The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 16, 25 August 2013
Jeremiah
1:4-10
Psalm
71: 1-6
Or
Isaiah
58:9b-14
Psalm
103:1-8
Hebrews
12:18-29
St.
Luke 13:10-17
Background:
The Theology of Jeremiah
When we begin to talk
about the theology of a prophet, we are constrained to speak about it as the
product and thought of an individual.
The Prophet Jeremiah presents us with some problems in that regard. Here is a prophet who took pains to preserve
his work through the editing and recording of his amanuensis Baruch. In the very process of recording his oracles
and utterances, Jeremiah often comments on his own work, interpreting it in
relationship to the realities of the time in which it was being written
down. The materials of the book
represent sayings that precede the exile and others that follow it. The kernel of truth that represented his work
was appropriated by later individuals and reinterpreted in the light of present
realities. All of this was collected and
redacted to form the book as it has come down to us. Such a process was not unique to the
materials of Jeremiah. Other prophets
would be seen in a new and different light, and their words and work would be
appropriated to the present need. So the
theology is one that sees G-d active and present in all of the ages of a
people. It’s observations and arguments circle
round the event to be divined. Does G-d
judge a people, and if so, how? Will the
people survive and can they return? How
are the people sustained by G-d? How are
they to be redeemed? This is the crux of
Jeremiah’s problem, and it is the crux of those who followed in his school of
thinking and talking about G-d.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
The word of the LORD came to me saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
Then I said, "Ah, Lord G-D! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am
only a boy." But the LORD said to me,
"Do not say, 'I am only a boy';
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the LORD."
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to
me,
"Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant."
Into the context of momentous events in the life
of a people, a nation comes the word.
Through discernment we are able to hear the word of G-d through the
agency of a human, Jeremiah. That
someone should take on such an awful responsibility is often described in a
call – which is what we have in this reading.
Its elements are common to all such calls: a) G-d’s invitation (I
appointed you a prophet), b) Resistance (I do not know how to speak), c)
Assurance (Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’) d) Commissioning (I have put my words
in your mouth), and e) Message (I appoint you over nations). You might want to compare these elements in
Jeremiah to the Call of Isaiah (Isaiah
6), for another example of the call of a human to serve as agent of G-d’s
word. Bruggemann argues that in spite of
the personal aspects of such a call, the words of the text recalling a deeply
personal experience, it is a call that, like ordination, is mediated through the
community as well. Or this call may be a
literary construct, giving authenticity to all of the materials that will
follow. His “canonical” approach argues
for a shift away from a personal point of view to a “word” that can “pluck up
and pull down.” It is no longer the
words of an individual agent, nor the words agreed to by the community, but the word that in other contexts has
invited creation to be.
Breaking
open Isaiah:
- What do you think that it is that G-d wants you to do?
- How do you know that?
- What will you do about it?
Psalm 71:1-6, In te, Domine, speravi
In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; *
let me never be ashamed.
In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; *
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; *
you are my crag and my stronghold.
Deliver me, my G-d, from the hand of the wicked, *
from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.
For you are my hope, O Lord G-D, *
my confidence since I was young.
I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;
from my mother's womb you have been my strength; *
my praise shall be always of you.
The words of the Psalm recall the reality that
G-d speaks to the prophet Jeremiah, “before I formed you, in the womb I knew
you.” In this psalm of supplication we
hear the continuing need of the writer, which is met with the continuing
mercies of G-d. The writer recognizes
G-d’s presence from the beginning of his existence, “my confidence since I was young.”
Like the situation in Jeremiah’s call, where G-d acknowledges an
intimate knowing of Jeremiah from the moment of conception, so the writer here
sees a similar kind of knowledge, “from
my mother’s womb you brought me out.”
The reading here, this morning, is to emphasize G-d’s agency in the life
of Jeremiah, and of all who believe in G-d.
Breaking
open Psalm 71:
- What is the depth of your knowledge of yourself?
- How deeply does your family know you?
- How deeply does G-d know you?
Or
Isaiah 58:9b-14
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
then you shall take delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Followers of Track 2 in the lectionary might
want to avail themselves of the Track 1 reading from the Hebrew Scriptures,
above. It addresses the same concerns
that confront the later Isaiah in this reading.
