Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 111-113 and Matthew 23

Psalm 111 – “Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. . . . Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails” (111:2-3).

“All he does is just and good and all his commandments are trustworthy. They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity” (111:7-8).

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom” (111:10).

When I read “fear” I personally translate it as “awe” – some have trouble with the term fear, but awe works.

Psalm 112 – “How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed” (112:1-2). They will be blessed with wealth and success in all they do.

“They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor” (112:9). The success of the godly will infuriate the wicked. And the success of the ungodly will also infuriate the godly. Both are themes in the psalms. I do believe God will “fix” it in the long run.

Psalm 113 – “ Praise the Lord! Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord. . . . Blessed by the name of the Lord now and forever” (113:1-2).

“Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump” (113:7).

 

 

Matthew 23 – Jesus tells the crowds that the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees occupy “Moses’ seat” so they have a right to interpret the Law of Moses; the problem is not with what they teach – it is that they do not DO what they preach. They are hypocrites. They are great “sayers” of the truth, as early Friends might have said, but abysmal “doers.” And when they DO pious things, they do it for the praise, position and power it gives them in the community. Jesus warns his followers not to seek titles of respect, even the titles of “Teacher” or “Father” or “Leader“ (23:8-10). Have the goal of “serving” others – this is what the Lord really wants.

These hypocritical leaders stop people from entering the “kingdom of heaven”; they cross land and sea to convert people but make them worse than they are; they don’t even use common sense in interpreting the tradition—telling people that if the swear by the sanctuary they are not bound, but if they swear by the gold of the sanctuary they are. Which is more precious? They act as if they were blind.

Jesus goes on and on reprimanding the Pharisees and teachers of the Law for all the ways they are blind, self-righteous and superficial.  The are “full of greed and self-indulgence” (23:25); “like white-washed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth” (23:27); they build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous and tell everyone if you had been alive you would not have taken part in shedding their blood, but “you testify against yourselves” (23:31) by killing and crucifying the prophets, sages and scribes “I send.”  It does seem that Jesus is explicitly stepping into the voice of God here.

Then his anger turns to pain: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate.  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord’” (23:37-39).

This also seems as in Luke 19:41 to be a specific reference to the kind of rejection of the Christians in the synagogues in Jerusalem that made Peter cry out against them and made them see in the destruction of the Temple a rebuke and punishment from God. I asked my theology teacher, Fr. Luttenberger, what common source Luke and Matthew had for these angry anti-Pharisee diatribes.  He agreed that they sounded too angry to have been a part of “Q” if “Q” is a collection of “saying.”. They also seem to be most like in an environment in which there is struggle between the synagogue and the Jesus believer.

Reflection: The overall theme of this teaching is that pride, and particularly pride in being righteous, is death to those who really seek to please God.  The key is not to know everything God wants but to do it – obedience is the key and obedience not only in a superficial way, but obedience that runs up from a rooted sense of God’s voice being part of one’s experience inwardly. As Isaac Penington says, “Keep to the sense, keep to the feeling; beware of the understanding [part], beware of the imagining, conceiving mind.”  In the gospel, Jesus also extends his teaching to condemn those very ordinary human practices, which build up pride in people – the way we relish in status, titles, positions, honors. These are things Quakers took very much to heart, refusing even titles such as Mr. And Mrs.

Certainly titles such as are common in the Catholic Church were considered anathema. I do not think the hierarchical organization of the church is per se inconsistent with this teaching of Jesus, but the outward etiquette seems to me problematic.  What a witness it would be for the Pope to lay it down!  I can dream can’t I?

Daily Bible Reading: Sirach [Ecclesiasticus] 34-35 and Acts 16:19-40

Sirach 34 – On Dreams: “As well clutch at shadows and chase the wind as put any faith in dreams. Mirror and dream are similar things: confronting a face, the reflection of that face” (34:2-3).

“[D]reams have led many astray, and those building their hopes on them have been disappointed” (34:7).

