Deuteronomy 4 – Moses reminds the people of the commands he was given by God.”. . .that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land.” They are told not to add anything to these laws. This is interesting, especially in light of the fact that Deuteronomy does add onto and change things given earlier in the Torah, but the Schocken editors think these new things are worked in here under "the bringing together of the tradition." This is all a revised retelling of the original story. It is interesting that now the people are entering not as Abraham entered—as strangers, but as conquerors. Abraham and his whole clan were not numerically able to conquer the land. Their claim in the land even at the time of Joseph (three generations passed Abraham) was only the burial site at Hebron, which Abraham had bought to bury Sarah; but now things are different. The Lord gives them leave to go in and take the lands he wants them to have, not buy them. The laws and precepts he gives are witness to God’s closeness and his justice. In part they are to be a light to other nations because of the wisdom and justice of the statues and way of life they represent. He reminds his people “not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live. . .”(4:9)
Recalling Horeb (Mt. Snai) where the people had gathered to hear God’s words before the fiery mountain - “Then Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words but saw no shape, there was only a voice”(4:12) - and where He gave them the commandments and the covenant that bound them. No image of God appeared to them at that time; so, he remarks, “do not act perversely, making yourself a carved image in the shape of anything . . .” Yahweh “is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (4:24). The interesting thing is that the Lord tells them idolatry of the kind he warns them against “degrades” the people — not Him (4:16). If they are not faithful, God will scatter them and he even predicts this. But then they will repent. “But you will seek Yahweh. . .from there [exile], and if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul, you shall find him. . .” (4:29) “at the end of the day you will return to Yahweh your God and listen to His voice” (4:30).
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.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 3 and Matthew 22:23-46
Deuteronomy 3 – They move on to the region of Bashan. I think the entire region discussed in these early chapters of Deuteronomy is along the eastern side of the Jordan River. They are moving North of the Arnon River. Og, King of Bashan, marches against them and loses. They take 60 towns and again do a lot of killing – men, women and children. And there seems no shame in Moses or in the writer of this book in stating this very matter-of-factly. Moses divides Gilead between the half-tribes of Manasseh and Reuben and Gad. It is clear that the lands to the west of the Jordan will be a more difficult to take. Moses tells the men who have been granted the eastern lands that they are to help take the western lands and only then return to settle down. It is at this point that Moses begs the Lord to let him cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land. They are at Mount Pisgah (Mt. Nebo today) at the northeastern corner of the Dead Sea. The Lord is angry with him for the failings of the people. Note here the moral unity of the leader with his people – their participation in each other’s failings and strengths. This seems very primitive in a certain way, but it prefigures Jesus expiatory role and also [in the Catholic mind I also carry] the “holy logic” of the saints’ merits being available to us.
The other thing that cannot NOT come to mind when I read this chapter is the prophetic use Martin Luther King, Jr. made of this chapter in his last speech on April 3, 1968, the day before he was assassinated, in support of the sanitation workers in Memphis. These are his words:
We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Matthew 22:23-46 - It seems that everyone in any kind of leadership place in Jewish society challenged Jesus at every opportunity. The supporters of Herod (Herodians) have tried to show the Jesus is a potential problem for secular Roman authorities. Now the Sadduccees who represent the Temple leadership class challenge him on the issue of life after death. Traditionally Jews did have a belief in resurrection of the dead though it was not clearly or definitively set forth. There was a lot of discussion of it throughout Jewish history. See an interesting Jewish blog on the question: http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm - They ask Jesus how it will be in heaven for a woman who has had seven husbands (brothers who have died one after another). Jesus tells them that “when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry” (22:30). This is something he might have said even if she had only had one husband. But then he adds another argument - that the Lord is God of the living, not of the dead, so when scripture says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” these must be seen as living people even though they died many years earlier. Both of these responses leave a lot of interpretive “wiggle-room.”
Now the Pharisees challenge him again; they send a lawyer to ask him which commandment is the greatest. He says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and he adds a second part: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (22:37-40). After answering them, he asks them a question about who the Messiah is or will be. They respond that he will be a descendant of David, and Jesus responds with a puzzling question as to why David calls him (a supposed descendant, not yet arrived into the world) "Lord" in Psalm 110. The Psalm reads, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies under your feet’” (110:1). Clearly [sorry, humility is definitely called for here], Jesus SEEMS to be saying that the psalmist is quoting God’s words to the Messiah who is present WITH HIM in that moment (in eternity) but will not be entering into the world until [God] puts his enemies under his feet, and that that will not be for a long time yet. It is clear if you read on through the psalm that the Lord might have been talking to David, but it isn't clear why David who was thought to be the author of the psalm would have had the line read the way it does. All interesting! It shuts the Pharisees up for a while anyway.
The other thing that cannot NOT come to mind when I read this chapter is the prophetic use Martin Luther King, Jr. made of this chapter in his last speech on April 3, 1968, the day before he was assassinated, in support of the sanitation workers in Memphis. These are his words:
We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Matthew 22:23-46 - It seems that everyone in any kind of leadership place in Jewish society challenged Jesus at every opportunity. The supporters of Herod (Herodians) have tried to show the Jesus is a potential problem for secular Roman authorities. Now the Sadduccees who represent the Temple leadership class challenge him on the issue of life after death. Traditionally Jews did have a belief in resurrection of the dead though it was not clearly or definitively set forth. There was a lot of discussion of it throughout Jewish history. See an interesting Jewish blog on the question: http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm - They ask Jesus how it will be in heaven for a woman who has had seven husbands (brothers who have died one after another). Jesus tells them that “when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry” (22:30). This is something he might have said even if she had only had one husband. But then he adds another argument - that the Lord is God of the living, not of the dead, so when scripture says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” these must be seen as living people even though they died many years earlier. Both of these responses leave a lot of interpretive “wiggle-room.”
Now the Pharisees challenge him again; they send a lawyer to ask him which commandment is the greatest. He says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and he adds a second part: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (22:37-40). After answering them, he asks them a question about who the Messiah is or will be. They respond that he will be a descendant of David, and Jesus responds with a puzzling question as to why David calls him (a supposed descendant, not yet arrived into the world) "Lord" in Psalm 110. The Psalm reads, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies under your feet’” (110:1). Clearly [sorry, humility is definitely called for here], Jesus SEEMS to be saying that the psalmist is quoting God’s words to the Messiah who is present WITH HIM in that moment (in eternity) but will not be entering into the world until [God] puts his enemies under his feet, and that that will not be for a long time yet. It is clear if you read on through the psalm that the Lord might have been talking to David, but it isn't clear why David who was thought to be the author of the psalm would have had the line read the way it does. All interesting! It shuts the Pharisees up for a while anyway.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 2 and Matthew 22:1-22
Deuteronomy 2 - Moses and his people return to the wilderness in the highlands of Seir for a while; but soon they are ordered north again. The Lord makes clear to Moses the people who are to be left in peace and those he intends to displace, so that the Hebrews can take some of the land. The Edomites (descended from Esau) are to be left alone; the Moabites and Ammonites (descended from Lot, nephew of Abraham), and are also to be by-passed. It is the Amorites who are to lose their lands to the people of the promise. Now all of these people are part of a larger language group - they are all semitic. But they are separate "peoples" or tribes, some seen as insiders (connected in some way with Abraham) and others as distant.
After the Lord instructs Moses to “attack [Sihon – King of the Amorites] and begin occupying his land” (2:24). Moses starts the campaign by sending out a peaceful offer to pass through the King’s lands. Was this just a ruse? It seems it must have been because his actual goal is to do as God has told him. Anyway, he sends “peace envoys” to Sihon, Sihon refuses the offer Moses makes, and they fight. Sihon loses and all his towns are placed under “the ban” [Schocken translates this as “devoted-to-destruction” or confiscated for God]. Everyone is killed – men, women and children. And God’s people have a foothold in the Promised Land. This is very difficult stuff, but it is what it is. Evolution has not only been material or physical; it has been spiritual as well – I hope.
Matthew 22 – Jesus tells the parable of the wedding banquet. A king prepares a great banquet to celebrate the wedding of his son. He sends his servants out to call all who had been invited but they don’t come. He sends his servants out again to say that everything is ready; but they don’t take the invitation seriously. They just go about their everyday affairs and his messengers are abused by some and even killed. So he gets angry. He sends his servants out again but this time he tells them to go “into the main streets and invite everyone you find (22:9). So they go out and bring back everyone, good and bad.
When the king comes to view the guests, he notices one not in a “wedding robe” and wants to know how he got in. The guest is “speechless.” He has the guest thrown out “’into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen” (22:13-14).
Most of the parables that follow are straight from Mark (Luke has them all in order too), but this one about the wedding banquet is not in Mark. The story just before the tax collector one in Mark is the story about the vineyard owner who sends his servants to get the owner’s share but who finds they are always mistreated. Luke has a series of banquet stories in chapter 14 of his gospel.
