Matthew 1:18-25

This passage occurs in the RCL, Year 1, Advent IV, most recently December 18, 2022.

Summary:  This passage teems with Old Testament allusions.  These allusions make it clear that Christ is to be exalted.  Furthermore, they make it clear that Joseph is a special person.  I appreciate why the church has so adored Mary; I think Joseph is often overlooked.  As Rev. Daniel Clark said to me while he was serving at my parish as a Vicar: Joseph is the blue collar bible character; a quiet, humble and hard-working person that Scripture overlooks!

γενεσις (lit. 'genesis', meaning "beginning" or "birth", 1:18)  Matthew uses this word twice in his first chapter (also 1:1).  He could have picked simpler words for giving birth, as he does in vs. 25.  I believe he used this word intentionally to connect back the Old Testament opening creation passages.  The first book but also the first word of the Hebrew Bible is "beginnings" (in Greek -- Genesis). Furthermore, like in the Old Testament, Matthew seems to offer two creation accounts, first the grand and then second, the detailed version.

To have more fun with this connection:  I believe Matthew in vs 1:1 here riffs on Genesis 2:4, much like John's Gospel opens with a riff on Genesis 1:1.  Matthew employs the the phrase "βιβλος γενεσωες" found only in Genesis 2:4.  Both creation accounts from Genesis are picked up by the New Testament; John picks up Genesis chapter 1; Matthew picks up Genesis chapter 2! 

ενθυμθεντος (from ενθυμεομαι, meaning "decide", 1:20)  This word does not simply refer to analytic processing, but the working through of one's feelings and literally passions (θυμος).  I love the fact that Luke acknowledges this was a matter of the heart for our introverted, blue-collar, step-dad to be.  There were so many layers of communal relationships - his parents, her parents, her and him.  How could he navigate all of this?

υιος Δαυιδ (meaning "son of David", 1:20)  When this phrase is used elsewhere in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 13:13 ; 2 Chronicles 32:33), it does not refer to the Jews or all of the Hebrews.  It refers to the ancient kings of Israel.  Matthew here is calling Joseph a king.

οναρ (meaning "dream", 1:20)  I am embarrassed to admit that I never saw this connection until some pastors showed this to me last week -- both the Old Testament Joseph and the New Testament Joseph have dreams...and go to Egypt!  I wonder if I didn't discover this earlier because the Greek version of the Old Testament uses a different word for dream.   Regardless, a cool connection.

Iησους (lit. 'Jesus', 1:21)  This is the name to be given to the baby born to Mary.  It is the Old Testament name Joshua.  Names often change when they move across cultures (Robert=Roberto in Spanish), so believe it or not, Joshua and Jesus are the same name in Hebrew.  Joshua's name means "The LORD saves" and his job is to lead the people across the river Jordan into the promised land.  Jesus will save the people, get baptized in the river Jordan and lead the people into the promised land.  We miss that connection in English that would have been clear to Joseph and Mary:  They are to name their child "the Lord saves" for he will save the people from their sins.

Εμμανουηλ  (lit. 'Emmanuel', meaning "God is with us", 1:23)  Although he is declared here to be "God is with us" Jesus will not assume this title during his ministry of teaching and healing.  Why is this?  I would argue because he must first die and rise in order to be Emmanuel.  At the end of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus declares "I am with you."  However, the literal Greek here is "I with you am"; "I am" is the ancient name of God.  So here Jesus expands the title of God to include -- at its heart -- with you.  He then takes on the name Immanuel, but only after the cross and empty tomb.

μη φοβηθης (meaning "do not be afraid", 1:20)  Little side note on the Greek.  Although the English translators translate this the same way they translate the words of Gabriel to Mary (do not be afraid), it is slightly different in the Greek.  It is the same verb (φοβοω), but it is in the passive voice for Joseph and the active voice for Mary.  Technically then the translation for Mary should be "Do not fear" and for Joseph "Do not be afraid."  This is not very different, really.  But what is interesting is that when the passive construction is used in the LXX translation of the Old Testament, it often has an element (further suggested by the words' meaning in Homeric Greek, I would argue) of "Do not flee."  Perhaps the angel is telling Joseph, "Don't go anywhere!"

Matthew 11:2-11

This passage occurs in the Advent season of the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A), most recently updated for 2022.
 
