Daily Scripture Readings |
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Friday (November 25, 2005) |
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Daily Office Lectionary, The Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. |
Daily Lectionary, The Book of Worship, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. |
Daily Lectionary, Book of Worship Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship, c. 1978 (2002 printing) |
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm http://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi |
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Unless otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers), 1989. |
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According to Proper29* |
According to Proper 29* |
According to Proper 28* |
Friday AM Psalm 140, 142; PM Psalm 141, 143:1-11(12) Isa. 24:14-23; 1 Pet. 3:13-4:6; Matt. 20:17-28 |
Morning: Psalm 84:1-12 Isaiah 24:14-23 1 Peter 3:13-4:6 Matthew 20:17-28 Evening: Psalm 25:1-22 |
Friday Morning Pss.: 84, 148 Evening Pss.: 25, 40 |
Isaiah 24:14-23
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea glorify the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, I pine away,
I pine away. Woe is me!
For the treacherous deal treacherously,
the treacherous deal very treacherously.
17 Terror, and the pit, and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 Whoever flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit;
and whoever climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is torn asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven in heaven,
and on earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together
like prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be abashed,
and the sun ashamed;
for the Lord of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders he will manifest his glory. (Isaiah 24:14-23, NRSV)
Isaiah paints a picture of universal judgment upon the earth and its inhabitants (Is. 24:14-20), the "host of heaven" and "kings of the earth" (v. 21). The passage seems to begin with a note of joy (vv. 14-15), but the prophet interrupts because judgment is not yet complete. "For the treacherous deal treacherously" (v. 16). “The seer has a revelation that contradicts the current euphoria” (John S. Kselman, NOAB, 3rd ed., on Isa. 24:16). “Terror, and the pit, and the snare/ are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!” (v. 17). There will be catastrophic destruction upon the earth (vv. 18-19), so that “The earth staggers like a drunkard” (v. 20). “The LORD will punish/the host of heaven in heaven,/and on earth the kings of the earth” (v. 21). Nevertheless, in the end "the LORD of hosts will reign/on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,/and before his elders he will manifest his glory" (v. 23). (Notes with supplement and adaptation from Nov. 17-18, 2003)
1 Peter 3:13-4:6
Suffering for Doing Right
13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (1 Peter 3:13-22, NRSV)
The subject of suffering was anticipated in the introductory blessing (1 Pet. 1:6), and arose again in the instructions to slaves (2:18-20) and the example of Christ’s suffering (vv. 21-25; cf. yesterday’s comments). But in today’s reading the subject of suffering is treated in its own right. The subject will emerge again as a “fiery ordeal” (4:12) in chapter 4 (4:12-19). The present passage begins with a rhetorical question, “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” (3:13), which seems to imply that they need not suffer. But suffering has been a recurring theme, and the very next verse assumes suffering. “But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed” (v. 14a). Peter H. Davids takes note of the difficulty this apparent contradiction causes for some commentators, but regards verse 13 as “a transition from the idea of minimizing suffering through virtue to a renewed teaching of how to behave when one suffers anyway” (The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT, 1990, p. 130 on 1 Pet. 3:13). The readers are told, “Do not fear what they [the non-Christians who persecute or may persecute believers] fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord” (vv. 14b, 15a), in wording that follows Isaiah 8:12-13 with a minor change or two.
Peter has changed Isaiah by shifting the singular “him” to the plural “them.” ‘The Septuagint is itself a shift from the Hebrew text (“Do not fear what they fear”), and refers to fear of the Syro-Ephraimite alliance of Rezin and Pekah). By making it plural Peter refers it to the enemies of the Christians. Christians are not to fear their persecutors; instead, following Matt. 10:28, they are to take a longer-range perspective and fear God. (Davids, pp. 130-131, on v. 14)
They are to “always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (v. 15), that is, to explain their Christian faith. They are advised to “Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame” (v. 16). Davids says, “The whole situation is one of slander,” and notes that Luke 6:28, which uses the same terms, presents the command “to pray for such persecutors” (Davids, p. 133, on v. 16). Peter appeals again to the example of Christ’s suffering (v. 18) and his proclamation “to the spirits in prison (v. 19). Davids, after discussing several possible meanings of this statement, concludes:
Thus it seems likely that this passage in 1 Peter refers to a proclamation of judgment by the resurrected Christ to the imprisoned spirits, that is, the fallen angels, sealing their doom as he triumphed over sin and death and heall, redeeming human beings. (Davids, p. 141, on v. 19)
These “spirits” did not obey when God saved Noah in the ark, a salvation “through water” (v. 20), which prefigured baptism, which “now saves you–not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience” (v. 21). It is a spiritual experience, salvation through the now victorious Christ “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him” (v. 22).
