The Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 28, 17 November 2013
Isaiah
65:17-25
Canticle
9
Or
Malachi
4:1-2a
Psalm
98
II
Thessalonians 3:6-13
St.
Luke 21:5-19
Background: Apocalyptic
Apocalyptic writing is that which uncover
things that are presently hidden, and thus it becomes the stuff of
prophets. We have a treasure trove of
apocalyptic writing in the readings for today.
The Isaiahs, Malachi, and Luke all have an apocalyptic bent. This genre of Biblical literature began with
the Exile and return from Exile well into the medieval period. Daniel, Revelation, parts of the Gospel, and
many of the prophets fall into this category of writing. Often apocalyptic was based or tempered on
myth or ancient history. Thus the six
days of creation, and a day of rest become a forecast of what is to come. The division of time into epochs, or kingdoms
(as in Daniel) seems to follow this model.
The intent, I think, was not so much work at the crystal ball as it was
an effort to understand the times and seasons.
Thus Isaiah looks to recent history and attempts to make meaning of it
so that a look into the future is not impossibility. In the Gospels, the apocalyptic words of
Jesus are repeated by the evangelists, especially Matthew and Luke, with a
fuller understanding of the time given the recent history in Palestine. The hearer, as well, would have seen the
relevance of Jesus’ forecast.
Isaiah 65:17-25
For I am about to
create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall
not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice
forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to
create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a
delight.
I will rejoice in
Jerusalem,
and delight in my
people;
no more shall the sound
of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be
in it
an infant that lives
but a few days,
or an old person who
does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a
hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short
of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses
and inhabit them;
they shall plant
vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build
and another inhabit;
they shall not plant
and another eat;
for like the days of a
tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall
long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in
vain,
or bear children for
calamity;
for they shall be
offspring blessed by the LORD--
and their descendants
as well.
Before they call I will
answer,
while they are yet
speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb
shall feed together,
the lion shall eat
straw like the ox;
but the serpent-- its
food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or
destroy
on all my holy
mountain, says the LORD.
This reading is replete with remembrances of similar pronouncements in
First Isaiah, and in the later Isaiah.
In Isaiah 43:18, the
prophet asks his hearers to forget the past, and to look forward to something
new. Likewise in Isaiah 11:6-9, we are bidden to behold
a world absent of ancient taboos and understandings of nature. Here God is seen
as the one who is constantly creating and recreating the heavens and the
earth. Again, we are bidden to not look
back to the old, “the former things shall
not be remembered.” And what might
those former things be? To a people
either in or recently released from exile, those images and experiences would
be immediate and can be implied by the ideal situation that the prophet paints
in the latter part of the pericope. All
of nature, not just the returnees, is freed from the old ways. That “the
wolf and the lamb shall feed together” can be seen as a metaphor for what
will be new in human history, or as an implicit understanding of nature
itself. The old enemy, however, the
serpent, still is destined to eat dust. This is a vision of salvation and redemption,
and more real than spiritual. The
troubles of wars and bellicose neighbors are to give way to a messianic period
of peace. One suspects that the prophet
saw this as a present or coming reality rather than an on-going hope.
Breaking
open Isaiah:
- What things of the past would you like to forget?
- How might they be redeemed in the future?
- How might you make that possible?
Canticle 9, The First Song of Isaiah
Ecce Deus
Isaiah 12:2-6
Surely, it is God who
saves me; *
I will trust in him and
not be afraid.
For the Lord is my
stronghold and my sure defense, *
and he will be my
Savior.
Therefore you shall
draw water with rejoicing *
from the springs of
salvation.
And on that day you
shall say, *
Give thanks to the Lord
and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known
among the peoples; *
see that they remember
that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the
Lord, for he has done great things, *
and this is known in
all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants
of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for the great one in
the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
This song interrupts first Isaiah’s oracles against the people of Judah
and Israel, and the later oracles against the nations. The God of these early chapters is a God of
accusation and judgment, and his wrath becomes the reality of the invading
neighbors, Assyria, and company. This song
introduces a theme that will be taken up in the later part of Isaiah, probably
written by a different hand and in a different time. The theme here and there is one of comfort
and forgiveness. The rant of the oracles
is abandoned in favor of a vision of God as Savior
and Stronghold. It looks forward to the vision in the
first reading above. The tense here,
however, is future. God “will be my Savior.” So there is an edge to this rejoicing,
the edge of repentance and remembrance of God’s kingship. Even in this, however, God is envisioned as
being in the midst of the people – a presence that beckons them to a different
future.
Breaking
open Canticle 9:
- How is a God a Savior to you?
- How have you been a Savior?
- Is God present in your home, your family, your life?
Or
Malachi 4:1-2a
See, the day is coming,
burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble;
the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will
leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of
righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.