Summary:
For some comments on blessing, scandal and Luther, see below!  I would like to focus though on the words Jesus attributes today to John the Baptist, claiming that "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you."  This passage is often said to refer to Malachi 3:1.  However, a careful reading, in English or in Greek, reveals that it is quite different from Malachi 3:1.  In Malachi, the Lord sends a messenger to prepare a way for himself (the Lord) to return to the temple and bring about the day of the Lord.  In the case of John, Jesus says that he prepares a way for YOU.  I think Jesus may be referring to another passage in Scripture, namely Exodus 23:20 (fixed previous post mistake here) or 33:2.  Here the messenger is supposed to show the people the way into the promised land and out of the wilderness. This sounds a lot more like the job of John than the messenger Malachi describes!  Regardless, Jesus is claiming to be the Lord!

Note:  Such passages like this are why I've begun to use Luke 1 as my Advent preaching texts.  This text does not have immediate cultural relevance.  However, I think one could tie into expectations and Christmas -- what are you expecting this year?  Do we have any real expectations for the impact that Jesus would make in our lives and in our world?

Key words

ἀγγελος (11:8; "messenger")  The word is literally "angel," but it also means messenger (double -gg in Greek is pronounced -ng).  In the Bible, especially in the OT, the line between the messenger and God is often blurred.  Often a story begins with an angel speaking and then suddenly God is speaking.  Why is this?  One answer may be historical.  As the NET commentary writes, "Cassuto says that the words of the first clause do not imply a being distinct from God, for in the ancient world the line of demarcation between the sender and the sent is liable easily to be blurred."  I provide a Lutheran, and therefore cooler, answer:  Where the Word is, so is God.  

σκανδαλίζω (11:6; "take offense")  This word appears often in the New Testament.  It is most often translated as offensive.  If you want to shake people up though, translate it more literally, "become scandlized."  I recall here Luther's 95 theses:
62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Mt. 20:16).

What might it mean to not be scandalized in Christ?  That we do not find his teachings offensive?  That we find our righteousness wholly in him?

μαλακοις (11:8; "fancy")  Hardly a key word for this passage, but alas, it is word of intense scrutiny these days.  Paul uses this word in 1 Cor 6:9 to refer to, well, we really don't know.  Ask the NRSV and they will tell you male prostitutes.  Ask the NET and they will tell you "passive homosexual partners."  It seems that at least, in this case, it refers to soft as in luxury soft.  I think.

προφητης (11:9, "prophet")  Sometimes in English we think of prophecy as predicting the future.  This was not the job of the prophet.  The prophet's job was something more like Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol.  The task of the prophet is presenting reality in such vivid terms, including future possibilities, that repentance follows.  The future described by the prophet contains both beautiful visions of God's action but also the scary reality if the humans involved do not change their ways.  In short, a good prophet does not predict the future because the humans change their actions upon hearing his vision.  Jacob Marley's prophetic warning for Scrooge about a life in chains do not come true.  However, his biting words for Scrooge -- "Mankind is our business" do come true, but only because of the visions of hope and horror revealed to Scrooge.

σου (11:10 "you" in the genitive)  Interestingly, Jesus words in Matthew 11:10

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you."

do resemble Malachi 3:1

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me." 

However, Jesus changes the word "me" to "you"; the messenger is no longer for the Lord, but for you.  For those who come out of the Lutheran preaching tradition, this is crucial -- a sermon must be for you, in other words, it must hand over the work of God from Scripture, from the cross, from the empty tomb for you, so that you might believe and be renewed!

One could argue that Jesus is also referencing the work of God in sending messengers in Exodus as the people prepare to enter the promised land.

"I will send a messenger before you" (33:2)

"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. (23:20)"

While I like the idea of John heralding entrance into the promised land, both Malachi and Exodus are hard metaphors.  In Malachi, the messenger heralds the day of the Lord, complete with a refiner's fire.  In Exodus, the messenger heralds a season of battle against opposing tribes to gain access to the promised land.  Both arguably could fit within the New Testament context! 

Sentence Translation:  NRSV Matthew 11:11.  I picked this sentence because it has no participles.  Instead, it has a lot of nouns in different cases!
αμην λεγω υμιν -ουκ εγηγερται γεννητοις γυναικων μειζων Ιωαννου του Βαπτιστου, ο δὲ μικροτερος ἐν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων μειζων αυτου εστιν

As usual, divide into little pieces, using the Greek punctuation provided by most Greek bibles to help
αμην λεγω υμιν
ουκ εγηγερται εν γεννητοις γυναικων μειζων Ιωαννου του Βαπτιστου
ο δὲ μικροτερος ἐν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων μειζων αυτου εστιν

