The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 11, 19 July 2015
II Samuel 7:1-14a
Psalm 89:20-37
Or
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23
Ephesians 2:11-22
St. Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Background: Circumcision
In
the second reading for today, Paul confronts the issue of male circumcision as
a covenantal act, and notes that life in Christ supersedes such acts.
Nevertheless, it is a physical act that is still practiced in some Christian
circles, and is the subject of intense debate in our time. We often connect the
act with Judaism solely, but circumcision was practiced in other cultures as
well. It was variously seen as a rite of passage at puberty, an act of magic, a
hygienic act, or an act that demarked one’s social status. It is known in some
African cultures, and it was practiced in ancient Egypt as well. In Semitic
culture it was connected with the notion of covenant – indeed the verb used
when describing the enacting of a covenant is the verb “to cut”, one would cut
a covenant. This notion is seen well in the story of Abraham. The Greeks
abhorred it, and this becomes an issue during the Hellenistic period in
Palestine, especially during the rule of the Seleucid kings. Christian has either
condemned it (as at the Council of Basel-Florence in 1442) or has ignored it,
proclaiming that it was unnecessary for Christians.
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
When David, the king, was settled in his house, and
the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to
the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark
of God stays in a tent." Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that
you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."
But that same night the word of the LORD came to
Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to
build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I
brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving
about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the
people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of
Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have
you not built me a house of cedar?" Now therefore thus you shall say to my
servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from
following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with
you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I
will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that
they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall
afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over
my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the
LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are
fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring
after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his
kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
Here we meet a new
character in the David story, namely Nathan the prophet. He will appear again
in the narrative, and will have to speak harsh words to David. The author makes
here a comparison of conditions with David living in luxury (a stone palace
with cedar paneling from Lebanon – an urban idea) and God dwelling in a “tent”
(the Tabernacle, a nomadic idea). Nathan advises David to strive for this goal
of building a temple, but a dream/vision will give David pause.
Looking at this from a
political perspective, one can recognize in David’s desire the conviction to
centralize religion in Israel, closing down the shrines and cult center in the
countryside, and consolidating everything in the national capital, Jerusalem.
There is no small amount of punning in this text, which gives us an inkling of
what the real purpose was. David proposes to build “a house”, a temple for God.
God’s counter proposal is that God will establish “a house” namely the Davidic
line. The temple, however, will have to wait for another. So this is either an
apology to the reader for the fact that the great King David did not build a
temple, or it is a theological underscoring of the establishment of the Davidic
dynasty. It’s probably both.
Breaking open II Samuel
- Why do you think this story is preserved in the Bible?
- Why does David want to build a temple?
- Why does God not want him to do so?
Psalm 89:20-37 Tunc
locutus es
"I have found David my servant; *
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
My hand will hold him fast *
and my arm will make him strong.
No enemy shall deceive him, *
nor any wicked man bring him down.
I will crush his foes before him *
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and love shall be with him, *
and he shall be victorious through my Name.
I shall make his dominion extend *
from the Great Sea to the River.
He will say to me, 'You are my Father, *
my God, and the rock of my salvation.'
I will make him my firstborn *
and higher than the kings of the earth.
I will keep my love for him for ever, *
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
I will establish his line for ever *
and his throne as the days of heaven."
"If his children forsake my law *
and do not walk according to my judgments;
If they break my statutes *
and do not keep my commandments;
I will punish their transgressions with a rod *
and their iniquities with the lash;
But I will not take my love from him, *
nor let my faithfulness prove false.
I will not break my covenant, *
nor change what has gone out of my lips.
Once for all I have sworn by my holiness: *
'I will not lie to David.
His line shall endure for ever *
and his throne as the sun before me;
It shall stand fast for evermore like the moon, *
the abiding witness in the sky.' "
The psalm, a celebration of
Davidic kingship, seems to argue for the later purpose (a theological
foundation for the Davidic Dynasty) in the first reading. The remainder of the
psalm is a grand panegyric to the kingship of David. It is martial and it is
imperial, and it is probably well beyond the actualities of David’s empire. It
also forms a theological commentary on Davidic rule, and the covenant and
promise that God makes to David, God’s chosen one.
Breaking open Psalm 24\\89:
- How does the psalm describe a good king?
- What is the promise that God gives to David?
- What did the people expect of David?
Or
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep
of my pasture! says the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered
my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I
will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I myself will
gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them,
and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and
multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they
shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the
LORD.
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will
raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal
wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days
Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by
which he will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."
It would be good for the
reader to look at the Track 1 first reading and psalm to give background to the
notion of Kingship in ancient Israel, specifically to David kingship. Here the
shepherds that Jeremiah excoriates are really the kings that have failed both
God and people. Later in this same chapter (see verses 9-40) it is the
prophets who reap Jeremiah’s wrath. In this reading it is God who takes back
God’s people (oddly enough before sending them into exile) so that God might
serve as shepherd and not the king or the prophets. For a similar judgment see Ezekiel 34. The other
collective character in this passage is the sheep – Judah. One commentator
called this section of Jeremiah something of a collection of scattered texts
united by a theme of “judgment and hope.” We find the hope in three promises
that are at the core of this reading: “I
will gather the remnant,” “I will bring them back,” and “I will raise up
shepherds.” In a sense, Judah is being sent away in something of a purge
not all that dissimilar to the 40 years in the wilderness. Brought back by God,
they will be renewed and looked after and cared for in a new world - a new reality. What follows then is a
promise for the Davidids, “I will raise
up for David a righteous Branch.” The actions of this new shepherd will be
the execution of justice and righteousness. It makes me wonder what Jeremiah
might have to say to our national leaders, and what we ought to be expecting of
them.
Breaking open Jeremiah:
- Why is Jeremiah upset?
- Jeremiah discusses punishment for Kings and Prophets. What about
the people?
- What are Jeremiah’s words of hope”
Psalm 23 Dominus
regit me
The LORD is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's
sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You spread a table before me in the presence of those
who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
This is an odd selection,
especially if Jeremiah’s use of the term “shepherds” is still ringing in our
ears. We need to realize of course that this psalm will comment on God as
shepherd, and listen from that perception. What works against us here is the
sheer familiarity that we have with this psalm, which may obstruct our learning
something new from it. If it is more than comfortable words that we want, we
shall have to do some digging. The psalm is more than just image and metaphor,
but entails actualities and realities. It is to real meadows of fresh grass and
quiet waters that the psalmist wants us to experience under the leadership of
the Shepherd/God. He puts it rather succinctly in the verse, “he revives my soul.” The Hebrew is much
more literal, for it has the sense that God, “brings back my life.” However, it
is not just life’s realities that are mentioned here, but the actuality of
death as well. Death is compared to a shadow – something that is always there,
that accompanies us day by day. In spite of that shadow, God is with us, and
other blessings of life, anointing with luxurious oil and a table set with
delicious food, are also signs of God’s presence.
Breaking open Psalm 23:
- What have you found new in this psalm?
- What is familiar and comforting to you?
- If death is a shadow, what is life?
Ephesians 2:11-22
Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth,
called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the
circumcision" -- a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human
hands-- remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having
no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in
his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing
wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its
commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity
in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God
in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.
So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who
were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the
saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him
the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the
Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for
God.
As Paul moved into the
world of the Gentile, he brought with him the questions of how Gentile
believers would relate to Israel and to its history of salvation. Our reading
today plumbs the depths of that problem by tackling the idea of circumcision.
As usual, Paul takes the concept and spiritualizes it. No longer would it mean
the actual circumcision of a male, but rather the idea of “cutting away” that
which might keep us from God. “He has abolished the law with its
commandments and ordinances that he might create in himself one new humanity in
place of the two.” Paul did not see two people – those who followed the old
laws, and those who did not or who were unfamiliar with them. There is a new
people who are no longer “strangers and
aliens.” The closing verse is
actually quite profound. “The household
of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ
Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In 70 CE the temple in Jerusalem was
destroyed by the Romans. This would have been known to the Jewish members of
Paul’s Ephesian community, and perhaps known to some of the Gentiles as well.
His discussion of the household of God, sees a new vision of the temple as a
spiritual construct, with all of the church involved. There was no time or
place for grieving the destruction of a building.
Breaking open Ephesians:
- What have you cut out of your life?
- What do you know about Judaism, and how do you relate to it?
- Who is in the Body of Christ as you know it?
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all
that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted
place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going,
and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a
deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and
they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he
went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they
were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to
land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people
at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring
the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into
villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged
him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it
were healed.
The
lectionary gives us an introduction of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:35-44), but omits that actual
story and the one that follows, of Jesus walking on the water (6:45-52). You may wish to read
these to see the whole context of these two joined pericopes that form the text
of our Gospel for today. The final section provides a summary of the healing
power of Jesus. It is, in my estimation, a rather lackluster end to a series of
healings that underscored Jesus’ power to heal, and the limits to that power in
the unbelief of those around him. Nevertheless we will hear familiar verbs that
recall the preceding healing stories.
The
most dynamic of the two is perhaps the first verses, 30-34. Mark has the
disciples, who were previously sent out two by two; fill Jesus in on the
strength of their mission and what they have learned from it. It is then that
he invites them to a “deserted place.
(An isolated place – devoid of the crowds that were following)” Jesus longs for them to be in the
place of the wanderings of Israel, or in the place of his own temptation. One
gets the impression that he expects great gifts from the Spirit there, but the
crowd follows. Such is the expectation that comes with listening to Jesus. But
the lectionary bids us leave all this behind.
A
similar summary of the ministry of Jesus can be found in Mark 3:7-12. What we need to
focus on are the actions accounted for in these verses; the agency not only
Jesus, but of the people as well. Listen to what happens, “they recognized him”, “they laid the sick,” “they begged him”, and
“they touched”. These actions happen in the marketplace – at the center of
community life. It is from this place and from the disciples and these people
that the word will go out about where Jesus is, and what he might do for them.
I guess that it is not so lackluster, but rather a profound call into mission.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- Where is the wilderness to which you retreat?
- What do you do there to renew yourself?
- What is the power of Jesus in your life?
After breaking open the Word,
you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty
God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our
ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us
those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we
cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Questions
and comments copyright © 2015, Michael T. Hiller
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