The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25 - 28 October 2012
Jeremiah
31:7-9
Psalm
126
Hebrews
7:23-28
St.
Mark 10:46-52
Background: Biblical Manuscripts
So many Christians don’t seem to understand
the rather complex nature of sacred texts, both their own and the Hebrew texts
as well. The enterprise of biblical
translation is a balance of not only setting the text in another language but
of determining the text itself. The two
oldest Hebrew manuscripts are the Aleppo Codex (920 CE) and the Leningrad Codex
(1008). Individual manuscripts are even
earlier, with the Dead Sea Scrolls dating to perhaps the first century
BCE. Of the Old Testament manuscripts we
have around 300 ore more extant manuscripts.
The New Testament, coming from a more recent
period of time, has a greater number of extant texts: 5,800 Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin
manuscripts, and around 9,300 manuscripts in various languages (Syriac, Slavic,
Coptic, etc.). The discovery of ancient
manuscripts continues. In 2008, 47 new
manuscripts were discovered in Albania.
Of these manuscripts, 17 were unknown to biblical scholars.
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Thus says the LORD:
Sing aloud with
gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for
the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise,
and say,
"Save, O LORD,
your people,
the remnant of
Israel."
See, I am going to
bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from
the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind
and the lame, those with child and
those in labor,
together;
a great company, they
shall return here.
With weeping they shall
come,
and with consolations I
will lead them back,
I will let them walk by
brooks of water,
in a straight path in
which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a
father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my
firstborn.
This reading is from a collection of fragments dealing with the
restoration of Israel (and here we must read not only the Northern Kingdom, but
the whole people). It begins with a hymn
of gladness and rejoicing, at their repatriation within the land of their
fathers and mothers. Here the prophet is
looking forward to the promise of restoration.
In “bringing them from the land of the north”, the author is referring
to Assyria, and to the massive deportations that were forced on the people of
Israel by the Assyrian forces. The
prophet also mentions a concept that will become an idea in Isaiah and in the
other prophets as well – the idea of “the remnant”, the small number of people
saved from the judgment. The messianic
nature of the promise is evident in the listing of those to be saved: the
blind, the lame, those with child, etc.
The full panoply of human emotion is evident, a spectrum that ranges
from supreme joy to weeping. Similar
emotions, recalled by the water brooks – a reference to their tears - is
expressed in Psalm 126. Such allusions
also reflect the “water from the rock” miracles in Exodus. God is seen as the father to both Israel and
Judah, as they are gently led back to their homeland.
Breaking
open Jeremiah:
- Why is Jeremiah hoping for a return? What did he expect to happen?
- How is the notion of a “remnant” a powerful theological concept?
- What are the signs of the messiah?
Psalm 126 In convertendo
When the LORD restored
the fortunes of Zion, *
then were we like those
who dream.
Then was our mouth
filled with laughter, *
and our tongue with
shouts of joy.
Then they said among
the nations, *
"The LORD has done
great things for them."
The LORD has done great
things for us, *
and we are glad indeed.
Restore our fortunes, O
LORD, *
like the watercourses
of the Negev.
Those who sowed with
tears *
will reap with songs of
joy.
Those who go out
weeping, carrying the seed, *
will come again with
joy, shouldering their sheaves.
The “Fortunes of Zion”, which God has so graciously restored, is not a
future condition, but rather a return to a previous condition of grace. The tenses of the verbs in these verses may
refer either to the past or the future.
Thus the conditions may be either holy remembrance or holy promise, with
the faithful caught into the flux of God’s grace. The intensity of the emotion is rendered as
“a dream” accompanied by the laughter of a happy and grateful people. “The watercourses of the Negev” refers to
those wadi, (or an arroyo if you’re from the SW United States) which grace the
Negev, the arid lands that extend south of Israel. Often they are filled with rainwaters in the
wet season and become raging rivers.
Such will be the suddenness of God’s mercy, and the grace of
return. The waters of tears are made
into the waters that irrigate the fields, which look forward to the abundant
harvest.
Breaking
open Psalm 126
- Have you ever had a moment of supreme joy? What was it all about?
- What accounts for the happiness in this psalm?
- How are tears and joy related?
Hebrews 7:23-28
The former priests were
many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;
but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through
him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was fitting that
we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from
sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has
no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for
those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. For the
law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of
the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made
perfect forever.
We continue in our reading from Hebrews and the comments on the priesthood
of Jesus as it relates to the ancient Levitical priesthood of Israel. The author notes the limited nature of the
ancient priests, whose service was limited by their deaths. Jesus, however, in spite of his death on the
cross, enjoys a “permanent” priesthood, unlimited by death. There are other differences, centrally the
“permanent” nature of the sacrifice of Jesus, which does not need a daily
repetition, such as those of the ancients.
Jesus is held up as the perfect priest.
Breaking
open Hebrews:
- In what way is Jesus the priest?
- In what way is Jesus the victim?
- How do these two ideas play with one another?
St. Mark 10:46-52
Jesus and
his disciples came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were
leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the
roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out
and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many sternly
ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David,
have mercy on me!" Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here."
And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is
calling you." So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The
blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to
him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his
sight and followed him on the way.
This
healing story follows the Third Passion Prediction and the subsequent
misunderstandings of the disciples. It
is as if this healing of blindness is meant as a commentary on the situation of
the disciples, who in their own blindness are misunderstanding Jesus’ mission. Once again we are met with Marcan secrecy and
the obduracy of faith and proclamation – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on
me.” The blind man has a vision of Jesus
as the Messiah, and it is this faith, Jesus declares, that saves him. The final statement is poignant, “Immediately
he regained his sight and followed him on the way.” Which way shall it be – The way to Jerusalem?
– The way disdained by his erstwhile followers, the disciples?
Breaking open the Gospel:
- How are the disciples blind?
- How is Bartimaeus sighted?
- Where do you fit in here?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope,
and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you
command; 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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