On the Happiness of Those Who Fear the Lord: “Happy the soul of the man who fears the Lord. On whom does he rely? Who supports him? The eyes of the Lord watch over those who love him, he is their powerful protection and their strong support, their screen from the desert wind, their shelter from the midday sun, a guard against stumbling, an assurance against a fall” (34:14-16).

On Sacrifices: they are useless unless they are offered sincerely and not at cost to others.

Sirach 35 – Keeping the Law More Important than Sacrifices: “A man multiplies offerings by keeping the Law; he offers communion sacrifices by following the commandments. By showing gratitude he makes an offering of fine flour, by giving alms he offers a sacrifice of praise” (35:1-2).

“Mercy is welcome in time of trouble, like rain clouds in time of drought” (35:24).

Acts 16:19-40 - They meet a slave girl in Philippi who is a “soothsayer” (Jerusalem Bible note says the term literally means “Python spirit,” and this refers to the python who belonged to the Delphic oracle). She annoys Paul by proclaiming the men’s mission every time she sees them, so he orders the spirit to leave the woman in Jesus’ name (16:18). Her masters drag Paul and Silas to the law courts and accuse them of “causing a disturbance” by advocating practices it was “unlawful for us as Romans to accept or follow” (16:21-22). Jerusalem Bible notes that any kind of proselytizing Romans was unlawful for Jews or Christians. They are scourged and thrown into prison. 

That night, they pray and sing God’s praises, and suddenly there is an earthquake that basically knocks the prison down and results in them being able to go free. Note here again an echo of a similar experience Peter has in Acts 12:3. The jailer, fearing he will be held responsible, starts to commit suicide, but Paul stops him. He asks “what [he] must do to be saved” (16:30). They tell him “’believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your family’” (16:31).

The next day, an officer comes to order their release, but Paul makes a stink about it and says they must come and escort them out. The magistrates do come and beg them to leave the town. Then they go to Lydia’s again and leave from there to go to Thessalonika.

 

Daily BIble Reading: Sirach [Ecclesiasticus] 1-3 and Acts 4

The Apocrypha – Books of the Old Testament – about 16 of them - included in the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate but not in the Masoretic Bible or the Protestant Bibles. The word in Greek originally meant “hidden” or “secret” – thought to be somewhat beyond the reach of ordinary readers - but because of the exclusion of some of the texts from the Masoretic text, compiled by Torah scholars between the 7^th and 11^th centuries AD. Their criteria was generally to accept the book as canonical only if it was written before the time of Ezra (450 BC), before the promulgation of the Pentateuch as binding.  Ecclesiastes we now know came after, but at the time it was thought to have been written by Solomon (Boadt, 535) And among Christians during the Protestant Reformation, it came to mean “questionable” or “false” - not reliable. While the books were not seen as canonical by the Lutherans or Anglicans, German and English bibles kept the books as a separate group of “apocryphal” books that should not perhaps be given as much authority, but should be approached with a degree of respect since they were often alluded to or quoted in New Testament writings.

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

The book of Sirach (Jesus Ben Sira) or Ecclesiasticus is part of the Greek Bible and is not in the Jewish Canon. St. Cyrpian is the one who started to call it Ecclesiasticus. The forward has words alleged to be those of the author’s grandson, and it refers to a time around 132 BC as the date of composition. At this time Palestine was newly under the rule of the Seleucids; and it was a time when that ruling class promoted Greek culture. Ben Sira is part of the traditionalist resistance of the time. He is devoted to the Temple and the law. He has studied the Prophets and the wisdom writings.

                 

There is little logic to the writing overall though many parts of it are quite beautiful. The author believes that the way to wisdom is through adherence to the Mosaic Law and the Prophets. In this he is somewhat different from other wisdom proponents. The Jerusalem Bible introduction to the book says Sirach, the author, “is an outstanding example of those Hasidim (the ‘devout’) of Judaism, . . . who were soon to defend their faith against the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes, and preserve little islands of faith in Israel, in which the teaching of Christ could later take root” (1035).

