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Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 4 and 1 Corinthians 9

Jeremiah 4 – If Israel wants to return to the Lord, she has but to do it.  But they must “remove the foreskins of [their] hearts [take the tough cover off their hearts” (4:4). Today’s English Version, which I like for the simplicity of its language, has nothing like this in its translation – I don’t understand why. It says, “Keep your covenant with my, your Lord, and dedicate yourselves to me, you people of Judah and Jerusalem.”

The Lord is going to bring disaster on the people of Judah from the north; a “lion . . . a destroyer of nations has set out. He is coming to destroy Judah. The cities of Judah will be left in ruins, and no one will live in them” (4:7). Jeremiah engages in some Mosaic arm-twisting with God, accusing Him of having deceived the people with His promises of peace (4:10), but this is not what is going to happen.

The drama of this section lies in the coexistence of two simultaneous realities—the destruction, which is coming on Judah because of the hardness of their hearts and their years of unfaithfulness.  But the other is just as real; it is the terrible angst that fills the heart of the prophet, who must convey the harsh message of God to his people but at the same time feels somewhere in his heart that God has been unfaithful to the promise of peace made over and over again to the people. The prophet is an intermediary, the voice of God to His people AND the voice of the people to God. The excruciating tension these two jobs bring to the prophet are captured well in this chapter:

           

“The pain! I can’t bear the pain! My heart! My heart is beating wildly! I can’t keep quiet; I hear the trumpets and the shouts of battle. . . . How long must I see the battle raging and hear the blasts of trumpets? The Lord says, ‘My people are stupid; they don’t know me. They are like foolish children; they have no understanding. They are experts at doing what is evil, but failures at doing what is good” (4:19-22).

1 Corinthians 9 – Paul insists that he is “an apostle.” He has seen the risen Lord; this church in Corinth is his work “in the Lord.”  People who work for the gospel have a right to be supported, but Paul does not claim it.  In an exercise of the same “communitarian” ideal mentioned previously, he does not exercise this right because he thinks it might create obstacles to some he is attempting to reach. He is also still dealing with the boasting question—the boasting or self-inflation of those in the community who think their grasp of the gospel gives them a certain status or aura—grasping the gospel, embodying the gospel, representing it in any way puts a burden on you to serve it, not boast about it. His “freedom” in the gospel makes him want to be its slave, and that means he must try to be all things to all men—he must try to communicate the truth of the gospel to all manner of men so as to “win” them.  We are after an imperishable crown, not an earthly one.

Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 3 and 1 Corinthians 8

Jeremiah 3 - The terrible unfaithfulness of Israel (the northern part of the ancient Davidic kingdom) is recounted as if the relationship between God and the two sister kingdoms of Israel and Judah were akin to marriages. If a wife is unfaithful and the husband divorced her; and if the divorced wife ten married another (or others – other gods), then no reconciliation was possible under Jewish law (see Deut 24:1). And, not learning from the “divorce” the Lord dealt out to Israel, Judah is now just as unfaithful as "she" was. And, to the extent that “she” has returned to God at all, it is mostly pretense (3:10).  Israel was a “rebel,” and Judah is a “traitor.” 

Still, the Lord sends Jeremiah north with this message: “Return, rebel Israel . . .I will not remain angry with you; for I am merciful . . . I will not continue my wrath forever.  Only know your guilt” (3:2-13), acknowledge your guilt. If they do, the Lord assures them, He will take them back, even if the faithful constitute only a remnant—“one from a city, two from a clan . . .I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart. . .”  (3:14-15). God doesn’t want them to bring back the “cult” (note in NAB) of the ark (3:16). “They will no longer think of it, or remember it, or miss it, or make another.” (3:16). 

This is interesting.  The Lord laid out this "cult" for them (see Exod 25), but now he hopes and expects that they should move beyond it to the centralized worship of the Jerusalem Temple.  The “Covenant Box” was a way of bringing the sacred presence of God along with them as they traveled. It contained not only the Mosaic Laws but the “manna” set aside from the exodus. This movable sign of God’s presence is to be left behind, even though it had a legitimate role to play in its time. 

1 Corinthians 8 - Since “gods” other than Yahweh really do not exist, Paul is not troubled by eating food sacrificed to them.  They are illusory.  But if others are troubled, then one ought to refuse so as to preserve the good conscience of one’s brother or sister in the Lord.

The note in the NAB is very good: “Paul urges them to take a communitarian rather than an individualistic view of their Christian freedom. Many decisions that they consider pertinent only to their private relationship with God have social consequences.  Moral decisions cannot be based on purely theoretical considerations; they must be based on concrete circumstances, specifically on the value and needs of other individuals, and on mutual responsibility within the community.”

Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 1-2 and 1 Corinthians 7

Historical Information: To review very briefly the history of the people Moses and Josiah established in the “Promised Land” – we have, after all, just flipped from the end of Deuteronomy where Moses had brought the people of the Exodus to the borders of that promised land – to the very end of the monarchical period, some 600+ years later - VERY BRIEF:

Joshua, who received his appointment as leader from Moses, led the people into the land Moses had led them to. Under his leadership, wars were fought and won to settle the people there and he placed them under the leadership of “Judges” – charismatic but more local leaders who would give guidance and settle disputes among them. The period of the "Judges" would last from about 1200 to approximately 1000 BC.

With several extremely powerful empires around them – Egypt to the south and west, Assyria to the northeast and Babylonia to the southwest – the Jews ultimately felt impelled to abandon the decentralized form of government and establish a stronger, more centralized state, and so begged their leaders for a monarch. Around 1000 BC, a monarchy was established under Saul and then David, and this monarch grew in authority and regional power under Solomon, but when Solomon died around 962 BC, the “kingdom” had had ruled soon broke apart and two separate lines of kings ruled over “Israel” to the north and “Judah” to the south, centered around Jerusalem. In 722 BC the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians, and for another hundred and forty years, the kingdom of Judah tries to hold on to its independence in an environment that is increasingly aggressive. Around 650 BC, Jeremiah is born in Anathoth, to a priestly family three miles NE of Jerusalem. He is 22 years old when he hears a “call” from God. 

Jeremiah 1- The Word of the YHWH is addressed to Jeremiah in the days of Josiah, and Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, Josiah’s sons – 608 to 587 BC.  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (1:5). He tries to beg off, saying he cannot speak, that he is too young; but Yahweh encourages him and touches his mouth: “See, I place my words in your mouth! This day I set you over nations and over kingdoms, to root up and to tear down . . .” (1:10).  “For it is I this day who have made you a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of brass, against the whole land: against Judah’s kings and princes, against its priests and people.  They will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord” (1:18-19).

The prophet sets up the standard against which even kings, priests and people must measure themselves—among these three we have every kind of civic and religious authority—monarchy, dictator, religious establishment and even democratic opinion.  The true prophet must be empowered against every earthly kind of authority, for he represents the divine plumb line against which all earthly authority must be measured.

Jeremiah 2 - Yahweh remembers the affection of Israel in the days of their first love like a lover remembering the ardent devotion of his first love: “I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride. . .” (2:2).  What, he asks, made his amazing bride – the people he chose to be one with Him -- desert him.  They “went after empty idols, and became empty themselves?” (2:5) Why is it no one asks, “Where is Yahweh?” 

The love of God involves a seeking after him, an awareness that he is somehow absent.  No one has knowledge of him any more – not the priests and rules, not the prophets.  They follow “things with no power in them” (2:8). It is appalling – Yahweh says – unheard of: “. . .my people have committed a double crime: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, only to dig cisterns for themselves, leaky cisterns that hold no water” (2:13). Israel runs after idols and becomes degenerate, yet she is in denial (2:23): “Though you scour it with soap, and use much lye, The stain of your guilt is still before me, says the Lord God.” (2:22) [Reminds me of Lady Macbeth]

I so admire the way the Jews have embraced the harsh voices of their prophets, even this brutal prophet. We Christians have not shown ourselves to be up to this. Though the unfaithfulness is acknowledged, the ministry of condemnation is received by them in ways we Christians have not yet learned to emulate. The Reformers of the 16^th century–and even earlier—lent their voices to the prophetic task, but they were largely rejected. Jeremiah did not do well at the hands of his contemporaries, but his scourging rebukes were eventually embraced. It has been now nearly five hundred years and only now is the Catholic Church beginning to see that there is a need for institutional repentance.Pope John Paul saw it in connection with the church's involvement with anti-semitism, but I wish the leadership of the Catholic Church would see it in connection with how the Church dealt with the "reformation voices" in its history; and I wish the churches established as a result of  hard-headedness in the Catholic Church would see that perpetual separateness is not what we should settle for. None of the Jewish prophets went and established separate communities - they struggled with their people and were finally received as voices God had raised up.  And how can we incorporate these voices into our very identity?  When we find a way to do that, the splits will end – maybe; or, at least, they will begin to mend.

