Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 51:1-12

PRAYER OF JESUS SON OF SIRACH

[“This title is included in the Gk. text,” NRSV note g]

51:1 I give you thanks, O Lord and King,

and praise you, O God my Savior.

I give thanks to your name,

2 for you have been my protector and helper

and have delivered me from destruction

and from the trap laid by a slanderous tongue,

from lips that fabricate lies.

In the face of my adversaries

you have been my helper3 and delivered me,

in the greatness of your mercy and of your name,

from grinding teeth about to devour me,

from the hand of those seeking my life,

from the many troubles I endured,

4 from choking fire on every side,

and from the midst of fire that I had not kindled,

5 from the deep belly of Hades,

from an unclean tongue and lying words-

6 the slander of an unrighteous tongue to the king.

My soul drew near to death,

and my life was on the brink of Hades below.

7 They surrounded me on every side,

and there was no one to help me;

I looked for human assistance,

and there was none.

8 Then I remembered your mercy, O Lord,

and your kindness from of old,

for you rescue those who wait for you

and save them from the hand of their enemies.

9 And I sent up my prayer from the earth,

and begged for rescue from death.

10 I cried out, “Lord, you are my Father;

do not forsake me in the days of trouble,

when there is no help against the proud.

11 I will praise your name continually,

and will sing hymns of thanksgiving.”

My prayer was heard,

12 for you saved me from destruction

and rescued me in time of trouble.

For this reason I thank you and praise you,

and I bless the name of the Lord. (Ecclesiasticus 51:1-12, NRSV)

On November 11, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two), when comments were repeated here revision and supplement from November 6, 2004 (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two); the comments are repeated again here with some editing and supplement:

In the final chapter, Ben Sira begins with a prayer of thanksgiving, with a title in the text itself “PRAYER OF JESUS SON OF SIRACH,” as indicated above (cf. NRSV text note g). Harold C. Washington calls it a “psalm of thanksgiving,” and compares it with Psalm 18:1-19 (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Sirach 51:1-12. Ben Sira says, “I give you thanks, O Lord and king, / and praise you, O God my Savior. / I give thanks to your name, / for you have been my protector and helper / and have delivered me from destruction / and from the trap laid by a slanderous tongue, / from lips that fabricate lies” (Sirach 51:1-2). The prayer continues with various troubles from which he has been delivered, “from grinding teeth about to devour me, / from the hand of those seeking my life” (v. 3c, d), from “choking fire” (v. 4), from “the belly of Hades” (v. 5a), from “an unclean tongue and lying words–the slander of an unrighteous tongue to the king” (vv. 5b, 6a). This series of troubles apparently uses metaphors, grinding teeth, choking fire, the belly of Hades, which lead up to the real complaint, the psalmist’s being slandered to the king. But the standard psalm of thanksgiving form continues here (cf. many of the Psalms, e.g. Pss. 18, 21, 30 etc.) with past tense reference to the troubles (Sirach 51:2f, 6, 7), that may suggest use of a stereotyped form, at the end of the book. The Psalmist recounts his despair, “My soul drew near to death, / and my life was on the brink of Hades below” (v. 6b, c), as he was “surrounded . . . on every side” with no one to help (v. 7). But he concludes with an extended report of the Lord’s help. He remembered the Lord’s mercy and kindness “from of old, / for you rescue those who wait for you / and save them from the hand of their enemies” (v. 8). He prayed, begging “for rescue from death” (v. 9), crying out, “Lord, you are my Father (htx ybx, ’āvî ’ttāh; cf. patevra kurivou mou, patera kyriou mou); / do not forsake me in the days of trouble, / when there is no help against the proud” (v. 10). The wording of verse ten, with its reference to God as “Father,” is based on the recently recovered Hebrew text of Sirach; the Greek perhaps implies as much, “the Father of my lord” (NRSV, text note b, cf. the LXX text cited above). The psalmist vows to praise the Lord.. His prayer concludes with the lines, “I will praise your name continually, / and will sing hymns of thanksgiving” (v. 11a, b), and he reports that his “prayer was heard” (v. 11c). The Lord has saved him from destruction, has rescued him “in time of trouble,” for which he gives thanks and praise, and blesses “the name of the Lord” (v. 12).