1)  αμην λεγω υμιν:  This should be straight forward:  Amen, I am saying to you.  Or Truly I say to you all.  Just fill in the words!  The only mildly hard thing is the pronoun, "2nd person plural dative."  Or "To you all"

Proposed translation:  "Truly I am telling all of you:"

2)  ουκ εγηγερται εν γεννητοις γυναικων μειζων Ιωαννου του Βαπτιστου

Find the verb...εγηγερται   "perfect passive singular"  He/she/it has been born.  In Greek, the perfect makes sense here, because the perfect indicates a previous action that still has a linger impact, in this case, birth.  To translate the verb, you need to also translate the "not" or  ουκ.  So, before we get to the rest of the sentence, we know what has happened.  "He/she/it has not been born."  It turns out there is no obvious subject so far, so we will just leave it as "he/she/it."

Now divide up the rest of the sentence into "cars on the train."  Group them by case (hint:  cluster them by what looks the same in terms of endings):
A)  εν γεννητοις B)  γυναικων μειζων C)  Ιωαννου του Βαπτιστου

C) is the easiest:  John the Baptist.  But why is John in the genitive?
A) Bible works helps us here:  Among humankind.  To translate the word humankind, you don't have to worry it being in the dative because the preposition εν governs its translation:  in, with, among, etc.
B) "women" in also the genitive; μειζων means greater (at least here).

So what we know so far is:  "among mankind [genitive link] women greater [genitive link] John the Baptist."

To translate the genitive, just try "of"

"among mankind of women greater [of] John the Baptist."  This works in the first case, but not the second.  It turns out that μειζων grammatically requires a genitive.  This isn't how this works in English, so we will use "than" to establish the comparison.
... and at the same time, clean up the first part of the sentence:

"among people born to a woman greater than John the Baptist."

We combine this with earlier

"Truly I am telling all of you:"+"He/she/it has not been born."+ "among people born to a woman greater than John the Baptist."

Truly, I am telling you:  "No one has been born unto a woman who is greater than John the Baptist."

ο δὲ μικροτερος ἐν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων μειζων αυτου εστιν

Find the verb -- its at the end:  εστιν.  This means "is"  So now lets find the subject, which is something after the ο δὲ.  Hint -- when you have ο δὲ, the δὲ tells you that you are switching subjects.  But where to go from here?  Again, make you train cars:
A)  ο δὲ
B)  μικροτερος
C)  ἐν τη βασιλεια
D)  των ουρανων
E) μειζων αυτου
F)  εστιν

F and A you know.  Now E I put two words that seem different, but we've already learned that μειζων means greater and requires a genitive. So this means:  "greater than him."

C+D simply means:  "in the kingdom of heaven."  (Now what that means would take me the whole New Testament to explain."

B)  Means least.  And it is in the nominative.  So we combine with A) for our subject.  You get:  "the one who is least."  Or simply, "the least."

So we get:  "Even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater then he."

Luke 19:1-10 (Zacchaeus)

 This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C.  Most recently on October 30, 2021.

Summary:  As I write this post in 2022, this passage occurs on Reformation Sunday.  Some may therefore preach on John 8.  However, I think it is a great narrative to explain the propositions of John 8.  What does freedom look like?  It looks like giving up one's prestige and rank to serve the Lord!  What does it mean to be a child of Abraham -- to belong to the household of God, in which...we serve the Lord!  How does this happen?  When Jesus comes into our house.  It might take too much effort to have this story neatly fit into the proper grace-faith-salvation ordo salutis, but it definitely addresses some classical Reformation themes of vocation, salvation, faith and freedom.

Key Words:

αρχιτελωνης ("arch-tax-collector", 19.2)  I saw this poetic quote about tax-collectors:

"The Tax Collectors in Israel at the time of Christ were the leaches that sucked the financial blood out of the hard working laborers of Israeli society and transferred it in to the coffer of the occupying Roman Empire, taking as much as they could for themselves."  Ancient Tax Collector, Bible History, accessed 10/26/2022.

NT Wright offers a more complex, and perhaps more helpful take, arguing that they were socially isolated, not loved by the Romans and hated by the Jews.  The point of this is to say that the tax collector looked free, but was very bound.

I also think it is interesting that one tax collector, Matthew, follows Jesus.  Zacchaeus chooses to maintain his profession and continue to follow Jesus.  This harkens back to Luke 3:13 and the words of John the Baptist to tax collectors.  It turns out that what we do is less important that how we do it.  Even "dirty" professions can be done with integrity and in service to the Lord.  (That is a sermon for Reformation Sunday about vocation!!)

