This passage occurs in the RCL Year C, most recently in August 4, 2019.
Summary: I am intrigued by the fact that Jesus does not make a distinction between "needs" and "wants." So much of my Christian and cultural upbringing taught me to distinguish between "need" and "want." God gives us what we need; not necessarily what we want; we can keep what we need and given to charity the things we "only" want. I wonder if it is time for us to explode this distinction and say God gives us all we have; all we have is a gift to be shared! All possessions, at some deep level, are simply wants. All we truly need is God, a God who provides us with daily bread and who gives us his eternal Kingdom.
If you are preaching this after Luke 11:1-13 (the Lord's prayer and praying; the RCL's previous week's Gospel passage), this passage becomes a great way to build on what we mean by daily bread and "yours is the Kingdom"!
Key words:
οχλου (genitive of οχλος, "ochlos", meaning "crowd", 12:13) It is someone in the crowd who calls to him; The word here for crowd is οχλος, a fairly common word in the NT. It refers to the uneducated mass of citizens; Jesus is among "the people."
κληρονομια(ν) ("kleronomia", meaning "inheritance", 12:13) Breaking down this word explains the trouble people had and continue to have with it. The word is literally "portion-law." κλερος means portion (or lot, as in cast lots); νομος means law (the ending has an "a" because it is a feminine word, but this doesn't change the fact that its root it still νομος). An inheritance is meant to be a gift, a blessing to future generations. Due to sin, we cannot leave a gift a gift, but we have to "protect" it with laws until the point where it no longer becomes gift. It is interesting too that the people want to make Jesus, the savior, into a law-giver. Again, due to sin, we cannot embrace a gift, but must install law!
πλεονεξια ("pleonexia", meaning "greed" or "coveting", 12:15) Jesus warns them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed." The word here for "greed" is πλεονεξια. This word, whenever it appears in the NT, has a negative connotation, most often used in laundry lists of obvious sins. Most interesting, however, is the connection that Colossians 3:5 (the RCL's NT reading for this week) provides. Paul writes that coveting, πλεονεξια is, in essence, idolatry. Wow! Greed as idolatry is in itself a great sermon (Walter Bruggeman gave a fantastic sermon on this at Luther Seminary in 2008). One tidbit he shared is that as Paul connects coveting/greed and idolatry, he connects the last commandment (do not covet) to the first (one God; no idols).
υπαρχοντων (genitive participle of υπαρχω, meaning "possessions", 12:15) Jesus warns of an excess of possessions. It is worth reminding ourselves that the word for possessions, υπαρχοντων, does not simply mean toys or things. It includes: means, resources, the things which one can claim for existence. In fact, the word is a substantive participle, literally meaning "the things that exist to him."
Two examples of where this word shows up:
Luke 8:3 These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus says to Jesus: Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor.
In other words, Jesus here is not distinguishing between needs and wants. Perhaps this is really helpful for as American Christians who are told we can have what we need, but not what we want. Our tendency is to greatly exaggerate what we need! Jesus here points out that our only need is God and God alone.
αναπαυου (command form of αναπαυω, meaning "rest"; 12:19) We are a world hungry for relaxation -- stress relief from our anxieties. The word for relax here is αναπαυω. This word is used in Matthew 11:28, when Jesus promises us rest (Come to me all you who are weary and heaven laden for I will give you rest." The parable asks us a haunting question: Where do we seek our solace? Where do we seek out rest? Possessions inevitably require maintenance, rules and effort...and do not bring us the profound solace we had hoped for.
*** A little addendum on Luke 12:22-34)
τρεφει (feed; 12:24), αμφιεζει (clothe; 12:28) I put these two verbs together. They appear in these verses:
Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds (τρεφει) them.
Luke 12:28 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe (αμφιεζει) you
In both of these cases, the verb is in the present tense, indicating an on-going action. God will continually feed and clothe us. This is not a one-time action to start the human story in motion, but a continuous creator!
προστεθησεται (future passive form of προστιθημι, meaning "add", 12:31) What is significant here is that this verb is in the passive voice, meaning that the subject (us) is not the agent (the one doing the work.) If these things are to be added, it is not because of us, but because of God. If you did not catch that God has agency, not us, in the next verse Jesus says that the Father gives us the Kingdom.
Two little grammar notes:
12:16 "A certain rich man..." The literal translation of the clause
is: "of a man certain rich produced good crops the field." The fact
that the first three words - man, certain, rich - are all in same case
shows they are related.