1 Corinthians 7 - “Sex is always a danger,” Paul says.  Marriage is for this--neither partner owns his own body in a marriage.  Each belongs to the other.  So he thinks staying as you are at the time of your call is best (7:25-40). He is sure the “world as we know it is passing away.” The important thing is to give individual attention to the Lord. He goes on to say that if you are married, you are not to separate or divorce; or if you do separate, you should remain single.  He does permit believing partners whose unbelieving spouses leave them to remarry. “The brother or sister is not bound in such cases; God has called you to peace” (7:15).  The overriding principle with Paul seems to be that people should not worry about the state they were in before their call, that decisions about changes to one’s earthly state should become relatively unimportant in light of the fact that “time is running out . . .[that] the world in its present form is passing away” (7:31).

What shall we make of such advice today, made as it was from such a perspective? I think we ought not to put much weight on it in the last analysis.  On the question of how marriage “divides” us from single-minded service to the gospel, it is true to some extent.  Yet every person must put the Lord first to some end.  The single man or woman serving the Lord puts Him first in order to serve the faith community.  The married person must put Him first in order to faithfully fulfill the calling of being a spouse and a parent, a citizen or a friend—the only thing that changes is the field of service, for there is no state of life—excepting perhaps the purely contemplative—where only the Lord is served; and then we need to ask “to what end” is He served?

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 33-34 and 1 Corinthians 6

Deuteronomy 33 – Moses addresses all the tribes and grants them each a special thought or blessing along with a portion of the land into which they will be going.  For some reason Simeon is not mentioned and the sons (tribes) of Joseph are given shares.  The Levites, the ones who helped execute the Lord’s vengeance over the golden calf incident, receive praise for putting God ahead of family (33: 9). The Schocken version points out that this blessing differs somewhat from what is found in Genesis and says the slant here is a more “Northern tribal” account, perhaps from the days of Jeroboam II in the early 8^th C. BC.

Deuteronomy 34 – They go up through the plains of Moab to Mt. Nebo, opposite Jericho.  Here Moses dies and is buried—the place unknown.  Joshua takes over leadership of the people.  He is filled with “the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands on him . . .” (34:9).  But “no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (34:10).

1 Corinthians 6 - It is wrong to resort to the law courts when dealing with a “brother” (a fellow-Christian). The saints should work things out in their community. Paul clearly alludes to the promises made in Daniel’s eschatological passages (7:22-23) that the “holy ones” will someday be the ones who will possess the kingdom and be judges over others, even over the angels, though when I turn to Daniel, that seems far from clear in the cited passages. Paul seems to think it is better to put up with injustices than to go to “outside” courts for judgments in cases between believers. Paul lists those who will not inherit the kingdom: the unjust, fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, boy prostitutes (catamites), practicing homosexuals (sodomites), thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, robbers.  Beyond this, the saying, which perhaps Paul himself had said at some point and others in Corinth had taken too literally that “everything is lawful for me” (6:12) does not mean that immoderation or other departures from “moral” behavior is now okay.  The standard of the kingdom is high, not slack: “[W]hoever is joined to the Lord [and all the baptized are joined to him] becomes one spirit with him. Avoid immorality.  Every other sin a person commits is outside he body, but the immoral person sins against his own body” (6:17-18). Our bodies are temples “of the holy Spirit within [us] whom [we] have from God. . .” (6:19).

How to deal with the passages here and elsewhere on homosexuality?? It is challenging for Christians today. And one part of the challenge is that it has become harder and harder to discuss the issue. My own view is complicated. I am not a biblical literalist, so the fact that Paul condemns homosexual sex acts as immoral along with idolatry and injustice and greed and all the other things many of us are guilty of, is not per se an answer to the question of whether there is room for fundamental change in our understanding of what is acceptable in the Christian community. I think it may take us time to sort out. Many gay men and women are believers and do, like heterosexual believers, try to establish their relationships on a commitment to lifelong faithfulness. But I do not know if this is enough. There is a very deep part of me that wonders if it is enough. I would be interested to hear how others have “settled” the issue in their own thinking.

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 32 and 1 Corinthians 5

Deuteronomy 32 – The Song of Moses [the number of verses equals the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet – 23 - times 3. It concludes the teaching books of the Old Testament: “my teaching will fall like drops of rain and form on the earth like dew. My words will fall like showers on young plants, like gentle rain on tender grass” (32:2). From the beginning, the Judeo-Christian vision has been that we humans are here on earth as creations of a “mighty,” “just” and “perfect” God, who seeks for us to be “like” Him, to be a consort for Him in this awesome universe. We ALWAYS fall short; we never are fully “like” Him as we were created to be: “Your God is faithful and true; he does what is right and fair. But you are unfaithful, unworthy to be his people” (32:4-5). We must constantly be reminded of these basics – his faithfulness to us, our repeated failures to return this faithfulness, his dissatisfaction and anger but also his constant willingness to forgive and start over. We must remember; we must pass the memory along.