The next story is about how the Pharisees try to trap Jesus. They bring Herodians with them to ask Jesus about whether or not they should pay taxes to the emperor. No precise reference has been accepted as to who these Herodians are – probably Pharisees supportive of Herod’s dynasty? But Jesus is “aware of their malice” (22:18) and says “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax” (22:18-19). It has the emperor’s head and title on it—so he says, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (22:21).
After the Lord instructs Moses to “attack [Sihon – King of the Amorites] and begin occupying his land” (2:24). Moses starts the campaign by sending out a peaceful offer to pass through the King’s lands. Was this just a ruse? It seems it must have been because his actual goal is to do as God has told him. Anyway, he sends “peace envoys” to Sihon, Sihon refuses the offer Moses makes, and they fight. Sihon loses and all his towns are placed under “the ban” [Schocken translates this as “devoted-to-destruction” or confiscated for God]. Everyone is killed – men, women and children. And God’s people have a foothold in the Promised Land. This is very difficult stuff, but it is what it is. Evolution has not only been material or physical; it has been spiritual as well – I hope.
Matthew 22 – Jesus tells the parable of the wedding banquet. A king prepares a great banquet to celebrate the wedding of his son. He sends his servants out to call all who had been invited but they don’t come. He sends his servants out again to say that everything is ready; but they don’t take the invitation seriously. They just go about their everyday affairs and his messengers are abused by some and even killed. So he gets angry. He sends his servants out again but this time he tells them to go “into the main streets and invite everyone you find (22:9). So they go out and bring back everyone, good and bad.
When the king comes to view the guests, he notices one not in a “wedding robe” and wants to know how he got in. The guest is “speechless.” He has the guest thrown out “’into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen” (22:13-14).
Most of the parables that follow are straight from Mark (Luke has them all in order too), but this one about the wedding banquet is not in Mark. The story just before the tax collector one in Mark is the story about the vineyard owner who sends his servants to get the owner’s share but who finds they are always mistreated. Luke has a series of banquet stories in chapter 14 of his gospel.
The next story is about how the Pharisees try to trap Jesus. They bring Herodians with them to ask Jesus about whether or not they should pay taxes to the emperor. No precise reference has been accepted as to who these Herodians are – probably Pharisees supportive of Herod’s dynasty? But Jesus is “aware of their malice” (22:18) and says “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax” (22:18-19). It has the emperor’s head and title on it—so he says, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (22:21).
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 1 and Matthew 21:23-46
Deuteronomy (Introduction) - The ancient name for this book was “mishne tora” or “copy of the Torah. But it goes beyond that according to Schocken. The whole mission and destiny of Israel is “recast” here. Here the man who thought of himself as halting of speech gives a series of eloquent speeches. Though Moses died on the steppes overlooking Jericho, its outlook seems to entail a knowledge and reverence for the monarchy established years later and the centrality of Jerusalem. Scholars have place origin of the book to around the time of the reign of Josiah (640-608 BC)—when he was trying to reform his kingdom, destroying “high places” of pagan worship. 2 Kings reports the “discovery” of the scroll in chapter 22. Schocken points out that scholars have remarked on internal references to the traditions and point of view of the northern kingdom (affinities to Hosea), so some think some of the book represents traditions carried south when the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians. It may later have been further edited and written down at similar crisis points (is he referring to the later Babylonian exile?)
Deut 1 – Moses addresses people in the 40th year of the exodus journey as they stand just outside the land God has promised them. He retells the story of their journey, of God’s promises and how they came to the new lands. He reminds them of how he could not bear the weight of the task of settling their problems alone (a recurrent theme from the beginning). He has the tribes name leaders whom he makes rulers and judges to hear controversies. It is hard to read them and NOT see the impact these ideas have had on the world we live in: “Judge every dispute fairly, whether it concerns only your own people or involves foreigners who live among you. Show no partiality in your decision; judge everyone on the same basis, no matter who they are. Do not be afraid of anyone, for the decisions you make come from God. If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me, and I will decide it” (1:16-17).
Then they go through the wilderness to Kadesh Barnea to the Mt. of Amorites. They send out scouts who report the enemy’s strength. They grumble against the Lord because they are afraid of the conflict ahead. Moses tries to reassure the people that the Lord will fight for them as he did back in Egypt, but he could not get the people to trust the Lord. The Lord gets angry at their unfaithfulness and swears no one will enter except for Caleb and Joshua. [Schocken says only Caleb and Joshua encouraged the invasion when others cautioned against it] The people finally decide to make the fight, but now God is NOT going to help them because they doubted Him. The Amorites whip their butts. They cry out to the Lord but He pays no attention to them.
