Daily Scripture Readings |
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Saturday (November 26, 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* |
Saturday: AM Psalm 137:1-6(7-9), 144 PM Psalm 104 Micah 7:11-20 1 Pet. 4:7-19 Matt. 20:29-34 |
Morning: Psalm 63:1-11 Micah 7:11-20 1 Peter 4:7-19 Matthew 20:29-34 Evening: Psalm 125:1-5 |
Saturday Morning Pss.: 63, 149 Evening Pss.: 125, 90 |
Micah 7:11-20
11 A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they will come to you
from Assyria to Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their doings.
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
show us marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed
of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick dust like a snake,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;
they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall stand in fear of you.
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over the transgression
of the remnant of your possession?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in showing clemency.
19 He will again have compassion upon us;
he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
from the days of old. (Micah 7:11-20, NRSV)
Micah ends with an oracle of salvation (Micah 7:8-20). “A day for the building of your walls!” (v. 11, cf. Neh. 2:7), says the prophet, perhaps indicating a date “in the early post-exilic period” (Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3rd ed., on Mic. 7:11-13); but Micah is a contemporary of the eighth century prophet Isaiah. Perhaps Mobley implies a late addition to the book. But here the promises continue: “Shepherd your people [God] with your staff,/the flock that belongs to you,/which lives alone in a forest/in the midst of a garden land” (v. 14). “The nations shall see and be ashamed/of all their might;/they shall lay their hands on their mouths;/their ears shall be deaf” (v. 16). These would be Israel’s enemies, once used to inflict punishment on Israel, but now embarrassed and ashamed. “They shall lick dust like a snake,/like the crawling things of the earth;/they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;/they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall stand in fear of you” (v. 17).
But blessings for Israel do not come without dealing with the sin and rebellion that brought them in the first place. “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity/and passing over the transgression/of the remnant of your possession?/He does not retain his anger forever,/because he delights in showing clemency,/He will again have compassion upon us;/he will tread our iniquities under foot./You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (vv. 18-19). (Adapted and supplemented from an E-mail sent November 28, 2003, for November 29-December 1, 2003).
1 Peter 4:7-19
7 The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11 Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11, NRSV)
Peter instructs his readers with the end-times in view. “The end of all things is near,” he says, and for that reason (“therefore”) he calls on them to “be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers” (1 Pet. 4:7). He continues to encourage them to “maintain constant love” (v. 8) through hospitality (v. 9) and service to one another (v. 10), “speaking the very words of God” (v. 11). Peter H. Davids interprets verse 11a as follows:
Peter gives two general examples of how God’s gifts should be used. First, “if someone speaks” covers the whole range of speaking gifts, that is, glossolalia . . . prophecy, teaching and evangelism (or preaching). It is not referri8ng to casual talk among Christians, nor is it referring only to the actions of elders or other church officials (to whom it will be restricted in the Apostolic Fathers), but to each Christian who may exercise one of these verbal gifts. Such speech is not to be simply his or her own good ideas, nor even good exegesis, but “as . . . the very words of God.” (Peter H. Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT, 1990, p. 161 on 1 Pet. 4:11)
He sees reference to “the other broad class of gifts” in verse 11b:
The other broad class of gifts referred to is “if someone serves.” While the verb is the same as that in 4:10 [diakonein], a narrower meaning is taken up here, much like the distinction between “the word of God” and “serving tables” in Acts 6:2 or Paul’s sense in Rom. 12:7. It probably covers all those deeds one Christian does to or for another: administration, care for the poor and sick (including contributing funds, distributing funds, and physical care), healing, and similar acts that express God’s love and mercy in concrete form. ((Ibid.)
Suffering as a Christian
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. 16 Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?”
19 Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good. (1 Peter 4:12-19, NRSV)
As noted in yesterday’s comments (Nov. 25, 2005), suffering is a major theme through much of 1 Peter. The subject comes into focus in its own right in chapter 3, but to a climax in 4:12-19. Peter H. Davids presents a thematic study of suffering throughout the Bible, with some reference to modern pastoral practice, which helps to define the term as used in 1 Peter (The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT, 1990, pp. 30-41).
At the very least . . . we must argue that in the NT suffering is persecution and does not appear to include illness. The English term “suffer” is therefore a misleading, although necessary, translation, for it has a semantic field that tends to include too much as suffering and tempts us to read into the NT ideas that are not there. (Davids, pp. 40-41)
For Davids, however, the persecutions to which 1 Peter refers “are not official imperial persecutions, such as would later occur under Trajan, but discrimination and abuse on a local level, which occurred with or without imperial sanction” (Davids, p. 10). So what, we may ask, was the “fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you” (1 Pet. 4:12)? According to Davids, it was “persecution by the pagan culture”:
Before [the reader’s] conversion they were perfectly at home in their city. And instead of rebelling against God they had accepted the gospel message. But now they were experiencing cultural isolation and personal hostility, not what they might have expected as the blessing of God. (Davids, p. 164 on 1 Pet. 4:12)
They are instructed to “rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings” (v. 13). Being “reviled for the name of Christ,” while not the blessing as such, indicates blessing “because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you” (v. 14). It is not good to suffer as an evildoer (v. 15), but Peter’s concern is to encourage the believer who “suffers as a Christian,” which is not a disgrace; one should rather “glorify God because you bear this name” (v. 16). In such circumstances, one should trust in God as “a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good” (v. 19).
Matthew 20:29-34
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men (cf. Mt. 9:27-31; Mk 10.46-52; Lk 18.35-43)
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” 32 Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him. (Matthew 20:29-34)
Jesus heals two blind men in this passage (Mt. 20:29-34), and does the same in an earlier account (Mt. 9:27-31). The account in Matthew 20 has parallel accounts in Mark (Mk. 10:46-52) and Luke (Lk. 18:35-43). These two parallel accounts occur in sequence with Matthew’s account, but differ in mentioning only one blind man who is healed. Mark gives his name, Bartimaeus (Mk. 10:46). For Luke, the healing occurred as Jesus and his disciples were entering Jericho (Lk. 18:15), but for Matthew and Mark, it happened as they were leaving Jericho (Mt. 20:29; Mk. 10:46). The cry for help is essentially the same in each account, with allowance for the two in Matthew’s accounts. “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Mt. 20:30; 9:27), or “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk. 10:45; Lk. 18:38). The crowd attempts to silence these cries for help (Mt. 20:31; Mk. 10:48; Lk. 18:39), but fails in that attempt. Jesus responds, “What do you want me to do for you?” (The English translations are identical, but the Greek word for “you” is plural in Mt. 20:32, but singular in Mk. 10:51 and Lk. 18:41, which agrees with the accounts respectively.) In the present account, Jesus touched the unseeing eyes (Mt. 20:34, cf. Mt. 9:29), but in all the accounts sight was received immediately (eutheōs, Mt. 20:34; euthys, Mk 10:52.; parachrēma, Lk. 18:43).
Dale C. Allison, Jr., comments on the relation between the two accounts of healing two blind men in Matthew:
This passage [Mt. 20:29-34] is remarkably reminiscent of 9:27-30. In both Jesus is being followed, two blind men appear, the blind men cry out and say, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David’, Jesus touches their eyes, and they see again. There are also striking verbal links (cf. e.g. 20:29, 30 with 9:27). These parallels form a sort of inclusio. The first restoration of sight occurs towards the beginning of the ministry, the second near the end. This gives an artistic unity to the whole gospel. Furthermore, the first takes place before corporate Israel has rejected Jesus, the second after that rejection has become manifest. So despite being rejected, Jesus’ charity remains the same throughout. His difficulties do not cancel his compassion. (Dale C. Allison, Jr., The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 871 on Mt. 20:29-34)
Allison also suggest that the sequence of this account and the preceding account has a lesson for us:
In the former [account, Mt. 20:20-28], two privileged insiders, (James and John) make a request through a third party (their mother). The request is prefaced by no title of respect or majesty, it concerns the eschatological future, and it involves personal exaltation (to sit at the right and left of the Messiah). In the latter, two outsiders (the blind men) make a request that a third party (the crowd) tries to stifle. That request is prefaced by titles of respect and majesty, concerns the present, and is for something necessary that is taken for granted by most (sight). One might infer that petitions are more likely to be heard when addressed directly, with respect, and for things truly needful. (Ibid.)
This prayer was for physical sight, and Allison makes a good point. It is needful. But we also should remember to pray for spiritual sight, and spiritual insight (cf. Jn. 9:40-41).
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.
rdworden@hgst.edu
rworden@houston.rr.com