Break Open the Word

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 7, 19 June 2016 Track One: I Kings 19:1-15a Psalm 42 and 43 Track Two: Isaiah 65:1-9 Psalm 22:18-27 Galatians 3:23-29 Saint Luke 8:26-39 Background: Paul and Christianity Two weeks ago I introduced you to the work of Brigitte Kahl and her book on Galatians . Today I’d like to acquaint you with another book that was recommended to me, Pamela Eisenbaum’s Paul was not a Christian – The Original Message of a Misunderstood Apostle . Whether or not you agree with her premise, that Paul was never a Christian, because the notion of Christianity didn’t exist at the time he wrote, this work is an excellent exercise in rethinking and reengaging with Paul. As a former Lutheran, it is often my habit to take his work for granted and not to look at it with new eyes. I have not finished reading this work, but expect that it will challenge and excite my reading of Paul and my preaching from Paul. Here is a tantalizing quote t...

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 6, 12 June 2016 Track One: I Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a Psalm 5:1-8 Track Two: II Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15 Psalm 32 Galatians 2:15-21 Saint Luke 7:36-8:3 Background: Land Ownership and the Individual A discussion of property rights in ancient Israel certainly will be helpful as background material in the Track One first reading, the expropriation of Naboth’s vineyard by Ahab. Perhaps more obliquely it will relate to Nathan’s example when confronting David about his taking Bathsheba from her husband Uriah. Both of these incidents involve private individuals, Naboth and Uriah, and individuals that could either operate as a private person or as an agent of the state. In the neighboring societies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was the state that seemed to be the core and center of property rights and usage, although some will argue that in Yahwism, a case could be made that God “owned” the property used by fa...