Matthew 21:18-46 - In the morning he returns to the city and is hungry. He sees a fig tree by the road with nothing on it but leaves. He curses it and it withers. The disciples ask him how that happened. He makes it into a lesson about the power they may have too if they have faith. “[I]f you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done” (21:21).
When he goes into the Temple to teach this time, the chief priests and elders ask him by what authority he teaches and does these things. To confound them, knowing their fear of the people who have a high opinion of John the Baptist, he asks them where John’s authority came from. They claim not to know about John, so Jesus says he will not tell them by whose authority he ministers.
Then he tells them the parable of the man with two sons, one of whom defies his father when he asks him to do something but then obeys; and the other who outwardly complies but does not follow through and do what he said he was going to do. Which of the sons is doing his father’s will? They go with the one who gives the right response initially, but Jesus says no, the ones who actually DO the task are the ones who will be rewarded. It is not enough to “know” the father’s will or say you will do his will. The important thing is DOING the father’s will, and this the leaders are not doing.
Then he tells them the parable of the landowner who plants a vineyard and leases it out. The tenants continually abuse the agents of the absent owner. Finally he sends his son to collect his share thinking they will respect him. But they do not. They kill the son. Jesus tells them the owner will “put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time” (21:41). So Jesus wishes to penetrate the blindness of the Pharisees who threaten the life of the Son of God, owner of the vineyard of Israel. If they do not repent, the kingdom will be taken away and “given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom” (21:43). They know he is speaking about them and want to arrest him; the trouble is they fear the crowds who see Jesus as a prophet.
The biblical parables are designed to inspire a respect in the reader for the narrative of God’s dealings with the world seen over the long-term. As Joseph’s traumatic destiny in his family was really part of God plan to preserve and care for his people and not simply the sordid tale of brotherly jealousy and treachery, so the persecution of the prophets, the sending of the son Jesus and his rejection by the tenants (the Jews) must be seen as part of a greater plan God has to extend his salvation to all men.
Deut 1 – Moses addresses people in the 40th year of the exodus journey as they stand just outside the land God has promised them. He retells the story of their journey, of God’s promises and how they came to the new lands. He reminds them of how he could not bear the weight of the task of settling their problems alone (a recurrent theme from the beginning). He has the tribes name leaders whom he makes rulers and judges to hear controversies. It is hard to read them and NOT see the impact these ideas have had on the world we live in: “Judge every dispute fairly, whether it concerns only your own people or involves foreigners who live among you. Show no partiality in your decision; judge everyone on the same basis, no matter who they are. Do not be afraid of anyone, for the decisions you make come from God. If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me, and I will decide it” (1:16-17).
Then they go through the wilderness to Kadesh Barnea to the Mt. of Amorites. They send out scouts who report the enemy’s strength. They grumble against the Lord because they are afraid of the conflict ahead. Moses tries to reassure the people that the Lord will fight for them as he did back in Egypt, but he could not get the people to trust the Lord. The Lord gets angry at their unfaithfulness and swears no one will enter except for Caleb and Joshua. [Schocken says only Caleb and Joshua encouraged the invasion when others cautioned against it] The people finally decide to make the fight, but now God is NOT going to help them because they doubted Him. The Amorites whip their butts. They cry out to the Lord but He pays no attention to them.
Matthew 21:18-46 - In the morning he returns to the city and is hungry. He sees a fig tree by the road with nothing on it but leaves. He curses it and it withers. The disciples ask him how that happened. He makes it into a lesson about the power they may have too if they have faith. “[I]f you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done” (21:21).
When he goes into the Temple to teach this time, the chief priests and elders ask him by what authority he teaches and does these things. To confound them, knowing their fear of the people who have a high opinion of John the Baptist, he asks them where John’s authority came from. They claim not to know about John, so Jesus says he will not tell them by whose authority he ministers.
Then he tells them the parable of the man with two sons, one of whom defies his father when he asks him to do something but then obeys; and the other who outwardly complies but does not follow through and do what he said he was going to do. Which of the sons is doing his father’s will? They go with the one who gives the right response initially, but Jesus says no, the ones who actually DO the task are the ones who will be rewarded. It is not enough to “know” the father’s will or say you will do his will. The important thing is DOING the father’s will, and this the leaders are not doing.