μικρος (small, 19.3)  I found a really interesting article that focused on Zacchaeus' short stature as a reminder that God can love all physical types of people.  It linked Zacchaeus' short stature to treatment of people who have disabilities.  I discovered this article while trying to find evidence for something a professor told me once, that the Cappadocian fathers claimed that Luke meant that Jesus was short, not Zacchaeus!

καταβηθι (command form of καταβαινω, meaning "descend", 19.5)  It turns out, we are not called to ascend to Jesus, but to come down, and live real life.  Zacchaeus will meet Jesus on the road, in the home and in works of charity (and justice!)

μειναι (infinitive of "abide", 19.5)  This is a key concept in John's Gospel, namely, Jesus dwelling with us.  Jesus wants to abide with him; but what is worth pondering...when Zacchaeus serves his new Lord, Jesus, is Jesus still abiding with him?  I would want to say yes.

ιδοντες/ιδου:  I don't know what to make of it, but the word "to see" is found five times in these passages in various forms.

καταλυσαι (infinitive of καταλυω, meaning is complex, 19.7)  This word means one thing in a transitive sense and a very different thing when used as an intransitive verb.  Freiburg Dictionary puts it:

As a transitive verb it means to  (1) transitively; 

• (a) literally, of buildings with their stones destroy, demolish, dismantle 
• (b) metaphorically, of the death of the body as a house or temple tear down, destroy (2C 5.1); 
• (c) figuratively, of completely ruining someone's efforts destroy (RO 14.20); 
• (d) figuratively, as invalidating an institution, such as law or sacrifice do away with, annul, abolish (MT 5.17); 

Yet intransitively, it means:  "strictly unharness beasts of burden; hence put up for the night, find lodging, rest (LU 9.12)"

Okay, so here is the deal.  The word might mean simply to lodge somewhere.  But it is a really cool notion that somehow Zacchaeus having Jesus over "unburdens" Jesus; Jesus will actually do the unburdening.  This is akin to the use of ζητησαι in 19.1 and 19.10.  It seems like Zacchaeus is seeking Jesus, but Jesus is the one seeking Zacchaeus.

σωτερια (salvation, 19.9)  Brings up the granddaddy of them all question -- what is salvation?  There is little that connects the works of Zacchaeus today with the afterlife.  Rather, it is the true life, the free life of serving Jesus (that ultimately transcends death).  

This is a crucial part of the interpretation of the story:  What changes has Jesus made in his life?  In what ways does Zacchaeus demonstrate faith?  What does the grace look like?  What does grace accomplish?

The two waves of secularization: A proposed response

Like all pastors, I have observed an increasing secularization of American culture over the past generation.  This process picked up pace during the past six years and then seemed to go into overdrive during COVID.  This has created challenges (and opportunities) for us as churches.

More than simply speed up over time, I offer that the contours of secularization have changed in the past six years.  Earlier we were going through (what we might call) secularization phase 1:  "People got busy."  Now people are going through (what we might call) secularization phase 2:  "People got disgusted."  I will describe them as a waves, because they kind of roll and crash into each other.  Furthermore, each presents churches with a different set of opportunities - ways to ride the wave - and challenges - crashing and undertow.  My sense is that both have been at work for some time, but I sense that for most churches, they will discover that the second wave is much harder to navigate than the first.

Secularization Wave #1:  People got Busy

In the first phase of secularization, people began to find meaning in other places besides church.  Andrew Root has masterfully examined this through the lens of youth ministry (and his series on the church in the secular age).  People filled their schedule and found ultimately their identity in all sorts of activities: travel soccer, marching band, social media, politics, etc.  While some of these had a more 'Christian' flavor to them, they generally meant that people spent far less time in religious activities than a generation ago.

The Aftermath of Wave #1

• What did this mean for churches?  Attendance declined.  The biggest victim was the pastoral size church.  A church that consistently had 125 in worship found itself struggling to worship 100 only a decade or two later.  While this was enough to pay the bills (barely), its attendance of young families was so lean that it could no longer offer a meaningful 'Youth group' and 'Sunday school'.  This meant that the remaining families wanting programming for their children, youth and family did two things:  one, they complained about the lack of programming (even as they chose to have their kids attend other events) and two, many of them migrated in the direction of larger churches.  This left many congregations with a fair amount of nostalgia  that impeded new ideas; in addition there was a lot of residual anger in the system that burned out their clergy.
• More positively, it often forced smaller (pastoral and family size) churches to be creative, explore inter-generational learning opportunities and consider partnerships with other congregations.  The happiest among these have accepted a smaller size and are finding their particular niche within their community. 
• Within larger churches (program to mega), this first wave of secularization put a huge premium on excellence and programming.  As young families with time on their hands for churchy activities became a scarcer commodity, larger churches had the opportunity and need to attract them (as well as the older folks (with money!) who wanted churches that still had kids).  While someone with more experience could point out how I am truly wrong about this, my sense is that the net effect of the first wave of secularization was to encourage big churches to work "faster, bigger and harder", doing what they had been doing in the 1980s and 1990s, albeit with far thinner results.  I also offer that this influx of people curbed the incentive of large churches to do real evangelism; they spent more of their resources on welcoming existing Christians into their midst (if not their sub-culture).  In short, their energy vector began pointing in and perhaps out, but was not going out in the same way. 
  

