The Third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 6 - 17 June 2012
Ezekiel
17:22-24
Psalm
92:1-4, 11-14
II
Corinthians 5:6-17
St.
Mark 4:26-34
Background:
Agriculture in Palestine
The readings for today
give us a glimpse into the agricultural life at the time of Jesus and
before. Indeed, if we look at the story
of Cain and Abel, we can get a glimpse of the agricultural politics that forms
the basis for much of the religious and legal life of Israel. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a
sheepherder. In the story God rejects
the offering of Cain (wheat) and accepts the offering of Abel (a lamb). The enmity of the farmer and the rancher,
that forms a great deal of Western American history, is really quite ancient,
and reflects the insinuation of the wandering Hebrews into the life of the more
urban Canaanites. The lowlands of Canaan
were ideal for farming, and the highlands, where Israel was most prevalent, was
better suited to sheep and goats. In
time, as the Israelites move into cities and small farming villages, other
commodities, such as olives, vegetables, fruit, and grapes take on a greater
role in the daily and ritual life of Israel.
The customs of sacrifice, their required offerings of both animals and
products of the field, are informed by the settling of the people in
Palestine.
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.
All the trees of the field shall know
that I am the LORD.
I bring low the high tree,
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the LORD have spoken;
I will accomplish it.
 |
| Cedar of Lebanon |
To understand Ezekiel’s oracle to Israel here,
we need to go back and look at the preceding section (Ezekiel 17:1-21). It is here that he sets up the historical
situation that serves as a contrast to his poem of promise to Israel. In the initial verses he wrestles with the
problem of whether the people of Israel can exist in a strange land (Babylon)
or be ruled by a faithless ruler (a Davidid ruler appointed by the Babylonian
king). In the verses of the reading,
Ezekiel envisions a similar transplanting, and this time the actor is YHWH who
picks a tender planting of cedar (a faithful and true descendent of David),
transplanting in on a high mountain (Zion).
This, however, is a new planting or kingdom, and it realizes all the
hopes and new thought that results from the interaction of Israel and Babylon
during the period of bondage and exile.
Productivity and fecundity are restored to Israel. Even more, however, Israel welcomes “every
kind of bird” and “winged creatures of every kind”, a reflection of the growing
universalism that is to be seen also in Jeremiah and Isaiah, as well as
Ezekiel. The true son of David will rule
a wiser and more faithful Israel. It is
not only Ezekiel’s vision, but it is the Lord’s promise – “I will accomplish
it.”
Breaking
open Ezekiel:
- How effective are Ezekiel’s images for you?
- Why is the image of David so powerful?
- How do Christians look at this text?
Psalm 92:1-4,11-14 Bonum est confiteri
It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, *
and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning *
and of your faithfulness in the night season;
On the psaltery, and on the lyre, *
and to the melody of the harp.
For you have made me glad by your acts, O LORD; *
and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, *
and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD *
shall flourish in the courts of our God;
They shall still bear fruit in old age; *
they shall be green and succulent;
That they may show how upright the LORD is, *
my Rock, in whom there is no fault.
This psalm has both similar images and almost a
similar purpose to that of the passages from Ezekiel (First Reading). The opening verses are comments on the
community’s responsibility to both pray and praise, and offer up the reasons
for such worship (“I shout for joy because of the works of your hands”). The final verses describe the people who are
the beneficiaries of God’s good graces, and use similar images of planting and
growth. The righteous are compared to
palm trees and cedars. In a way, the
psalm is a vision that results from Ezekiel’s oracle.
Breaking
open Psalm 92
- Why do you feel the need to sing God’s praises?
- What acts of God have made you glad?
- What kind of fruit do you bear in your life?
2 Corinthians 5:6-17
We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in
the body we are away from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes,
we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home
with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please
him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each
may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or
evil.
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we
ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your
consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an
opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who
boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside
ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the
love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all;
therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live
no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From
now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we
once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed
away; see, everything has become new!
 |
| Jean Cocteau |
During Ordinary Time we are treated to a
continuing reading for both the Second Lesson (we begin with IInd Corinthians)
and the Gospel (Mark). Here St. Paul is
continuing an argument about which reality we ought to be guided by. Seeing our reliance on our earthly bodies as
a distraction from our vision of God, Paul urges us to rather have confidence
in our relationship with God and with the heavenly. It is a question of focus. Do we rely on outward shows of spirituality,
or do we center ourselves on Christ? The
perceptions of the Christian are so altered as to not only view Christ from an
earthly (human) point of view; no one is viewed from that point of view. Paul sees creation as a totally new thing,
recreated and new.
Breaking
open II Corinthians
- How do you view the world, and those around you as a human
being?
- Does your faith change that point of view at all?
- Has your image of Christ changed?
Mark 4:26-34
Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on
the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout
and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk,
then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at
once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."
He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what
parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon
the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it
grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as
they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he
explained everything in private to his disciples.
In a series of parable, Jesus teaches the disciples
and then the general public about the core of his revelation – the Kingdom of
God. In this reading we have two
parables, both involving seed and planting.
The first is a recasting of the parable of the sower, this time focusing
on the seed and how it sprouts. It is a
mystery (“he does not know how.”) by it is evident to any who would
observe. The Kingdom of God is not about
the sower, but rather about the result of the sower’s sowing. There are two important images, “ripeness”
and “the harvest”. These images
encapsulate Jesus’ expectations about the kingdom. It will be a time fulfilled in its ripeness,
and it will result in a great intake of people, as in the harvest.
The second parable is about contrasts. What are contrasted are the mustard seed and
the luxuriant bush that results. From
seemingly meager beginnings (the seed) come abundant results. It is Jesus’ answer to Ezekiel’s expectations
about the eschaton (the End
Time). Like Ezekiel, Jesus expects an
abundant harvest of the righteous, the new Israel.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- How “ripe” are you in your faith?
- What have you sown that brought forth a great good for someone
else?
- What did they do as a response?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your
steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth
with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our
Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment