On January 19, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), comments were repeated with extensive revision and supplement from January 21, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One); the comments are repeated here with some editing:

The contrast continues between the “God of Israel, the Savior (v. 15b) and those who make idols. “All of them are put to shame and confounded, / the makers of idols go in confusion together” (v. 16). “But,” says the prophet, “Israel is saved by the LORD / with everlasting salvation; / you shall not be put to shame or confounded / to all eternity” (v. 17). And, we are reminded, the oracle, the LORD speaking through the prophet, continues. “For thus says the LORD, / who created the heavens / (he is God!), / who formed the earth and made it / (he established it; / he did not create it a chaos, / he formed it to be inhabited!): / I am the LORD, and there is no other” (Isa. 45:18). His creation, so the LORD claims, was orderly, creating the heavens and the earth, not chaos. This was not done “in secret, / in a land of darkness” (v. 19a, b), for he did not direct Jacob’s offspring to “Seek me in chaos” (v. 19c, d). God is a God of order, not chaos. More than that, he says, “I the LORD speak the truth, / I declare what is right” (v. 19e, f). According to Joseph Blenkinsopp, “the LORD replies to the charge of abusing his own people. As creator of order out of chaos (cf. Gen. 1:1-2), he has always dealt openly with his people” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 45:18-19).

The LORD calls together the “survivor of the nations,” with a reminder that “they have no knowledge–those who carry about the wooden idols, / and keep on praying to a god that cannot save” (v. 20). The LORD again states the principle of prophecy verified by subsequent events. “Declare and present your case; / let them take counsel together! / Who told this long ago? / Who declared it of old? / Was it not I, the LORD? / There is no other god besides me, / a righteous God and a Savior; / there is no one besides me” (v. 21). According to Benjamin D. Sommer, this passage on “universal recognition of the LORD” again relies “on the argument from prophecy, which Deutero-Isaiah uses to show the whole world that the LORD is the true master of history. The predictions made to earlier Israelite prophets were not secret, but were made public long ago” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 876, on Isa. 45:18-25).

The following stanza is God’s invitation to the whole world. “Turn to me and be saved, / all the ends of the earth! / For I am God, and there is no other” (v. 22). The LORD has sent forth a sure word, an absolutely certain word. “By myself I have sworn,” he says, “from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness / a word that shall not return / ‘To me every knee shall bow, / every tongue shall swear’” (v. 23). Sommer comments, “The nations of the world are invited to share in the worship of the true God and the benefits it brings” (on v. 23). We are reminded of what Paul says about the humiliated but then exalted Christ, “so that at the name of Jesus / every knee should bend, / in heaven and on earth and under the earth, / and every tongue should confess / that Jesus Christ is Lord, / to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11; cf. Rom. 14:11). “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,” as the oracle continues, “are righteousness and strength” (v. 24a, b). Blenkinsopp comments on the term “righteousness” (tOqd!c4, t^edāqôth), saying that it would be “more correctly ‘salvation’ or ‘the power to save,’ as in 45:8; 56:1b)” (op. cit., on v. 24). The enemies, “all who were incensed against him / shall come to him and be ashamed,” says the LORD (v. 24c, d), but “In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory” (v. 25). The Jewish Publication Society, using “victory” for tOqd!c4 (t^edāqôth), translates as though the nations were considering whether to trust in Israel’s God. “They shall say, ‘Only through the LORD / can I find victory and might.’ / When people trust in [note b lit. ‘come to’] Him, / All their adversaries are put to shame. / It is through the LORD that all the offspring of Israel / Have vindication (Uqd4c4y9, yitsd^eqû), the verb related to tOqd!c4 (t^edāqôth) and glory” (Isa. 45:24-25 NJPS 1985, 1999). Sommer says, “Israel’s vindication leads other nations to worship the LORD as well. The mixture of nationalism and universalism here is noteworthy: A universalist outcome results from a particularist victory” (op. cit., on v. 25).

6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”-this is the first commandment with a promise: 3 “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

4 And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; 6 not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, 8 knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.