Secularization Wave #2:  People got Disgusted

The second wave of secularization, the one that I think is picking up speed, is different.  In this wave of secularization, people go further than saying that church is less important.  They move toward skepticism, if not fear and rejection of the church.  This is not entirely new; Gen-X is famous for rejecting institutions; also, the priesthood scandal in the Catholic church added a great deal of kindling to this fire!  

However, there is an acute wholesale rejection of the church by increasing numbers of people.  There is a sense that the church has wed itself, not simply to conservative policy aims, but to partisan political warfare and even flirts (if not cheats with) Christian nationalism.

An interesting article from Christianity Today offers that the rise of Christian nationalism is itself a manifestation of secularization.  The thesis is that as people become less engaged in actual church, they tend to gravitate toward pseudo-church.  I find the argument compelling.  Many of our churches have also been hit by this form of secularism, as we have seen people in our church ghost us over COVID-mask requirements, not to attend elsewhere, but simply to walk away from church.

But even if I cool down my rhetoric, the point is simple:  You have a significant number of people who are one or two generations removed from active participation in the life of a congregation.  (Consider this -- the last family on Television that went to church is the Simpsons!!)  When such people have religious or spiritual questions, the Christianity they observe, especially through the lens of typical media or social media presentations, is likely going to be a very socially conservative, if not even schismatic and heretical presentation of the Gospel. Such people are incredibly unlikely to show up at worship because they heard we have good music or good preaching.  There are far too many barriers. 

Trying to Ride Wave #2

My sense is that trying to ride Secularization Wave #2 is going to be really hard for most people.  It will require a different set of tools than Wave #1.  For many mainline pastor size churches, this officially ends their ability to continue business as usual.  The loss of an additional 10% of people post-COVID is going to mean they can no longer afford their staff, forcing cut backs.  It will be difficult for these congregations to find a way to celebrate who they are and discover where God is calling them without succumbing to bitterness.  Ironically, the family size churches may do better because they have accepted a smaller size; whereas the former pastoral size churches likely are reeling from loss.

For the bigger and healthier churches, I sense that they will need to rediscover evangelism.  By and large, 'evangelism' in such contexts meant attractional ministry, welcoming church people into our congregation.  The dynamics of wave #1 and the early phases of COVID-musical-church-chairs seduced many congregations into a comfortable sense that "bigger, faster, harder and ONLINE" will work.  But I sense moving forward, we will need to think beyond 'welcoming visitors' or even 'inviting people to worship.' 

My candid sense is that dealing with a society after two waves of secularization will force us to become missionary churches...Churches that meet people where they are.  Churches that find a variety of ways for people to form relationships, share stories and serve others.  As Bonhoeffer wrote:

The Church is the Church only when it exists for others . . . not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others

Luke 12:49-56

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C.  Typically this passage occurs late in the summer, when pastors are on vacation or in the midst of a summer preaching series.  In short, no one likes to preach on this passage.  Most recently it occurred: August 17, 2025

Summary:  This is my 5th time (?) seeing this passage as an upcoming passage.  Each time I cringe, especially in our current political environment.  I've included some thoughts about how we might understand Jesus difficult words about division.

2025 offering:  Jesus is the one who does the division - not us!

Key words:
πυρ ("fire", 12:49)  Throughout the Bible, fire is associated with God's judgment.  Here are few verses that put them together, but you can find this over and over.

• Isaiah 66:16 For by fire will the LORD execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.
• Amos 7:4 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.
• Revelation 18:8 therefore her plagues will come in a single day-- pestilence and mourning and famine-- and she will be burned with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
• Hebrews 10:27 but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

The dominant and most natural interpretation here is the reminder that Jesus has come to bring judgment.