The hopes that we have seen in the passages from Isaiah, above (Track 1)
and that we heard last week in Haggai, meet the reality which the prophet
writing as “my messenger” (mal’aki). Those hopes have been dashed in the behavior
of the society that has returned to resettle Palestine. Life is not what it was hoped to be with a decadent
priesthood that allows the people to run away from God and God’s law. Issues of intermarriage, foreign slaves and
servants tug at what it means to be a Jew.
The classic prophetic virtues of hospitality and care for the widow and
orphan are forgotten. The book was
written around 486 during the reign of Xerxes I, just as Persian was beginning
to defend itself against Greek incursions.
It is a difficult time. Yet there
is a note of hope in the final verse of the pericope – the sun of
righteousness. God is yet present in
God’s healing power.
Breaking
open Malachi:
- Have your hopes for the future ever been dashed? How?
- How did you try to save the situation?
- How was God present in the situation?
Psalm 98 Cantate Domino
Sing to the LORD a new
song, *
for he has done
marvelous things.
With his right hand and
his holy arm *
has he won for himself
the victory.
The LORD has made known
his victory; *
his righteousness has
he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
He remembers his mercy
and faithfulness to
the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the
earth have seen the victory of our God.
Shout with joy to the
LORD, all you lands; *
lift up your voice, rejoice,
and sing.
Sing to the LORD with
the harp, *
with the harp and the
voice of song.
With trumpets and the
sound of the horn *
shout with joy before
the King, the LORD.
Let the sea make a
noise and all that is in it, *
the lands and those who
dwell therein.
Let the rivers clap
their hands, *
and let the hills ring
out with joy before the LORD,
when he comes to judge
the earth.
In righteousness shall
he judge the world *
and the peoples with
equity.
In this psalm of praise we see God pictured in the guise of the warrior,
and much of the language specifically underscores that description. There is a global dimension to the psalm as
well with references to “the nations” or “all you lands.” This scope is limited, however, in verse 4,
where God remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel. The other scene that is pictured here, and
unfortunately cannot be heard, is that of an orchestra or a collection of
various instruments providing a fanfare to the God of Israel. This orchestra of human instruments, however,
is augmented by nature’s own fanfare from sea, and land, rivers and hills. The last verse describes the transaction of
righteousness and equity, which are the cause of the people’s gift of praise.
Breaking
open Psalm 98:
- What do you think of the strange mix of God as warrior serenaded
by a heavenly orchestra?
- Is the image of a warrior benign or malignant to you?
- Why might you want to sing God’s praises?
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Now we command you,
beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who
are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received
from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when
we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but
with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of
you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you
an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this
command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you
are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons
we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to
earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is
right.
The author lifts up Paul’s life as an example, to counter what is seen
as the ambivalence and idleness of the Christian community. Not only are those who follow Christ to be
active in life, providing for themselves and others, they are also to pursue
good. These observations are, perhaps,
the reverse side of waiting for the Coming One.
As Luther said when asked what he would do should the world come to an
end on the day following, “I would plant
a tree.” Here, as well, waiting was
to be accompanied by good works, and the honesty of daily toil so that no one
was a burden. Waiting is not idleness,
but rather activity that benefits all until Christ comes.
Breaking
open II Thessalonians:
- Are you an idle person?
- What do you procrastinate about?
- Do you have an idle faith?
Why?
St. Luke 21:5-19
When some were speaking
about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated
to God, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come
when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."
They asked him,
"Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about
to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for
many will come in my name and say, `I am he!' and, `The time is near!' Do not
go after them.
"When you hear of
wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first,
but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will
be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will
be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
"But
before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand
you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and
governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So
make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you
words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or
contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and
friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all
because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance
you will gain your souls."
This
pericope seems to be a clever aside that follows the story of the Widow’s
Mite. Given the context of the beauty of
the Temple, Jesus is able to advise his disciples on what is to come. These men, from Galilee, must have been
overcome by not only the opulence of the Temple but also its size as well. They seem struck by wonder and awe, born of
the Temple itself. Jesus tears into this
scene of wonder with the observation that all of this will soon be dust. He takes the casual comments of onlookers,
and asks that they look so as to see the times and the seasons.
The
response is one of practical fear, “when
will this be?” Jesus speaks out of
history when he recalls and looks forward to wars and insurrections. The history of Israel was replete with such
things, and it even now rested under the watchful eye of an occupying authority
– Rome. For Luke’s readers, this would
be even more evident. More than likely,
the Jewish revolts that preceded the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple
would have been in recent memory for these people. Thus the further description of their own
fate, “they will arrest you and persecute
you,” would have been reality for these people. Jesus’ words were not that far away for
them. The closing line of the
apocalyptic seems to echo a line of Paul’s, “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
Breaking open the Gospel:
1.
How impressive is your church?
2.
How evident is God in the structure of your church?
3.
How durable is your church?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our
learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest
them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting
life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
All commentary and questions are copyright © 2013 Michael T. Hiller
All commentary and questions are copyright © 2013 Michael T. Hiller
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