12:17/12:18 The verb ποιησω appears in both 12:17 and 12:18. Even though both spellings are the same, it is conjugated (and therefore translated) differently. The first time it is translated as an aorist subjunctive: "What shall I do?" In the other it
is future indicative: "This I will do." Context
determines the correct translation
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Genesis 18:20-32
This passage appears in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C (recently on July 28, 2019)
Summary: There is a lot of great material in this passage to consider regarding prayer, especially as it is paired with Jesus teaching the Lord's Prayer to the disciples in Luke's Gospel. But I want to look at the question: What is the sin of Sodom?
חטאת (meaning "sin", 18:19) The sins of Sodom are "grave" (כבך meaning "to be heavy") in Hebrew). There are a lot of potential sins in the Bible. So what are the sins of Sodom?
It is often assumed that Sodom was punished for its sexual sins, specifically homosexual lust. The book of Jude in the New Testament supports this:
- "Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire." Jude 1:7
This possibility runs into some difficulty, namely, that the story involving sex comes after God has heard the outcry against Sodom; furthermore, the story involving sex involves gang rape of two men (actually angels) visiting Lot's home and then Lot offering his virgin daughters in their place. In addition, one must consider the culture's overwhelming value of hospitality, as displayed by Abraham earlier in chapter 18. Sodom represents total moral depravity; there are multiple moral failures in the gang-rape scene, well beyond sex.
In fact, in 2 Peter, Sodom (and Gomorrah) get mentioned as THE example of ungodly behavior:
"by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly." (2 Peter 2:6) The writer associates this ungodliness with sexual misconduct in that God: "rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless" (2 Peter 2:7). However, the writer/Peter concludes this section by concluding that they "They have hearts trained in greed." (2 Peter 2:14)* It seems that for Peter, sex is a problem, but not THE problem. Again, sexual sin goes hand in hand with other sins.
Furthermore, God declares in Genesis 18.19 that he has known/chosen/singled out Abraham so that Abraham may do "righteousness" and "justice" (צדקה and משפת). These two concepts will be paired again and again in the Old Testament (Psalm 33.5; Proverbs 21:3; Isaiah 56:1, Amos 6:12). It is fair to wonder if the problem in Sodom is about basic righteousness.
We do not have much evidence in Genesis prior to chapter 18 of what is happening in Sodom. However, the prophet Ezekiel gives voice to the Lord's judgment against them: "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me." (Ezekiel 16:49-50)
To put it another way, the sexual sins of Sodom are not the problem in themselves, rather they are manifestation of a culture in which people put themselves first, objectify others, and justify their greed. Sound familiar? I've read a number of commentators who want to ignore the sexual sins, totally focusing on hospitality, likely as a reaction of those who use this passage in sexuality debates. I think as a whole, the American church struggles with sexual sins, either obsessing over them or ignoring them. Perhaps this story reminds us that yes, sexual immorality is a concern to God, but it likely arises alongside of other problems.
Most haunting may not be what happens to Sodom, but the words of judgment that God has in Ezekiel. Especially when heard with the words of Peter, as he concludes his argument: "They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them." (2 Peter 2:19)
* Admittedly, Peter is referencing the story of Sodom and other passages within a section in which he is critiquing the behavior of members of his church who have gone astray. It might be difficult to ascertain when Peter is offering commentary on the Biblical characters versus his piers. That all said, the overall impression Peter gives is that there is sexual sin, but this is more a manifestation of others sins, rather than the problem in itself.
Summary: There is a lot of great material in this passage to consider regarding prayer, especially as it is paired with Jesus teaching the Lord's Prayer to the disciples in Luke's Gospel. But I want to look at the question: What is the sin of Sodom?
חטאת (meaning "sin", 18:19) The sins of Sodom are "grave" (כבך meaning "to be heavy") in Hebrew). There are a lot of potential sins in the Bible. So what are the sins of Sodom?
It is often assumed that Sodom was punished for its sexual sins, specifically homosexual lust. The book of Jude in the New Testament supports this:
- "Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire." Jude 1:7
This possibility runs into some difficulty, namely, that the story involving sex comes after God has heard the outcry against Sodom; furthermore, the story involving sex involves gang rape of two men (actually angels) visiting Lot's home and then Lot offering his virgin daughters in their place. In addition, one must consider the culture's overwhelming value of hospitality, as displayed by Abraham earlier in chapter 18. Sodom represents total moral depravity; there are multiple moral failures in the gang-rape scene, well beyond sex.