While this may seem strange in our society, which seems on the verge of civil war, I wonder if we too quickly throw out the baby with the bathwater.  Judgement is necessary, even for the ultimate goal of unity.  For until all realize that they have fallen short of God's glory, that the only line in the sand is those who have sinned and those who have not, we will always find ways to create other divisions in our culture.  As a family and marriage therapist I recently met offered:  "I need to create disorder to disrupt the current stasis to help bring about a new and healthier one."

διεμεμερισμενοι  (from διαμεριζω, meaning "divide", 12:52, 53).  Divide can mean divide like Rome: Divide and conquer.  But maybe divide has a different Biblical sense.  Especially when connected with fire.

Fire is not only used for judgement, but also commissioning, specifically the call of Moses (burning bush, Exodus 3:2), Isaiah (burning coals, chapter 6) and the call of Ezekiel (firey chariots, chapter 1).  In each of these cases, the fire produces a division, but this division is more of a setting aside.  The fire indicated a holiness that transforms the one who experiences it.  

This really comes full circle in the book of Acts, where the tongues of fire, divided (same word) rest on the apostles.  In this case, the early followers of Jesus have been divided from everyone else, but for a purpose, to share the good news.

Could we read this verse here as Jesus is saying he has come, not simply to judge, but to divide us from the rest, to call us into a new way of being?  This initial division will produce further division, but ultimately it serves a broader and unifying goal.

Lastly, I find it noteworthy that this whole section of Luke begins with a question about division, namely two brothers fighting over how to divide an inheritance (12:13).  Perhaps Jesus is reminding us that the real division isn't over money, but over loyalty to him.  Just like all other allegiances, this will cause division.

βαπτισμα ("baptism", 12:50)  It is interesting that the two times Jesus twice refers to his baptism, it refers to his suffering, both here and Mark 10

• "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:38)
• Or even in Paul's letter to the Romans:  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (6:1)

Any real talk of Baptism that doesn't deal with suffering and the cross doesn't seem New Testament, frankly!

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

 This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, most recently for July 2022

Summary:  There is a very similar to passages in the year of Mark (Mark 6:1-13) and Matthew (starting at 9:35; I've not posted on that passage).

I've not looked this passage in depth too much, but I sense that the most crucial thing for preaching is what the accounts in Mark and Luke share:

Jesus sends people out

 A) in teams 

B) to proclaim, call to repent, and heal  

C) to move on from those who reject them (ie, not live in anger, but in hope for the next interaction!).  

D) (Added in 2022): To return and tell the story of what they've done with Jesus and the gathered congregation.  (Action and reflection!!)

However, it is worth pointing out a few things that are unique to Luke's account:

εβδομηκοντα (seventy; 10:1)  There are seventy (or seventy-two) people sent out.  Luke does have the sending of the twelve.  But shortly thereafter, Jesus sends out the 72.  In Luke's Gospel, Jesus is not only shaping a small group of people, but impacting a wider circle as well.  It is also worth nothing that Jesus tries a ministry with a small group before expanding it.

υιος ειρηνης (sons of peace; 10:6)  The word 'sons' here can mean both sons and daughters.  Children of peace.  What a beautiful expression.  How are we cultivating children of peace?

σατανος (satan; 10:18)  This expression here reminds us that evil is ancient.  But so is Jesus.  In this passage Jesus acknowledges his consciousness prior to his human incarnation!

ου μη αδικηση (never harm; 10:19)  This is worth pondering -- plenty of Christians have suffered harm.  What does Jesus mean here?

John 14:23-29

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, 6C, most recently May 22, 2022
 
Summary:  Like many passages in John, this passage at first seems like a sequence of fairly random phrases; the preachers job is to pick the best one and run with it.  (Likely my peace I give you!)  If we take a look at the whole of verse 14, we realize that Jesus here is trying to calm his disciples down, as they are growing agitated and disbelieving in light of the coming death.  It makes me wonder -- over and against what fears and anxieties should we preach the promise of peace and God's presence?

(I think I prefer the paired Acts passage (16:9-16) for preaching, but there are some fascinating elements to the Greek here!)

Key words
μονη(ν) (meaning "dwelling", 14:23; as a participle this root word appears in 14:25):  One of the most important ways of understand the work of God in John's Gospel is "dwelling."  In the beginning of the Gospel, we learn that the word dwelt among us (different root word).  In fact, Jesus begins this section by offering that in his Father's house there are many "dwellings" (14:2, same word, but in plural form).  If we interpret 14:2 in light of 14:23, we get a really interesting concept.  In the father's house there are many dwelling places because in each and every person God can make a dwelling!  A dwelling place is a place of peace -- truly home.  This is what Jesus has come to offer!

