  I think this gets at a lot having to do with money:  it is a gift that it also something with which we are entrusted.  It also gets at the law:  It is a gift, a present to us.

קרב ("qareb" meaning "tear", 22:11)  This is a traditional sign of repentance, also cited in Joel 2:13.  If one wanted to focus on repentance during Advent, this would be a great place to start.

A little bonus:
גדר ("gadar" meaning "build esp a wall" vs 22:6)  Used here to make a noun, in the form of the
"the one who..."  we have the word "the one who builds of a wall" or "mason."  This then is awesome in that the money is given over to the masons who help recover lost wisdom in the bowels of the temple.


A leadership bonus I:
When people have both skills and are entrusted by leadership, great things happen

Reforms and human covenants do not last forever.  They are still good.

Isaiah 5:1-7

This passage is found in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C (Most recently August 2016).
 This passage is found in the Narrative Lectionary for Christ the King Sunday, Year 2 (Most recently Nov 22, 2015).

Summary:  This is an action packed passage.  Lots of connections to the rest of Bible, allusions to a wedding, word play and rotten food.  I think the image of the vineyard is really worth taping into.  What kind of work is involved in growing grapes.  What can go wrong?  Our hope is finally to be connected to a stronger vine, who is Christ our vine and our King!

Key words/concepts:
Romantic connotations:  
ידיד (yadeed, meaning "beloved", vs 5:1)  I was recently at a Jewish and Christian wedding in which this phrase was used by the betrothed to refer to one another.  While I do not know what Jewish weddings looked like 2750 years ago, this is clearly an intimate word.

שיר (shur, meaning "song", vs 5:1) Interestingly, this word begins "Song of Songs."...which quickly discusses life in a vineyard.  I do not mean to put in too heavy of "love" overtones here, but it is clear that singing a song to a beloved is an intimate, if not downright romantic, thing to do.

Vineyards:
כרם   (karem, meaning "vineyard", vs 5:1)  Huge word in the Bible.  In the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 27         The whole redemption of Israel is in the metaphor of a new vineyard
Isaiah 65:21    The actual redemption of Israel includes new vineyards
The Psalmist also describes God's work in Israel in terms of a vine:
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches (80:8-10)

The New Testament also picks up on the Vineyard.
First, Mark 12/Matthew 21 clearly reference in Isaiah 5 parable.
Second, Matthew 20/ Luke 20 contain another another parable dealing with vineyards; see also Luke 13
Third, Jesus describes himself as the vine (John 15)

Trivia:  Noah planted vineyard in Genesis 9:20

באשים (beusheem, meaning "wild grapes" really "stinky"!, 5:2,4)  This word here means bad grapes, but really means stinky, both literal but also moral.  As the TWOT writes,
"Thus this word either describes objects that have a foul odor, bad relationships between people creating abhorrence, and the general principle that evil deeds are so rotten that they have a bad smell in God's nostrils."
That is what happens when we go astray:  stink.

משיר ושית (meaning "thorns and briars", 5:6) A note on the Hebrew here:  thorns and briers is, I would argue, an example of using two words to paint one picture:  a mess of unhealthy vegetation.  This phrase would be lost on me, but I recall, with great joy, singing the third verse of Joy to the World: Nor thorns infest the ground.  If you are looking for a nice to way to segue from this passage into Advent and Jesus, there you go.

The point is that vineyards can be fertile or not...bear good fruit...or thorns.

Play on words
In verse 7 there are some plays on words
Justice (משפח) vs bloodshed (משפט)

Righteousness (צעקה) vs crying out (צדקה) 
This is not sermon stuff, but a reminder of the poetry of the prophets.

Hosea 13:1-11

This passage is found in the Narrative Lectionary year 2 (Most recently Nov 15, 2015)

Summary:  Hosea is a relatively unknown book that contains problematic imagery.  Furthermore, there are a number of spots in the passage where the Hebrew meaning is unclear.  Given all of that, I would like to focus on just a few avenues into a sermon for this passage.

אהב ("love"; 11:1).  It is very rare that God declares his love for the people (or any individual for that matter).  Malachi 1:2 is the only other example I could find of this.   
- The love is for the whole people, not just an individual.
- Great love is often revealed in great suffering. 
- Matthew will pick up this verse and ascribe it to Jesus.  Jesus is the new Israel, not just the Messiah!

אוכיל (from אכל meaning "to eat"; 11:4)  This word, along with many others, suggest a  very caring and intimate relationship between God and the people.  I think one could argue here for a rather feminine understanding here of God.  Perhaps this is a can of worms, but suffice to say, the imagery in Hosea is really tough.  This is a beautiful moment of loving kindness.

שוב (shuv "return"; 11:5)  The people will not return because they have not returned (this play on words is missed in the NIV, which translates the word שוב  as repent.  It is a reminder that repenting means changing the road we are on.  Or more realistically:  people, places and things.

נחמים (from נחם "comfort" or "compassion"; 11:8)  This word is a fascinating one in Hebrew because it means something along the lines of "take a deep breath in a way that changes one's emotional mind."  Like a worked up parent, God is taking a deep breath before executing punishment on the child.  The word is often seen as problematic because the idea of God changing one's mind is theologically difficult for many.  Used as a noun in this verse, it simply means compassion and mercy.  Definitely not problematic.  However, verse 8 does point toward the malleability of God's will, always seeming to move toward mercy over justice.
 
הושע  The name Hosea (or more accurately, Hoshea) is pretty fascinating, likely meaning "the salvation" or "He saves."   But like all things ancient Hebrew, there is a bit of uncertainty!  I had some fun looking at this website this morning for some background:  Here.