The Fourth Sunday of Lent - 10 March 2013
Paul Richard Brenner
2 November 1939 - 22 February 2013
These commentaries are dedicated to the memory of the The Rev. Fr. Paul R. Brenner, pastor, priest, and courageous author and musician. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.
Joshua
5:9-12
Psalm
32
II
Corinthians 5:16-21
Saint
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Background: The Pattern of the Gospels
Advent, the Sundays after
the Epiphany, and Lent are always remarkable to me in their pattern of the
Gospel selected by the Lectionary.
Each series guides us either in our knowledge of Jesus, or informs us as
we observe his progress in ministry.
During this Lent we meet a Jesus who not only understands his purpose
and mission but also is intent in seeing its accomplishment. On the first Sunday Jesus is intent in
his stand against Satan and temptation, digging deeper into the Scriptures that
the Devil tosses out as proof-texts.
On Lent II, Jesus has his face set toward Jerusalem, in spite of its
reputation as a place that kills the prophets. We see a Jesus resolute in his purpose. Lent III offers an almost psychological
look at Jesus. Is the fig tree
Israel, or is it Jesus’ image of his own ministry? Patience is the word that guides his observation. The fourth Sunday gives us the familiar
story of the Prodigal Son, and offers to us an image of a Prodigal Father as
well. It is a parable of what will
be when all has been reconciled in the cross – a proleptic view of what will
follow the journey. Finally, on
the fifth Sunday, it is someone outside of the company of the disciples who
offers a sign of both faith and understanding. Mary “gets it” in the gift she offers, and prepares a way
for Jesus to enter the trials of Jerusalem.
Joshua 5:9-12
The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away from you the
disgrace of Egypt." And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.
While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the Passover in the
evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day
after the Passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land,
unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the
produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops
of the land of Canaan that year.
Please take some time and read the entire pericope
(5:2-9) that leads up to the selection for today. In the etiological story that explains the name Gibeath-haaraloth (Hill of the
Foreskins) and later the name of Gilgal (literally
“circle” – perhaps indicating a holy place of a circle of stones) we see the
important cultural elements of the religion that is developing around this
people and their journey. Thus we
come into the reading proper with its directions concerning the Passover. There is a tension between the then and the now. All is renewed,
freshened up, and determined so that the people could celebrate their relationship
with the God that had chosen them and continued to lead them. It is the meal that connects with the
parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel, and the graciousness that is not
only modeled here, but in the Gospel as well, that drives this reading’s
inclusion on this day. The
over-arching theme of forgiveness begins its vault here, continues especially
in the psalm, is commented on by Paul in the context of his own suffering, and
then completes its development in the parable of the Gospel.
Breaking
open Joshua:
1.
What kind of
promise do you and God share?
2.
How do you
make that promise known in your body?
3.
How has God
lead you in your past?
Psalm 32 Beati quorum
Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *
and whose sin is put away!
Happy are they to whom the LORD imputes no guilt, *
and in whose spirit there is no guile!
While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *
because of my groaning all day long.
For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *
my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *
and did not conceal my guilt.
I said," I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." *
Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.
Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of
trouble; *
when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.
You are my hiding-place;
you preserve me from trouble; *
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; *
I will guide you with my eye.
Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *
who must be fitted with bit and bridle,
or else they will not stay near you."
Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *
but mercy embraces those who trust in the LORD.
Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the LORD; *
shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
One wonders why the framers of the lectionary
didn’t limit this psalm to its first seven verses. Verse six seems to be an intrusion from another text, and
the concluding verses seem to have a theme all of their own. For preaching purposes or for granting
meaning to the theme of the day, the first seven verses will suffice. The psalm states its theme quickly and
succinctly – “Happy of sin forgiven, absolved of no offense” (Alter). What follows is a variation on that
theme, adding color, commentary, and image to the stark notion of confession
and forgiveness. The initial verse
betrays a simplicity that is in the final analysis not there. There is a struggle to come to
confession – “my bones withered away”, “your hand was heavy.” Is such suffering the “work” that is
required to achieve the forgiveness?
Hardly. It is however an
important observation of the interior life of the person of faith who is
suspended between the realization of sin, the confession of sin, and the
absolution from sin. The final
verse, even though it may have been added from another source, describes the
final state of righteousness and joy.
Breaking
open Psalm 32
1.
Have you ever
confessed a great sin?
2.
Have you ever
been forgiven a great thing?
3.
What were the
emotions that you experienced with these events?
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
From now on, 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.
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed
away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us
to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So
we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we
entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him
to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of
God.
Paul discerns in the image of the Christ something
new, not only for himself, but also for anyone who would know Jesus. He has spent some time in earlier
verses discussing and informing us about his journeys and the sufferings that
seemed to accompany them, and then following a comparison of the old and new
covenants, he describes a real dividing line – the period before the death and
resurrection of Jesus and the period following. He describes this cusp as the beginning of a “new
creation.” The key word in these
passages (and, interestingly, in relationship to these readings) is the reconciliation. Attributes of Jesus are soon to become
attributes of the believer as well – Jesus is righteousness and now you shall
become “the righteousness of God.”
Breaking
open II Corinthians:
1.
If you came
to Christianity later in life, what was the deciding moment of faith?
2.
If you were
baptized as a child or infant, what was the moment you decided to continue
belief?
3.
How are you a
righteous person?
St. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus.
And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow
welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus told them this parable:
"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his
father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So
he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered
all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his
property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took
place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired
himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields
to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the
pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he
said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but
here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to
him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer
worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So
he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father
saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and
kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and
before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said
to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put
a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill
it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.
"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and
approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves
and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your
father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.'
Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to
plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have
been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet
you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my
friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property
with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to
him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to
celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to
life; he was lost and has been found.'"
Here Luke presents a series of three parables on
mercy – The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and
finally the parable of the father and the sons. I hesitate to use the usual title for this pericope (The
Prodigal Son) for all the prodigal behaviors (of the younger son) are matched
by the prodigal acceptance of the father in the last part of the parable. The father not only deals with grace
and acceptance toward the younger son, who has squandered his inheritance in a
loose life, but also with the older son, who cannot even refer to the younger
son as “my brother”. Both waste
the good intentions of the gift of life and wealth, and yet both are welcomed back
into the father’s arms and relationship.
The final verse has a refrain that especially connects it to our Lenten
observance, “this brother of yours was dead and has come to life.” The hearer, perhaps, needs to reflect
on which of these characters best depicts his or her own life.
Breaking
open the Gospel:
- What was the wastefulness of the younger son?
- Of the older?
- Of the father?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday.
Gracious Father, whose blessed
Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to
the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
All commentary and questions are copyright © 2013
Michael T. Hiller
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