In fact, in 2 Peter, Sodom (and Gomorrah) get mentioned as THE example of ungodly behavior:
"by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly." (2 Peter 2:6) The writer associates this ungodliness with sexual misconduct in that God: "rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless" (2 Peter 2:7). However, the writer/Peter concludes this section by concluding that they "They have hearts trained in greed." (2 Peter 2:14)* It seems that for Peter, sex is a problem, but not THE problem. Again, sexual sin goes hand in hand with other sins.
Furthermore, God declares in Genesis 18.19 that he has known/chosen/singled out Abraham so that Abraham may do "righteousness" and "justice" (צדקה and משפת). These two concepts will be paired again and again in the Old Testament (Psalm 33.5; Proverbs 21:3; Isaiah 56:1, Amos 6:12). It is fair to wonder if the problem in Sodom is about basic righteousness.
We do not have much evidence in Genesis prior to chapter 18 of what is happening in Sodom. However, the prophet Ezekiel gives voice to the Lord's judgment against them: "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me." (Ezekiel 16:49-50)
To put it another way, the sexual sins of Sodom are not the problem in themselves, rather they are manifestation of a culture in which people put themselves first, objectify others, and justify their greed. Sound familiar? I've read a number of commentators who want to ignore the sexual sins, totally focusing on hospitality, likely as a reaction of those who use this passage in sexuality debates. I think as a whole, the American church struggles with sexual sins, either obsessing over them or ignoring them. Perhaps this story reminds us that yes, sexual immorality is a concern to God, but it likely arises alongside of other problems.
Most haunting may not be what happens to Sodom, but the words of judgment that God has in Ezekiel. Especially when heard with the words of Peter, as he concludes his argument: "They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them." (2 Peter 2:19)
* Admittedly, Peter is referencing the story of Sodom and other passages within a section in which he is critiquing the behavior of members of his church who have gone astray. It might be difficult to ascertain when Peter is offering commentary on the Biblical characters versus his piers. That all said, the overall impression Peter gives is that there is sexual sin, but this is more a manifestation of others sins, rather than the problem in itself.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, most recently August 12, 2018.
Summary: It is summer, so I only offer a brief commentary here. I mainly want to look at the words related to grace!
χαρις (grace; 4:29) The word grace appears a number of times in Ephesians. I want to consider what this particular writer (okay, I get it, there is a lot of debate about whether Paul wrote this letter. If it turns out not to be Paul, the person who wrote it was a spiritual genius and student of Paul). I am going to break down grace a bit, which is theologically impossible, but I think it is a necessary intermediate step
Grace isn't conferred in one moment, but becomes the vehicle, it seems through which the Spirit works; to put it another way, grace is the heavenly currency that can never be earned.
χαριζομαι (give freely or even forgive; 4:32) This word typically does not mean "forgive" but means "be gracious" or "be generous", which includes forgiving one another. I like this word here first because it reminds us that our forgiveness toward our neighbor is not an abstraction but must bear fruit in real life. Second it connects to the broader theme of grace!
εχαριτωσεν (from χαριτοω, meaning "bestow freely"; 1.6) The writer declares we have been freely bestowed with God's blessing through Christ. The only other New Testament appearance of this word is in Luke's Gospel, to describe Mary as the "highly favored." Turns out that in Christ we are all highly favored, bears of God's word to the world.
Summary: It is summer, so I only offer a brief commentary here. I mainly want to look at the words related to grace!
χαρις (grace; 4:29) The word grace appears a number of times in Ephesians. I want to consider what this particular writer (okay, I get it, there is a lot of debate about whether Paul wrote this letter. If it turns out not to be Paul, the person who wrote it was a spiritual genius and student of Paul). I am going to break down grace a bit, which is theologically impossible, but I think it is a necessary intermediate step
- Out of the richest of grace, we have redemption through the blood on the cross (1:7)
- Grace is revealed in the resurrection of Christ and us (2:6)
- Grace is the revelation of the mystery of Christ (3:2)
- Grace is imparted through faith (2:8) and leads to a life of good works
- Grace becomes a way of life, building others up (4:29) and giving grace to others through forgiveness (4:32)
- Grace, one might argue, is that which predestines us (1:6)
Grace isn't conferred in one moment, but becomes the vehicle, it seems through which the Spirit works; to put it another way, grace is the heavenly currency that can never be earned.
χαριζομαι (give freely or even forgive; 4:32) This word typically does not mean "forgive" but means "be gracious" or "be generous", which includes forgiving one another. I like this word here first because it reminds us that our forgiveness toward our neighbor is not an abstraction but must bear fruit in real life. Second it connects to the broader theme of grace!
εχαριτωσεν (from χαριτοω, meaning "bestow freely"; 1.6) The writer declares we have been freely bestowed with God's blessing through Christ. The only other New Testament appearance of this word is in Luke's Gospel, to describe Mary as the "highly favored." Turns out that in Christ we are all highly favored, bears of God's word to the world.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
2 Samuel 12 and Psalm 51
This passage occurs in the Narrative Lectionary, Year 1; it also occurs many years in the Revised Common Lectionary during Lent.
Summary: There are rich theological themes in this Psalm 51. For my blog this week, I try to get into some the words, which are rich in imagery in the Hebrew. Hopefully these descriptive words can be a means to get into the Psalm (and accompanying story of David, Bathsheba and Nathan). As a side note, I've always seen the fullest expression of Gospel in this passage in the existence of the Psalm 51. God turned David's sin into something that was enduring and lasting. His child died, but his words of lament have comforted people for centuries.
Key Words:
נביא ("Nivea" meaning "prophet", 51:1 (intro to Psalm): The word prophecy often means prediction in modern popular imagination and film (Harry Potter/Star Wars). The prophets in the Bible did not predict the future. Rather, they spoke the word of God, which often included future possibilities for judgment or promises of blessing. But the main job of the prophet was to speak the Word of the Lord to the present situation, in this case, a king who had sinned badly. Very badly.
נתן ("Nathan", name of the prophet, 51:1 (intro to Psalm): The prophet's name "Nathan" means gift. Even the harsh words of God are a gift to David here in that he calls David to repent, to have a restored relationship with God. When we deny calling 'sin' 'sin' we deprive people of the gift of forgiveness and repentance.
רחמים ("rakamim" meaning "compassion", 51:2) The origin of this word רחם meaning is womb. In the plural it means compassion; this is clearly feminine way of thinking about God's love; it is like a woman's care born in her womb.
מחא ("makha" meaning "wipe", 51:2;9): As the TWOT points out, almost every time this verb shows up in the Hebrew Bible, it is significant. For example, God will wipe out the earth with a flood; God will wipe away every tear in the eschaton (Isaiah 25:8). The literal action means: "Erasures in ancient leather scrolls were made by washing or sponging off the ink rather than blotting. " Literally erase away, expunge! So that when God reads the book of life, he reads them no more.
כבס ("kabas" meaning "launder", 51:3;7) TWOT: "to make stuffs clean and soft by treading, kneading and beating them in cold water...it is used always for clothing, 'to launder'"
טהר ("tahar" meaning "cleanse, purify", 51:3;7) In Hebrew, this word is associated with pure metals (especially gold); it is often associated with ritual and ceremonial cleansing and furthermore, cleansed items used in worship. You could go a couple of ways here: First, that God's cleansing is like removal of dross from metal -- getting rid of the crap in our lives that we might be pure. Second, you could argue that the cleansing has a purpose (to be used in worship and service to God). Third, you could argue that ultimately forgiveness entails a ritual cleansing, including through washing with water or blood.
חול ("khul" meaning "twirl" translated here as "born", 51:5) from the moment the person begins writhing, twirling, dancing, moving, even in pain, they are born with sin.
אמת ("amat" meaning "faithfulness" or "truth", 51:6) What is it that God desires? It is not simply truth as in a true statement, but faithfulness. Something beyond propositional truth is desired here. We could do a lot more here, but the NET translates this nicely with integrity.
ברה ("barah" meaning "create" 51:10) Just a reminder that this verb is only associated with God as the subject. Humans can fairly be described as co-creators in the sense of we can imagine, build, make, name...but we cannot create life; nor can we create a new heart.
קדש ("kadesh" meaning "Holy" 51:11) This is the only time in the Old Testament we have an unambiguous reference to the Holy Spirit. The NRSV does not do Christians justice when they translate the words with lower case holy spirit.
Summary: There are rich theological themes in this Psalm 51. For my blog this week, I try to get into some the words, which are rich in imagery in the Hebrew. Hopefully these descriptive words can be a means to get into the Psalm (and accompanying story of David, Bathsheba and Nathan). As a side note, I've always seen the fullest expression of Gospel in this passage in the existence of the Psalm 51. God turned David's sin into something that was enduring and lasting. His child died, but his words of lament have comforted people for centuries.