This passage also establishes the criteria for God making his dwelling:  keeping his word and love.  So let's look at what is happening with those two criteria in this passage --

τηρεω (various forms in 14:21,23 and 24):  This means to guard, protect.  Interestingly, Jesus calls his disciples to guard:  his commandments (22), his word (23), his words (24).  Each of these connotes a different aspect of Jesus' teaching ministry.  It is also worth considering, if we just had John's Gospel, what are the commandments?  Believe in God (14.1) and love one another (14.34) stand out.  I would be curious to see what other commandments we could distill from John's Gospel besides these two foundational words, for John's Gospel offers less moral advice than the other Gospels.  Jesus does tell the woman to sin no more; other than this, what commandments do you find in John's Gospel?

ει αν (markers of conditional phrases): 
Heavy Greek lifting you can skip: 
These two words can work together to set up an IF...THEN...clause in Greek.  Depending on the tenses and moods used, it defines what kind of IF...THEN statement you get.  In the case of verse  14:28, "If you love me, then you would rejoice that I am going to the Father..." you have an ει+indicative imperfect followed by an αν+indicative aorist.  This type of phrase means IF (but it is not true) THEN (therefore this is not true).  So for example, in John 11:21 and 11:32:  If you had been there, my brother would not have died.  (But you weren't there, so my brother did die.).  See also John 18:30 and Acts 18:14 for examples. 

Based on the verbs, Jesus is actually saying in verse 28:  "If you have been loving me (which you haven't), then you would rejoice that I am going to the Father (which you aren't)!  I think this drastically changes the understanding of Jesus words.  He knows his disciples are distressed.  He tells them in the beginning (14:1) and at the end of the passage (14:27) not to be worried (ταρασσεσθω, from ταρασσω). 
 

While it may seem harsh that Jesus is telling his disciples they don't love him, he is actually speaking loving truth here:  They don't get it why Jesus had to die.  The other Gospels make the struggle of the disciples clear; this is the part of the Gospel when the disciples are showing they are struggling to understand and believe.  So what does Jesus do?  He offers them the promise of his presence and his peace.  Sometimes this is all we can do for people!

αφιημι and διδωμι ("leave" and "give", 14:27)  The word αφιημι is fascinating here, but I want to focus more on the fact that we are in the present tense.  This means that Jesus will continually leave and give; this is not a one time transference, but a ministry commitment for Jesus.

I want to borrow from another blogpost I have about the paraclete

***
παρακλητος (paraclete, 15.26 and throughout John 15 and 16) The word parakletos for the Holy Spirit is a tough one to crack! The noun literally means "one called along side of." Originally it meant a "legal assistant." Hence the affinity for the term advocate.

Yet, the whole field of words related to parakletos pushes against a cold, judicial term, especially in terms of our relationship with God.

14.16 The parakletos is a gift from God
14.17 The parakletos will be with us, even abide in us forever
14.26 The parakletos will teach you and cause you to remember the words of Jesus
15.26 The parakletos will witness about Jesus
16.8 The parakletos will prove the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment.
16.13 The parakletos will guide you on the way
16.13 The parakletos will listen to the Father and Son
16.14 The parakletos will glorify Jesus 
16.14 The parakletos will make Jesus known

Interestingly, the Vulgate does not even use the term advocate to translate parakletos, instead transliterating the word "paracletus." In fact, the Latin does translate the word "parakletos" from the Greek into the Latin "advocatum" once, and this is from 1 John 2.1, where the sense is different. Indeed, here the idea is Jesus interceding for us against the judge of the Father concerning our sins; in John's Gospel the idea of the parakletos has nothing to do with a legal metaphor before God the Father, but the enabler of Christian before the world of unbelievers.

Furthermore, a look at the verb παρακαλεω, the related verb for the noun παρακλητος, really brings home that this word (really word field) is not primarily about legal matters:
Isaiah 40.1 "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God."
Psalm 23 "Your rod and staff, they comfort me."
Proverbs 8:4 "To you, O people, I call and my cry is to all that live."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation,  who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God."
 

Greek Words for Love (1 Corinthians 13)

1 Corinthians 13 appears in year C of the Revised Common Lectionary, most recently Jan 30, 2022.

Summary:  Lots are made of the three or even four words for love in the Greek.  Let's look a bit closer at each word and how it appears in the New Testament.  Then we will look at other words for love that appear in Greek (and there are way, way more than four!)

