John Shearman's Lectionary

INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE
Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
Proper 9 Ordinary 14
July 5, 2009

2 SAMUEL 5:1-5, 9-10. The first part of this passage is one version of the tradition of how David became king of Israel. As a successful military leader, he was the people’s choice as well the as divinely anointed sovereign. He first established Hebron as his capital; then he captured the fortress of Jerusalem and made it his capital city. The intervening verses between the two segments of the passage are confusing due to a corrupt Hebrew text.

EZEKIEL 2:1-5. (Alternate) The call of Ezekiel to be prophet among the exiles in Babylon included a strong warning that he would encounter much resistance. In spite of their rebellion against God and their impudent and stubborn nature, he was to deliver an outspoken message directly from God, “Thus says the Lord God.”

PSALM 48. This highly nationalistic psalm praises Jerusalem as the holy city of God. It still retains this designation for three great religious traditions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – all for different reasons.

PSALM 123. (Alternate) Assumed to be for pilgrims approaching the temple this “psalm of ascent” saw it as representing the very presence of the invisible God among God’s people. That brought considerable relief from the contempt and scorn of unbelievers who felt no need for God in their lives.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:2-10. In the midst of a conflict with the Corinthian Christian community, Paul tells about two of his deepest spiritual experiences. In one he had an ecstatic theophany when he received an exceptional revelation. He does not say exactly what the revelation was. In the other, he fervently prayed to have the unidentified cause of great suffering removed, but was given instead the reassurance that God’s grace would be sufficient for his every need.

MARK 6:1-13. Jesus’ hometown folk felt uneasy with him in their midst, especially when he taught in their synagogue on a sabbath. We are not told why they were so offended. Certainly they thought he had far gone beyond what one of his status as a humble carpenter should go. They did not expect him, a mere tradesman, to be skilled in the interpretation of the scriptures.
So Jesus adopted another strategy. He gathered his disciples together and sent them out “with authority over the unclean spirits.” This may have meant that they merely had power to change people’s minds about what they might expect from Jesus. The end of the story tells how successful they were in calling people to repent, casting out demons and curing the sick.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

2 SAMUEL 5:1-5, 9-10. The first part of this passage is one version of the tradition of how David became king of Israel. It comes from the Deuteronomic editors who viewed David as the supreme commander of all Israel’s army. This agrees with 1 Samuel 18:5, but not 1 Samuel 18:13. Traces of an earlier source is found is vs. 3 where it is only representative elders of the tribes rather than “all the tribes” (vs. 1) who gather at Hebron to covenant with David and anoint him king. This narrative makes the point that as a successful military leader, he was the people’s choice as well the as divinely anointed sovereign.

Vss.4-5 also give the standard Deuteronomic formula for successive monarchs of Israel. It tells us the duration of his reign which is now calculated as spanning the year 1000 BCE. David first established Hebron as his capital; then he captured the fortress of Jerusalem and made it his capital city. The intervening verses between the two segments of the reading are confusing due to a corrupt Hebrew text. The narrator obviously knew much more about the lay of the land than we are now able to determine from the most advanced archeological data. Scholars still debate how much we can depend on the geographical and historical validity of much of the biblical narrative.

The intent of the Deuteronomic editors of this passage was to tell their generation of Israelites of the utmost significance of David’s reign and especially his relocation of the capital city to Jerusalem. They wrote during the Babylonian exile about 550 BCE when the holy city had very special significance for the nation’s religious tradition. They sought to justify to the exiles in Babylon why their captivity was the judgment of Yahweh, but also that their hope lay in the greatness of David’s reign as the sign of Yahweh’s eternal covenant with Israel.

The stronghold of Zion (vs. 7) was indeed a fortress situated on the southern ridge between the valleys of Tyropoen and the Kidron brook. It later included the whole of the fortifications of Jerusalem. The name Zion subsequently became associated with the sacred site of the temple built by David’s son, Solomon. In religious parlance, it became known as the dwelling place of Yahweh, as evidenced by the numerous reference in the Psalms. Today, it is occupied by two great mosques of Islam, Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock.

The reference to “the Millo” in vs. 9 is obscure, but may indicate a particular element of the fortifications which David built. I Kings 9:15, 24; 11:27 attribute its construction to Solomon. The word suggests a place of stamped earth. It may have been a very secure house or perhaps a military barracks and parade ground for gathering the city’s defensive forces.

EZEKIEL 2:1-5. (Alternate) Being a prophet is never easy. The name of this prophet means “Yahweh strengthens.” And that about says it all about this man of whom very little is known except what is found in 1:3 that he was of priestly heritage and may have deported with the rest of the exiles to Babylon in 598/597 BCE after the surrender of King Jehoiachin. Scholars debate whether he was actually among the exiles in Babylon or remained in Jerusalem. According to 29:17 he was still receiving divine revelations as late as 571 BCE.

The call of Ezekiel to be prophet among the exiles in Babylon included a strong warning that he would encounter much resistance. People in deep mourning would likely react negatively to an encouraging message that intended to transform their ancient traditions as did Ezekiel. In spite of their rebellion against God and their impudent and stubborn nature, he was to deliver an outspoken message directly from God, “Thus says the Lord God.”

Note however that his mandate came directly from Yahweh’s Spirit (vs. 2). This form of revelation is repeated many times in the rest of the book (3:12, 14, 24; 11:1, 5, 24; 37:1; 43:5). In short, Ezekiel was commanded to challenge the faith of the exiles in the God who intended only to move them into an entirely new phase of their religious, social, economic and political history. Doesn’t that sound familiar for times such as these?

PSALM 48. In the century after their return from exile in Babylon in 539 BCE, the Jews sought to recover their national identity by rebuilding their temple and their capital city of Jerusalem. The monarchy had ceased to exist, but the temple priesthood replaced royalty as the most prominent leaders of the people. Out of this restored religious culture arose a fundamentally theocratic system which flowered in the elaboration of the cultus of temple sacrifices, the creation of psalmody and other religious literature which subsequently became the canon of scripture. This highly nationalistic psalm praising Jerusalem as the holy city of Yahweh is part of that renaissance.

Believed to be from a collection of “Songs of Zion,” it may well have been sung by pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the sacred festivals. Many Jews, especially those of the Diaspora, could only afford to make this pilgrimage once in a lifetime. Every stone and handful of dust from the city would be sacred to them. Pilgrims today still return from Jerusalem with souvenirs of all kinds, the more valuable if they are part of the urban fabric rather than commercial trinkets.

The theme of this psalm is Yahweh’s protection for the city itself. It is “his holy mountain” (vs. 2). The second part of that parallelism likens Mount Zion to a mountain in the far north, possibly Mount Hermon, which reaches to heaven. There follows a rewriting of history in vss. 4-8. Israel had suffered from many foreign invasions. Her enemies had all perished but Jerusalem had remained. With poetic hyperbole, the fear and panic of those enemies is ridiculed “as a woman in travail.”