It is the word that comes following the judgment, the words that form
the promises of restoration. It also
might be helpful to read the verse that immediately precedes this reading:
“Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:8
Isaiah would have us put into
our mind’s eye the situation at the Reed Sea, with G-d serving in the pillar of
fire before Israel, and serving not only as the one who leads, but also as the
one who takes up the rear guard. Given
that context, Isaiah sees the remnant returning to the ruined and dark places
of the past, which are now illuminated by G-d’s light. A series of verbs describe what is required,
it is no magical restoration. The people
are bidden to “rebuild”, “raise up”, “restore,” and “repair”. This is a description of G-d’s work that
apparently supersedes the normal observance of the Sabbath. It is more than the community’s work; it is
G-d’s work. It is a completion of the
return from Egypt.
Breaking
open Isaiah:
- How does G-d guard your life?
- What about it needs guarding?
- What is your response to G-d’s graciousness?
Psalm 103:1-8 Benedic, anima mea
Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.
The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.
The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
What we are bidden to do, in this psalm, is not
merely an external act of praise, but a deeply internal (Bless the Lord, O my soul) realization of G-d’s
blessing. The reasons are rehearsed, “he
benefits,” “he forgives and heals”, “he redeems”, and “he satisfies” as the
list of G-d’s interactions continues.
Verse 8 repeats Exodus
34:6, when G-d passes before Moses, shielding G-d’s glory,
“So
the LORD passed before him and proclaimed: The LORD, the LORD, a G-d gracious
and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity,”
We are clued in to this
connection in the previous verse, “He made his ways known to Moses.” Were the quotation to have been continued we
would be knee-deep in recrimination and accusation. Here, however, the emphasis is on forgiveness
and mercy.
Breaking
open Psalm 103:
- What does your heart know about G-d?
- What does your heart know about yourself?
- How do the two compare?
Hebrews 12:18-29
You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and
darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice
whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For
they could not endure the order that was given, "If even an animal touches
the mountain, it shall be stoned to death." Indeed, so terrifying was the
sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear.") But you have come to
Mount Zion and to the city of the living G-d, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn
who are enrolled in heaven, and to G-d the judge of all, and to the spirits of
the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and
to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not
escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will
we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice
shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not
only the earth but also the heaven." This phrase, "Yet once
more," indicates the removal of what is shaken-- that is, created things--
so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a
kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to G-d an
acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our G-d is a consuming
fire.
The author presents us with two distinctly
different visions. The first transports
us to Sinai that rumbles and shakes with the divine presence. What is seen and felt there is not touchable
for it is the abode and presence of G-d.
The contrasting vision is that of Jerusalem, and not just the earthly
city, but the heavenly presence of promise.
If Sinai recalls the presence of sin and judgment, then Jerusalem is a
sign of acceptance and righteousness. A
brief comparison in verse 24 is a delightful literary construct where the blood
of Abel is compared with the blood of Jesus.
The results are the difference of condemnation and redemption. The vision is continued with a sense of
“words of warning”. One is earthly,
Sinai, and the other is heavenly, Jerusalem.
The author wonders, which one will we hear, which one will renew life
and our praise of G-d?
Breaking
open Hebrews:
- What is a good symbol of your failure in life?
- What is a good symbol of your success?
- Where is G-d in all of this?
St. Luke 13:10-17
Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the
Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled
her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up
straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are
set free from your ailment." When he laid his hands on her, immediately
she stood up straight and began praising G-d. But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd,
"There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and
be cured, and not on the Sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said,
"You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his
donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this
woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set
free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?" When he said this, all his
opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the
wonderful things that he was doing.
In this reading we see the wisdom for the reading from
Isaiah. The center of concern is the
Sabbath, and the situation is one that used to be found in Galilee – teaching
in the Synagogue. Both of these elements
are combined here as a dramatic confrontation of Satan (the situation of the
woman) and of the prevailing attitudes regarding the Sabbath. The woman is bent over – she is a
disfigurement of the perfection of creation, and as such becomes as sign of
what Jesus intends to do about both sin and Satan. The conflict does not end with these
elements, however. Religious life is
prevented from addressing what the prophets would have described as
justice. It is the Sabbath Day – she
cannot be healed, and the leader of the Synagogue concurs. Jesus confronts the situation by returning to
creation itself. If an animal is met
with compassion on the Sabbath, then why not this woman?
So why is it necessary to release this woman from her trial on this
day. One needs only to go to Nazareth,
and the reference in Luke 4:21,
“today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The urgency of the Kingdom of Heaven
demands it.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- What do you understand about the demands of the Sabbath Day?
- How do you keep it holy?
- How do you find time for your own needs?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Grant, O merciful G-d, that your Church, being
gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among
all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one G-d, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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