There is no avoidance in the Old Testament, and especially here in Deuteronomy, of the reality that the history of humanity has been a story of disaster, suffering, war, and moral failure. The writers of the Torah seem to have no compunction about giving God ultimate responsibility for all of it. And, while that is a tough message to swallow, it permits us to believe that we are not hopelessly unfaithful. We can be better. God permits us to put the blame on Him in this world-view: “’I, and I alone, am God; no other god is real. I kill and I give life, I wound and I heal, and no one can oppose what I do. As surely as I am the living God, I raise my hand and I vow that I will sharpen my flashing sword and see that justice is done. I will take revenge on my enemies and punish those who hate me. My arrows will drip with their blood, and my sword will kill all who oppose me “ (32:39-41). But if we turn to him in faithfulness, we can live as He intends.

I admit that it is very hard for me to digest the harsh words of this book as the words of my God, but when I feel ready to slough them off or ascribe them to a wholly different God than the God Jesus came to reveal, I have to remember that these are the words Jesus too was raised to accept as true. They are at the very heart of the tradition he fulfilled.  And God holds even the most prestigious leaders to His high standard. To conclude the chapter, Moses is told to go to Mt. Nebo and look over the land the Lord is giving to His people. Moses will die here just as Aaron, his brother, died for having been “unfaithful to [God] in the presence of the people of Israel . . .You will look at the land from a distance, but you will not enter the land that I am giving the people of Israel” (32:50).

1 Corinthians 5 - A case of incest that has been brought to his attention disturbs Paul, especially in light of the spiritual boasting the Corinthian church has indulged in.  The person should be expelled from the community in Paul’s opinion.  But still it is the church’s boasting that is the focus of his concern (5:6). It is not necessary (or possible) to withdraw from all the immoral people who live in the world we inhabit; but Christians must exercise discipline inside the church community, “banning” those who are “sexually immoral or greedy” or those who are “idolater[s], reviler[s], drunkard[s] or robber[s]” (5:11).  God is judge of those outside the church, but inside there must be some discipline.

Paul lived in a simpler time, I think. We [and here I think I speak for both Catholics and Quakers] clearly do not “separate” ourselves from people in our faith community whom we see as “sinners.” There is a degree of agreement that we cannot and should not judge others; and where is the line in the sand dividing those whose sins are so egregious they should lead to banishment. We probably should “labor” more actively with those in our communities who we suspect are behaving badly, but especially here in America, we have trouble doing this. I think we all feel that Paul’s suggestion we leave the judgment to God is the best advice. It’s just when people’s bad behavior leads to dysfunction within the community that it really becomes important to deal with it. 

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 31 and 1 Corinthians 4

Deuteronomy 31 – The next four chapters bring the Torah to a close.  The Schocken version points out that they end not with achievement of the goal—entry into the Promised Land but with a people filled with hope and commitment and readiness; and he says, furthermore that the very end of the Hebrew Bible—II Chronicles 36 parallels this with Cyrus vowing to build a house for YHWH in Jerusalem and inviting the people to “go up.”

Moses is 120; he will not cross over the Jordan.  Yahweh himself will lead them in.  Moses committed the Law to writing and gave it to the Levites.  It is to be proclaimed every seven years on the pilgrimage of Sukkot when all Israel gathers to hear this instruction proclaimed.  Joshua and Moses meet at the “Tent of Appointment” and YHWH appears there too in the “column of cloud.” He predicts the unfaithfulness of the people and his abandonment of them. He is also given a Song to teach the people.

1 Corinthians 4 - We are Christ’s servants, stewards of the mysteries of God (4:1).  Having just finished some of the earliest Christian writings – the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch and Clement – I can say how wonderful it is that Paul sees himself as “steward” of these deepest mysteries. The others dwell so steadily on the “dos” and “don’ts” of the Christian community. Paul will not be judged by them or even by himself.  He will be judged by God He urges them again not “to go beyond what is written,” (4:6) [said in both JB and NAB to be obscure—maybe a reference to the OT promises and their fulfillment in the cross, maybe a gloss]. Somehow they must be making claims and boasting of having come into some advanced state or mystery—maybe the very kingdom of God itself—but Paul brings them up by reminding them while they are reveling in this claim, he is still weak and deprived, serving the gospel, being ridiculed and persecuted for the sake of the gospel.  They need to stop their boasting.