Zephaniah 3:14-20

A Song of Joy

14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter Jerusalem!

15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,

he has turned away your enemies.

The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;

you shall fear disaster no more.

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear, O Zion;

do not let your hands grow weak.

17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a warrior who gives victory;

he will rejoice over you with gladness,

he will renew you in his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing

18 as on a day of festival.

I will remove disaster from you,

so that you will not bear reproach for it.

19 I will deal with all your oppressors

at that time.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

20 At that time I will bring you home,

at the time when I gather you;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes, says the LORD. (Zephaniah 3:14-20, NRSV)

On November 11, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two), and again on December 24, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two), comments were repeated with some revision and supplement from December 19, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two). The comments are repeated again here with editing and supplement.

Zephaniah, whose oracles are placed “in the days of King Josiah” (Zeph. 1:1), begins with judgment on Judah (1:4). Gregory Mobley suggests that he condemns “practices prohibited by Deuteronomy . . . [which] suggests that he prophesied before Josiah’s reforms of 621 BCE (2 Kings 2:3)” (Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, Introduction to Zephaniah). He turns to oracles against the nations (2:4-15), but returns to judgment on Judah (3:1-8) before balancing all of this judgment with the oracles of joy and salvation (3:9-20) which conclude the book

The joy of song rings out in today’s reading. “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion,” says the prophet; “shout, O Israel!/Rejoice and exult with all your heart,/O daughter Jerusalem!” (Zeph. 3:14). Why? “The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,/he has turned away your enemies” (v. 15a). According to Kent Harold Richards, “The call to sing sets a new tone for Zephaniah and assumes the restoration spoken of in vv. 8-13. From v. 14 through the first line of v. 18 (as on a day of festival) the prophet calls the remnant to rejoice (Isa. 52:7-10; Zech. 2:10; 9:9). The remainder of the chapter gives the promise spoken directly by the Lord” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Zeph. 3:14-20). “The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,” says the prophet, “you shall fear disaster no more” (v. 15b, c, cf. Isa. 12:6). “As in some other prophetic texts,” says Ehud Ben Zvi, “here God is king (Sovereign), obviating the need for an ideal human king (a ‘messiah’)” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Zeph. 3:15). R. Lansing Hicks and Walter Brueggemann say, “These verses resemble a psalm of the enthronement of the LORD (compare Pss. 47; 97)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Zeph. 3:14-15).

The prophet continues: “On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: / Do not fear, O Zion; / do not let your hands grow weak” (v. 16). Richards says, “On that day no longer refers to the day on which punishment arises (1:9-10), but a day on which it can be said Do not fear, an introduction to words of salvation (see Isa. 10:24). And assurance continues: “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, / a warrior who gives victory” (v. 17a, b). On the term “warrior,” as applied to the LORD,” Hicks and Brueggemann refer (op. cit., on v. 17) to lines from the Song of Moses,“The LORD is a warrior; / the LORD is his name” (Exod. 15:3 NRSV). “He [i.e., the LORD],” says the prophet, “will rejoice over you with gladness, / he will renew you in his love; / he will exult over you with loud singing / as on a day of festival” (vv. 17c, d, e, 18a). Richards notes that in the phrase, “with loud singing . . . the same Hebrew word used to call the people to sing aloud (v. 14) now has the Lord responding in kind” (op. cit., on v. 17). If this rejoicing can be linked to Josiah’s reforms–I’m speculating now–there is no tension between theocracy (God is king) and monarchy (Josiah is king), such as is evident in 1 Samuel 8. But the last two verses, at least (Zeph. 3:19-20), seem to anticipate the Babylonian captivity (see further below).

