Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 51:13-22

Autobiographical Poem on Wisdom

13 While I was still young, before I went on my travels,

I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.

14 Before the temple I asked for her,

and I will search for her until the end.

15 From the first blossom to the ripening grape

my heart delighted in her;

my foot walked on the straight path;

from my youth I followed her steps.

16 I inclined my ear a little and received her,

and I found for myself much instruction.

17 I made progress in her;

to him who gives wisdom I will give glory.

18 For I resolved to live according to wisdom,

and I was zealous for the good,

and I shall never be disappointed.

19 My soul grappled with wisdom,

and in my conduct I was strict;

I spread out my hands to the heavens,

and lamented my ignorance of her.

20 I directed my soul to her,

and in purity I found her.

With her I gained understanding from the first;

therefore I will never be forsaken.

21 My heart was stirred to seek her;

therefore I have gained a prize possession.

22 The Lord gave me my tongue as a reward,

and I will praise him with it. (Ecclus. 51:13-22, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated with revision and supplement here from November 7, 2004, two years ago (the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two):

Ben Sira concludes his book with “an autobiographical poem on the author’s quest for wisdom (vv. 12-22)” which “leads to his invitation to join him in receiving her instruction (vv. 23-30)” (Burton Mack, HarperCollins Study Bible, on Sirach 13-30). Hebrew manuscripts of Sirach discovered recently, show that the poem is in the form of an alphabetic acrostic. The first word of each line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a feature found in several Psalms, e.g. Ps. 9:1-10:18; Pss. 34; 37; and others, including Ps. 119, which has eight lines for each letter. Ben Sira’s poem echoes themes from Proverbs, chapters 2, 8, 9, as well as his own earlier work (chs. 1, 4,, 6, 14, 15, 24). Ben Sira, while still young, “before I went on my travels,” he says, prayed for wisdom (Sirach 51:13). He refers to travels in 34:11; 39:7 (ref. by Harold C. Washington, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on 51:13). While young ben Sira asked for wisdom “before the temple,” and is determined to “search for her until the end” (v. 14). He describes his fascination with wisdom, personified on the model of Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8:11-36, with language bordering on the romantic. “From the first blossom to the ripening grape / my heart delighted in her; / my foot walked on the straight path; / from my youth I followed her steps” (Sirach 51:15). But this fascination with Wisdom personified is a metaphor for his desire for and pursuit of education. “I inclined my ear a little and received her, / and I found for myself much instruction” (v. 16). As he made progress in wisdom, he says, “to him who gives wisdom I will give glory” (v. 17). He resolved to live his life in accord with the wisdom he acquires (v. 18a), for, he says, “I was zealous for the good, / and I shall never be disappointed” (v. 18b, c). As a result, his “soul grappled with wisdom,” and he claims, “in my conduct I was strict” (v. 19a, b). A part of his pursuit of wisdom was his recognition of his ignorance (v. 19d), but, as he says, “I directed my soul to her, / and in purity I found her” (20a, b). Since with wisdom he “gained understanding,” and “will never be forsaken” (v. 20c, d). Beginning in verse 23 (beyond today’s reading), we seem to hear the words of Wisdom herself. “Draw near to me, you who are uneducated, / and lodge in the house of instruction” (v. 23). But ben Sira speaks again with advice to seek wisdom. “Put your neck under her yoke (zygos; cf. Jesus’ yoke, zygos, Mt. 11:29-30), / and let your souls receive instruction; / it is to be found close by” (v. 26). “Hear but a little of my instruction,” says ben Sira, “and through me you will acquire silver and gold” (v. 28). He closes the book with good wishes for the reader, “May your soul rejoice in God’s mercy, / and may you never be ashamed to praise him” (v. 29), and a final word of advice, “Do your work in good time, / and in his own time God will give you your reward” (v. 30).

Joel 1:1-13 (Presbyterian and Lutheran reading for today; this is the Episcopal reading for tomorrow)

1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

Lament over the Ruin of the Country (Ex 10.1-20)

2 Hear this, O elders,

give ear, all inhabitants of the land!

