The Eighthteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 21, 27 September 2015
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10;
9:20-22
Psalm 124
Or
Numbers 11;4-6,
10-16, 24-29
Psalm 19:7-14
James 5:13-20
St. Mark 9:38-50
Background: Esther
In the Book of Esther we have an exercise in
understanding the difficulties of the Diaspora, especially the disappearance of
Jewish culture and faith due to assimilation, or the threat of genocide. Esther
is a handbook devoted to these questions. In some sense it is also an etiology,
explaining the customs of Purim, a festival that is not mandated in the Torah.
The devices of exaggeration and an on-going narrative commend it to the reader.
Similar themes can be found in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-50) and in the stories that
surround the character of Daniel (Daniel
1-6). The stories of both Judith and Ruth also wrestle with these issues.
In a detailed unfolding, the book reveals the characters, and then details
their place in the story and their feelings. Finally, in the last chapters of
the book, Esther acts, and the book describes the establishment of Purim.
Track One
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
The king and Haman went in to feast with Queen
Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to
Esther, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And
what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be
fulfilled." Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have won your favor, O
king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me-- that is my petition--
and the lives of my people-- that is my request. For we have been sold, I and
my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been
sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy
can compensate for this damage to the king." Then King Ahasuerus said to
Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do
this?" Esther said, "A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!" Then
Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
Then Harbona, one of
the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, "Look, the very gallows that
Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman's
house, fifty cubits high." And the king said, "Hang him on
that." So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for
Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.
Mordecai recorded
these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of
King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the
fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month,
year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies,
and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and
from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and
gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the
poor.
Here is one instance where track 1 is of value and the Revised Common
Lectionary (RCL) does a good job of acquainting people with material that might
otherwise be overlooked. Unless your were raised with an Egermeier’s Bible
Story Book, or a similar volume, or unless you are familiar with Jewish customs
and holy days, this story might have escaped you. The pericope describes, after
long chapters and verses describing the intrigue of Haman to destroy the Jews,
how Esther realizes and then uses her political clout to arrest the evil plot
of Haman. It’s important to recognize Esther as not only having power as a
member of the royal household, but her power as a woman as well. This describes
to us the new notions that flowed into Judaism from the Persia, or other locals
of the Diaspora. It is a lesson of living in the system, but also knowing how
to use it and manipulate it.
Breaking open Esther:
1. What are other women of courage in the Bible?
2. What kind of opponents do you experience in
life?
3. How do you deal with them?
Psalm 124 Nisi quia Dominus
If the LORD had not been on our side, *
let
Israel now say;
If
the LORD had not been on our side, *
when
enemies rose up against us;
Then
would they have swallowed us up alive *
in
their fierce anger toward us;
Then
would the waters have overwhelmed us *
and
the torrent gone over us;
Then
would the raging waters *
have
gone right over us.
Blessed
be the LORD! *
he
has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
We
have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; *
the
snare is broken, and we have escaped.
Our
help is in the Name of the LORD, *
the
maker of heaven and earth.
The psalm is described to us as “a song of ascents for David.” We seem
to be in the midst of a liturgical work, if we understand the second verset
properly, “let Israel now say;” It is
a thanksgiving psalm for the whole community, although some phrases can be seen
as individual expressions of thanksgiving. It is matched to the Esther text by
this phrase, “when enemies rose up
against us.” Although it may be rooted in the conquest by Babylon, it is
general enough to be applied to several instances in which Israel stood against
those who were their opponents. What follows are striking images of
destruction. Some use the notion of ingestion, while others use the powerful
images of water and drowning. Some of these images come from a cultural fear of
the sea, or perhaps the flash floods that course down the dry wadi in the
desert. The theme of being devoured is picked up again in the sixth verse where
the people are described as “prey for
their teeth.” The conclusion is a summary of all the action above, where God,
whose name we must invoke, not only makes heaven and earth, but saves the
people. God is “our help.”
Breaking open Psalm
124:
1. How do the images of the psalm strike you?
2. Are there times when life is too much?
3. How? Why?
Or
Track Two
Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29
The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the
Israelites also wept again, and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We
remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the
melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried
up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."
Moses heard the
people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents.
Then the LORD became very angry, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the
LORD, "Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found
favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I
conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me,
'Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child,' to the land
that you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where am I to get meat to give to
all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, 'Give us meat to eat!' I
am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. If
this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once--if I have
found favor in your sight--and do not let me see my misery."
So the LORD said
to Moses, "Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to
be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of
meeting, and have them take their place there with you."
So Moses went out
and told the people the words of the LORD; and he gathered seventy elders of
the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the
cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it
on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied.
But they did not do so again.
Two men remained
in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested
on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the
tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad
and Medad are prophesying in the camp." And Joshua son of Nun, the
assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord Moses, stop
them!" But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would
that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his
spirit on them!"
The chief concern of the book of Numbers is the restoration and
continuation of the culture of the priestly caste, and indeed the Priestly
writer(s) are probably responsible for its being written. In some sense it
continues both the content and themes of Leviticus, each enjoying the same
themes and concerns. Its conceit is that the book was composed in the
wilderness, the initial words of the book. In a sense, this text seems to show
another aspect of what the first reading in the Track 1 series is attempting –
the power of individuals. Here, after a lengthy introduction that recalls the
incessant complaining of Israel about food in the wilderness, we have an
account of the Spirit resting upon seventy elders (seven = perfection, and ten
= a number of exaggeration and completeness). Two individuals, after the
pouring out of the Spirit, and then the subsequent completion of that act,
continue to speak as the Spirit has directed them. Like Esther, they act. This
last part of the pericope is designed to match the scene in the Gospel reading
for today, where a similar outbreak of individualism is discussed.
Breaking open the Numbers:
1. Have you ever felt filled by the Spirit?
When?
2. What did you do with all that energy?
3. What did you say?
Psalm 19:7-14 Caeli enarrant
The law of the LORD is perfect
and revives the
soul; *
the testimony of
the LORD is sure
and gives wisdom
to the innocent.
The statutes of
the LORD are just
and rejoice the
heart; *
the commandment of
the LORD is clear
and gives light to
the eyes.
The fear of the
LORD is clean
and endures for
ever; *
the judgments of
the LORD are true
and righteous
altogether.
More to be desired
are they than gold,
more than much
fine gold, *
sweeter far than
honey,
than honey in the
comb.
By them also is
your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping
them there is great reward.
Who can tell how
often he offends? *
cleanse me from my
secret faults.
Above all, keep
your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get
dominion over me; *
then shall I be
whole and sound,
and innocent of a
great offense.
Let the words of
my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be
acceptable in your sight, *
O LORD, my
strength and my redeemer.
If we are wondering what was imparted to the seventy elders in the
reading from Numbers, we have only to read the verses of this psalm to
understand its probable content and effect. In our selection from this psalm,
the theme is announced in the seventh verse (the first of our pericope), “The laws of the Lord is perfect and revives
the soul.” In a way this is a reverie about the Law, its usefulness and its
wisdom. The images are splendid – gold, honey, and my favorite phrase, “the
quintessence of bees”, or in our translation, “sweeter than honey in the comb.” There are other physical
reactions that accompany the recitation of the Law, “the words of my mouth” and an interior and personal “meditation” result from hearing God’s
words and thoughts. The psalmist hopes that these responses become an
acceptable sacrifice to God.
Breaking open Psalm
19:
1. What does your faith taste like?
2. Can you describe that to others?
3. Again, what might you say?
James 5:13-20
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are
any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They
should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them,
anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save
the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins
will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one
another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and
effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it
might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the
earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its
harvest.
My brothers and
sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by
another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will
save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
With the verses of this pericope, the author invites us to consider “The
Future of the Wise Community”, an appropriate following on to the themes of
Quick Listening, Slow Speaking, and Slowing Anger. What the community does now
is to wait patiently for God’s intents, and to look at the needs of the
community, here, healing. Like the elders in the first reading, the elders of
this community similarly anointed by the Spirit, now lay their hands
(literally) to healing, with the anointing of oil and prayer. Such anointing
signifies several things – being set aside, being treated for a medical
condition, being made comfortable, and others. Here it is the medicinal and the
spiritual that grabs our attention. There is another theme as well, that of
forgiveness. It is well matched with the idea of healing. The closing verse
summarizes the intent, “if anyone among
wanders from the truth and is brought back by another…(their soul is) saved
from death.” Physical death, and threats of it are joined with spiritual
death as the concerns that the elders of the community must keep in mind.
Breaking open James:
1. What is the relationship of forgiveness and
healing?
2. Do you ever heal yourself? How?
3. How do you heal others?
St. Mark 9:38-50
John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone
casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not
following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does
a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.
Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a
cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose
the reward.
"If any of
you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it
would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you
were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is
better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell,
to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off;
it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown
into hell., And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better
for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to
be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never
quenched.
"For
everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its
saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with
one another."
We are still on our way to Jerusalem, and Jesus is still about the
business of teaching his disciples what their calling truly is.
In these chapters of Mark we have a collection of sayings, all loosely
gathered together to represent what it is that Jesus wants the disciples to
understand. There is casuistry, “Teacher
we saw…” if statements, “if your foot
causes you to stumble.” and “whoever”
statements. It’s all quite catholic including a variety of situations, and
a variety of responses. The disciples are invited to be acting in all of life
(Esther, and Eldad and Medad again). The first situation, about someone casting
out demons mirrors the reading from Numbers, but also reminds us that Jesus is
leading the disciples and us, by extension, into a new kingdom, a new reality.
The radical nature of the Kingdom of Heaven is rehearsed in the statements that
talk about loss or obstruction, and finally that the follower of Jesus must be
salty, with a distinctive “taste.” If you haven’t read the Esther story yet –
go back. It’s a good accompaniment to Jesus’ teachings here.
Breaking open the
Gospel:
1. Who do you say that Jesus is?
2. How do you talk about his crucifixion?
3. What is your own cross?
After breaking open
the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises,
may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Questions and comments copyright © 2015, Michael T. Hiller
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