Then he tells them the parable of the landowner who plants a vineyard and leases it out. The tenants continually abuse the agents of the absent owner. Finally he sends his son to collect his share thinking they will respect him. But they do not. They kill the son. Jesus tells them the owner will “put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time” (21:41). So Jesus wishes to penetrate the blindness of the Pharisees who threaten the life of the Son of God, owner of the vineyard of Israel. If they do not repent, the kingdom will be taken away and “given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom” (21:43). They know he is speaking about them and want to arrest him; the trouble is they fear the crowds who see Jesus as a prophet.
The biblical parables are designed to inspire a respect in the reader for the narrative of God’s dealings with the world seen over the long-term. As Joseph’s traumatic destiny in his family was really part of God plan to preserve and care for his people and not simply the sordid tale of brotherly jealousy and treachery, so the persecution of the prophets, the sending of the son Jesus and his rejection by the tenants (the Jews) must be seen as part of a greater plan God has to extend his salvation to all men.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 144-150 and Matthew 21:1-17
Psalm 144 – My Lord protects me, trains me for battle and is my shelter. “Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them; mere mortals, that you pay attention to us? We are like a puff of wind; our days are like a passing shadow” (144:3-4).
Tear open the sky, Lord, and come down to us. “Reach down from above, pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me; save me from the power of foreigners, who never tell the truth and lie even under oath” (144:7-8).
I will sing to you, Lord. May our children grow up to be an honor to us and to you. “May there be no cries of distress in our streets” (144:14). Happy are the people whose god is the Lord.
Psalm 145 – “I will thank you forever and ever. Every day I will thank you; I will praise you forever and ever” (145:2). What you have done will be praised throughout the generations. “The Lord is loving and merciful, show to become angry and full of constant love” (145:8). The Lord is faithful to his promises and helps those in trouble. He “lifts those who have fallen” (145:14).
Psalm 146 – “Don’t put your trust in human leaders” (146:3). When they die, they are dust. Happy are those who depend on our God; “he judges in favor of the oppressed. . .sets prisoners free and gives sight to the blind” (146:7-8).
Psalm 147 – “It is good to sing praise to our God; it is pleasant and right to praise him. The Lord is restoring Jerusalem; he is bringing back the exiles. He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds” (147:1-3). He has set the number of stars; he raises the humble and crushes the wicked. He does not take pleasure in strong horses or delight in brave soldiers. He just takes pleasure in those who honor him. The beauties of nature are celebrated – the snow, the frost and hail, the wind, the water. He give the Law to his people and he has not done this for everyone.
Psalm 148 – The angels of heaven also should praise the Lord; the sun, the moon, the highest heavens and waters above the sky – all should praise the name of the Lord. And all people should praise him – kings, princes, young men and women, old people and children.
Psalm 149 – Another praise psalm. Praise the Creator with song and dancing, with drums and harps. Another rather aggressive section says God’s people should rejoice in the triumph the Lord has given them. Let them shout aloud with sharp swords in their hands to defeat the nations and punish the people, bind their kings in chains as God has commanded.
Psalm 150 – Praise God for the mighty things he’s done. Praise him with harps, lyres, drums and dancing. Praise the Lord.
Matthew 21:1-17 – Jesus and his disciples comes near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives. He sends two of his disciples into the village to get a donkey “and a colt with her” (21:2). They are to get them and to tell anyone who asks that the Lord needs them. This instruction is seen as a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 that the king will come to them “triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey -- on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Matthew makes sure he mentions both donkey and colt unlike the other gospel writers; Matthew has a tendency to “double” when it comes to other stories of Jesus. In Matthew 8:28, he heals 2 men with demons, not just one as in Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 and in Matthew 20, he also recounts Jesus’ healing of two blind men, not just one as in Mark 10:46 and Luke 18:35 – not sure why he does this.
Matthew also changes the sense of the sentence in 21:3 where he addresses the question of what they’ll say if anyone asks them about taking the animals. Mark says that if someone asks them why they are taking the donkey, the disciples should reassure them and tell them the Lord will return it immediately (Mark 11:3). Matthew turns this question into a kind of mysterious assent once they say, “The Master needs them” (21:3). Luke leaves the confrontation out entirely.
Jesus enters the city greeted like a king (in 2 Kings 9 Jehu is greeted in the same fashion). Jesus finds the city in “turmoil” when he gets there. People ask who he is and the crowds say it is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth. Jesus goes to the Temple where he drives out all who are buying and selling (In Mark he goes there and just looks around). He accuses people of turning it into a den of thieves. The blind and lame come to him in the Temple, and he cures them. The chief priests and scribes are appalled at how people are addressing him. Then he goes to Bethany to spend the night.