The psalmist was undoubtedly a male who had little regard for the subject of his simile. He drew another derogatory image from the violent storms that drove ships from the eastern Mediterranean bound for the Phoenician port of Tartessus in Spain (Tarshish), frequently wrecking them with its violent east wind (vs. 7). Amidst all this terror, Jerusalem remained safe, at least in the imagination of the poet.

Worshiping in the temple, strolling through the streets, or marveling at the city’s fortification brings to mind why this Jerusalem is so secure: Yahweh loves Israel. There can be only one response to this insight: praise for Israel’s protector.

Despite having been destroyed and rebuilt several times, Jerusalem still retains the designation of “the holy city” for three great religious traditions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – all for different reasons.

PSALM 123. (Alternate) Assumed to be for pilgrims approaching the temple this “psalm of ascent” saw it as representing the very presence of the invisible God among God’s people. That brought considerable relief from the contempt and scorn of unbelievers who felt no need for God in their lives.

Without doubt, the temple when seen from the Mount of Olives would have been an awesome experience for the weary pilgrim. We should note, however, that the psalm makes no mention whatever of the temple. The prayer could have been uttered in any place where the supplicant looked toward the sky and imagined God seated on a throne as the master of a household with a company of servants gathered around him.

The strong emotions of the latter verses suggest the time of the exile when the Jews were treated contemptuously by their neighbours who felt superior to them. This gives us some insight into the personal feelings of Jews subjected to anti-Semitism. Powerless to fight back as in recent times when Israel withstood every assault from hostile neighbours, they could only turn to prayer to avert the pain such attacks inevitably imposed. One hears the same note of despondency in those survivors of the Holocaust remembering the time when six million Jews were left to suffer at the hands of the Nazis.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:2-10. In the midst of a conflict with the Corinthian Christian community, Paul tells about two of his deepest spiritual experiences. In one he had an ecstatic theophany when he received an exceptional revelation. He does not say exactly what the revelation was. Perhaps it was beyond words, as such experiences often are.

Such religious ecstasy brings forth negative attitudes and criticisms in our intellectually sophisticated age. We should neither spurn them nor invent opportunities to create moments such as Paul describes. They can be very real, however or to whom they occur. It may well be that certain people, like Paul and innumerable other saints in the history of the church, have a special gift for or are particularly susceptible to such experiences. There is some recent psycho-neurological research that certain neurological structures of the brain make intense religious experiences not only possible but likely. (See The Global Spiral, monthly online publication of the Metanexus Institute.)
Bruce Chilton adds to the scholarly uncertainty about these experiences in his Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography. (Doubleday, 2000) He believes that Paul, like Jesus and Peter before him, shared in what later became known as the Merkabah tradition. Jey J.Kanagaraj (Mysticism’ in the Gospel of John: An Inquiry into its Background. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998) discussed the Merkabah tradition in positing the theory that “the Gospel John is a “mystical” document, written, at least as one of its purposes, to address with the Gospel those who were preoccupied with Merkabah mystical practice and with cosmological speculations.” It is known that from the 2nd to the 7th centuries CE, Jewish mystics were inspired and guided by the mystical visions of Ezekiel and the divine chariot (Ezekiel 1) to experience direct, personal communion with God.

Modern psychology, psychiatry and neurology have attempted to describe how these mystical experience do happen. One of the best analyses was written nearly fifty years ago by a British psychiatrist, William Sargent, in his book Battle For The Mind. Sargent showed that physiological similarities exist between religious ecstasy and conversion, healing for shell-shocked and battle-fatigued war veterans, forced criminal confessions, and politically motivated brain-washing. He might also add the behavioral compulsions of teenagers in response to their favorite rock stars.

In the other spiritual experience described in this passage, Paul tells how he fervently prayed to have the unidentified cause of great suffering removed. Instead he was given the reassurance that God’s grace would be sufficient for his every need. Much speculation has been expended as to the exact nature of Paul’s problem. These vary from a painful and incurable disease, a physical disability due to paralysis, a facial disfigurement or poor eyesight, all the way to a tendency to homosexuality. Chilton adds to the speculation by proposing that because he was under such constant stress from the time of his conversion onward, he was subject to frequent attacks of shingles (herpes zoster) that left him disfigured. The fact is that we can never know for sure. More important, however, is the way he deals with his “thorn in the flesh.” It became a source of power in that it made possible a deeper spiritual experience enabling him to withstand ever greater hardship in pursuing his mission as an evangelist.

Many ministers can attest to the reality that when they feel most incapable of making an effective witness to faith, others have greatly benefited from their perceived failures. One minister invited to preach in a prominent New York church felt he had utterly ruined the opportunity. Retiring to the vestry after the service, his eye fell on a wall plague bearing the words, “Hallelujah anyway! God is with us.”

MARK 6:1-13. To say the least, Jesus’ hometown folk felt uneasy with him in their midst, especially when he taught in their synagogue on a sabbath. We are not told why they were so offended. Perhaps it was just their jealousy that one whom they knew so well had become so famous. Certainly they thought he had far gone beyond what one of his status as a humble carpenter should go. They would have had respect for him as one skilled in such trades as carpentry that contributed to the general welfare of the community. But they would not have expected him to be skilled in the interpretation of the scriptures or a radical social reformer. One of the contemporary group of Jesus scholars has speculated that although verbally gifted in a predominately oral culture, Jesus may have been illiterate.

Rejected at home, Jesus adopted another strategy. He gathered his disciples together and sent them out “with authority over the unclean spirits.” This may have meant that they merely had power to change people’s minds about what they might expect from Jesus. The gospel authors like Mark who wrote down the tradition for subsequent generations also believed that the disciples possessed the same authority over unclean spirits that Jesus himself had demonstrated. Apparently that is what Mark intended. But was this “authority” (Greek = exousia) a moral and spiritual authority of a pastoral nature or was it something more of a power to effect physical cures? Without question then as now, anyone suffering from an illness, however caused, would seriously affect everyone in the extended family or the immediate community of the sick person. In such circumstances, even death has a healing effect over time.

There is an interesting analysis by John Dominic Crossan of the differentiation between the actual events in Galilee when Jesus lived there during the late third decade of the lst century and the way the story was told by Mark in the seventh decade. Crossan believes that the Markan account described a difference of approach between those who were itinerant apostles and those who were resident followers of the Way. This occurred in the later period when the apostolic church was spreading out into the Gentile world. He elaborates this thesis in his essay “Jesus And The Kingdom” in the volume edited by Marcus Borg, Jesus At 2000. (Westview Press, 1998). He concludes that this passage is Mark’s own description of the kingdom as “companionship of empowerment” rather than the actual historical events of Jesus’ ministry. This is in keeping, Crossan claims, with Jesus’ inauguration of the kingdom as an “interactive social radicalism” consisting of two distinct elements: those who were itinerant preachers of a radical gospel and those who were resident householders who witnessed to it less radically in their normal community living.