9 And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality. (Ephesians 6:1-9, NRSV)

On January 19, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from January 21, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One); they are repeated again here:

Instructions for members of the household continue–describing what “mutual submission” means for them (cf. yesterday’s comments). Children are to obey parents in the Lord, says Paul (Eph. 6:1), citing as authority the fifth commandment, which Paul notes is “the first commandment with a promise” (v. 2), “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” (Exod. 20:12, cf. Eph. 6:2-3). The fact that Paul addresses the children at all, or wives (5:22) or slaves (6:5-8), is remarkable within the context of Greco-Roman culture. Other Greco-Roman moralists would address the husbands, fathers, and masters, holding them responsible for the conduct of wives, children and slaves. According to Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson,

The authority of the Roman father was legendary in the Greco-Roman world. At the birth of his children (whether the child was born to his wife or a slave woman did not matter), he was able to determine whether it would be raised within his household or be given up for adoption, sold, or exposed. His legal authority over his child’s life and death continued as long as he lived, and to this should be added his rights to scourge the child, pawn the child, allow or refuse the child’s marriage or divorce, maintain the child’s property as his own, or sell the child into slavery. Happily, a review of the father’s legal rights is not necessarily a measure of actual practices. In fact, with the onset of the empire this gruesome picture was mollified as fatherly authority began to be grounded more in affection and devotion rather than cruelty. Nevertheless, tales of physical (including sexual) cruelty are not difficult to locate in the Roman world. (Introducing the New Testament; Its Literature and Theology, 2001, pp. 47-48)

The inequality (to say the least) in this picture was, so to speak, built into society and its expectations. Achtemeier and associates add elsewhere that

within the hierarchy of the family, the husband stood at the top, then the wife, then the children, and finally the various slaves and attendants. Any family unit that tampered with that structure or that did not observe it scrupulously was liable to social ostracism and even in some cases legal action. Families that did not discipline their slaves, for example, that allowed them to be insolent, or that allowed their children too much freedom would be looked down on by their neighbors, and husbands who did not maintain control over their households would be held in contempt. (ibid., p. 288)

Some of the New Testament’s instructions may be understood not so much as an attempt to impose a certain life style for its own sake, but rather as an attempt to avoid the attention and criticism of society at large. The advice given to wives by Peter, for example, is grounded not in a divine plan for the structure of society, but rather in the utilitarian purpose of presenting a respectable picture of Christian family life to outsiders, and perhaps even winning over the nonbeliever husband to Christian faith (cf. 1 Pet. 3:1-2).

Paul’s instructions to fathers in Ephesians certainly stand in contrast to the picture of family life in the Greco-Roman world given above. They are not to provoke their children to anger, “but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (v. 4). Paul gives a similar instruction to the Colossians. “Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart” (Col. 3:21). F. F. Bruce comments:

As in Col. 3:21, fathers (or parents) are urged not to assert their authority over children in a manner more calculated to provoke resentment than ready obedience. The verb expressing such unreasonable parental conduct [mh; parorgivzete, mē parorgizete] is different from that in the parallel passage [mh; ejreqivzete, mē erethizete], but the general sense is the same. Where Col. 3:21 adds the clause ‘lest they be disheartened,’ the Ephesians injunction recommends a better course of action: ‘bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.’ (The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, NICNT, 1984, p. 398, on Eph. 6:4)

Paul’s advice to slaves and masters continues in a similar manner. While we might have wished that Paul would work for the abolition of slavery–an impossibility in that historical context–he does certainly advocate some respect and a humanitarian approach that contrasts with the picture within the larger Greco-Roman world as described above. “Slaves,” he says, “obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (6:5-6). According to Bruce, “It is Christ rather than their earthly masters that slaves should fear, although the fear of Christ will teach them to show due reverence and respect to their earthly masters . . . In serving their earthly masters they will bear in mind that they are primarily serving Christ” (ibid., p 400, on Eph. 6:5). This principle would apply to modern workers, who should fulfill their duties to their employers as duties to Christ, but, of course, “as unto the Lord,” as Paul earlier directed the children (6:1). “Render service with enthusiasm,” says Paul to the slaves, “as to the Lord and not to men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free” (vv. 7-8). In giving instructions, Paul does not overlook the masters of these slaves. “And, masters, do the same to them” (v. 9a). They should treat their slaves with respect and decency. Paul adds, “Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality” (v. 9b). Bruce interprets these instructions:

When Masters are told to ‘do the same’ to their slaves, the sense is that they are to treat their slaves with Christian consideration, the spirit with which Christian slaves are to obey their masters. They should make it easy for their slaves to work for them with goodwill. Threatening with punishment, or harsh language and behavior in general, may ensure outward obedience, but hardly that obedience which comes ‘from the heart.’ There is no word of abolishing the institution of slavery, but where masters and slaves are fellow-members of a Christian household there relationship should be mutually helpful. (ibid., pp. 401-402, on v. 9)

We are reminded of Paul’s advice to Philemon about the treatment of Onesimus: “Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother–especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me” (Philem. 15-17). In all of these instructions regarding household duties, the mutual submission, reciprocity, that Paul emphasizes is important.