Tear open the sky, Lord, and come down to us. “Reach down from above, pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me; save me from the power of foreigners, who never tell the truth and lie even under oath” (144:7-8).
I will sing to you, Lord. May our children grow up to be an honor to us and to you. “May there be no cries of distress in our streets” (144:14). Happy are the people whose god is the Lord.
Psalm 145 – “I will thank you forever and ever. Every day I will thank you; I will praise you forever and ever” (145:2). What you have done will be praised throughout the generations. “The Lord is loving and merciful, show to become angry and full of constant love” (145:8). The Lord is faithful to his promises and helps those in trouble. He “lifts those who have fallen” (145:14).
Psalm 146 – “Don’t put your trust in human leaders” (146:3). When they die, they are dust. Happy are those who depend on our God; “he judges in favor of the oppressed. . .sets prisoners free and gives sight to the blind” (146:7-8).
Psalm 147 – “It is good to sing praise to our God; it is pleasant and right to praise him. The Lord is restoring Jerusalem; he is bringing back the exiles. He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds” (147:1-3). He has set the number of stars; he raises the humble and crushes the wicked. He does not take pleasure in strong horses or delight in brave soldiers. He just takes pleasure in those who honor him. The beauties of nature are celebrated – the snow, the frost and hail, the wind, the water. He give the Law to his people and he has not done this for everyone.
Psalm 148 – The angels of heaven also should praise the Lord; the sun, the moon, the highest heavens and waters above the sky – all should praise the name of the Lord. And all people should praise him – kings, princes, young men and women, old people and children.
Psalm 149 – Another praise psalm. Praise the Creator with song and dancing, with drums and harps. Another rather aggressive section says God’s people should rejoice in the triumph the Lord has given them. Let them shout aloud with sharp swords in their hands to defeat the nations and punish the people, bind their kings in chains as God has commanded.
Psalm 150 – Praise God for the mighty things he’s done. Praise him with harps, lyres, drums and dancing. Praise the Lord.
Matthew 21:1-17 – Jesus and his disciples comes near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives. He sends two of his disciples into the village to get a donkey “and a colt with her” (21:2). They are to get them and to tell anyone who asks that the Lord needs them. This instruction is seen as a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 that the king will come to them “triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey -- on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Matthew makes sure he mentions both donkey and colt unlike the other gospel writers; Matthew has a tendency to “double” when it comes to other stories of Jesus. In Matthew 8:28, he heals 2 men with demons, not just one as in Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 and in Matthew 20, he also recounts Jesus’ healing of two blind men, not just one as in Mark 10:46 and Luke 18:35 – not sure why he does this.
Matthew also changes the sense of the sentence in 21:3 where he addresses the question of what they’ll say if anyone asks them about taking the animals. Mark says that if someone asks them why they are taking the donkey, the disciples should reassure them and tell them the Lord will return it immediately (Mark 11:3). Matthew turns this question into a kind of mysterious assent once they say, “The Master needs them” (21:3). Luke leaves the confrontation out entirely.
Jesus enters the city greeted like a king (in 2 Kings 9 Jehu is greeted in the same fashion). Jesus finds the city in “turmoil” when he gets there. People ask who he is and the crowds say it is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth. Jesus goes to the Temple where he drives out all who are buying and selling (In Mark he goes there and just looks around). He accuses people of turning it into a den of thieves. The blind and lame come to him in the Temple, and he cures them. The chief priests and scribes are appalled at how people are addressing him. Then he goes to Bethany to spend the night.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 142-144 and Matthew 20:17-34
Psalm 142 – A prayer for God’s help. To Him I bring all my complaints, all my despair. No one seems to care for me, so I cry to you for help: “you are all I want in this life” (142:5). I hear his cry for help from his enemies, but it is his cry for freedom from distress that can relate to more.
Psalm 143 – Do not put me on trial, Lord, “for no one is innocent in your sight” (143:2).
He has suffered a defeat from his enemies and is in a dark prison. He remembers the days gone by and “lift up [his] hand in prayer; like dry ground [his] soul is thirsty for his Lord.
“Remind me each morning of your constant love, for I put my trust in you. My prayers go up to you, show me the way I should go” (143:8).
And he asks God to kill his enemies, destroy those who oppress him.
Psalm 144 – My Lord protects me, trains me for battle and is my shelter. “Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them; mere mortals, that you pay attention to us? We are like a puff of wind; our days are like a shadow” (144:3-4).
Tear open the sky, Lord, and come down to us. “Reach down from above, pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me; save me from the power of foreigners, who never tell the truth and lie even under oath” (144:7-8).
I will sing to you, Lord. May our children grow up to be an honor to us and to you. “May there be no cries of distress in our streets” (144:14). Happy are the people whose god is the Lord. passing
Matthew 20:17-34 - Jesus tells his disciples the third time of the trials ahead. The mother of the Zebedee boys comes to him with her sons and kneels to ask him a favor—to have her sons at his right and left in his kingdom. Jesus tells her she does not know what she is asking. He asks them if they are able to drink the cup he is about to drink. They say yes. He tells them they will indeed drink his cup, but it is not for him to say who will be at his right and left. It “is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” (20:23).
When the other 10 hear about this they are annoyed with the two brothers. Jesus tries to diffuse their anger by telling them all that in his kingdom “whoever wishes to be great. . .must be your servant”(26) “just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (20:28).
Leaving Jericho, two blind men by the roadside shout after Jesus to have mercy on them. They call him Son of David. The crowd orders them to be quiet, but they continue. He goes over to them and asks them what they want. They tell him they want their eyes to be opened. He touches their eyes and they see (20:34)
Psalm 143 – Do not put me on trial, Lord, “for no one is innocent in your sight” (143:2).
He has suffered a defeat from his enemies and is in a dark prison. He remembers the days gone by and “lift up [his] hand in prayer; like dry ground [his] soul is thirsty for his Lord.
“Remind me each morning of your constant love, for I put my trust in you. My prayers go up to you, show me the way I should go” (143:8).
And he asks God to kill his enemies, destroy those who oppress him.
Psalm 144 – My Lord protects me, trains me for battle and is my shelter. “Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them; mere mortals, that you pay attention to us? We are like a puff of wind; our days are like a shadow” (144:3-4).
Tear open the sky, Lord, and come down to us. “Reach down from above, pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me; save me from the power of foreigners, who never tell the truth and lie even under oath” (144:7-8).
I will sing to you, Lord. May our children grow up to be an honor to us and to you. “May there be no cries of distress in our streets” (144:14). Happy are the people whose god is the Lord. passing
Matthew 20:17-34 - Jesus tells his disciples the third time of the trials ahead. The mother of the Zebedee boys comes to him with her sons and kneels to ask him a favor—to have her sons at his right and left in his kingdom. Jesus tells her she does not know what she is asking. He asks them if they are able to drink the cup he is about to drink. They say yes. He tells them they will indeed drink his cup, but it is not for him to say who will be at his right and left. It “is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” (20:23).
When the other 10 hear about this they are annoyed with the two brothers. Jesus tries to diffuse their anger by telling them all that in his kingdom “whoever wishes to be great. . .must be your servant”(26) “just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (20:28).
Leaving Jericho, two blind men by the roadside shout after Jesus to have mercy on them. They call him Son of David. The crowd orders them to be quiet, but they continue. He goes over to them and asks them what they want. They tell him they want their eyes to be opened. He touches their eyes and they see (20:34)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 137-141 and Matthew 20:1-16
Psalm 137 – “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down; there we wept when we remembered Zion” (137:1). How many times have I sung these words? In Zion, the Babylonians forced the Jews to sing, to entertain them. And then the psalm ends with a horrendous plea for vengeance – “Happy are those who pay you [Babylon] back for what you have done to us – who take your babies and smash them against a rock” (137:8-9). It is very hard to read these words and know how truly they reflect a very common human response to brutality and defeat.
Psalm 138 – This is a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s constant love and teaching. “You answered me when I called to you; with your strength you strengthened me” (138:3). The rulers of the world will eventually praise you for your glory. Though you are higher than anyone or anything, you care for the lowly.
Psalm 139 – “Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts” (139:2). You know me fully. “Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding” (139:6).
Where can I go to escape you, get away from your presence? You are everywhere – in heaven, in the world of the dead; you are everywhere and are there to lead me. Even “the darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day” (139:11-12). ”You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb” (139:13). Toward the end, again, the spirit of the psalm changes to one I am not comfortable with as a Christian – the hatred of all those who hate God. It is serious: “I hate them with a total hatred” (139:22). I don’t think there is anyone on earth who ever lived that I hate with a total hatred – not even Hitler. I feel somewhere even in the depths of the most evil person there is a seed that yearns to grow with love. How it is so extinguished or smothered in some I do not understand, and I think I could fairly say I hate that force or that influence in them that brings them to do such hateful and horrible things. But I do pray for them too. Psalm 140 – Save me from evildoers and keep me safe from those who are violent. It is true I think that some taste the evil of evil people in a way I perhaps have not known. I don’t really know how I would feel or respond if terrible evil was done to me or anyone I loved. Maybe I would understand this “hatred of evil” better. I join with the psalmist in praying that the violent may not hurt others. Psalm 141 – An evening prayer: “Receive my prayer as incense, my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice” (141:2). May I never take part in the evil anyone does.
