Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 34:1-8,18-22

34:1 The senseless have vain and false hopes,

and dreams give wings to fools.

2 As one who catches at a shadow and pursues the wind,

so is anyone who believes in dreams.

3 What is seen in dreams is but a reflection,

the likeness of a face looking at itself.

4 From an unclean thing what can be clean?

And from something false what can be true?

5 Divinations and omens and dreams are unreal,

and like a woman in labor, the mind has fantasies.

6 Unless they are sent by intervention from the Most High,

pay no attention to them.

7 For dreams have deceived many,

and those who put their hope in them have perished.

8 Without such deceptions the law will be fulfilled,

and wisdom is complete in the mouth of the faithful. (Ecclesiasticus 34:1-8, NRSV)

18 To whom does he look? And who is his support?

19 The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him,

a mighty shield and strong support,

a shelter from scorching wind and a shade from noonday sun,

a guard against stumbling and a help against falling.

20 He lifts up the soul and makes the eyes sparkle;

he gives health and life and blessing.

21 If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods, the offering is blemished;

22 the gifts of the lawless are not acceptable. (Ecclesiasticus 34:18-22, NRSV)

On November 3, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from October 29, 2004, (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two); the comments are repeated here:

Ben Sira warns against dreams and omens (Ecclus.. 34:1-8) as “vain and false hopes,” for “dreams give wings to fools” (v. 1). Believing in dreams is compared to pursuing a shadow, or the wind (v. 2). “What is seen in dreams,” he says, “is but a reflection, the likeness of a face looking at itself” (v. 3). Note that it’s not the person before the mirror who sees the reflection, but rather, it is the reflection itself, “the likeness,” that is “looking at itself.” How can one find truth or reality in this land of shadows. “Dreams have no reality,” says Harold C. Washington; “they are a reflection of one’s concerns” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Ecclus. 34:3). Ben Sira compares depending on dreams to an improper use of the purity laws. “From an unclean thing,” he asks, “what can be clean?” (v. 4a). He answers with another rhetorical question. “And from something false [i.e. dreams] what can be true?” (v. 4b). Washington suggests a comparison with Job 14:4 (ibid., on Ecclus. 34:4), “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? / No one can” (Job 14:4), but while the language about “cleanness” is similar, the topic is rather different. Job is speaking about the human condition as such, not the unreality of dreams. Ben Sira continues with reference to “divinations and omens,” which, like dreams, “are unreal”; they are like the fantasies of a woman in labor,” he says (v. 5). Whether that does justice to the issues of childbirth is another question, but Ben Sira compares divinations, omens and dreams to the unreality, as he imagines it, of a woman’s fantasies as she gives birth. We may note the warnings against heeding the “prophets or those who divine by dreams” and their omens and portents (Deut. 13:1-3, 5). Ben Sira makes allowance for dreams that “are sent by intervention from the Most High” (Ecclus. 34:6a), but otherwise one should “pay no attention to them” (v. 6b). This would presumably exempt dream interpreters like Joseph and Daniel, but “dreams have deceived many, / and those who put their hope in them have perished” (v. 7). One can please God “without such deceptions,” says Ben Sira, for “the law will be fulfilled, / and wisdom is complete in the mouth of the faithful” (v. 8).

The latter part of today’s reading emphasizes piety, fear of the Lord and love of the Lord. “Happy is the soul that fears the Lord!” exclaims Ben Sira (v. 17). “To whom does he look? And who is his support?” (v. 18). The question is about what it is that the person who fears the Lord looks to for help and support, and the answer affirms, as we would expect, that such help comes from the Lord. “The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him,” says Ben Sira, “a mighty shield and strong support, / a shelter from scorching wind and a shade from noonday sun, / a guard against stumbling and a help against falling” (v. 19). The Lord “lifts up the soul and makes the eyes sparkle; / he gives health and life and blessing” (v. 20).