The end of the story as we now have it in this passage revealed how successful they were in calling people to repent, casting out demons and curing the sick. This appears to have been a trial run for the post-Pentecost period when Mark was an active itinerant with Paul and Barnabas, at least for while before accompanying Peter to Rome.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Proper 8 Ordinary 13
June 28, 2009


2 SAMUEL 1:1, 17-27. David’s lament at the death of his king, Saul, and his close friend, Jonathan, has the majesty of beautiful poetry. Many scholars have attributed it to David himself. If so, it may be one of the earliest pieces of Hebrew literature dating from before 1000 BC. While it mourns the king and his son who were killed in battle, it lacks all religious feeling. It is more of a dirge similar to what one hears when a British monarch or American president dies.

WISDOM OF SOLOMON: 1:13-15, 2:23-24. (Alternate) Most Protestant Christians are unfamiliar with the Wisdom of Solomon. Although attributed to King Solomon it was the work of a well-educated Hellenized Jew written scarcely a century before the birth of Christ. The first segment appeals to the faithful person to live a godly life while the second points to belief in life beyond death despite satanic influences in life now.

PSALM 130: This lovely lament also has a permanent place in world literature. It is one series of psalms identified with the approach of pilgrims to Jerusalem for one of the great religious festivals, possibly the Day of Atonement for the sins of the nation. It ends with a deep expression of hope in God’s steadfast love.

PSALM 30. (Alternate) The psalmist praises God for saving him from death in a critical illness. After at first expressing a certain overconfidence about God’s favor, he realizes how much he owes to God for answering his prayer of distress. In the 2nd century BC, the psalm came into liturgical use for the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus now celebrated at the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

2 CORINTHIANS 8:7-15. Paul delicately proposes that the Corinthians complete their collection for the famine-stricken Christians in Jerusalem. He has as much concern that the Corinthians learn how to be generous as he is that they make a large contribution. Gracious giving to help those in need is based on Christ’s own sacrifice for them – and for us.

MARK 5:21-43. Another crossing of Lake Galilee brought Jesus another opportunity for healing. Supposedly the daughter of Jairus, the head of a synagogue was dying. While on his way to heal her, Jesus was pressed by the crowd, but still felt another woman in need seek healing by touching the hem of his robe. The two miracles provide a sharp contrast between the healing of someone who exhibited faith and another who did not. To Jesus human need and God’s willingness and power, not the demonstration of good faith, makes the difference.

This could have a singularly important application for our time. Many political and economic leaders want our national social security and health systems to be transformed from a basis of need in which all share through public taxation to expensive insurance schemes that place limits on many pre-existing illnesses.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

2 SAMUEL 1:1, 17-27. David’s lament at the death of his king, Saul, and his close friend, Jonathan, has the majesty of beautiful poetry. Many scholars have attributed it to David himself. If so it may be one of the earliest pieces of Hebrew literature dating from before 1000 BC. While it mourns the king and his son who were killed in battle, it lacks all religious feeling. It is more of a dirge similar to what one hears when a British monarch or American president dies. It might well be read against the background of The Dead March from ‘Saul’ or a highland lament played on bagpipes so often heard at military funerals.

The site where this battle was fought has become a famous Israeli tourist attraction. Mount Gilboa is a limestone ridge thrusting some 1700 feet above the Plain of Jezreel. The more enterprising may climb the ridge by means of a footpath, but from the valley below even the naked eye can see a bare tree marking the place where, as 1 Samuel 31:8-10 has it, the Philistines hung the beheaded bodies of Saul and Jonathan on the walls of the fortress of Beth-shan. Today, at the base of the mountain in Bet-She’an National Park, one can tour the splendid ruins of a Roman and Byzantine city destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 749 CE. It gives the visitor a vivid impression of what a death-place this was from ancient times.

Vs. 21 of this passage is a curse on the place where Saul fell. The previous two verses recall the celebration in the Philistine cities along the Mediterranean coast cited in 1 Sam 31:9.

Those who remember as I do the celebrations of V-E and V-J Days in 1945, understand how poignant is David’s horror at the thought of the Philistines rejoicing. Several years later I heard a Japanese woman who lost all her family in the bombing of Hiroshima utter a similar curse and lament for her people at a church conference on group dynamics at Green Lake, WI. Are not the scenes we see televised from the Viet Nam Memorial on Memorial Day or the Canadian War Memorial on Remembrance Day reminiscent of David’s lament? Will we recall the more recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same way? Surely it is from whatever perspective we experience such moments that we can share the deep sense of catastrophic grief this lament expresses.

WISDOM OF SOLOMON: 1:13-15, 2:23-24. (Alternate) Most Protestant Christians are unfamiliar with the Wisdom of Solomon. Although attributed to King Solomon it was the work of a well-educated Hellenized Jew written scarcely a century before the birth of Christ. The first segment appeals to the faithful person to live a godly life while the second scoffs points to belief in life beyond death despite satanic influences in life now.

Coming late in the history of Hebrew literature, Wisdom of Solomon was not included in the Hebrew Bible, but was part of Jerome’s Latin Vulgate translation. So the Roman Catholic tradition considers it Holy Scripture whereas Protestants generally defer it to the apocryphal writings. It is generally thought to have originated in Alexandria where Jewish and Greek thought were considered compatible.

In the Jerusalem Bible, a Roman Catholic translation originating in France and first published in English in 1966, chapter 1 has the headline, “On seeking God and rejecting evil.” Chapter 2 is headed, “Life as the godless sees it.” These two excerpts elaborate these headings very well.

PSALM 130: Some regard this loveliest of psalms as a penitential prayer rather than a true lament. Yet it has a permanent place in the religious literature of the world. It is one series of psalms (Pss. 120-134) identified with either the New Year’s festival or the approach of pilgrims to Jerusalem for one of the great religious festivals. This one may well have been used on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. The fact that it omits any reference to atoning sacrifices suggests that it may be a late composition when such rituals had already lost their significance for the most devout.

Although the context reveals nothing about its actual circumstances, it does express a sense of deep devotion as well as a forthright confession of the sin. One might speculate whether it was a prayer of a pious individual or for use by the assembled representatives of the whole nation. It could also have been used antiphonally quite effectively.

In vs. 1, the reference to the depths brings forth the image of the engulfing waters of Sheol into which the dead sink (cf. Isa. 51:10; Jonah 2:3). It also reflects the poet’s deep sense of alienation from Yahweh. So he throws himself on Yahweh’s mercy and forgiveness (vss. 3-4) and realizes that on this alone rests his ultimate security (vss. 5-6).

Even if this prayer originated from the heart of a singularly pious soul, it ends with a plea for all Israel to put its hope in Yahweh’s steadfast love, trusting in Yahweh’s power to redeem the sinful nation from all its iniquities. Many generations in both the Jewish and Christian traditions have found in it solace for the sin-sick soul. John Wesley’s Journal records one of its more significant uses. In Wesley’s time, this prayer entitled De Profundis was sung at evensong on the 27th day of each month. The paragraph in his journal began: “In the afternoon I was asked to go to St. Paul’s.” The psalm in the version from the Book of Common Order follows. He would have known it by heart. This record is found in the paragraph immediately previous to the one in which he tells of his Aldersgate experience when his heart was “strangely warmed.”

PSALM 30. (Alternate) The psalmist praises God for saving him from death in a critical illness. After at first expressing a certain overconfidence about God’s favor (vss. 6-7), he realizes how much he owes to God for answering his prayer of distress.

It is natural for a person to be exuberant about being restored suddenly to good health. Even with modern medicine capable of curing or alleviating many of the most severe illnesses once regarded as fatal less than a century ago, the fear of death persists. The psalmist’s fear of death was expressed in vs. 2. The Pit was another common Old Testament term, among several others, for the abode of the dead. But Sheol was by far the most common, occurring sixty six times. Unlike the others, however, it was unique to the Hebrew language, and does not occur in any other Semitic language. Generally, the various terms for the abode of the dead conveyed the idea of a permanent, shadowy, chaotic but silent place. No Old Testament reference contains any concept of punishment or torment. The concept of an infernal hell came into existence only during the Hellenistic period probably influenced by Persian (i.e. Zoroastrian) ideas.

The traditional concept of illness resulting from divine anger still lingers as the philosophical matrix of the poem (vs.5). Despite the shadowed background to the psalm and the loss of prosperity, the poet had unmitigated praise for God’s beneficence. His pride had been restored to the extent that he could question divine justice in the death he had so recently escaped (vs. 9). His mourning had been transformed into joy (vs. 11).

In the 2nd century BC, the psalm came into liturgical use for the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus now celebrated at the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

2 CORINTHIANS 8:7-15. Toward the end of his letter seeking reconciliation with the Corinthians (2 Cor. 1-9), Paul delicately proposes that they complete their collection for the famine-stricken Christians in Jerusalem. This project had been very close to Paul’s heart. He sincerely believed that as the offspring of the original congregation of believers, the Gentile congregations had a duty to help the Mother of all Churches in its time of need. Titus had made this appeal first to the Corinthians (vs. 6). For some reason they had withheld their contribution, probably due to their disagreement with Paul which caused the earlier, painful correspondence.

A personal aside: O my! How we Christians still try to control each other by withholding our stewardship gifts! The very day I first wrote this, I received a series of e-mail messages expressing the fear that if the issue of the blessing of gay and lesbian marriages is raised at the General Council of The United Church of Canada, many more will withhold their gifts to the Mission and Service Fund of our church or withdraw from our fellowship. Possibly 10,000 of more than 700,000 members and ordered ministers withdrew in the 1990s after the General Council adopted a policy accepting gay and lesbian persons who believe in Jesus Christ as full members and eligible for consideration as candidates for ordered ministry.

After first challenging the Corinthians to follow the example of the Macedonian churches in Philippi, Thessalonica and Beroea, Paul sets before them the example of Jesus Christ himself. For Paul, the sacrifice of Jesus did not begin on the cross, nor at this birth. It began when he set aside his godhead and became incarnate as a humble servant of God in the human context of a 1st century Jewish carpenter. (cf. Phil 2:6-8). Gracious giving to help those in need is based on Christ’s own sacrifice for them – and for us.

Paul has as much concern that the Corinthians learn how to be generous as he is that they make a large contribution. He cites their previous eagerness to contribute and asks them to finish what they had begun so well (vss. 10-11). Many a stewardship sermon has been preached on the text of vs. 12-14: One’s readiness to give has to be matched by one’s ability to give. What one has, not what one lacks, is the only balanced measure of our stewardship.

The quotation from Exodus 16:18 in vs. 15 emphasizes Paul’s vision of equality among Christians which requires those who have to share with those who have not. Such an economic policy is anathema in our crazed profit-oriented society, yet it also motivates many to contribute generously to food banks and to send relief to famine- or flood-stricken countries.

In Canada, a modest undertaking by Rt. Rev. Bill Phipps, former Moderator of The United Church of Canada, attracted considerable attention to his Consultation on Faith and the Economy from those outside the church fellowship. For instance, he was invited to be the theme speaker at the annual general meeting of the Halton Social Planning Council, on Oakville, Ontario, on June 26th, 2000. He spoke on A Moral Crisis: God and the Marketplace.

Nearly a decade later, with the whole world in the grips of a devastating recession, there is even greater need for a deep sense of caring and sharing to bridge the gap between those who have something to spare and those who have little or nothing.

MARK 5:21-43. Mark must have had some special purpose for saying many times that Jesus and his disciples crossed and recrossed Lake Galilee. Considering the local geography, these crossings provided no more than easy shortcuts from one town to another along the western and northwestern coast of the lake. Only in the instance of the previous pericope about driving the demon from the man living among the tombs (5:1-20) did he actually cross into foreign territory. Going by boat also provided the means of avoiding crowds.

In this passage, yet another crossing brought Jesus two other opportunities for healing. Supposedly the daughter of Jairus, the head of a synagogue was dying. While on his way to heal her, Jesus was pressed by the crowd, but still felt another woman in need seek healing by touching the hem of his robe.

Jairus was not a rabbi, but the lay president of the synagogue in his community. Mark does not identify exactly in which town or village it was located. The man was desperate about his daughter and pleaded that Jesus come to his house and lay hands on her. In response to this plea Jesus went with him and the crowd followed, probably more curious to see another miracle than to hear what Jesus might say. In small communities, anything unusual draws a crowd.

One of the people in the crowd was a woman who had suffered from a menstrual malady for twelve years. Every attempt she had made to get help from other healers had failed. She was now both desperate and destitute. Hearing about Jesus, she sought to get close enough to touch his garment hoping that it might have the magic that would heal her. When she did touch him, she was instantly healed. Jesus realized that something unusual had happened to him too. Looking around at the crowd, he asked who had touched him, the woman identified herself, but did so in great fear. Jesus had only compassion for her and sent her on her way with the assurance that her faith had been rewarded.

Meanwhile, Jairus’ daughter had already died, or so her caregivers thought. Jesus had to reassure Jairus that this was not so and urge him to let faith deal with his fear. Arriving at the house, he rebuked the mourners who had already begun their funereal wailing. They derided him, so he sent them all out of the house, took the parents into the room where the girl lay, and raised her with a tender word.

The two miracles provide a sharp contrast between the healing of someone who exhibited faith and another who did not. To Jesus, human need and God’s willingness and power, not the demonstration of good faith, makes the difference. The details of these two pericopes should not distract us from the essential point Mark is making: through Jesus the shalom of God has arrived revitalizing the lives of old and young. Wherever and whenever that happens, divine compassion for those in need overcomes fear and restores wholeness to the humblest of human lives.

This could have a singularly important application for our time. Many political and economic leaders want our social security and health systems to be transformed from a basis of need in which all share through public taxation to expensive insurance schemes that place limits on many pre-existing illnesses, thereby leaving many without needed medical care.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE
Third Sunday After Pentecost
Proper 7 Ordinary 12
June 21, 2009

1 SAMUEL 17:32-49. The story of David and Goliath reads as one of the great feats of Israel’s legendary hero-king. It comes from a cycle of early narratives about Israel’s first king, Saul, and his more famous successor, David. Where Saul failed David succeeded in a continuing conflict with invading Philistines, a sea-going people who had settled along the Mediterranean coast.

As it presently exists, the story has been combined with a later source and still later edited into a long narrative that is at times inconsistent. The point of this passage, however, is to show that David triumphed because of his trust in God.

JOB 38:1-11. (Alternate) The great drama dealing with the problem of innocent suffering comes to a crashing climax with God speaking directly to Job in a long series of unanswerable questions. God challenges Job to accept the reality that as Creator, God is more powerful than mere humans like himself. However, the fundamental question of why people suffer is never answered.

PSALM 9:9-20. This is an excerpt from a longer psalm originally consisting of Psalms 9 and 10. It is both a hymn of thanksgiving for God’s help (vss. 9-12), and an appeal for God’s favour (vss. 13-14) and for judgment against wicked enemies (vss. 15-20).

PSALM 107:1-3, 23-32. (Alternate) This psalm celebrates the steadfast love of God toward the redeemed of Israel showing how God brought them through great trials.

2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13. This passage should be read in connection with the preceding passage beginning at 5:11. Paul had a continuing conflict with the Corinthians Christians. They did not always accept him and his preaching as he would have preferred. Despite extreme difficulties he reiterates his appeal that the Corinthians respond to the message of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.

MARK 4:35-41. The question about who Jesus really is comes to the fore in this brief story. He calms a storm which had arisen suddenly as the disciples were taking him across the Sea of Galilee in a boat. Not only did he rebuke the waves, he also rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. That is the whole point of the story: nothing could harm the disciples while he was with them.

Many people have found great comfort in sensing Jesus’ constant presence in the most difficult and dangerous crises. Mark’s audience in Rome in the 60s AD surely felt that way as they faced persecution by Emperor Nero. It is probable that both Peter and Paul were martyred during this period.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

1 SAMUEL 17:32-49. This is surely one of the best loved children’s stories in the Old Testament. It tells one of the great feats of Israel’s legendary hero-king. It comes from a cycle of early narratives about Israel’s first king, Saul, and his more famous successor, David. Where Saul failed, David succeeded in a continuing conflict with invading Philistines, a sea-going people who had settled along the Mediterranean coast. But it is something far more than a simple children’s story.

As it presently exists, the story has been combined with a later source and still later was edited into a long narrative that is at times inconsistent. The point of this passage, however, is to show that David triumphed over Goliath only because of his trust in God.

Archeologists and historians have all but failed to find any significant evidence that David actually existed. The best estimate of the Saul and David cycle of stories likens them to the English legends of King Arthur. Like those traditional patriotic romances, story-tellers used literary imagination to enhance the achievements of their hero for other purposes. Yet there may well have been real tribal chieftans, Saul and David, who like Arthur in times of transition or crisis achieved much on behalf of their people.

Later generations embellished the legendary sagas of these heroes into meaningful and inspirational stories with a religious motif. In the case of Arthur, the stories amounted to a literary enrichment of genteel Victorian morality based on male dominant chivalry. In the case of David, the stories became part of Israel’s faith history based on the covenant relationship of Yahweh to Israel. A good historical-critical exegesis of the stories is found in Professor George Caird’s study in The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 2. Of particular value is the introductory article, Section VII, on the historical value of the sources from which the present canonical text developed.

Recently an archeological dig discovered a small fortified city, Qeiyafa, strategically located on a hilltop on the northern side of the Elah Valley, on the main highway going east from Philistia and the coastal plain to Jerusalem. It was in the Elah Valley that David fought Goliath. The archeologist who made this discovery called it “a fortified checkpoint on the road to Jerusalem. … It was probably intended to defend Judah against the much larger Philistine city of Gath. Qeiyafa is less than 6 acres in area. The hostile Philistine city of Gath, just 6.5 miles away in the Elah Valley, is about 75 acres. In this sense the Biblical story of David and Goliath, even if legendary, may be understood as a kind of Biblical metaphor, the little David of Qeiyafa versus the Philistine giant of Goliath/Gath.” (Biblical Archaeology Review. 35:1. January-February 2009. 38-43)

All that aside, this story of David slaying Goliath still can be used as lighter sermon fare for topical preaching in summertime. Here are some possible themes: “Little stones make holy weapons;” “How God can multiply the power of the weakest;” “The biggest isn’t always the most powerful;” “Trust in God but load your slingshot!” Note too that Jesus often used rebukes and confronts to get the point of his ministry across, especially in dealing with recalcitrant unbelievers and dangerous opponents. The parable of the wicked tenants in Mark 12:1-12 comes immediately to mind.

JOB 38:1-11. (Alternate) The great drama dealing with the problem of innocent suffering comes to a crashing climax with God speaking directly to Job in a long series of unanswerable questions. God challenges Job to accept the reality that as Creator, God is more powerful than mere humans like himself. The fundamental question, however, is never answered.

Scholars debate whether to regard the Book of Job as a drama or a poem. In dealing with the problem of suffering, Job’s three friends and a fourth, younger participant, Elihu, have all said their set pieces. None have satisfactorily answered the eternal question: Why do the innocent suffer? Job has responded, angrily at times, to each of the first three. Elihu gave a long speech proclaiming God’s justice, condemning Job’s self-righteousness and exalting God’s goodness and majesty. Now God enters the dialogue in response to Job’s hostility.

The soaring rhetoric majestically declares the works of divine creativity and providence. Yet it never answers the fundamental question. It merely humbles Job and illustrates the vast gulf between human and divine understanding. The problem remains a mystery.

PSALM 9:9-20. This is an excerpt from a longer psalm originally consisting of Psalms 9 and 10. It is both a hymn of thanksgiving for God’s help (vss. 9-12); and an appeal for God’s favour (vss. 13-14) and for judgment against wicked enemies (vss. 15-20).

We often forget that the praises of Israel arose out of life situations, most of which are now completely unknowable. The context of this excerpt appears to reflect a time of great national distress, perhaps of imminent danger from foreign invasion. The image of Yahweh as a stronghold in vs. 9 suggests the need for something more than military defenses. In biblical times all cities and even small towns had a fortress into which the people retreated when invasions occurred. The preceding verses reflect a temporary victory of Israel over an unnamed enemy (vss. 3, 5- 6, 13-14). The victory was attributed to Yahweh who sits enthroned as an imperial potentate exercising judgment over the nations (vss. 4, 7, 8, 16).

The religious response to these events requires that the faithful put greater trust in Yahweh. The suffering poor, possibly those widows and orphans who lost husbands and fathers in battle, or those wounded and no longer able to provide for themselves, have special need for this assistance (vs. 12). Yet they are often forgotten and rejected (vs. 13, 18). Anyone who has visited a hospital where dismembered, disfigured or demented veterans of war must live out their days knows how these pitiful human sacrifices have been isolated from public view. For selfish political reasons, governments often try to hide these terrible costs of war from their public.

Ultimately, of course, the psalmist’s hope rests on his trust in Yahweh (vs. 20). At the same time, his narrow ethical viewpoint prevents him from recognizing “the nations” (i.e. other nations which are Israel’s enemies and lack Israel’s covenant faith) as being of any value to Yahweh. He also sees Israel as righteous people who draw superhuman strength from Yahweh. This attitude is reminiscent of the “evil empire” attitudes of many toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War of the late 20th century and of the earlier republican vs. loyalist conflicts of the American War of Independence.

PSALM 107:1-3, 23-32. (Alternate) This psalm celebrates the steadfast love of God toward the redeemed of Israel showing how God brought them through great trials. The whole of this beautiful litany of thanksgiving celebrates several instances when faith was tested and God’s redemptive grace relieved distressed souls. After the opening summons to praise (vss. 1-3), the psalm is divided into a number of discreet segments with almost no relation.

There are several references to Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. The one exception appears to be in this reading (vss. 23-32) referring to a sea voyage on stormy waters. Generally speaking, the Jews were not a sea-going people. Was this passage linked in some way to the parable of Jonah? But that story was only superficially about a sea voyage as an allegory of the exile. Some scholars regard it as an addition from the Hellenistic period (after 330 BCE) when sea-borne commerce had become common. Vs. 3 refers directly to the widespread Diaspora of Israel which also indicates a relatively late date for the composition of the psalm.

Structurally, the psalm may or may not have been a unity. The antiphonal responses of vss. 8, 15, 21 and 31 give evidence of it having been composed for congregational worship, possibly at the time when sacrifices were offered in the temple. Of particular significance is the prophetic sense of social justice that permeates the psalm recalling Isaiah 61:1-4.

2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13. This passage should be read in connection with the preceding part of the letter beginning at 5:11. Paul had a continuing conflict with the Corinthians Christians. They did not always accept him and his preaching as he would have preferred. Despite extreme difficulties he reiterates his appeal that they respond to the message of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.

Faced with their determined opposition to his ministry, Paul sought a cooperative rather than a confrontational relationship with the Corinthian community (vs. 1). He saw them “working together” in a common mission, to make God’s reconciling love in Christ known everywhere and to everyone. To him that was the only possible human response to what God had done in Christ. Any other response to this grace would be utterly in vain.

To emphasize his point that the time to respond is now, as they heard the gospel preached, Paul quoted from the Greek version of Isaiah 49:8. His urgency reflected his view that the end was near, i.e. Christ would soon return to judge the living and the dead. Then it would be too late for the recalcitrant to repent and turn to God.

At this point Paul launched into a defense of his ministry with particular emphasis on his diligence and how much it has cost him in personal suffering. He set this in the context of the general apostolic mission, as if his experiences had not been particularly unique. Hence the use of the phrase “as servants of God” and the first person plural in vs. 4. It makes quite a list of what the sincere evangelist in those times might well expect. Was he just boasting as he denied he was doing in 3:1 and 5:12? Is it still possible in our own time to face similar privations? Some newly ordained pastors and their spouses appointed to hinterland parishes far away from their urban roots might well wonder, as many can attest from their own experience.

Commentators have noted that this is the one place where Paul addressed the Corinthians by name (vs. 11). Thus the citation of general apostolic sufferings had a particular reference to this community. It was for them that he endured so much. Paul’s main purpose in listing these ordeals was to reassure the Corinthians that he truly did love them for Christ’s sake and to remind them that their problem was with their own attitudes (vs. 12). In other words, “It’s your problem, not mine!” The text conveys a not so gentle sense of rebuke.

William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible commentary on the Corinthians letters (p. 9) cites this passage as part of a reconciling letter Paul wrote after having written a much more severe letter now contained in (2 Cor. 10-13). While other scholars differ as to the exact divisions of Paul’s correspondence, the general consensus is that we now have a “scribal compilation” of at least three letters woven into a well-constructed whole. This would have been done as part of a general incorporation of the Corinthian correspondence into a Pauline corpus prepared for a wider circulation.

We, of course, have only the canonical version of this complex collection. Brevard Childs discusses the significance of the canonical text as it now stands in his The New Testament as Canon: An Introduction (Fortress Press, 1984). “The ministry about which the apostle is talking is not just a defense of his actions before the Corinthians, but relates to the gospel in the eternal purpose of God…. Far from being an idealization of the apostle, it explains why his suffering was not simply an unfortunate accident, but offered as the true evidence of his divinely commissioned apostolic office.”

In an age when secular culture concentrates on entirely different and selfish values, the spiritual insight of this passage may bring certain inspirational comfort (i.e. strength as well as compassion) to Christians striving to live by the sacrificial values God set before us in Christ Jesus.

MARK 4:35-41. The question about who Jesus really is comes to the fore in this brief story. He calms a storm which had suddenly arisen as the disciples were taking him across the Sea of Galilee in a boat. Not only did he rebuke the waves, he also rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith.

That is the whole point of the story: nothing could harm the disciples while he was with them because he exercised divine control over the forces of nature. Many people have found great comfort in sensing Jesus’ constant presence in the most difficult and dangerous crises. Mark’s audience in Rome in the 60s CE surely felt that way as they had faced persecution by Emperor Nero. It is probable that both Peter and Paul were martyred during this period.

Two other aspects of this pericope bring to the fore different and perhaps more primitive interpretations about Jesus. He was at once a miracle worker and had dominion over both natural and demonic forces. Yet there is also a remarkable depth to the story offering many homiletic opportunities.

In The Complete Gospels (Robert J. Miller, ed.. Polebridge Press, 1992.) A note on this passage makes several significant points: This is one of several lake crossings in Mark’s Gospel, which he calls a sea (thalassa – a term usually referring to the Mediterranean Sea). The term may be an exaggeration for emphasis. It “resonates powerfully” with “God’s creative and redemptive control of the waters (Gen. 1; Ex. 14; Pss. 69, 89, 93, 104-107; Isa. 43; 51:9-10).” It develops Mark’s theme of “faltering trust and faulty comprehension of Jesus’ band of followers.” The words the disciples used to waken Jesus were usually addressed to God (Ps. 44:23). Jesus stilled the storm as if exorcising a demon in much the same way as he did in many of Mark’s miracle stories.

Donald Spotto has an important comment on Jesus as a miracle worker in his The Hidden Jesus: A New Life (St. Martin’s Press, 1998). He notes that our understanding of the word “miracle” contains a notion that would be incomprehensible to the world of the Bible. “For the Jewish and Christian people of biblical times, God was trusted as the Lord of everything created; nothing was outside the range of his power.” In this instance, Mark was saying this about Jesus. The pericope is a metaphor for the early Christian confession, “Jesus is Lord.” If John had used this story in his gospel, he would have included it as one of the signs Jesus gave to declare openly who he is. Mark, on the other hand, keeps that truth hidden even from the disciples (vs. 41). Experienced boatmen though they may have been and knowing full well the dangers of a sudden squall sweeping down from the Golan Heights, they were simply awed and confused by what had happened to them.

Tourists who have taken the boat ride to Capernaum on Lake Galilee and have been caught in one of these squalls can attest to the sense of terror that the disciples must have felt. It takes a very few minutes for a storm to develop from dead calm to a raging torrent of rain, mighty waves and contrary winds. Galilean fishing boats of that era with oars and flimsy sails were much smaller vessels than the diesel-driven tourist boats now plying these waters. One tourist who had such an experience said that it was a moment of revelation for her despite her reassuring trust in the skill of the helmsman and the size of the vessel. As the psalmist sang in Ps. 46:7 “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE
Second Sunday After Pentecost
Proper 6 Ordinary 11
June 14, 2009

1 SAMUEL 15:34-16:13. The story of how Samuel was led by God to anoint David as king of Israel instead of Saul may sound strange to our modern ears. Yet it fits well with the theological viewpoint found throughout the Old Testament that God is very much involved in the working out of human history.

EZEKIEL 17:22-24. (Alternate) In a metaphor of God planting a tree on a high mountain this poetic prophecy again expresses the view of God as Lord of Israel’s history. The metaphor refers to Israel’s return from exile in Babylon to rebuild their capital city, Jerusalem.

PSALM 20. Like a number of psalms, this one offers prayers for an anointed king. It pleads for God’s help at a time when the monarch is menaced by foes from within and without his country.

PSALM 92:1-4, 12-15. (Alternate) The psalmist has occasion to offer thanks to God. His gratitude arises out of long experience of God’s goodness during a long life.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-17. Paul confidently celebrates faith in the love of Christ that has motivated and sustained him through years of difficult ministry to the Gentiles. He fervently proclaimed that anyone who believed and followed Christ had become a new creation and could see the whole of life in this world from a spiritual point of view.

MARK 4:26-34. Because we do not think in spiritual terms, Jesus’ parables of the kingdom of heaven often seem to defy interpretation for modern readers. In these two brief vignettes drawn from the rural life of Galilee, Jesus spoke about the way faith can provide those who believed in and followed him with a full and abundant life.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

1 SAMUEL 15:34-16:13. In these times when governments are change by democratic vote or by violent revolution, this passage may seem to have no message for us. The story of how Samuel was led by God to anoint David as king of Israel instead of Saul may sound particularly strange to our modern ears. Yet it fits well with the view found throughout the Old Testament that God is very much involved in the working out of human history, especially that of God’s chosen people, Israel.

The concept of God as Lord of history is not easy to understand in today’s global political situation. We tend to think either in terms of God being on our side or favouring the most militarily powerful empire, especially in times of war. The story of Samuel anointing David reveals that God is not interested in either prestige or power. As 16:7 declares, “the Lord does not see as mortals see.” It was the youngest of Jesse’s son, the shepherd boy, David, whom God chose to succeed Israel’s first king Saul after he had departed from God’s purpose.

Another aspect of this story is the reality of Samuel’s fear. At first he was loath to do as God had directed him. The aging prophet knew that Saul would kill him if he found out that God had rejected him as Israel’s leader. God saw things differently and gave Samuel an alternative way to do God’s bidding. When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of that city were similarly fearful of Saul until the prophet advised them of the ruse to conceal his real intention.

More often than not fear is a significant factor in human relations, be it among individuals or nations. Fear of hostile neighbours led Israel to aggressive wars on many occasions. Fear of losing the competition for imperial power led to the two costly global wars of the 20th century. As the 21st century began, a pre-emptive war against terror became a further reason for more futile bloodshed to the Middle East.

Surely God has another purpose and plan for the nations and the religious traditions that motivate them to take up arms against one another. The working out of God’s purpose to create a universal reign of love in this world is the task to which all peoples of faith must now turn. But will we ever find the courage to do so?

EZEKIEL 17:22-24. (Alternate) In a metaphor of God planting a tree on a high mountain this poetic prophecy again expressed the view of God as Lord of Israel’s history. The metaphor referred to Israel’s return from exile in Babylon to rebuild their capital city, Jerusalem, in the latter part of the 6th century BCE.

The poet Ogden Nash once wrote, “How odd of God to choose the Jews.” Yet the biblical narrative assures us that God chose Israel to be a light among the nations that the whole world might learn God’s way to live in neighbourly peace. This divine purpose lies behind Ezekiel’s metaphor of a small sprig of a lofty cedar tree planted on a high mountain to grow and give shade for the birds to nest in.

In vs. 24, speaking for God, the prophet depicted as trees that either flourish or fail to declare how God uses the rise and fall of nations and empires to bring about the end to which history moves.

PSALM 20. Like a number of psalms, this one offers prayers for an anointed king. It pleads for God’s help at a time when the monarch is menaced by foes from within and without his country.

It is never wrong to pray for our government and our country. On the other hand, we should beware the blatant nationalism of the false patriot who declares, “My country right or wrong; but right our wrong, my country.” In fact, that bit of bravado is a misquotation of statements with quite different meaning made by several British and American authors including Charles Churchill (1731-1764); Stephen Decatur (1779-1820); John Quincy Adams (1767-1848); Carl Schurz (1829-1906); and G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936).