Has such a thing happened in your days,

or in the days of your ancestors?

3 Tell your children of it,

and let your children tell their children,

and their children another generation.

4 What the cutting locust left,

the swarming locust has eaten.

What the swarming locust left,

the hopping locust has eaten,

and what the hopping locust left,

the destroying locust has eaten.

5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;

and wail, all you wine-drinkers,

over the sweet wine,

for it is cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation has invaded my land,

powerful and innumerable;

its teeth are lions’ teeth,

and it has the fangs of a lioness.

7 It has laid waste my vines,

and splintered my fig trees;

it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;

their branches have turned white.

8 Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth

for the husband of her youth.

9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off

from the house of the LORD.

The priests mourn,

the ministers of the LORD.

10 The fields are devastated,

the ground mourns;

for the grain is destroyed,

the wine dries up,

the oil fails.

11 Be dismayed, you farmers,

wail, you vinedressers,

over the wheat and the barley;

for the crops of the field are ruined.

12 The vine withers,

the fig tree droops.

Pomegranate, palm, and apple-

all the trees of the field are dried up;

surely, joy withers away

among the people.

A Call to Repentance and Prayer

13 Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests;

wail, you ministers of the altar.

Come, pass the night in sackcloth,

you ministers of my God!

Grain offering and drink offering

are withheld from the house of your God. (Joel 1:1-13, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with revision and supplement from November 8, 2004, two years ago (Monday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two):

Little is known about Joel apart from his name, a common name which means “the same as that of Elijah, (‘My God is Yah [the LORD]’), but the elements are reversed” (Richard A. Henshaw, HarperCollins Study Bible, Introduction to Joel). According to Gregory Mobley, “From his [Joel’s] book, it appears that he lived in Judah during the Persian period (539-331 BCE). Carl-A. Keller questions the later dating of Joel by some,

Most scholars think that he lived in the middle of the fourth century BCE, but their arguments are open to criticism. The following observations point to a date shortly before 600. Israel, the northern kingdom, has disappeared, but Judah and Jerusalem still exist (3:1): this detail agrees with the situation of the seventh century BCE. . . . The absence of an allusion to the king is not surprising, as there are many oracles which do not mention a king . . . On the other hand, 3:1-8 offers arguments which suggest the end of the seventh century (between 630 and 600). During the final years of the seventh century, the declining power of the Assyrians encouraged the small states along the Mediterranean coast, Tyre, Sidon, and the Philistine towns, to join hands in order to make incursions into Judaean territory, to carry away whatever they found and to sell the booty, including men, women, and children, tot he Greeks (3:4-6). . . . the language of the book is a final and decisive argument in favour of an early date. It is throughout classical, living, pre-exilic Hebrew. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 579, in the Introduction to Joel).

Joel describes a plague of locusts (Joel 1:1-13) that is echoed in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 9:1-12) and reminds us of the eighth plague on the Egyptians (Ex. 10:1-20). He addresses the “elders” (Joel 1:2a) asking, “Has such a thing happened in your days, / or in the days of your ancestors?” (v. 2b, c). The event is a story for children and grandchildren (v. 3). The devastation in the wake of the invading army of locusts is severe. “What the cutting locust left, / the swarming locust has eaten. / What the swarming locust left, / the hopping locust has eaten, / and what the hopping locust left, / the destroying locust has eaten” (v. 4). Joel’s hearers are addressed as drunkards and wine-drinkers, and told to “weep and wail . . . over the sweet wine, / for it is cut off from your mouth” (v. 5). The picture of an invading army with “lions’ teeth” and “the fangs of a lioness” (Joel 1:6) graphically portrays a real locust plague. “Palestine is in the path of locust movements that have occurred throughout history up to the present day. If they move by migration, they originate in the Sudan, move up through northeast Africa, through the Arabah, and into the Levant” (Richard A. Henshaw, HarperCollins Study Bible, Introduction to Joel).

