The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 26 - 4 November 2012
Deuteronomy
6:1-9
Psalm
119:1-8
Hebrews
9:11-14
St.
Mark 12:28-34
Background: The Decalogue
The Law of God, which we know as the “Ten
Commandments”, is found in two separate accounts in the Pentateuch, the
so-called Books of Moses. The first
account is Exodus 20:1-17, with a secondary account in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The influence of Hittite and Mesopotamian law
can be found in them, but there is no consensus as to when they were actually
written. The first of the commandments
are devoted to the worship of God, while the latter are devoted to the ethics
of daily life.
There are at least three numbering
systems. The Philonic system (named so
because it is elucidated in the writings of Philo) is the oldest, and labels
verse 3 (in Exodus) as Commandment 1, verses 4-6 as number 2, and so on. Hellenistic Jews, Greek Orthodox, Anglicans,
and Protestants use this system. Verse 2
is seen as a preface to the commandments. The second system is the Talmudic
from the Talmud, compiled in the 3rd Century. Here, verses 1-2 comprise the first “saying”,
and combines the verses 3-6 as the second. The last system is the Augustinian division,
which begins with the second commandment of the Talmudic division, and then
divides the commandment on coveting into two separate commandments. This version is used by Roman Catholics and
Lutherans.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Moses said: Now this is
the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that the LORD your God
charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into
and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children, may
fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and
his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear
therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with
you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and
honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The
LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I
am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk
about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and
when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your
forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Following the gift of the Law, or “The Ten Words”, Moses then expands on
the import of this gift. It is seen as a
preparatory act prior to the entrance of the Israelites into the Land of
Canaan. Notice the several comments that
deal with the fertility of the people and of the land. Coming from the arid desert, and a nomadic
life, the Israelites would soon be culturally challenged by the fertility religion
and the Ba’alim of their Canaanite
neighbors. Fertility is the gift and
blessing of God, and like Hosea, the Deuteronomist wants to make clear the role
of YHWH in providing for the people. What
follows is a methodology for making the Law the center of life – recitation at
all points during the day, the use of phylacteries and mezuzah – all these are
to speak to the Jewish life as it is lived moment by moment, day by day. At the heart of this reading is the “Great
Shema” – Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our
God, the Lord alone.” – a creedal statement that to this day defines the
foundation of Judaism. What follows is a
condensation of the law (Love of God and Neighbor and Self), which Jesus used
in teaching the Law to those around him
Breaking
open Deuteronomy:
- What role do the Ten Commandments play in your life?
- What role should they play in public life?
- How do your center your life in their precepts?
Psalm 119:1-8 Aleph: Beati immaculati
Happy are they whose
way is blameless, *
who walk in the law of
the LORD!
Happy are they who
observe his decrees *
and seek him with all
their hearts!
Who never do any wrong,
*
but always walk in his
ways.
You laid down your
commandments, *
that we should fully
keep them.
Oh, that my ways were
made so direct *
that I might keep your
statutes!
Then I should not be
put to shame, *
when I regard all your
commandments.
I will thank you with
an unfeigned heart, *
when I have learned
your righteous judgments.
I will keep your
statutes; *
do not utterly forsake
me.
This is the first section of the longest psalm in the Bible, and indeed
the longest chapter in the Hebrew Scriptures, some 176 lines of poetry. It is a long acrostic, the first word of each
section beginning with a succeeding letter of the alphabet. The poem is centered on the Torah, and
probably dates from the 7th Century BCE or even later when the Law
was reintroduced to the returning exiles.
It is profuse with expressions of God’s law and word – way, teaching,
decrees, commandments, judgments, statutes, etc. It is an appropriate psalm for the day given
the first reading and the Gospel.
Breaking
open Psalm 119
- What happiness comes from following God’s will?
- How do you personally know God’s will?
- How is God’s will made known in society?
Hebrews 9:11-14
When Christ came as a
high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and
perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered
once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but
with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of
goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those
who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish
to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!
We learn a great deal about the Jewish sacrificial system, as the author
of Hebrews comments on how the priesthood of Jesus surpasses these acts of the
Temple. Many of the holy places that he
mentions become analogies for the theological realities that he is hoping to
expound. Thus we are given the “Holy
Place”, the “Tent”, and the victims of the sacrifice as signs of the perfection
of the Christ and the completeness of God.
His argument is that the sanctification of the “defiled” is made through
the offering of these victims, how much more will the offering of the blood of
Christ perfect us in the Spirit.
Breaking
open Hebrews:
- Have you made sacrifices in your life?
- What are your thoughts about the sacrifice of Jesus?
- How is your body and life a “holy place”?
St. Mark 12:28-34
One of the scribes came
near and heard the Sadducees disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus
answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of
all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our
God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The
second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other
commandment greater than these." Then the scribe said to him, "You
are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there
is no other'; and 'to love him with all the heart, and with all the
understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as
oneself,'--this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to
ask him any question.
It is a temptation to view the Sadducees and Pharisees as a cantankerous
lot, constantly pestering Jesus. Actually
they were merely doing what the faithful did to rabbis, peppering them with
questions about how the Law should actually be lived. Here the argument is about the Law, and which
of the precepts of the Law takes precedence.
What we are witnesses to is a debate in which Jesus seemingly
participates. Jesus quotes the Great
Shema (see the first reading above) and its summation of the Law, to which the
Scribe adds his own emendation and explanations. Jesus honors his knowledge, and presumably
that of the reader who would follow Jesus’ exhortation. The Kingdom of God is close in these musings.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- What does it mean to think about Jesus as a rabbi?
- How is Jesus your teacher?
- How do you live out the Great Shema?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful
people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without
stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment