For the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for May 31, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

Episcopal and Presbyterian Readings:

Numbers 9:15-23; 10:29-36

The Cloud and the Fire (Ex 13.21-22; 40.34-38)

15 On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant; and from evening until morning it was over the tabernacle, having the appearance of fire. 16 It was always so: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, then the Israelites would set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the Israelites would camp. 18 At the command of the LORD the Israelites would set out, and at the command of the LORD they would camp. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they would remain in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites would keep the charge of the LORD, and would not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud would remain a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they would remain in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud would remain from evening until morning; and when the cloud lifted in the morning, they would set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they would set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, resting upon it, the Israelites would remain in camp and would not set out; but when it lifted they would set out. 23 At the command of the LORD they would camp, and at the command of the LORD they would set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses. (Numbers 9:15-23, NRSV)

Departure from Sinai

29 Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, 'I will give it to you'; come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good to Israel." 30 But he said to him, "I will not go, but I will go back to my own land and to my kindred." 31 He said, "Do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 Moreover, if you go with us, whatever good the LORD does for us, the same we will do for you."

33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey with the ark of the covenant of the LORD going before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them, 34 the cloud of the LORD being over them by day when they set out from the camp.

35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say,

"Arise, O LORD, let your enemies be scattered,

and your foes flee before you."

36 And whenever it came to rest, he would say,

"Return, O LORD of the ten thousand thousands of Israel." (Numbers 10:29-36, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of June 16, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), when comments were repeated from June 19, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), when some comments were repeated from June 14, 2004 (Monday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two) in an email sent June 14, 2004, for June 14-20.

The ninth chapter of Numbers begins with the record of the second Passover observance (Num. 9:1-14) “in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt” (Num. 9:1). According to David P. Wright, “Here, as contrasted with [Num.] 1:1, the date is the same as in Ex. 40:17” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Num. 9:1). But Rabbi J. H. Hertz interprets the reference to Passover here as “a supplementary passover on the same day in the second month for persons prevented by uncleanness and absence from participating in the Paschal sacrifice in Nisan” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2^nd ed., 24^th printing, 1981, p. 608 on Num. 9:1-14).

Today’s lesson describes the symbols of divine presence. “On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant; and from evening until morning it was over the tabernacle, having the appearance of fire” (Num. 9:15). This symbol of God’s presence led the Israelites through the wilderness, so to speak. “It was always so: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, then the Israelites would set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down (NKAw4y9, yiškān), there the Israelites would camp” (vv. 16-17). “It was the invariable custom to start on the march when the Cloud rose from the Tabernacle,” says Rabbi Hertz, “and to halt when and as long as it rested.” (ibid., p. 609 on Num. 9:15-23). “Settled down,” says Jo Ann Hackett, is “literally ‘tabernacled’ [cf. NKAw4m9, miškān, often ‘tabernacle’]. Presumably the cloud stopped at the point where the tabernacle was to be set up, determining, then, the position of the rest of the camp (ch. 2)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Num. 9:7).

“At the command of the LORD,” says the narrator, “the Israelites would set out, and at the command of the LORD they would camp. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they would remain in camp. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites would keep the charge of the LORD, and would not set out” (vv. 18-19). On the phrase, “at the commandment of the LORD” (JPS 1917, for NRSV “at the command of the LORD”), which occurs twice, Rabbi Hertz says, “The Israelites were uncertain as to the duration of their sojourn in any place; but, looking upon the Cloud as the symbol of the Divine Presence, they considered the Cloud’s movements as orders from on High, which they invariably obeyed” (op. cit., on v. 18). “Sometimes the cloud would remain a few days over the tabernacle,” says the narrator, “and according to the command of the LORD they would remain in camp; then according to the commandment of the LORD they would set out. Sometimes the cloud would remain from evening until morning; and when the cloud lifted they would set out” (vv. 20-21). So the times for marching and for resting varied. ““Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, resting upon it, the Israelites would remain in camp and would not set out; but when it lifted they would set out” (v. 22). Hackett refers to Exod. 40:36-37 and Num. 10:11-13 (op. cit., on vv. 17-23). “Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, resting upon it, the Israelites would remain in camp and would not set out; but when it lifted they would set out (v. 22). We may ask ourselves, Are we ready to follow the Lord’s leading as well as that? “At the command of the LORD they would camp, and at the command of the LORD they would set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses” (v. 23).