Tomorrow’s reading (Ecclus. 35:1-17) will begin with a discussion of “acceptable sacrifices” (35:1-13, Washington’s subheading, ibid., on 35:1-13). But today’s reading concludes with a couple lines (34:21-22) from the discussion of “unacceptable sacrifices” (34:21-31, also Washington’s subheading). “If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods,” says Ben Sira, “the offering is blemished” (v. 21); for “the gifts of the lawless are not acceptable” (v. 22). Among several biblical passages which treat this theme, we may note the following:

16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;

if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

19 then you will delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar. (Psalm 51:16-19, NRSV)

Nahum 2:13-3:7 (Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions–This passage is not included in the Daily Office Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer.)

13 See, I am against you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.

3:1 Ah! City of bloodshed,

utterly deceitful, full of booty–

no end to the plunder!

2 The crack of whip and rumble of wheel,

galloping horse and bounding chariot!

3 Horsemen charging,

flashing sword and glittering spear,

piles of dead,

heaps of corpses,

dead bodies without end–

they stumble over the bodies!

4 Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute,

gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery,

who enslaves nations through her debaucheries,

and peoples through her sorcery,

5 I am against you,

says the LORD of hosts,

and will lift up your skirts over your face;

and I will let nations look on your nakedness

and kingdoms on your shame.

6 I will throw filth at you

and treat you with contempt,

and make you a spectacle.

7 Then all who see you will shrink from you and say,

“Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?”

Where shall I seek comforters for you? (Nahum 2:13-3:7, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from November 3, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two):

The prose insertion (Nahum 2:13) summarizes the poetic description of Nineveh’s desolation, especially the part about the lion’s “prey” (2:12). Nineveh’s chariots will be burned, a “sword shall devour your [Nineveh’s] young lions”; the LORD “will cut off [Nineveh’s] prey from the earth, and the voice of [her] messengers shall be heard no more” (2:13).

According to Gregory Mobley, the reading continues with “a woe-oracle” (3:1-3) and the first of “a series of taunts” (vv. 4-7) (NOAB, 3^rd ed. on Nahum 3:1-3 and vv. 4-7, respectively). The woe-oracle pictures the battle and its consequences. “Ah! City of bloodshed, / utterly deceitful, full of booty–no end to the plunder!” (3:1). The battle action is described as “The crack of whip and rumble of wheel, / galloping horse and bounding chariot! / Horsemen charging, / flashing sword and glittering spear” (vv. 2, 3a, b). In the aftermath we are given to see “piles of dead, / heaps of corpses, / dead bodies without end” (v. 3c, d, e). This picture ends with the note that “they stumble over the bodies!” (v. 3f), with apparently no other place to step.

In the first taunt, according to Mobley, “Nineveh is portrayed as a disgraced prostitute” (ibid., on vv. 4-7). The LORD is against Nineveh “Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute, / gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery, / who enslaves nations through her debaucheries, and peoples through her sorcery” (vv. 4-5). This is surely meant in a figurative sense–causing Judah to be unfaithful to the LORD by the worship of Assyrian gods (2 Kgs. 21:4-5, 7)–as well as a literal sense. The LORD is against Assyria, and “will lift up [her] skirts,” exposing her nakedness to the nations (v. 5). The onlookers “will shrink from you and say, / ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?’ / Where,” says the LORD, “shall I seek comforters for you?” (v. 7).

Revelation 13:1-10

13 1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.

9 Let anyone who has an ear listen:

10 If you are to be taken captive,

into captivity you go;

if you kill with the sword,

with the sword you must be killed.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:1-10, NRSV)

On November 3, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from October 29, 2004, (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two); they are repeated here:

Two beasts appear in Revelation, chapter 13. The first is “a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns . . . ten diadems, and on its heads . . . blasphemous names” (Rev. 13:1). The second is described in tomorrow’s lesson (vv. 11-18). The first beast, says John, “was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth” (v. 2a). This beast’s authority came from the dragon (v. 2b, cf. 12:3-4, 7, 9, 13-17). John says that one of the beast’s heads “seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed” (v. 3). The “death-blow [is] perhaps an allusion to the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, or to the belief that the emperor Nero, who committed suicide in 68 CE would be restored to life and rule . . . the mortal wound (to the beast as a whole) did not destroy the empire” (Jean-Pierre Luiz, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Rev. 13:3). “The beast from the sea combines the powers of the four beasts of Dan. Ch. 7 and represents the Roman empire, incited by the dragon (v. 2) to persecute the saints (v. 7)” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Rev. 13:1-10).

What is characterized as worship of the dragon who “had given his authority to the beast,” who was worshiped” amounts to worship of Satan (v. 4). “The beast,” says John, “was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months” (v. 5). “The sovereignty of God, even amid persecution, is implied by the use of passive verbs here” (Metzger on v. 5, cf. vv. 7, 10, 14, 15). For a time the beast is “allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them,” for “it was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation” (v. 7). Although it is stated that “all the inhabitants of the earth will worship” the beast, those whose names are “written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered” are excluded (v. 8). This reading concludes with “a call for the endurance and faith of the saints”:

If you are to be taken captive,

into captivity you go;

if you kill with the sword,

with the sword you must be killed. (Rev. 13:10, , NRSV)

Luke 12:13-31

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:13-21, NRSV)

Do Not Worry (Mt 6.19-21, 25-34)

22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you-you of little faith! 29 And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (Luke 12:22-31, NRSV)

The following comments on the Parable of the Rich Fool are repeated here from April 27, 2008 (the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were based on those of November 3, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two), which, in turn, were combined with revision from October 29, 2004,(Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two), and from May 21, 2006 (the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two).

The comments below on Jesus’ advice about Not Being Anxious are repeated from November 4, 2007 (the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One), when they were repeated from May 26, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments that were repeated with revision earlier from November 3, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two), from October 29, 2004, two years earlier (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two), and from October 30, 2005 (the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One). Those comments are repeated again here. Comments from the perspective of Matthew’s version, Matthew 6:25-34, were presented recently, in the Archive for April 24, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two):

Today’s reading from Luke follows a series of teachings on the Leaven of the Pharisees (Lk. 12:1; cf. Mk. 8:14-15; Mt. 16:5-6), an Exhortation to Fearless Confession (Lk. 12:2-9; cf. Mt. 10:26-33), the Sin against the Holy Spirit (Lk. 12:10; cf. Mk. 3:28-30; Mt. 12:31-32), and the Assistance of the Holy Spirit when the disciples are called before authorities (Lk. 12:11-12; cf. Lk. 21:14-15; Mk. 13:11; Mt. 10:19-20) (for the references, cf. Kurt Aland, ed., Synopsis of the Four Gospels, revised printing, 1985, secs. 195-198, pp. 179-181). In the present reading, a listener addresses a question to Jesus. “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance (klhronomiva, klēronomia) with me” (Lk. 12:13). Earlier, Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:29-37) in response to a question from a lawyer (10:25), and later, when a dinner guest (cf. Lk. 14:1) exclaimed, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (Lk. 14:14), Jesus responded with the Parable of the Great Supper (Lk. 14:15-24; cf. Mt. 22:1-14). In the present instance, after an immediate response to the listener’s request, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” (Lk. 12:14), to which he added, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (v. 15), Jesus tells the Parable of the Rich Fool (Lk. 12:16-21).

The Rich Fool

The rich man had a superabundance of fruits from his harvest. “The land of a rich man produced abundantly” (v. 16). Jesus says that the man thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” (v. 17), but soon concluded, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (vv. 18-19). But Jesus’ points out the man’s misplaced emphasis on the benefits of his material goods. “You fool!” says God, according to Jesus’ story. “This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (v. 20). And Jesus explains his point. “So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God” (v. 21; cf. Mt. 6:19-21; Lk. 12:33-34).

Earlier, in response to a lawyer’s question, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk. 10:25), Jesus replies with a question of his own. “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” (v. 26). The lawyer’s response points to the two greatest laws (citing Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18), echoing words attributed to Jesus himself elsewhere (Mt. 22:34-40; Mk. 12:28-34). When Jesus commends him for his answer (Lk. 10:28), he follows up with another question, “And who is my neighbor?” (v. 29). Jesus then responds with the Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:29-37). In the present context the question about the “family inheritance” (Lk. 12:13) reminds us of the request of the Prodigal Son, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me (to; ejpibavllon mevron oujsivaV, to epiballon meros tēs ousias)” (Lk. 15:12). (He cannot yet call it his “inheritance,” of course.).

In the Parable of the Rich Fool, the focus is on the man’s preoccupation with his material wealth, which crowds out any concern for spiritual values. This parable does not have a “Lazarus” character (cf. the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Lk. 16:9-31) to highlight the man’s lack of concern for those in need, who were probably all around him. But the parable is tailored to fit the questioner’s greed. In the continuation, Jesus tells his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear” (Lk. 12:22), and continues with teaching about not being anxious (Lk. 12:22-32) which is included in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 26:25-34).

Perhaps you will forgive me for inserting a joke. My father, a minister and teacher who died when I was young, used to preach on this passage. There was a preacher, he said, who was prone to exaggeration. His wife told him, I’m going to sit on the platform with you and if you exaggerate, I’m going to pull your coat tail. So, during the service, the preacher announced his sermon on the Rich Fool. As he told the story, he began to get excited. “The man said to himself, ‘I will pull down my barns and build larger ones’” (Lk. 12:18). “I will build big barns,” the preacher repeated, “big barns! The barns were really big, a mile long!” Then his wife pulled his coat tail. “And a foot wide.” Jokes aside, we are reminded of what should be our real priorities.

On Not Being Anxious

This passage from Luke and the parallel passage in Matthew, are presented in the following table:

The sequence is significant here, with Jesus’ warning against greed, addressed to the crowd in response to a question (Lk. 12:15, cf. vv. 13-15), followed by the Parable of the Rich Fool illustrating greed focused on one’s own interests (vv. 16-21), and then the admonitions not to be anxious (vv. 22-34). As G. W. H. Lampe points out, the parable of “the Rich Fool [is] peculiar to Lk., who, as often, provides a dramatic setting to the teaching. The preceding teaching,” he adds, “on God’s providential care implies detachment from worldly concerns and covetousness” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 2001, sec. 729c. p. 835, on Lk 12:15-21). Lampe reminds us that “the necessary condition of the assurance of God’s providential care is that one should be seeking the Kingdom, which God will give to disciples” (ibid., on v. 30). As noted above, this teaching on care and anxiety (vv. 22-34) has a parallel version in Matthew (Mt. 6:25-34, 19-21).

The table presented above compares the versions of this teaching on not being anxious in Matthew and in Luke. This passage from Luke is very similar to the parallel passage in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (chap. 6). In the above table, above the line (Mt. 6:25-34; Lk 12:22-32), differences are highlighted with bold type. Below the line (Mt. 6:19-21; Lk. 12:33-34), similarities are highlighted. The order of the two units is reversed in Matthew, and they are separated by the saying about the Healthy Eye (Mt. 6:22-23; Lk. 11:34-36) and the saying on Serving Two Masters (Mt. 6:24; Lk. 16:13), sayings found in different parts of Luke. For much of these passages, the verbal agreement is extensive, more so in some respects in Greek. Matthew’s word “Gentiles” (Mt. 6:32) correctly translates e[qnh (ethnē ), but the same word with the added phrase “of the world” ( e[qnh tou: kovsmou, ethnē tou kosmou, Lk. 12:30) is correctly translated “nations [of the world].” Each Evangelist apparently had his audience in mind. If Matthew can apply Jesus’ advice not to be anxious because God “will clothe you” to a Jewish [i.e. not Gentile] audience, and Luke can apply it to “the nations of the world,” then we have the right to claim it for ourselves, don’t we?

Jesus tells his disciples (and us) not to worry about food, drink and clothing (Lk. 12:22; cf. Mt. 6:25a). “For life,” he says, “is more than food, and the body more than clothing” (Lk. 6:23). Matthew presents this as a rhetorical question. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing (Mt. 6:25b). We are asked to “consider the ravens” (Lk.) or “the birds of the air” (Mt.) who, though they “neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns” (Mt.), or “have neither storehouse nor barn,” yet they are fed by “your heavenly Father” (Mt.), or “God” (Lk.). And again Luke’s statement, or rather, exclamation, “Of how much more value are you than the birds!” corresponds to Matthew’s rhetorical question, “Are you not (oujc, ouch) of more value than they?” (Lk. 12:14; Mt. 6:26). Jesus’ question, as reported by Matthew, is introduced with the negative particle oujc (ouch), which implies an affirmative answer, “Yes, of course we are of more value than they [i.e., the birds].”