The invading locusts have “Laid waste my vines, / and splintered my fig trees,” stripping the bark and turning the branches white (v. 7). The people are called to lament “like a virgin dressed in sackcloth” would lament “for the husband of her youth” (v. 8). The devastation prevents the people from bringing the “grain offering and the “drink offering” to “the house of the LORD” (v. 9), for there is no grain or wine to offer since “the fields are devastated,” and “the ground mourns (v. 10). According to Gregory Mobley, “Grain and drink offerings accompanied sacrifices (see, e.g., Num. 29:12-16)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Joel 1:9). The farmers and vinedressers are told to “be dismayed,” and “wail,” for the ruin of their crops (v. 11). It’s not only grain and wine that are lost, for “the fig tree droops, / Pomegranate, palm, and apple–all the tries of the field are dried up,” and the people’s joy “withers away” (v. 12). The priests are called upon to “put on sackcloth and lament,” to “wail,” to “pass the night in sackcloth” because of the absence of the grain offering and drink offering (v. 13). “Without grain and drink, a vital meditation, the daily offering is imperiled” (Mobley on v. 13).

It seems that a real locust attack is described with the metaphor of an invading army, which anticipates Joel’s interpretation of the locusts as God’s judgment on “the day of the LORD” (1:15; 2:1) and his call for repentance (1:13). In Revelation, it’s still a reference to locusts (Rev. 9:1-12), but it has been called a “plague of demonic locusts, which combine the terrors of evil spirits and of invading horsemen (probably Parthians)” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Rev. 9:1-12). It becomes a symbolic picture of God’s judgment.

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

14:1 Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2 For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church. 5 Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church. (1 Corinthians 14:1-12, NRSV)

The following comments are combined with revision and supplement here from November 7, 2004, two years ago (the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), from April 3, 2006 (Monday of the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year Two), which was based on the comments of October 11 and 12, 2005 (Tuesday and Wednesday of the week of the Sunday closest to October 12, Year One):

Paul lists gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, and presents love (agapē) as the indispensable, essential condition of their use, “a still more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31). Neither speaking in tongues nor prophetic powers have any value apart from love (13:1-2). But given that condition, both have some value. Paul compares the gifts of prophecy and tongues, and shows a preference for the former. “For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Cor. 14:2-3). Paul characterizes the gift of prophecy in a way that makes it seem like preaching, or something very close to it. “Those who prophesy build up the church (v. 4). He places special value on this “upbuilding”–which we used to call “edification.” With this he provides a criterion for us in our work for Christ. What is it that contributes the most to the building up of individual Christian believers and the Christian community as a whole? While recognizing that Paul seems to value prophecy more than speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14, it is also true that he credits speaking in tongues with some value (and admits to speaking in tongues himself, v. 18). “Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves,” he says (1 Cor 14:4a). I have suggested that the lists of gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 and elsewhere are neither comprehensive nor definitive, but rather suggestive and used as examples. The value placed on speaking in tongues here suggests to me the value of various forms of private and personal religious experience, including meditation and the like. The special emphasis on prophecy, “those who prophesy build up the church” (1 Cor. 14:4, cf. vv. 5, 12 and 19), relates to sound preaching of the gospel, which builds up the church in our time.

Paul credits speaking in tongues with some value (and admits to speaking in tongues himself, v. 18). “Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves,” he says (1 Cor 14:4a). But though Paul admits to speaking in tongues himself, he cautions the Corinthian church that it is not helpful in the worship services unless there is interpretation. “Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying?” (v. 16). He advises that, “I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also” (v. 15), adding, “in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (v. 19). The value placed on speaking in tongues here suggests to me the value of various forms of private and personal religious experience, including meditation and the like. The special emphasis on prophecy, “those who prophesy build up the church” (v. 4, cf. vv. 5, 12 and 19), relates to sound preaching of the gospel, which builds up the church in our time.

Matthew 20:1-16

The Laborers in the Vineyard

20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last. (Matthew 20:1-16, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from June 28, 2006 (Wednesday of the week of [the Third Sunday after Pentecost,] the Sunday closest to June 22, Year Two), when they were combined and revised from earlier, from Wednesday, 23 June 2004 in an email sent June 21, 2003, for June 21-27, and from November 24, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year One). (This passage was also treated on November 7, 2004, two years ago (the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two.)

The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Mt. 20:1-16, found only in Matthew, follows Jesus’ discussion with his disciples, and with a questioner (“Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Mt. 19:16), about matters related to eternal life (Mt. 19:13-30). That discussion concluded with Jesus’ saying, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (v. 30; cf. Mk. 10:31, in a context similar to Matthew’s, and Lk. 13:30). This thought, repeated at the end of the parable (Mt. 10:15), seems to fly in the face of our logic and expectations. Why should those who worked only at twilight receive the same wage (a denarius) as those who worked all day (Mt. 10:8-10)? There were smaller coins, so payments could have been prorated, but the parable is not presented as a model of economics or ethical behavior.

Our first reaction to the parable might be similar to that of the first workers hired, It’s so unfair! “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat” (v. 12). The parable is commonly interpreted as a picture of God’s dealing with his servants (i.e. us), and the conclusions drawn that though none of us deserve his grace, he freely gives to us more than we deserve beyond all measure (cf. comments by William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, The Daily Study Bible, v. 2, pp. 225-226, cf. pp. 221-226). John Knox and John Reumann say (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Mt. 20:14), “The point of the parable is the willingness of the owner to exceed conventional practices, and his freedom to do so within the limits of agreement.” In a sense, whatever God gives us is a gift, and we should not complain that others get more. A part of the Christian hope is that, for all of us, as we look ahead, there will be wonderful surprises. But questions have been raised as to whether the owner of the vineyard should be understood as representing God. Perhaps the disparity between the owner, who is able to act as he wishes, and the workers–all of them–who are at his mercy, highlights the condition of the working poor at that time. All of the workers, those who worked the whole day and those who worked for part of the day, including those who worked only the last hour, received “the usual daily wage” (Mt. 20:2, 9, 10, 13, cf. “whatever is right,” v. 4); but that was only a denarius, which was “enough to provide one day’s food for a family” (J. Andrew Overman, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Mt. 20:2). Perhaps the parable, like the one about the Dishonest Manager (Lk. 16:1-9) describes a hypothetical situation only in order to make a point. Is the point that in the Kingdom of God “many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mt. 19:30; cf. 20:16)? Or is it a picture of disorder and inequality in the present world system, awaiting the coming of the kingdom to set things right?

Krister Stendahl sees the parable differently (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible), sec. 689g, p. 799 on Mt. 20:1-16). The parable “is less concerned with Jesus and more with the reversal of order.” The parable “has its point” in verse 16, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Stendahl refers also to Mt. 19:30, “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Nevertheless, Barclay finds important lessons here (based on understanding the owner of the vineyard as representing God):

It is in one sense a warning to the disciples. It is as if Jesus said to them, “You have received the great privilege of coming into the Christian Church and fellowship very early, right at the beginning. In later days others will come in. You must not claim a special honour and a special place because you were Christians before they were. All men, no matter when they come, are equally precious to God.” (Barclay, p 224).

He also sees “an equally definite warning to the Jews”:

There is an equally definite warning to the Jews. They knew that they were the chosen people, nor would they ever willingly forget that choice. As a consequence they looked down on the Gentiles. Usually they hated and despised them, and hoped for nothing but their destruction. This attitude threatened to be carried forward into the Christian Church. If the Gentiles were to be allowed into the fellowship of the Church at all, they must come in as inferiors.

“In God’s economy,” as someone has said, “there is no such thing as a most favoured nation clause.” Christianity knows nothing of the conception of a herrenvolk, a master race. It may well be that we who have been Christian for so long have much to learn from those younger Churches who are late-comers to the fellowship of the faith. (Ibid.)

Barclay adds further lessons: “the comfort of God” (p. 224), “the compassion of God.” “the generosity of God” (p. 225). He sums up with two lessons: “All service ranks the same with God,” and “All God gives is of grace. We cannot earn what God gives us; we cannot deserve it; what God gives us is given out of the goodness of his heart; what God gives us is not pay, but a gift; not a reward, but grace” (p. 226). “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will se him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com