“This passage is strategically placed,” says Nili S. Fox,

just prior to Israel’s resumption of the desert march which was interrupted by their encampment at Sinai (Exod. 19:1-Num. 10:1). The fire-cloud, God’s manifestation to Israel, guides the movement of the traveling camp as a cloud by day and a fire at night. . . . The cloudy fiery aura of the LORD is a divine feature also found in non-Israelite societies; it arrives over the Tabernacle once that structure is completed (v. 15) and serves as a sign of divine favor. In other Priestly writings this divine fire is called ‘kavod,’ God’s Presence or glory (Exod. 24:16-17; 2 Chron. 7:3). In the account of the burning bush (Exod. ch. 3) and Ezekiel’s vision of the divine chariot (Ezek. ch. 1), God also manifests Himself as, or from within, fire. (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Num. 9:15-23)

At this point the assigned reading passes over the making of “two silver trumpets” to be used “for summoning the congregation, and for breaking camp” (10:1-2, cf vv. 1-10), and a description of the departure from Sinai by stages (vv. 11-16), the taking down and departure of the tabernacle (vv. 17-20), the “Kohathites, who carried the holy things” (v. 21), and the departure of various tribal camps (vv. 22-28). When the reading resumes, we are told of Moses’ invitation of Hobab to accompany them. “Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, ‘We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, “I will give it to you”; come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good to Israel’ ” (v. 29). According to Rabbi Hertz, “Moses requests his father-in-law to remain with them and act as their guide” (op. cit., on vv. 29-32). Of “Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite,” Fox says, “In Exodus, the name of Moses’ father-in-law appears as Reuel (2:18) or Jethro (18:1ff). One of those names, Reuel, may be his Midianite clan name (Gen. 36:17)” (op. cit., on v. 29). The Rabbi has a simpler explanation. “According to Rabbinic tradition, Hobab is identical with Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Reuel was the father of Jethro, or Hobab. Exod. ii, 18, where the daughters of Jethro call Reuel their father, presents no difficulty. The Rabbis rightly explain that children oft-times call their grandfather ‘father’” (op. cit., on v. 29).

He (i.e., Hobab/Jethro) is asked to serve as a guide for the Israelites. But he declines, saying, “I will not go, but I will go back to my own land and to my kindred” (v. 30). But Moses protests. “He said, ‘Do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. Moreover, if you go with us, whatever good the LORD does for us, the same we will do for you’ ” (vv. 31-32). On “instead of eyes” (JPS 1917, for NRSV “as eyes”), Rabbi Hertz says, “As Midian bordered on Sinai and Paran, he was thoroughly familiar with that desert. The Cloud, ix 15f, was not a guide; it only indicated the times of breaking up and of resting. Hobab’s answer is not given; but it may be inferred from Judges i, 16, iv, 11 that he yielded, and consented to be ‘eyes’ unto them in the desert” (ibid., on v. 29). “So they set out from the mount of the LORD,” says the narrator, “three days’ journey with the ark of the covenant of the LORD going before them three day’s journey, to seek out a resting place for them, the cloud of the LORD being over them by day when they set out from the camp” (vv. 33-34). “These words,” says Rabbi Hertz, “mark the moment of actual departure from Sinai, which has been anticipated in the general statement of v. 12” (ibid., on v. 33).

According to the narrator, “Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say,

‘Arise, O LORD, let your enemies be scattered,

and your foes flee before you.’ (Num. 10:35, NRSV)

And whenever it came to rest, he would say,

‘Return, O LORD of the ten thousand thousands of Israel’ ” (Num. 10:36, NRSV)

According to Hackett,

Two very short pieces that appear to be ancient battle cries, ‘Arise, O LORD’ and ‘Return, O LORD’ imply that the ark represents the presence of the Lord among the people (see 7:89; 14:44; Ex. 25:10-22; 1 Sam. 4:1-7:2; 2 Sam. 6:1-19; 2 Chr. 6:41; Pss. 68:1; 132:8). In Hebrew manuscripts, this two-verse portion is set off by an inverted Hebrew letter nun at the beginning and end, indicating that ancient Jewish tradition considered these verses special in some way and took pains to mark them as such. (op. cit., on vv. 35-36)

For Rabbi Hertz, what Hackett calls “ancient battle cries,” are “the invocation prayers in connection with the going forward and the resting of the Ark in the wilderness” (op. cit., on vv. 35-36). And he adds,

we still feel the thrill of sacred enthusiasm that animated the men of old on hearing them. They are used to this day at the opening and closing of the Ark, whenever the Torah is read in the synagogue. These two verses are enclosed in inverted Nuns, to indicate either that they are not here in their original place (Talmud); or that they are taken from another source (possibly from ‘the Book of the Wars of the Lord,’ see xxi, 14) and form a distinct section, scroll, or even ‘book’ of the Torah. (ibid)

Romans 1:1-15

Salutation

1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, 10 asking that by God's will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you– 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish 15 -hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (Romans 1:1-15, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with some editing from March 9, 2009 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One), when they were repeated from June 16, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), when comments were repeated from March 5, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 19, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), when they were combined and revised from June 14, 2004 (Monday of the week of the Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year Two) in an email sent June 14, 2004, for June 14-20, and from February 21, 2005 (Monday of the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year One).