Key Words:
נביא ("Nivea" meaning "prophet", 51:1 (intro to Psalm): The word prophecy often means prediction in modern popular imagination and film (Harry Potter/Star Wars). The prophets in the Bible did not predict the future. Rather, they spoke the word of God, which often included future possibilities for judgment or promises of blessing. But the main job of the prophet was to speak the Word of the Lord to the present situation, in this case, a king who had sinned badly. Very badly.
נתן ("Nathan", name of the prophet, 51:1 (intro to Psalm): The prophet's name "Nathan" means gift. Even the harsh words of God are a gift to David here in that he calls David to repent, to have a restored relationship with God. When we deny calling 'sin' 'sin' we deprive people of the gift of forgiveness and repentance.
רחמים ("rakamim" meaning "compassion", 51:2) The origin of this word רחם meaning is womb. In the plural it means compassion; this is clearly feminine way of thinking about God's love; it is like a woman's care born in her womb.
מחא ("makha" meaning "wipe", 51:2;9): As the TWOT points out, almost every time this verb shows up in the Hebrew Bible, it is significant. For example, God will wipe out the earth with a flood; God will wipe away every tear in the eschaton (Isaiah 25:8). The literal action means: "Erasures in ancient leather scrolls were made by washing or sponging off the ink rather than blotting. " Literally erase away, expunge! So that when God reads the book of life, he reads them no more.
כבס ("kabas" meaning "launder", 51:3;7) TWOT: "to make stuffs clean and soft by treading, kneading and beating them in cold water...it is used always for clothing, 'to launder'"
טהר ("tahar" meaning "cleanse, purify", 51:3;7) In Hebrew, this word is associated with pure metals (especially gold); it is often associated with ritual and ceremonial cleansing and furthermore, cleansed items used in worship. You could go a couple of ways here: First, that God's cleansing is like removal of dross from metal -- getting rid of the crap in our lives that we might be pure. Second, you could argue that the cleansing has a purpose (to be used in worship and service to God). Third, you could argue that ultimately forgiveness entails a ritual cleansing, including through washing with water or blood.
חול ("khul" meaning "twirl" translated here as "born", 51:5) from the moment the person begins writhing, twirling, dancing, moving, even in pain, they are born with sin.
אמת ("amat" meaning "faithfulness" or "truth", 51:6) What is it that God desires? It is not simply truth as in a true statement, but faithfulness. Something beyond propositional truth is desired here. We could do a lot more here, but the NET translates this nicely with integrity.
ברה ("barah" meaning "create" 51:10) Just a reminder that this verb is only associated with God as the subject. Humans can fairly be described as co-creators in the sense of we can imagine, build, make, name...but we cannot create life; nor can we create a new heart.
קדש ("kadesh" meaning "Holy" 51:11) This is the only time in the Old Testament we have an unambiguous reference to the Holy Spirit. The NRSV does not do Christians justice when they translate the words with lower case holy spirit.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A), most recently in January 2017; then a portion of it during Year B (Lent 2018).
...foolishness to those who are perishing
...power of God to those who are being saved
What does this mean for a sermon: Well, everything. But I think the notion of dynamic salvation is crucial (pun intended); I also think clarifying the power of God is really important for people. (This links up well with the connected Gospel passage on Matthew 5!)
Rather than review this whole passage, I just want to offer an in-depth commentary on this one crucial verse:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18
...foolishness to those who are perishing
Although
the NIV, NRSV, NAU and NET translate απολλυμι
as “perishing” it should not be understood as merely physical death. The
middle voice of this verb (it cannot be determined if the verb is middle or
passive) means “ruin." Looking at how Paul uses this verb throughout his letters to the Corinthians suggest Paul employs a metaphorical, or perhaps better said, theological layer when he uses the word "perish."
When Paul later uses the verb in the present tense in chapter 8:11, “So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed (απολλυται),” Paul does not mean that weak believers are immediately undergoing physical death. Instead, Paul is trying to talk about the process of dying; or being captive to sin, the law and the flesh. Paul will use this verb to refer to physical death (10:9, 10:10, and 15:18) but in these cases, the verb tense is aorist. 15:18 even refers to the physical death of Christians. In short, all humans perish (aorist tense), but non-believers are perishing (present tense).
This pattern of Paul using απολλυμι in the present tense to signify not an ultimate death, but the process of perishing, matches with 2 Corinthians and Romans. These passages also continue the pattern of contrasting those being saved and those being ruined.