This prayer for a king probably dates from the period prior to the Babylonian exile (586-539 BCE) when Judea, the southern part of the original kingdom, still had a ruling monarch. The performance of religious rites seeking God’s favour comes through the early verses. A sense of trepidation lies behind the latter verses. As God’s anointed, the monarch’s safety and victory were of paramount importance to the nation and its security. Whoever the enemy was, they were presumed to have more powerful armaments (vss. 7-8). Therefore the appeal for God’s help in gaining victory was far from assured.

Offering prayers for victory in battle may be as old as human religious traditions. How God is to deal with the fervent prayers for victory offered by both combatants is a theological puzzle that no one can satisfactorily solve.

PSALM 92:1-4, 12-15. (Alternate) The psalmist has occasion to offer thanks to God. His gratitude arises out of long experience of God’s goodness during a long life. His joy in praising God comes through vividly in the opening verses.

The mood changes in vss. 5-8 to a traditional contrast of those who are faithful and those who are not. The right to make such judgments still belongs to God. Victory over enemies is also seen as the victory of God (vss. 9-11). Finally, vss. 12-15 lift up the benefits of living righteously. Such benefits rest on God’s righteousness and justice, not on human behaviour.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-17. In this excerpt Paul confidently celebrated faith in the love of Christ that had motivated and sustained him through years of difficult ministry to the Gentiles. He fervently proclaimed that anyone who believed and followed Christ had become a new creation. This gave him a whole new perspective on life in this world and life eternal from a spiritual point of view.

Paul had a very troubled relationship with the Corinthians, but he constantly strove to bring them to a new life of faith. The early part of this passage (vss. 6-10) deals with the subject of our unavoidable mortality which he had begun to discuss in the previous chapter, 4:7 – 5:5. Facing death was nothing new for him. Many times he had been threatened with imminent demise, yet he had never been afraid of it. Early in his life as a Pharisee and much more so after his conversion, he had devoutly believed in resurrection and life beyond death. This faith gave him the confidence to say what for any other person might be regarded as death wish (vs.8). His one desire was to serve Christ as long as he had breath, knowing full well that judgment awaited him as it did for every other human being. Beyond that too lay the glorious experience of the eternal presence of God and Jesus Christ.

The expression “the fear of the Lord” occurs many times in the Old Testament. In many respects it was the familiar way of describing the religious tradition of post-exilic Judaism. Its central meaning can be understood best as mysterium tremendum. Much more than reverent piety, it meant a sense of supreme awe in the presence of Yawheh. It was the essence of wisdom in approaching everyday life and the ethical motivation for an absolute moral monotheism determining the behaviour of every believer. Even the Messiah would sense the spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isa. 11:2).

Paul shared this classical theological and psychological point of view. At the same time, his approach to life and to his mission had been filtered through his conversion experience. He had come to see that above all else the life, death and resurrection of Jesus conveyed the love of God for sinful, selfish humanity. “He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” Nothing else mattered. This became the fundamental motivation for his ministry to the Gentiles and his continual conflict with both Peter and James about that mission.

Verse 16 contains a profound retrospective of his conversion experience. He certainly had seen Jesus “from a human point of view.” The apostolic claim that Jesus was the Messiah/Christ had so threatened Paul’s rabbinical ambitions that he had become a violent persecutor of the Christian community in Jerusalem. He had obtained permission from the high priest to extend his campaign against those messianic heretics to Damascus. Whatever that experience may have been in modern psychological terms, his meeting with the risen Christ on the Damascus Road had totally transformed his life. He became, as vs. 17 avers, “a new creation.”

Perhaps the most significant element of this compact passage is the simple word “anyone” in vs. 17. Paul did not regard the conversion experience as exclusive to himself. It was for everyone who believed that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. It was the power of the Spirit of God available to Jew and Gentile alike.

In his Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography (Image Books, 2004), Bruce Chilton has described Paul in this passage as “thinking on so cosmic a scale, linking God’s Spirit to humanity’s and both to the transformation of the world.” Chilton elaborates: “The same Spirit that made the world, hovering over the face of the primeval waters and descending upon each believer at baptism, infused the meetings of every congregation, joining Paul’s spirit and Jesus’ power in the judgment that would free the world of its old shape and give it new form. That transformation was doubly powerful because at the same time it occurred at the intimate level of each believer’s own body. The transformation of body, self and world were all happening at once, ‘in Christ.’”

Is it too much to believe that even the least noticed transformation of any person that leads to deeper and more faithful discipleship is a step toward remaking this sin-sick old world?

MARK 4:26-34. Because we do not think in spiritual terms, Jesus’ parables of the kingdom of heaven often seem to defy interpretation for modern readers. In these two brief vignettes drawn from the rural life of Galilee, Jesus spoke about the way faith can provide those who believed in and followed him a full and abundant life.

As a young carpenter of Nazareth Jesus would have met and chatted with innumerable peasant farmers of Galilee. Seedtime and harvest would have been natural topics of conversation then as they are today among farm folk. In that region, especially in the Plain of Esdraelon nearby, there was abundant good soil for raising abundant grain crops. Because of the mountains of Lebanon to the north, rainfall was plentiful. He might well have turned his own hand to the sickle to aid his neighbours at harvest time. This set of parables reflects that rural scene with sharp realism.

The time between seedtime and harvest also come through almost as clearly in the words of vs. 27. It takes approximately ninety days for the farmer to sleep and rise before a field crop can ripen to maturity. Much can happen in the interim to prevent a fruitful harvest. That requires both faith and patience from the farmer.

The second parable is less illustrative of rural Galilee. Once cultivated for the oil of its very small seeds, the mustard plant (brassica nigra) is now a common weed. It does exceed most other weeds in height, projecting above the level of the grain it contaminates. With large leaves, bright yellow flowers and small seeds in pods, it can be easily distinguished from crop surrounding it. However, it is not as large as a small tree or shrub and certainly could not hold up even a small bird’s nest. At most, a tiny bird might settle on its branches for a few seconds rest. It is even possible that the parable drew on a well-known image found in Daniel 4:10-12 and 20-22.

So Jesus must have been exaggerating to make his point. But why the hyperbole? To emphasize the significance of faith. “The kingdom of heaven” is no earthly nation with exact geographic location on this planet or elsewhere in the vast universe. It is spiritual in nature and can only be accessed by those who are spiritual. It is located wherever God’s love reigns. In these parables Jesus was saying that only those with a deep, abiding and patient faith in him and his way will find themselves citizens of that sacred, spiritual realm.

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