Good Stewards of God’s Grace
4:1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), 2 so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. 3 You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. 5 But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does. (1 Peter 4:1-6, NRSV)
Some consequences for Christian living are presented here. One should “live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God” (1 Pet. 4:2). One should avoid the past way of life “doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry” (v. 3). Such ways will lead to judgment (vv. 5-6).
Matthew 20:17-28
Jesus’ Third Passion Prediction (Mk 10.32-34; Lk 18.31-34)
17 While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 19 then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.” (Matthew 20:17-19, NRSV)
Jesus’ third Passion Prediction is presented by three Gospels with few significant differences. Matthew abbreviates some of Mark’s detail about the setting (Mt. 20:17; cf. Mk. 10:32). Luke introduces the details of what Jesus says will happen to him by having Jesus say, “everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished” (Lk. 18:31). On this occasion, only Luke notes the disciples’ failure to understand (Lk. 18:34; cf. Mk. 9:32 and Lk. 9:45).
It may be of some interest to note the location of the three Passion Predictions in the Gospels. In Mark they appear in successive chapters, Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34. In Matthew the first two are in successive chapters (Mt 16:21-23; 17:22-23), and the third comes three chapters later (Mt. 20:17-19). In Luke, the first two come in the same chapter (Lk. 9:22; 43b-45) but the third comes nine chapters later (Lk. 18:31-34). Matthew’s fourth “discourse” (Mt. 18:1-35) is a part of what separates the second and third Passion Predictions, but most notably, Luke’s so-called Travel Narrative (Lk. 9:51-18:14), probably based on sources other than Mark, separates Luke’s version of the second and third Passion Predictions. But it is clear in all the Gospels that Jesus’ public ministry would end as it did. Matthew, in fact, has a fourth Prediction (Mt. 26:2; cf. Mk. 14:1 and Lk. 22:1, both of which mention the Passover but not the crucifixion).
The Request of the Mother of James and John (Mk 10.35—45)
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26 It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:20-28, NRSV)
In Matthew, it is “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” (Mt. 20:20) who asks for seats of honor for her sons (v. 21). In Mark, James and John themselves make the request (Mk. 10:35-37). William Barclay explains as follows:
Matthew was writing twenty-five years later than Mark; by that time a kind of halo of sanctity had become attached to the disciples. Matthew did not wish to show James and John guilty of worldly ambition, and so he puts the request into the mouth of their mother rather than of themselves. (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, The Daily Study Bible, rev. ed., vol. 2, 1975, p. 229, on Mt. 20:20-28)
Perhaps Barclay is right; he summarizes references to some women in the Gospels and concludes “that James and John were full cousins of Jesus; and it may have been that they felt that this close relationship entitled them to a special place in his Kingdom” (Ibid.).
In any case, the request called for a definition of authority and leadership within the Christian community that differed radically from the surrounding world.
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26 It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mt. 20:25-28)
This form of leadership has been appropriately called “Servant Leadership.” Barclay comments as follows:
What Jesus calls upon his followers to do he himself did. He came not to be served but to serve. He came to occupy not a throne, but a cross. It was just because of this that the orthodox religious people of his time could not understand him. All through their history the Jews had dreamed of the Messiah; but the Messiah of whom they had dreamed was always a conquering king, a mighty leader, one who would smash the enemies of Israel and reign in power over the kingdoms of the earth. They looked for a conqueror; they received one broken on a cross. (Barclay, p. 234, on Mt. 20:20-28)
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.
rdworden@hgst.edu
rworden@houston.rr.com