On Romans 1:1-7

Paul begins by identifying himself as the writer of the Letter. “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1). But the salutation does not stop there; it comes in the form of one long–seven verse–sentence, as compared to the salutations in his other Epistles (e.g. 1 Cor., 3 vv.; 2 Cor., 2 vv.; Gal., 3 vv.; Eph., Phil., Col., 2 vv. each, etc.). Because he is introducing himself to a church he has neither founded nor visited, but hopes to visit (Rom. 1:11), he explains what he means by “the gospel of God” (v. 1), that is, the gospel “which he [i.e., God] promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son” (vv. 2-3a). This is the “Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (vv. 3b-4). And here in the introductory salutation, he includes the purpose of his apostolic calling for the gospel of Christ, “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name” (v. 5). But the sentence is not yet done, for with reference to “the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles,” he includes “yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ” (v. 6). After that long identification of himself and his gospel mission, Paul addresses the recipients, “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints” (v. 7a), and greets them with his customary theological version of the standard greetings, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 7b).

This long salutation will serve to introduce himself to the Roman Christians, whom he wishes to visit (vv. 11-15), and from whom he wishes to receive support for his planned ministry in Spain (15:24). The Roman Epistle comes at the end of a decade of accomplishment recorded as the first three Missionary Journeys in the Book of Acts and before the later work associated with his Prison and Pastoral Epistles. His experience of opposition to his apostolic calling and ministry, which we note in his relations with the Galatian and Corinthian believers–apparently, challenges from outsiders who claim a more legitimate apostolic authority and ministry–has led him to introduce himself in this careful manner to the church at Rome. So he begins with this brief résumé, though he knows many whom he greets by name who are already in Rome (chap. 16).

On Romans 1:8-15

Many have noticed the “Pauline thanksgiving” or “blessing” that follows the “salutation” in most of Paul’s letters (notably omitted in Galatians). Ben Witherington III notes that this “was traditionally just a health wish in Hellenistic letters” (i.e. non-Christian letters of the time, Conflict and Community in Corinth, 1995, p. 89, on 1 Cor. 1:4-9), but since for Paul, the letters were in effect written speeches, Witherington studies them from the perspective of rhetoric. The thanksgiving is the exordium, “the beginning part . . . aimed at making the audience open and indeed well-disposed toward what follows” (ibid., p. 44, from the Introduction). Paul says, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world” (Rom. 1:8). He affirms that he always prays for the Roman recipients of the Letter. “For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers” (v. 9). He prays that he may be permitted “by God’s will” to come to Rome and see them (v. 10). “For I am longing to see you,” he says, “so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you–or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (vv. 11-12). Paul expresses some regret for not yet having come to Rome, though his calling is as an apostle to the Gentiles. “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles” (v. 13). He has been eager to–but prevented so far from–“proclaim[ing] the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (v. 15), for he is “a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish (v. 14). So he thus he begins to disclose his plans both for visiting them and further ministry beyond (cf. 15:22-29).

Matthew 17:14-21

Jesus Cures a Boy with a Demon (Mk 9.14-29; Lk 9.37-43a)

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, 15 and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him." 17 Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:14-21, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from November 17, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 16, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), when comments were repeated from November 20, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 19, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 13, Year Two), when they were repeated with editing and supplement from November 15, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Year One). Note that parallel passages for this reading are presented in the table in a separate file, Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by a Spirit. For recent comments on the parallel passage in Mark, see the Archive for March 20, 2010 (Saturday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year Two). For recent comments on the parallel passage in Luke, see the Archive for May 23, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year One).