Matthew 20 – This has got to be one of the most difficult parable or teachings of Jesus that there is in the whole Bible. I wonder what the “Occupy Wall Street” movement would say in response? Here Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven with a landowner who goes out early in the morning to hire laborers. He gets some at 9, some at 3 and some at 5. All are paid the same wage. The ones hired first “grumble” because it is not fair to them that they should have worked the entire day and only get paid the same as one who worked for an hour. The owner tells them, “Friend, I have not cheated you. After all, you agreed to do a day’s work for one silver coin. Now take your pay and go home. I want to give this man who was hired last as much as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do as I wish with my own money? Or are you jealous because I am generous?” And Jesus concluded, “So those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last” (20:14-16). I remember a movie I loved called Matewan - about the drama surrounding organization of coal miner’s in West Virginia in 1920. One of the main characters, Danny, is a young man – boy – who is gifted with a call to Christian ministry. When he is asked to deliver a sermon on this particular Jesus story, he totally rebels and says he can’t believe Jesus would have taught this. I loved it.
Jesus’ message must be seen as relating to a deeper truth than wages for work we do here on earth. And the “money” Christ has charge of is not just “capital.” It is God’s love and desire to save that I think Christ is talking about, but that won’t stop “literalists” from taking that line: “Don’t I have the right to do as I wish with my own money?”
Psalm 138 – This is a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s constant love and teaching. “You answered me when I called to you; with your strength you strengthened me” (138:3). The rulers of the world will eventually praise you for your glory. Though you are higher than anyone or anything, you care for the lowly.
Psalm 139 – “Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts” (139:2). You know me fully. “Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding” (139:6).
Where can I go to escape you, get away from your presence? You are everywhere – in heaven, in the world of the dead; you are everywhere and are there to lead me. Even “the darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day” (139:11-12). ”You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb” (139:13). Toward the end, again, the spirit of the psalm changes to one I am not comfortable with as a Christian – the hatred of all those who hate God. It is serious: “I hate them with a total hatred” (139:22). I don’t think there is anyone on earth who ever lived that I hate with a total hatred – not even Hitler. I feel somewhere even in the depths of the most evil person there is a seed that yearns to grow with love. How it is so extinguished or smothered in some I do not understand, and I think I could fairly say I hate that force or that influence in them that brings them to do such hateful and horrible things. But I do pray for them too. Psalm 140 – Save me from evildoers and keep me safe from those who are violent. It is true I think that some taste the evil of evil people in a way I perhaps have not known. I don’t really know how I would feel or respond if terrible evil was done to me or anyone I loved. Maybe I would understand this “hatred of evil” better. I join with the psalmist in praying that the violent may not hurt others. Psalm 141 – An evening prayer: “Receive my prayer as incense, my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice” (141:2). May I never take part in the evil anyone does.
Matthew 20 – This has got to be one of the most difficult parable or teachings of Jesus that there is in the whole Bible. I wonder what the “Occupy Wall Street” movement would say in response? Here Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven with a landowner who goes out early in the morning to hire laborers. He gets some at 9, some at 3 and some at 5. All are paid the same wage. The ones hired first “grumble” because it is not fair to them that they should have worked the entire day and only get paid the same as one who worked for an hour. The owner tells them, “Friend, I have not cheated you. After all, you agreed to do a day’s work for one silver coin. Now take your pay and go home. I want to give this man who was hired last as much as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do as I wish with my own money? Or are you jealous because I am generous?” And Jesus concluded, “So those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last” (20:14-16). I remember a movie I loved called Matewan - about the drama surrounding organization of coal miner’s in West Virginia in 1920. One of the main characters, Danny, is a young man – boy – who is gifted with a call to Christian ministry. When he is asked to deliver a sermon on this particular Jesus story, he totally rebels and says he can’t believe Jesus would have taught this. I loved it.
Jesus’ message must be seen as relating to a deeper truth than wages for work we do here on earth. And the “money” Christ has charge of is not just “capital.” It is God’s love and desire to save that I think Christ is talking about, but that won’t stop “literalists” from taking that line: “Don’t I have the right to do as I wish with my own money?”
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