The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 17 - 2 September 2012
Deuteronomy
4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm
15
James
1:17-27
St.
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Background: The Deuteronomist
It is probably not correct to speak of this
movement in the singular, for there were probably several individuals, if not a
school that functioned as the Deuteronomist.
In the Documentary Hypothesis, in its earliest form, scholars identified
four strands in the Pentateuch (the Books of Moses): J for the Yahwist, E for
the Elohist, D for the Deuteronomist, and P for the Priestly source. All of these sources seemed to have operated
with older materials and traditions, editing them to support a particular view
or theology. The Deuteronomic materials
include the Book of Deuteronomy, which is essentially a book of the Law, and
parts of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Jeremiah.
This school operated at several points during the development of the
Hebrew Scriptures, notably during the reign of Josiah, ca. 641-609 BCE, and in
the case of the Deuteronomic History a post-Exilic author/editor that
flourished in the sixth century. The
theology of the Deuteronomist centered on the Law, a covenant piece patterned
after the suzerain treaties of the Ancient Near East, and on a strong
monotheistic model with YHWH as the God of Israel. The school was influenced by refugees pouring
out of the Northern Kingdom of Israel when it was conquered by Assyria in the
eighth century. Their ideas form the
basic foundations of the theology of this school.
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Moses said: So now,
Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to
observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the
God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I
command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the
LORD your God with which I am charging you.
You must observe them diligently,
for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they
hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and
discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as
the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has
statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you
today?
But take care and watch
yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen
nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known
to your children and your children's children.
The section from which our reading is taken serves as an introduction to
a repetition of the Mosaic Law. Note the
prohibition (common in the treaties after which these laws are patterned) to
not change the provisions of the covenant (the agreement, or the treaty). Of interest is the opening notion in verse
six, “for this will show your wisdom”.
The Hebrew word here is normally indicated “prudence”, but here the
intent is really “wisdom”, which reflects not only the theology of the
Deuteronomist but also the slow identification of the Law with Wisdom. Also of note is the phrase, “has a god so
near to it as the Lord”, which points to the presence of the Ark of the
Covenant, which occupies a great place in the Deuteronomic History. The fiction here is that this speech by Moses
takes place after the Sinai/Horeb event, and Moses sharply recalls it to the
collective memory and tradition of the tribes.
The role that this oracular memory and tradition plays in the
transmission of the people’s common history is quite stunning, and it is
underlined by the injunctions that Moses gives to the parents of Israel.
Breaking
open Joshua:
- How do you see “wisdom” and “law” as being related?
- Do you have Bible passages committed to memory? How are they useful to you?
- How have you transmitted the message to succeeding generations?
Psalm 15 Domine, quis habitabit?
LORD, who may dwell in
your tabernacle? *
who may abide upon your
holy hill?
Whoever leads a
blameless life and does what is right, *
who speaks the truth
from his heart.
There is no guile upon
his tongue;
he does no evil to his
friend; *
he does not heap
contempt upon his neighbor.
In his sight the wicked
is rejected, *
but he honors those who
fear the LORD.
He has sworn to do no
wrong *
and does not take back
his word.
He does not give his
money in hope of gain, *
nor does he take a
bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these
things *
shall never be
overthrown.
In the first verse of the psalm we are projected across time, from the
“tent – the tabernacle” to the “holy hill”, thus Zion, Jerusalem and the
Temple. The verse represents the history
of the people from their nomadic days to their urban days. What follows is a set of virtues that accrue
to those who are faithful, and whose lives are acceptable so that they might
enter the place where God dwells. It is
a list worthy of Paul: just, honest, a protector of his/her family but not to
the point of dishonesty, ready to point out evil, good for his/her word, and
generous without expecting profit.
Breaking
open Psalm 15
- Where is a place for God that you observe in your life?
- What virtues do you think that your church teaches you?
- What virtues do you encourage in others?
James 1:17-27
Every generous act of
giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of
lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment
of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would
become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand
this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to
anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid
yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with
meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the
word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of
the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;
for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they
were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed
in their doing.
If any think they are
religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their
religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father,
is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself
unstained by the world.
The author may have, in the first verse of this ready, quoted a proverb
of the day, “Every gift is good, and every present is perfect.” However, the thought is not left there, as
the author goes on to add the source of every “perfect gift”, “the Father of lights.” Here God is pictured as the Creator, and thus
creation becomes the “perfect gift”.
Indeed it is our own created nature and not just “the lights” that is
called to mind here. God is our father,
and thus like Christ is the “first fruits” (Paul) so we are to be a first
fruits. The gifts that we are to give are
then suggested to us. The author
contrasts behaviors – doing and not just hearing, observing and not forgetting,
speculating on the law rather than enacting the law (caring for orphans and
widows). These concrete actions then
become doable gifts such as have come down from God.
Breaking
open James:
- What is God’s perfect gift to you?
- How is creation a gift to you?
- How do give a perfect gift to others?
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Now when the Pharisees
and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they
noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is,
without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless
they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;
and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are
also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and
bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your
disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with
defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you
hypocrites, as it is written,
This
people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain
do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.
You abandon the
commandment of God and hold to human tradition."
Then he
called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and
understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but
the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human
heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery,
avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All
these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
The
juxtaposition of all the readings for today becomes the question that is
engaged – “how do we follow the Law”?
For the Deuteronomist it was the tradition of the elders, and for the
psalmist it was a common-sense list of everyday virtues. For James it was a generosity that is modeled
on the God who is a profligate giver of all good things. For Jesus and the Pharisees it is another
conundrum. What do such goodly behaviors
indicate? The Pharisees call to Jesus’
mind the traditions of the elders, and the rules about food and cleansing. There is nothing overtly wrong here,
excepting that Jesus thinks that they have gotten the wrong idea. He latches onto the idea of uncleanness, and
quickly identifies the source – not what has been eaten, or eaten with
defilement (not cleansed) but rather what proceeds from our hearts or minds,
our lusting, or our pride. All are on a
correct path; Jesus just corrects the point of view.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- What is Jesus’ point in this saying?
- How do you follow the Law?
- What is the Gospel in this reading?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things:
Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion;
nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
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