As noted by Richards (cited above), at this point we hear the LORD’s voice directly. “I will remove disaster from you, / so that you will not bear reproach for it” (v. 18b, c). To the words, “I will remove disaster from you,” Mobley contrasts “the beginning of the book” (op. cit., on v. 18). The recent Jewish translation varies considerably here from the NRSV translation. “He will ^a-soothe with His love / Those long disconsolate.^-a / I will take away from you ^b-the woe / over which you endured mockery^-b” (Zeph. 3:17e, 18 NJPS 1985, 1999). The text note on the words enclosed by the letter a says, “Meaning of Hebrew. uncertain. Emendation yields ‘renew His love / As in the days of old’ ” (NJPS text note a). Note b says “Meaning of Heb. uncertain” (vv. 17, 18 text notes a, b NJPS 1985, 1999). According to Ben Zvi, “the Heb. is extremely difficult. Tentative, and at times quite divergent translations have been proposed. One possibility is: ‘Those who are afflicted because they are deprived of the festivals, I [i.e., the LORD] have gathered, they were from you, (they were) a sign on her, (they were) a (source of) mockery” (op. cit., on v. 18). Regardless of the “difficulties,” it seems evident that the theme is hope for Jerusalem, as is clear in what follows. The LORD will undo the damage, especially that of the Babylonian assault and captivity. “I will deal with all your oppressors / at that time. / And I will save the lame / and gather the outcast, / and I will change their shame into praise / and renown in all the earth” (v. 19). According to Richards, “Oppressors includes those within Judah and those in other nations” (op. cit., on v. 19). And the LORD will bring his dispersed people home with restored respect and fortunes. “At that time I will bring you home, / at the time when I gather you; / for I will make you renowned and praised / among all the peoples of the earth, / when I restore your fortunes / before your eyes, says the LORD” (v. 20). Richards says, “Gather no longer carries the irony of gathering straw (see note on 2:1) but is more like the gathering a shepherd does of lambs (Isa. 40:11; Jer. 23:3). The restoration of fortunes envisaged is much like that described in Deut. 30:1-4” (ibid., on v. 20).

And so, though Mobley suggests that verses 19-20 are “perhaps a late addition to the words of Zechariah,” (op. cit., on vv. 19-20), Zephaniah, ends as other prophetic books do, on a very strong, positive note of promise for God’s people. The book concludes,” says Ben Zvi, “with a strong announcement of hope for the readership of the book; such positive conclusions typify biblical books. The fortunes of Israel / Judah will be restored, and this restoration includes the gathering of the exiles (on this point, cf. Amos 9:14-15–though in Amos the image of restoration is agrarian). Because of its tone this v. has been included in Jewish liturgy” (op. cit., on v. 20).

Revelation 18:1-14

The Fall of Babylon

18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was made bright with his splendor. 2 He called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

It has become a dwelling place of demons,

a haunt of every foul spirit,

a haunt of every foul bird,

a haunt of every foul and hateful beast.

3 For all the nations have drunk

of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,

and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,

and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury.”

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

“Come out of her, my people,

so that you do not take part in her sins,

and so that you do not share in her plagues;

5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven,

and God has remembered her iniquities.

6 Render to her as she herself has rendered,

and repay her double for her deeds;

mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed.

7 As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,

so give her a like measure of torment and grief.

Since in her heart she says,

‘I rule as a queen;

I am no widow,

and I will never see grief,’

8 therefore her plagues will come in a single day-

pestilence and mourning and famine-

and she will be burned with fire;

for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

9 And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; 10 they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas, alas, the great city,

Babylon, the mighty city!

For in one hour your judgment has come.”

11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves-and human lives.