When Paul later uses the verb in the present tense in chapter 8:11, “So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed (απολλυται),” Paul does not mean that weak believers are immediately undergoing physical death. Instead, Paul is trying to talk about the process of dying; or being captive to sin, the law and the flesh. Paul will use this verb to refer to physical death (10:9, 10:10, and 15:18) but in these cases, the verb tense is aorist. 15:18 even refers to the physical death of Christians. In short, all humans perish (aorist tense), but non-believers are perishing (present tense).
This pattern of Paul using απολλυμι in the present tense to signify not an ultimate death, but the process of perishing, matches with 2 Corinthians and Romans. These passages also continue the pattern of contrasting those being saved and those being ruined.
- For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 2 Corinthians 2:15
- And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 4:3
- If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. Romans 14:15
This point is most saliently brought home by
contrasting 1 Cor 15:18 which talks about the reality that Christians will die
(aorist tense) with 2 Cor 4:9, that even through Christians are “struck down”
they are not “απολλυμενοι.”
What does this mean for a sermon: Consider the ways in which life outside of Christ consists of perishing each and every day.
What does this mean for a sermon: Consider the ways in which life outside of Christ consists of perishing each and every day.
...power of God to those who are being saved
Paul uses the word
power in a variety of ways. One of the
most important, however, is that God’s power will bring about
resurrection: Both Jesus and ours. (And God raised the Lord and will also raise
us by his power, 1 Cor 6:14), It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It
is sown in weakness, it is raised in power (15:43).
The final word in the section "σωζω" is also a loaded theological term. Although BDAG indicates this word can mean
“heal”, Paul normally employs it to mean “save/preserve from eternal
death.” In America
The most saliently comes across in
verse 1:18. The cross does not simply
trigger a salvation event. The wording
is not: The words of the cross is the
power of God for salvation to those believing, as it is in Romans 1:16. Rather it is the power of God to those being
saved. What is amazing is that the power
of God is not simply the saving, but rather, to those being saved, the cross is
the power of God. At the very least the
power of God entails something more dynamic than ultimate salvation; it may
even include something more than being saved.
2nd
Corinthians gives an image of how the power of God becomes that which allows
Christians to endure hardship.
- But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)
- We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed (u`pe.r du,namin) ‘beyond our strength’ that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
- but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; (2 Corinthians 6:4-7)
- but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
This is an amazing
revelation of the power of God. The
power of God does not glorify the Christians, but propels them through
suffering. Paul even takes it a step
further in Philippians: I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his
death, Philippians 3:10
To conclude with another quote from Corinithians around power:
For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. 2 Corinthians 13:4
For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. 2 Corinthians 13:4
What does this mean for a sermon: Well, everything. But I think the notion of dynamic salvation is crucial (pun intended); I also think clarifying the power of God is really important for people. (This links up well with the connected Gospel passage on Matthew 5!)
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Philippians 2:1-13
This passage occurs as a New Testament Lesson in the RCL
"Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently September 2018. It also occurs at other points in the Lectionary, including Palm Sunday.
A separate post looking at Philippians 2:5-11 is here.
Summary:
This is a very rich passage. By itself it stands as one the most powerful description of Christ and his work. Worth pointing out though is that Paul continues to build off the imagery the rest of his letter to discuss not simply Christ's work on the cross, but also Christ's work on us. He changed his shape (μορφη) into humility but will co-shape (συμμορφος) ours into glory, not simply through his suffering, but even our own.
Key words:
μορφη ("shape" or "form"; 7, 8) If you look up this word, you will find it appears twice in Philippians, once in verse 7 and once in verse 8. Jesus had the form/shape of God; took the form/shape of a human. Sounds good. However, later on in Philippians, Paul comes back to this word, but using it with the prefix συν (the -n becomes a -m...see note below) . First, in verse 3:10 where he says that he is being συμμορφιζομαι-ed into Christ's death and later when he is being συμμορφος with Christ's resurrected body (3:28). Paul moves from talking about the form of Christ to the co-formation of the believer, both into suffering, death and then resurrection. I think the word μορφη can be used to guide one's reflections on the whole letter: The transformation of Jesus creates the transformation of the believer. To put it another way, I see Philippians as Paul's personal exposition on his line in Romans 8:17: If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
εκενωσεν and κενοδοξια ("emptied" from κενω, 7; conceit, 3) Much is made from κενω, which means to empty. I find it interesting that Paul gives warning just a bit earlier about conceit, literally false glory. The only way to true glory, for Christ and for us, is through suffering and death.