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41, NRSV)

On August 10, 2008 (the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two), comments were repeated from February 22, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 25, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year One), when comments were based on comments from several earlier dates (noted there); the comments are repeated again here:

This story has parallels in Luke 8:22-25 and Matthew 8:23-27 (in a different context), and the parallel texts are presented in a separate file, Stilling the Storm. The story is somewhat similar to Jesus’ Walking on the Water (Mt. 14:22-33; Mk. 6:45-52; Jn. 6:16-21). In this story the emphasis seems to be upon the disciples’ fear–though one might suppose that fishermen would be used to the Sea of Galilee’s sudden storms–and lack of faith (Mk. 4:40), and on Jesus’ control of the powers of nature. “Control of the sea is a divine characteristic (see Ps. 89:9; cf. Ps. 89:25)” (Richard A. Horsley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on vv. 35-41). That issue is raised for the disciples, who “were filled with great awe” and asked, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (v. 41).

As this scene is introduced, Matthew follows Mark, “Let us go across to the other side” (Mk. 4:35b, cf. Lk. 8:22), “he gave orders to go over to the other side” (Mt. 8:18b), but adds brief exchanges here that Luke uses elsewhere.

A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’ (Mt. 8:19-22; cf. Lk. 9:57-62)

Then Matthew resumes Mark’s narrative. They left the crowd (Mk. 4:36; cf. Mt. 8:18), and got in the boat (Mk. 4:36; Mt. 18:23; Lk. 8:22). Only Mark mentions “other boats” (v. 36), but all mention the storm, each in his own way: “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that the boat was already being swamped” (Mk. 4:37); “A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep” (Mt. 8:24); “A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger” (Lk. 8:23). The cry for help is distinctive in each account as well. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mk. 4:38b). “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” (Mt. 8:25b). “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Lk. 8:24a). In each account Jesus chides the disciples for lack of faith. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith??” (Mk. 4:40). “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” (Mt. 8:26a). “Where is your faith?” (Lk. 8:25a). But in Mark and Luke this chiding comes after Jesus’ rebuking of the storm (Mk. 4:39; Lk. 8:24), whereas in Matthew it comes before he “rebuked the winds” (Mt. 8:26b). The awe and amazement that follows is noted by all. “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mk. 8:41b; cf. Mt. 8:27; Lk. 8:25b).

The story of Jesus stilling the storm, understood as his stilling the “storms” in the lives of Christian believers, has been a comfort to many. One example is this Gospel song from Mary A. Baker (http://ingeb.org/spiritua/masterth.html, accessed again January 21, 2009).

Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?

Refrain:
The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or the demons or men, or whatever be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of the ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

In some times of trouble, Christ’s word to us is “Peace! Be Still!” Though spoken to the wind and the waves, when our hearts are troubled and the storm is within, he wants to speak “Peace” to our condition.

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled-
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

Refrain:

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the best harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.

Refrain:

Daily Scripture Readings
Friday (January 23, 2009)*
Daily Office Lectionary, The Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A., 1979	Daily Lectionary, Book of Common Worship, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1993	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/lectionary
‡ Daily Lectionary, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, ELCA, 2006. In the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book of 2006, the Daily Lectionary (pp. 1121-1153) is revised to correlate with the Sunday Lectionary (the Revised Common Lectionary) on the three year cycle: Year A, Year B (now current), Year C. “The readings are chosen so that the days leading up to Sunday (Thursday through Saturday) prepare for the Sunday readings. The days flowing out from Sunday (Monday through Wednesday) reflect upon the Sunday readings” (p. 1121).
Unless otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers), 1989.
Friday AM Psalm 31 PM Psalm 35 Isa. 45:18-25 Eph. 6:1-9 Mark 4:35-41 Phillips Brooks: http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Phillips_Brooks.htm Psalm 84:7-12 or 33:1-5,20-21 Ephesians 3:14-21; Matthew 24:24-2 Eucharistic Reading: Heb. 8:6-13 Psalm 85:7-13 Mark 3:13–19	Friday Morning: Psalms 130; 148 Isaiah 45:18-25 Ephesians 6:1-9 Mark 4:35-41 Evening: Psalms 32; 139	Friday Morning Pss.: 130, 148 Isaiah 45:18-25 Ephesians 6:1-9 Mark 4:35-41 Evening Pss.: 32, 139
		Year B Daily Readings Psalm 62:5-12 Jeremiah 20:7-13 2 Peter 3:1-7
* Friday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One