14 “The fruit for which your soul longed

has gone from you,

and all your dainties and your splendor

are lost to you,

never to be found again!” (Revelation 18:1-14, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of November 11, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two), that were repeated from earlier, as noted there, and from comments on Revelation 18:1-8 from September 14, 2008 (the Sunday closest to September 14, Year Two), and earlier comments as noted there.

Today’s reading continues the series of readings from the Book of Revelation. For today’s reading, the three series of judgments are past, the seven seals (Rev. 6:1-17; 8:1-5), the seven trumpets (8:6-9:21; 11:4-19), and the “seven bowls of the wrath of God” (16:1, cf. vv. 1-21). One of the angels invites John to see “the judgment of the great whore “ (Rev. 17:1), “which is Rome, the city on seven hills (17:9, 18) and the archpersecutor of the saints (17:6)” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on 17:1-18:24). Final judgments remain, over “the kings of the earth, who committed fornication with her [i.e. with Babylon = Rome]” (18:9), the merchants (vv. 11, 15, 17, etc.), and the final victories of chapters eighteen and nineteen.

But, according to Metzger, the present reading presents a “dirge over the fallen city (Rome) with echoes from the taunt songs in Isa. chs. 23-24; ch. 47; Jer. chs 50-51; Ezek. chs 26-27)” (op. cit., on Rev. 18:1-24). The song is introduced by “another angel [who comes] down from heaven, having great authority,” and by his coming “the earth was made bright with his splendor” (18:1). “Fallen, fallen is Babylon [i.e. Rome] the great! / It has become a dwelling place of demons,” says the angel, “a haunt of every foul spirit, / a haunt of every fowl bird, / a haunt of every foul and hateful beast” (v. 2). “For all the nations have drunk / of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, / and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, / and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury” (v. 3). According to David E. Aune, “Fornication” here is a “metaphor for political and religious subservience to Rome,” and “Merchants . . . have grown rich [means that] wealthy Romans bought expensive products from everywhere (see vv. 11-13).” Aune adds, “Though Rome is implicitly condemned for economic exploitation, the criticism is softer than one might expect” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Rev. 18:3). Then John hears “another voice from heaven” that calls upon God’s people to “Come out of her . . . so that you do not take part in her sins, / and so that you do not share in her plagues” (v. 4). There is retribution for “her sins” which “are heaped high as heaven.” for “God has remembered her iniquities” (av. 5). Instruction is given (to the judgmental process?): “Render to her [Babylon = Rome] as she herself has rendered, / and repay her double for her deeds; / mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed” (v. 6). Reference is made here to Jeremiah 51:9 by Aune (op. cit., on v. 6) and by Jean-Pierre Ruiz (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Rev. 18:6). The angel’s voice continues: “As she [Babylon = Rome] glorified herself and lived luxuriously, / so give her a like measure of torment and grief” (v. 7a, b). Words are put in her mouth, as Aune says, “The fatal pride of Rome is personalized in this brief hubristic soliloquy” (on v. 7): “Since in her heart she says, / ‘I rule as a queen; / I am no widow, / and I will never see grief’ ” (v. 7c, d, e, f). God’s people are well warned to leave her (v. 4, above), for, because of these sins “her plagues will come in a single day–pestilence and mourning and famine–and she will be burned with fire; / for mighty is the Lord God who judges her” (v. 8).

“Ch[apter] 18,” says Richard Bauckham,

draws on all the OT prophetic oracles against Babylon (Isa. 13:1-14:23; 21:1-10; 47; Jer. 25:12-38; 50:1) and against Tyre (Isa. 23; Ezek. 26-8). John’s oracle gathers up all that his prophetic predecessors had said against these two cities, in order to portray Rome as the culmination of all the evil empires of history and therefore subject like them to judgment. (Compare the way the beast (13:1-2) combines the features of all four beasts in Daniel’s vision (Dan7:3-8.). OT Babylon prefigures Rome’s political supremacy and oppression, but OT Tyre prefigures Rome’s economic power and oppression. Hence the importance of Ezek. 26-8 as a model for John’s oracle against Babylon (vv. 9-20. At the same time, prophetic precedents are selected and adapted to fit the realities of contemporary Rome. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 1301, on Rev. 18:1-3, cf. the chap.)

N. Turner finds a certain irony in this chapter, which he calls “a recital of Rome’s expected doom . . . [but] the event proved it to be no more than wishful thinking as far as the immediate future was concerned, and in the long run as a matter of fact the very reverse happened; the Christian Church actually won over ‘the great harlot’ to the side of Christ!” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, p. 1055, on Rev. chap. 18). Turner cites E. F. Scott, who “claims that the feeling of this chapter is not simply one of vengeance but rather the joy of knowing that God is just, that he will defend the weak and punish the wicked. But that is best left in his hands, not made the subject of our prayers. Moreover E. F. Scott discovers in the writer’s words a tribute to the grandeur of Rome. That is the best that can be said of it. It is extravagant to claim that ‘no one has ever written a more generous epitaph on a fallen foe’. If so, the cynic may well claim that Paul urged in vain: ‘Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them’ [Rom. 12:14]” (ibid.).

We hear again about “the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with her” (v. 9a, cf. v. 3). They “will weep and wail over her [‘Babylon,’ i.e. Rome] when they see the smoke of her burning” (v. 9b). According to Ruiz, this verse begins a “lamentation of those who have been enriched through their dealings with the corrupt city: kings (vv. 9-10), merchants (vv. 11-16, and mariners (vv. 17-20; cf. Ezek. 27:29-36)” (op. cit., on vv. 9-20). The kings say, “Alas, alas, the great city, / Babylon, the mighty city! / For in one hour your judgment has come” (v. 10). The merchants also “weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore (v. 11), cargo of valuable coins, clothing spices and other luxuries (vv. 12-13), including “cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves–and human lives” (v. 13 at the end). The merchants lament saying, “The fruit for which your soul longed / has gone from you, / and all your dainties and your splendor / are lost to you, never to be found again!” (v. 14).

Should we who live in a world of consumer goods undreamed of even by the Roman elite take something of a warning from this indictment for their fixation on such luxuries? The good life with its amenities is not a bad thing in and of itself, but it becomes deadly when it is gained at the expense of oppressed peoples, slaves and working conditions that border on slavery. The God who pronounced such judgment on the ancient “Babylon” still lives, and is still in control, even in an age of modern Babylons.

Luke 14:1-11

Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsy

14:1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. 2 Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?” 4 But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. 5 Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?” 6 And they could not reply to this.

Humility and Hospitality

7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:1-11, NRSV)

On November 11, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two), comments were combined with revision and supplement from November 6, 2004 (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two), and from May 20, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to May 18, Year One). The comments are repeated here:

On this occasion Jesus is to be the dinner guest of a Pharisee (14:1; cf., as noted yesterday, 7:36 and 11:37, cf. Mk. 7:1-9, which does not mention a dinner invitation). As he approaches the Pharisee’s house he is confronted by “a man who had dropsy” (Lk. 14:2). He asks the “lawyers and the Pharisees” (v. 3a), “who [i.e., the Pharisees] were watching him” (v. 1), “Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?” (v. 3), and when they are silent, he takes it as assent and heals the man (v. 4). Eric Franklin notes that Jesus’ criticism comes “with far less severity than his previous attack (11:37-53)”:

Here they watch him not with hostility as in 6:6, but with an interest that rises above suspicion. To Jesus’ question, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?’ their silence, though not assent, acknowledges the correctness of Jesus’ stance. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 946 on Lk. 14:1-24)

But Jesus justifies the sabbath healing by saying, “If one of you has a child (uiJovV, huios) or an ox ( bou:V, bous) that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?” (v. 5). For “child” some manuscripts have “donkey” ( o[noV, onos). According to Marion Lloyd Soards, the latter reading “was a scribal alteration to make this verse conform to the wording of 13:15” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 14:5). Luke 13:10-17, another passage found only in Luke, reports the healing of a crippled woman who was “bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight” (v. 11). There Jesus justifies his sabbath healing, this time in response to the objection of the leader of the synagogue (v. 14), by saying, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox ( bou:V, bous) or his donkey ( o[noV, onos) from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?” (13:15). There surely is no doubt that either Jesus or the Pharisee would save a child in such circumstances, but the debate deals with a hypothetical case, though both healings are very real. In both instances the opponents were silenced, “put to shame” (13:17), for “they could not reply to this” (14:6).

After reporting how Jesus healed the man with dropsy (14:1-6), Luke goes on to report Jesus’ teaching on humility and hospitality (vv. 7-11). He pointedly criticizes “the guests [who] chose the places of honor” (v. 7) by telling a parable. This parable amounts to direct instruction. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor,” he says, “in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place” (vv. 8-9). Avoiding embarrassment is probably not the best motive for doing the right thing, but it is perhaps what some people would need. Soards suggests comparison with Proverbs 25:6-7: “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence / or stand in the place of the great; / for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ / than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” Instead of exalting oneself, Jesus advises, “But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you” (Lk. 14:10). One would rather be publicly exalted, “Friend, move up higher,” than be humiliated. “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted,” says Jesus (v. 11). He advises taking the long-term view (cf. v. 14). In the nature of the case, honor seized by oneself is not true honor, which has to be given by others.

Today’s reading presents material only found in Luke’s Gospel with the exception of the lesson drawn from the parable on humility, “For all who exalt themselves (pa:V oJ uJyw:n eJautovn, pas ho hypsōn heauton, present participle) will be humbled, and those who humble themselves ( oJ tapeinw:n eJautovn, ho tapeinōn heauton, present participle) will be exalted” (Lk. 14:11; cf. “All who exalt themselves [uJywvsei eJautovn, hypsōsei heauton, future tense] will be humbled, and all who humble themselves [tapeinwvsei eJautovn, tapeinōsei heauton, future tense] will be exalted,” Mt. 23:12; “for all who exalt themselves (pa:V oJ uJyw:;n eJautovn, pas ho hypsōn heauton, present participle) will be humbled, but all who humble themselves ( oJ de; tapeinw:n eJautovn, ho de tapeinōn heauton, present participle) will be exalted,” Lk. 18:14). The only significant difference in these sayings is Matthew’s future tense verbs as compared with Luke’s present tense participles. For Matthew, the context for this statement is in the advice to disciples (Mt. 23:1-12) in which he warns them not to be like the Pharisees, advice that leads into Jesus’ series of woes against the scribes and Pharisees (vv. 13-36), and the future tense verbs anticipate the disciples’ future behavior within the Christian community. Luke envisions an ongoing way of life. One should not make a habit of seeking honor for himself or herself. We are reminded of Luke’s version of the petition in the Lord’s prayer, “Give us each day our daily bread” (Lk. 11:3; cf. “Give us this day our daily bread,” Mt. 6:11). Another example is found where Matthew has Jesus advise,“Give ( dovV, dos, aorist [= undefined] tense imperative) to everyone (‘everyone’ is not in the Greek; see below, and cf. ‘Give to the one who asks you,’ TNIV) who begs from you” (Mt. 5:42a NRSV), but in Luke the statement is “Give ( divdou, didou, present [= continuing] tense imperative) to everyone who begs from you” (Lk. 6:30a). The identical English translations conceal a significant difference. Matthew’s aorist tense imperative implies a one-time action, in response to the one who asks of you (tw:/ aijtou:ntiv se, tō aitounti se), but Luke’s present tense imperative implies a life-style. Give to everyone (pantiv, panti) who asks of you. Presumably, Matthew’s version of the saying would call for one to give again if asked again.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net