                 

In the New Testament, James borrows from it and “it is, next to the Psalms, the Old Testament book most frequently quoted in the Christian liturgy” (1035).

Translator’s Forward - The Translator’s (Greek) Forward is included in the Jerusalem Bible translation, which I will use: He refers to his grandfather, the supposed author, as Jesus. He saw “Wisdom” as rooted in the Mosaic Law and the Prophets. He says it was when he went to Egypt in the year 132 BC that he sought to instruct himself in the language so he could translate this text. It is intended to help people live according to the Law.

Sirach 1 – “All wisdom is from the Lord, and it is his own forever” (1:1).

“Before all other things wisdom was created. . . One only is wise, terrible indeed, seated on his throne, the Lord. He himself has created her, looked on her and assessed her, and poured her out on all his works to be with all mankind as his gift, and he conveyed her to those who love him” (1:4-10).

“To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, she was created with the faithful in their mothers’ womb; she has made a nest among men, an age-old foundation, and to their offspring she will cling faithfully. To fear the Lord is the perfection of wisdom; she intoxicates them with her fruits; she fills their whole house with their heart’s desire, and their storerooms with her produce. The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom; it makes peace and health to flourish. . . To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom, and her branches are long life” (1:14-20).

“If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will convey her to you. For wisdom and instruction mean the fear of the Lord, and what pleases him is faithfulness and gentleness. Do not be unsubmissive to the fear of the Lord, do not practice it with a double heart. Do not act a part in public, and keep a watch over your lips” (1:26-29).

Sirach 2 – “My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal. Be sincere of heart, be steadfast, and do not be alarmed when disaster comes. Cling to him and do not leave him. . .” (2:1-3).

“Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire, and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation. Trust him and he will uphold you, follow a straight path and hope in him” (2:4-6).

“Look at the generations of old and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who ever feared him steadfastly and was left forsaken? (2:10)

“Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, not into the hands of men; for as his majesty is, so too is his mercy” (2:18).

Sirach 3 – The first part is about respect for father and mother.

“The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly, and then you will find favor with the Lord” (3:18).

“Do not try to understand things that are too difficult for you, or try to discover what is beyond your powers. Concentrate on what has been assigned you; you have no need to worry over mysteries. Do not meddle with matters that are beyond you; what you have been taught already exceeds the scope of the human mind” (3:21-23).

Acts 4 – The priests, the captain of the temple and some Sadducees complain that Peter and John are teaching the people about resurrection from the dead. They are arrested and brought the next day to Annas, Caiaphas and others. Peter speaks out of the Holy Spirit to them, that the good deed done by them was done in the name and power of Jesus Christ “whom you crucified,” again trying to spark in listeners a sense of the terrible thing they had done. For Peter, there “is salvation in no one else” (4:12).

                 

The fact that Peter and John are “uneducated and ordinary men,” or “uneducated laymen” in the Jerusalem BIble, they are not held to quite the same standard as a rabbi would be found teaching something like this, so they are warned to stop. The apostles retort by saying, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge” (4:19). They know they cannot keep from speaking “about what we have seen and heard” (4:20). The official lets them go, fearing the people.

Peter and John return to their friends. The incident only shows them that the “kings of the earth . . . and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah,” quoting Psalm 2. They simply ask God to grant them power to speak his word “with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (4:30).

                 

The writer returns to the theme of the apostles’ social testimony: The “whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common” (4:32). An example given is Barnabas, who sold a field that belonged to him and brought the proceeds to the apostles. The Jerusalem Bible translates 4:37 so it reads “he had a field and sold it”; the NRSV simply said “he sold a field that belonged to him,” (4:37) leaving it to the reader to wonder if it was one of many or his only field. I guess, considering what happens to Ananias in the next chapter, the Jerusalem Bible translation probably reflects better what the tradition believed about Barnabas.