αγαπη/αγαπαω:  Agape  (All citations in this section for "love" are the noun or verb form of αγαπη)

• Basic:  This is a special kind of love meant to describe the divine love.  It is used heavily be a select number of New Testament authors and is rarely found outside of the New Testament.
  
• As the Father loved me, so I love you.  John 15:9
  
• But God proves his love for us...  Romans 8:5
• This is my son, the beloved (αγαπτος) Mark 1:11
  
• Slightly more complex:  It can also describe human love toward other humans
• This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  John 15:12 
•  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  Mark 12:30
• Really complex:  It can be disordered love.  We can "agape" things that are not good.
  
• Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Luke 11:43
  
• No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Matthew 6:24
  

Overall, I think it is fair to say that within the New Testament, this kind of love refers to an "unconditional" and "sustaining" love that reflects God's love for humans.

φιλια/φιλεω:  Philia (All citations in this section for "love" are the noun or verb form of φιλια)

• Basic:  This refers to brotherly or sisterly affection.  
• In fact, the word for friend:  φιλος is clearly a linguistic sibling!
• So the Jews said , "See how Jesus loved Lazarus!" John 11:36
• More complex:  This kind of love is used to describe both divine love and human to divine love
• Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; Matthew 10:37
• I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.  Revelation 3:19
• The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.  John 5:20

In short, the easy distinction between αγαπη and φιλια cannot be maintained in the New Testament.  One interpretation of this data is that the two words are fundamentally synonyms.  Another is to consider that there is both something unconditional (αγαπη) and mutual (φιλια) in Jesus love for us.  This is best seen in John 15:13

• No one has greater love (αγαπη) than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends (φιλος).
  

However, I would be cautious about making too much linguistic hay out of how John uses similar words...so one must be able to support this notion of unconditional and mutual love elsewhere in Scripture to make this point.

ερως:  Eros 

• This word means "sexual" or "passionate" love.  Its English cognate is "erotic."  It is not found in the New Testament.  The Septuagint translators of the Old Testament employ it twice.
  
• Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. Proverbs 7:18 
• Sheol, the barren womb, the earth ever thirsty for water, and the fire that never says, "Enough." Proverbs 30:16  This verse is fascinating because the Septuagint translators just go all over the place (which happens in the proverbs translations).  The verse literally reads in Greek:  'Hades, woman Eros and Tartarus and the earth will never be satisfied."  So let's not worry about this.

Basic point:  While Scripture may deal with the erotic, the word eros is not in its vocabulary, especially not in the New Testament.  There are many books written on discovering this kind of love within Scripture, but it is fair to say that Jesus was not teaching about eros.

στοργή:  Storge

• This word means familial affection. 
• It is not found in the New Testament.  It occurs in some inter-testamental writings, 3rd and 4th Maccabees.   
• There is a derivative word of it that appears in Paul's letter to the Romans (see below).
  

While these are the big "four" in Greek, the New Testament and Scripture employed a number of other words for love.  

• ελεος:  This word typically means mercy.  However, it is the translation of k-s-d (חסד) from Old Testament Hebrew into Greek.  When translated into English, חסד is often translated as "steadfast love."  There are a couple of verses in the New Testament in which this word ελεος could have been translated as love instead of mercy.  This brings up a great discussion about the connection between love and mercy!
  
• He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Luke 10:37  
• By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us Luke 1:78 
• But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us Ephesians 2:4
• Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   Hebrews 4:16
• For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment  James 2:13  
  
•  There are a number of compound words with "φιλια" that occur in the New Testament.  These form words that describe all kinds of love!
  
• φιλοστοργοι, philostorge, lover of familial affection and φιλαδελφια, philadelphia, love of sibling.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Romans 12:10  This means literally:  Be lovers of familial love toward one another in sibling love!
  
• φιλαγαθος, philagaothos:  He must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled Titus 1:8
• φιλανδρους, philandrous, lover of men, φιλατεκνους, philateknous, lover of children:   That they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children Titus 2:4
• φιληδονος philhedonos, lover of pleasure and φιλοθεος, philotheos, lover of God: treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God 2 Timothy 3:4 
• There is also a great compound word to describe God in Titus 3 - Lover of humans: When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared Titus 3:4
• And finally, there is dear Theopholis (lover of God) to whom Luke writes his Gospel and Acts.

There are others too -- and not all good!  But it is clear that the New Testament employs a LOT of words to talk about love.  How do we get at God's love for us?  How do we describe what love between two humans in like?  

I hope you go love somebody today. 

And last, God loves you.