Saturday’s Gospel reading (June 12, 2010) described events on the mountain of Transfiguration (Mt. 17:1-13). Today’s reading continues with what happens when Jesus, Peter, James and John return from the mountain. Jesus is confronted by a man seeking help for his son. “When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water’ ” (Mt. 17:14-15). Although the boy is called “an epileptic” in Matthew’s account of this healing story, note that it is the father who calls him that, not Jesus (Mt. 17:15). The term used is not a technical medical term. Literally, it means something like “moonstruck,” selhniavzomai (selêniazomai), a verb form related to selhvnh

(selênê), “moon,” and in that sense appears only twice in the New Testament (cf. Mt. 4:24, in a summary of various healings by Jesus). In Mark’s parallel account, longer and more detailed than the accounts of Matthew and Luke, the father says, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid” (Mk. 9:17-18; cf. Lk. 9:39). That sounds like epileptic symptoms, but Vincent Taylor, who uses the term “epileptic” in his subtitle for the section, says, “”The case is one of hysteria or epilepsy, afflictions which are difficult to distinguish” (Vincent Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark, 1952, p. 397 on Mk. 9:16-18). Either way, the relation to modern “epilepsy” is problematic, and it is out of the question to fault persons so afflicted with lack of faith or accusations of demon possession. The point of the story is not a diagnosis of the boy’s condition, but the power of Jesus to deliver him from that condition, and the role of faith in that healing. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Mt. 17:20).

Matthew reports the failure of Jesus’ disciples to heal the boy. The man says, “I brought him [the son] to your disciples, but they could not cure him” (Mt. 17:16; cf. Mk. 9:18b; Lk. 9:40). Jesus rebukes the disciples, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you?” And he adds, “Bring him here to me” (Mt. 17:17; cf. Mk. 9:19; Lk. 9:41; cf. Jesus’ questions for Philip in John’s account of the Last Supper, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ ” Jn. 14:9). In Mark, the account provides further graphic descriptions of the boy’s condition (Mk. 9:20-24; cf. Lk. 9:42a), but Matthew’s account proceeds immediately with the cure. “And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly” (Mt. 17:18; cf. Mk. 9:25-27; Lk. 9:42b). Luke’s report closes by reporting that “all were astounded at the greatness of God” (Lk. 9:43), but Matthew and Mark report the disciples’ question and Jesus’ explanation. “When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ ” (Mk. 9:28; cf. Mt. 17:19). In Mark, Jesus “said to them, ’This kind can come out only through prayer’ ” (Mk. 9:29). Matthew reports a more extensive explanation from Jesus. “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Mt. 17:20; cf. Lk. 17:6 in another context). Note that verse 21 is relegated to a footnote by the NRSV. “Other ancient authorities add verse 21, But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting” (NRSV text note d). The verse is lacking in several of the older and better manuscripts of Matthew, but is present in many other manuscripts, probably under the influence of Mark 9:29, where the wording of manuscripts varies between “prayer” and “prayer and fasting,” but the statement itself is well attested.

Some comments from ancient writers on the parallel passage in Mark are of interest. In the Mark volume of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (InterVarsity Press, 2000), Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall pass on a variety of insights about this episode, from the perspective, of course, of Mark’s Gospel:

Though it was the boy who fell on the ground, it was the devil in him who was in anguish. The possessed boy was merely convulsed, while the usurping spirit was being convicted by the awesome judge. The captive was detained, but the captor was punished. Through the wrenching of the human body, the punishment of the devil was made manifest. (Peter Chrysologus. on Mk. 9:20, c. 405-450)

The Scripture indicates that this man was extremely weak in faith, as is evident at four points from Christ’s saying that “All things are possible to him that believes; from the saying of the man himself as he approached, “Help me in my unbelief”; from Christ’s commanding the devil to “enter no more into him”; and from the man’s saying again to Christ, “If you can.” (Chrysostom, 344/354-407, The Gospel of St. Matthew, Homily 57.3)

Seeing that his faith was being driven by the waves of unbelief on the rocks which would cause a fearful shipwreck, he asks of the Lord an aid to his faith, saying “Lord, help me in my unbelief.” So thoroughly did the apostles and those who live in the gospel realize that everything which is good is brought to completion by the aid of the Lord, and not imagine that they could preserve their faith unharmed by their own strength or free will, that they prayed that it might be helped and granted to them by the Lord. (John Cassian, c. 360-432, Conference of Abbot Paphnutius, 16)

The editors provide an overview and summary of comments on this passage.

We pray that we may believe and believe that we might pray (Augustine). No measure of faith is preserved without prayer (Jerome, John Cassian). The demonic compulsions are bound up when they come into the presence of the incarnate Lord (Tertullian, Peter Chrysologus). We see this in Jesus’ simple gesture of taking the child by the hand and lifting him up (Bede). Those who lack the maintaining power of the Holy Spirit remain vulnerable to demonic systems and powers (Tertullian, Minucius Felix). Aspects of faith are recognizable as praiseworthy even by those without faith (Caesarius of Arles).

As noted above, for the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for May 31, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net