Jesus continues with another question, “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” (Lk. 12:25 = Mt. 6:27). This seemingly simple question has some subtle undertones.

tivV de; ejx uJmw:n merimnw:n duvnatai ejpi; th;n hJlikivan aujtou prosqei:nai ph:cun~ (Lk. 12:25)

Who   of you by worrying can           to his hēlikian (of him = his) add      a cubit/hour?”

tivV de; ejx uJmw:n merimnw:n duvnatai prosqei:nai ejpi; th;n hJlikivan aujtou ph:cun e”na~ (Mt. 6:27)

Who   of you by worrying can           to his hēlikian (of him = his) add   one  cubit/hour?”

The word hJlikiva (hēlikia) is defined as “the period of time that one’s life continues, age, time of life,” and in that respect, “generally of time that is past” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v.hJlikiva, hēlikia, meaning no. (1) ). This meaning of hJlikiva (hēlikia) would explain the translation of ph:cuV (pēchys), usually “cubit,” as “hour” (Mt. 6:27; Lk. 12:25), as is done in many recent translations (e.g. NRSV, TNIV, NAS, New Century Version, New Living Translation), though a few follow the Authorized (KJ) Version with “cubit” or some reference to added height (cf. NKJV, K. S. Wuest’s The New Testament: An expanded translation of 1961, 1997, and E. H. Peterson’s The Message of 2003). The latter follow an alternative presented by the Lexicon that lists Mt. 6:27; Lk. 12:15 under meaning no. (3) “bodily stature” as in Lk.9:3 of Zaccheus. “Some scholars,” says the Lexicon, “hold that Mt. 6:27; Lk. 12:25 should be listed here” (BDAG, s.v. meaning no. (3) ). In an abridgment of the second edition of the Lexicon, F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker say that for hJlikiva (hēlikia), the sense “age, time of life . . . is possible in Mt. 6:27 = Lk. 12:25, but it is probable that hyperbolic humor about increasing one’s height underlies the maxim; see [meaning no. 2,” where they define the term as “bodily stature” and add that it “is probable for Mt. 6:27 = Lk. 12:25”] (Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 2^nd ed., 1983, s.v. hJlikiva, hēlikia).

In another question, Jesus points out that the lilies “neither toil nor spin; yet I tell ;you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these” (Lk. 12:27; cf. Mt. 6:28-29). And he follows with an a fortiori (“all the more”) argument. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you–you of little faith” (Lk 12:28; cf. Mt. 6:30). So Jesus advises us, “And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying” (Lk. 12:29). Matthew’s version says not to ask worrisome questions, “ ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or [in addition to Luke’s concerns here] ‘What will we wear?’ ” (Mt. 6:31; cf. Lk. 12:27-28; Mt. 6:28-30). As noted above, according to Jesus it is the “Gentiles” (Mt.), or “the nations of the world” (Lk.) that “strive after all these things” (Lk.), or “strive for all these things” (Lk. 12:30; Mt. 6:32). “Instead,” says Jesus in Luke’s account, “strive for his kingdom [apparently for God’s kingdom, cf. refs. to God in Lk. 12:24, 28, 30], and these things will be given to you as well” (Lk. 12:31). Matthew adds emphasis, and includes a favorite word: “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt. 6:33). Both Matthew’s and Luke’s versions of the teaching about not being anxious call for strong faith in the providence of our heavenly Father. Neither should be understood to suggest that we be presumptuous and fail to do our part in these matters. But there is a strong emphasis on spiritual priorities

Jesus continues with reassurance for his disciples. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Lk. 12:32); compare Matthew’s version: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Mt. 6:34). But these verses are part of tomorrow’s reading.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net