κατεργαζομαι ("work out", 2:12; from kata (intensifier) and erg-oo (to work)) One possible meaning for this verb is simply "achieve" but another one is "to work up," ie, to make use of; fields, for example, are worked on to make them ready for harvest. This verse can be problematic in that it makes it sound like our salvation is our responsibility. However, Paul's never verse, 2:13, makes it clear that God is the author of our salvation. I think in this case, Paul uses salvation (σωτηρια) to describe our entire relationship with God in Jesus Christ, specifically the process of dying and rising. It is worth noting that the verb here (and also for "co-form" (see above) are in the present tense, suggesting this an on-going process.
A really geeky language point:
Grammar/translation: The morphing "n"
When someone learns Hebrew, they learn verbs like n-t-n, which means to give. They then try to read these in the Bible and discover it hardly ever exists in that form and most often the "n"s drop out in conjugation so that words like y-t-l-m mean he gives or something like this. This is true in Greek; alas, the problem is not Hebrew, but the letter "n", which has a soft sound. It tends to morph into other sounds. This actually happens in Latin. For example, con is the prefix for "with" But notice how often that "n" disappears or morphs: communication, cooperation, combat, comfort, command, corroberate. This happens in Greek, especially when verbs add the prefix συν. The weakness of the "n" sound is also shown in the fact that its moveable (ie not very necessary).
This is why συμμορφος is spelled as it is, instead of συνμορφος!
A separate post looking at Philippians 2:5-11 is here.
Summary:
This is a very rich passage. By itself it stands as one the most powerful description of Christ and his work. Worth pointing out though is that Paul continues to build off the imagery the rest of his letter to discuss not simply Christ's work on the cross, but also Christ's work on us. He changed his shape (μορφη) into humility but will co-shape (συμμορφος) ours into glory, not simply through his suffering, but even our own.
Key words:
μορφη ("shape" or "form"; 7, 8) If you look up this word, you will find it appears twice in Philippians, once in verse 7 and once in verse 8. Jesus had the form/shape of God; took the form/shape of a human. Sounds good. However, later on in Philippians, Paul comes back to this word, but using it with the prefix συν (the -n becomes a -m...see note below) . First, in verse 3:10 where he says that he is being συμμορφιζομαι-ed into Christ's death and later when he is being συμμορφος with Christ's resurrected body (3:28). Paul moves from talking about the form of Christ to the co-formation of the believer, both into suffering, death and then resurrection. I think the word μορφη can be used to guide one's reflections on the whole letter: The transformation of Jesus creates the transformation of the believer. To put it another way, I see Philippians as Paul's personal exposition on his line in Romans 8:17: If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
εκενωσεν and κενοδοξια ("emptied" from κενω, 7; conceit, 3) Much is made from κενω, which means to empty. I find it interesting that Paul gives warning just a bit earlier about conceit, literally false glory. The only way to true glory, for Christ and for us, is through suffering and death.
κατεργαζομαι ("work out", 2:12; from kata (intensifier) and erg-oo (to work)) One possible meaning for this verb is simply "achieve" but another one is "to work up," ie, to make use of; fields, for example, are worked on to make them ready for harvest. This verse can be problematic in that it makes it sound like our salvation is our responsibility. However, Paul's never verse, 2:13, makes it clear that God is the author of our salvation. I think in this case, Paul uses salvation (σωτηρια) to describe our entire relationship with God in Jesus Christ, specifically the process of dying and rising. It is worth noting that the verb here (and also for "co-form" (see above) are in the present tense, suggesting this an on-going process.
A really geeky language point:
Grammar/translation: The morphing "n"
When someone learns Hebrew, they learn verbs like n-t-n, which means to give. They then try to read these in the Bible and discover it hardly ever exists in that form and most often the "n"s drop out in conjugation so that words like y-t-l-m mean he gives or something like this. This is true in Greek; alas, the problem is not Hebrew, but the letter "n", which has a soft sound. It tends to morph into other sounds. This actually happens in Latin. For example, con is the prefix for "with" But notice how often that "n" disappears or morphs: communication, cooperation, combat, comfort, command, corroberate. This happens in Greek, especially when verbs add the prefix συν. The weakness of the "n" sound is also shown in the fact that its moveable (ie not very necessary).
This is why συμμορφος is spelled as it is, instead of συνμορφος!
Monday, August 28, 2017
Track vs Field: The unchurched and churched
Reformation 500 and the unchurched
This summer my congregation did a great deal of research into the unchurched in our community. This was part of our celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. We are thinking about the call of the Holy Spirit to continue to reform the church, in this case, our congregation. One of our projects was to build a "Thesis 96" wall outside our church. We invited people in the church and community to write their statement (or thesis) to the church. It has been really awesome to see what people have written. But that is for another day!
Our hope through the Thesis 96 project and our Reformation 500 celebrations is to consider -- what prevents people from accessing God's grace in our culture, specifically our community, today? How could be better reach out to the unchurched in our community.
Track vs Field Understanding
Back to the unchurched. I confess that I often end up with a view of the unchurched and churched that looks something like this:
In this view, there are unchurched and churched people. Each group is divided into two subgroups: The unchurched has people that are really opposed to the Gospel (we'll call them atheists) and people that are somewhat open ("seekers"); the churched has people that come ("participants") and those that really are involved ("elders"). We could nuance this chart, maybe adding a few more arrow segments, but basically the idea is to move people from left to right. If they are questioning, get them in the door. If they are in the door, get them involved. There are tons of books written to give churches tools as to how to make this conveyor belt process work.
There are also tons of blogs/books written as to why people are drifting from right to left on this chart! Given this mentality, it is easy to feel like we are fighting an impossible task, running right into the head waters of our culture that is increasingly ambivalent, if not hostile to church, institutions and in many ways, commitments.
As we did research, which included looking at data and talking to people in our community, it occurred to me that this track or linear view was really inadequate for our task. I want to propose a more "field" than "track" view of the churched and unchurched.
In reality, there are many reasons why people are unchurched. Some of it comes out of opposition to the church or the idea of God. Frankly though, survey after survey shows that most Americans do not consider themselves strident atheists. Most people instead are out of church totally or most Sundays for a variety of reasons
- They moved to a new community or had a huge change in their family situation
- They were burned out on their church
- They were abused by their church
- They have never been to church and have never been invited (7 out of 10 unchurched people has never been invited)
- They work on Sundays or have made a commitment to their child's sporting "career."
Furthermore, there are lots of ways that people plug into church
- Some people are "all in" - "elders" who come nearly every Sunday and serve in leadership
- Some are homebound members
- Some connect only with certain areas of ministry - education or social ministry or a particular outreach of the church
- Some come when they are can, but are really busy
- Some connect only online
- Some travel extensively and are only plugged in when they are in town
In short, we do not have two or even four groups that could fit on a line. There are people all over the highway in terms of church involvement or not.
General Motors' Maven
General Motors has a subdivision called Maven, which is providing short term rentals of GM cars. It is designed to compete with ZipCar. General Motors has come to the conclusion that for certain phases of life, people want access to a car, but neither want nor can afford ownership. In some cities, people use Maven for weekend getaways, in other cities people use Maven to get across town and still in other cities people use it as their vehicle for money making through Uber! What is most striking though is that General Motors does not simply think this kind of car utilization is for a phase of life; it acknowledges that many people will never own a car, but will be interested in using a car. General Motors set up Maven so that even if people are not buying cars, they can still make a profit in the car industry!
To put this perspective back into our discussion about churched and unchurched, I think we should realize that just like many people today will not own cars, but will still use them, many people in our congregation will not be "all in" and may, in fact, never be "all in" but they will still be in the sphere of our congregation. Just like people are automobiles for different reasons and to different extents, the people who come into our congregation will engage in different ways. This does not mean they are bad or incomplete Christians or even that they only have a consumer mentality, but their life set up prevents them from being "all in."
Creating paths instead of a track
Rather than trying to move everyone along some mythical church conveyer belt, I suggest we embrace a far scarier task: Providing more (personalized!) paths to faith development. Let's assume that young families are not going to come more than twice a month. How can we help them pray at night with their kids? Let's assume that homebound members cannot serve on committees. How can we keep them connected and feeling a part of the decision making process at the church? Let's assume that the person who only comes to play in the handbell choir is unlikely to come for anything else. How can we make that 6 hours a month she commits to the church as faith filled as possible?
The goal of making disciples may ultimately have a linear or clear trajectory, namely, helping people see their relationship with God in terms of transformation rather than transaction. However, the map of people's engagement with the church is anything but linear. To put it another way, I feel liberated - my job is not simply to move people from an increasing pool of unchurched to a shrinking pool of churched. My task is to help the congregation figure out "faith paths" that can move people toward a deeper commitment to their Lord and the church, acknowledging this will not necessarily look "all in" from a church perspective. This does not mean that serving Jesus demands anything less than "all in"; rather, this acknowledges that being "all in" to Jesus will manifest itself in a variety of levels of engagement with the church, particularly one congregation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
