Daily Scripture Readings     

Wednesday (July14, 2010)*

Daily Office Lectionary, The Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A., 1979; cf. The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Abingdon Press, 1992

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/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi

YOU MAY NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THESE URLs IN YOUR BROWSER

 

‡ 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.

 

Wednesday

AM Psalm 38

PM Psalm 119:25‑48

Joshua 3:1‑13

Rom. 11:25‑36

Matt. 25:31‑46

[Samson Occum]

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/samson_occum.htm

Psalm 29

Sirach 14:20‑27; Acts 10:30‑38; Luke 8:16‑21

Eucharistic Readings:

Isaiah 10:5‑7, 13‑16; Psalm 95:5‑15; Matthew 11:25-27

 

Wednesday

Morning: Psalms 89:1-18; 147:1-11

Joshua 3:1‑13

Rom. 11:25‑36

Matt. 25:31‑46

Evening: Psalms 1; 33

 

Wednesday

Morning Pss.: 96, 147:1-12

Num. 22:41‑23:12

Rom. 7:13‑25

Matt. 21:33‑46

Evening Pss.: 132, 134

 

 

 

Year C Daily Readings

Psalm 25:11-20

Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

Matthew 25:31-46

* Wednesday in the week of the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two

 

For the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for June 30, 2010, two weeks ago. These traditions differ in relating readings to the weeks following Pentecost.

 

Episcopal and Presbyterian Readings:

 

Joshua 3:1‑13

 

Israel Crosses the Jordan

 

3:1 Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, AWhen you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.@ 5 Then Joshua said to the people, ASanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.@ 6 To the priests Joshua said, ATake up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people.@ So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.

7 The LORD said to Joshua, AThis day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. 8 You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, >When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.= A 9 Joshua then said to the Israelites, ADraw near and hear the words of the LORD your God.@ 10 Joshua said, ABy this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: 11 the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. 12 So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.@ (Joshua 3:1-13, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from July 16, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 19, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), when comments were used with revision and addition from July 14, 2004, in an email sent July 12, 2004 for July 12-18.

 

Carol Meyers says, AThe story of crossing into the land west of the Jordan is told in several overlapping units ([Josh.] 3:1-17; 4:1-9; 4:10-14; 4:15-18; 4:19-5:1), with some of the constituent events anticipated and recounted more than once. The resulting complex narrative may be the result of a redactor using different sources and being unwilling to eliminate repetitive components@ (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, pp. 467-468 on Josh. 3:1-5:1). K. Lawson Younger puts it this way:

 

The crossing of the Jordan is narrated in five units [the same as Meyer’s= units, except for putting 4:10 in unit 2] that backtrack and overlap so that a number of events are recounted more than once. The use of anticipatory statements and resumptive repetitions provides a means of linking the units together (e.g. the anticipatory statement in 3:12 is tied to the resumptive repetition in 4:1). In this way a redactor has attempted to meld together different sources. (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Josh. 3:1-5:1)

 

Another repetition occurs in 3:16, Athe people crossed over opposite Jericho,@ 4:13, Aabout forty thousand armed for war crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for battle,” and 4:19, Athe people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.@ With thousands of people crossing, and probably with several accounts available, the processes described by Meyers and Younger may have a point. But perhaps their Aunits@ may be understood as stages.

 

Today=s reading is part of the Afirst unit@ (3:1-13 out of 3:1-17). The Israelites prepare to cross the Jordan River. AEarly in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over@ (Josh. 3:1). Meyers notes that AThe Jordan symbolizes all the borders of the promised land, and crossing a river into Israel=s territory echoes the people=s passage through water (the Reed Sea) under the leadership of Moses at the outset of the journey. This strengthens the depiction of Joshua as a new Moses with great authority@ (op. cit., p. 468, on Josh. 1:1). AAt the end of three days,@ says the narrator, Athe officers went through the camp and command the people, >When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place@ (vv. 2-3). The levitical priests will carry the ark of the covenant and the people will follow it at a safe distance about two thousand cubits (ca. 3000 ft.). AFollow it,@ say the officers, Aso that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before@ (v. 3, end, and v. 4a). But the people are not to get too close to the ark. The officers= instruction says, AYet there shall be a space between you and it [the ark], a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it@ (v. 4b). According to Meyers, ATwo thousand cubits, about 1,000 m (.625 mile) was the distance needed to separate the people from the powerful sanctity of the Ark@ (op. cit., on v. 4).

 

The next instruction comes from Joshua himself. To the people, he says, ASanctify yourselves (UwD!7qat4h9, hithqaddāšû); for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you@ (v. 5). ASanctify yourselves.@ according to Robert C. Dentan and Leslie J. Hoppe, Areflects the cultic background of this story. It requires the Israelites to render themselves ritually pure@ (NOAB, 2nd ed. 1994, on Josh. 3:5). After giving the people the direction to sanctify themselves, Joshua commands the priests to ATake up the ark of the covenant and pass on in front of the people@ (v. 6a). And it is reported that the priests obeyed. “So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people” (v. 6b). Then, we are told, “The LORD said to Joshua, ‘This day, I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses’ ” (v. 7). According to Meyers, “The statement the LORD said to Joshua occurs repeatedly in chs. 1-6, indicating that Joshua fully succeeds Moses; and I will be with you resumes the promise of the commission in 1:5” (op. cit., on v. 7). According to Robert G. Boling, revised by Richard D. Nelson, “Any concern raised in 1:17 is resolved, for the Lord is undeniably with Joshua (cf. 6:27)” (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Josh. 3:7). AYou are the one,@ says the LORD, Awho shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, >When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan= @ (v. 8).

 

Joshua addresses the people, ADraw near and hear the words of the LORD your God . . . By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites@ (vv. 9-10). Younger calls this Aa stereotypical listing of the pre-Israelite population of Canaan; it is difficult,@ he says, Ato identify the individual groups specifically.@ He adds that the AHittites [were] apparently a group in the land of Canaan (see Gen. 23; Judg. 3:5" (op. cit. on v. 10). According to J. J. M. Roberts, the Hittites were Aan Indo-European people who established a strong kingdom in east central Anatolia in the second millennium B.C.@ Roberts notes several Old Testament reference to Hittites, Abut there is no evidence that the Hittites of the empire ever penetrated that far south [i.e. into Canaan],@ but he notes that, AOn the other hand, Ahimelech (1 Sam. 26:6) and Uriah (2 Sam. 11:3) are both designated Hittites in written sources that antedate strong Assyrian influence on Judah@ (The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1996, s.v. Hittites). According to Meyers,

 

Canaanites . . . Jebusites is a stereotyped listing of the existing population of the land. Similar lists, with varying components, appear frequently in the Bible, often totaling seven groups, thereby signaling the totality of non-Israelite groups (because seven is a symbolic number, representing completeness). Not all of these names can be identified, but the plurality of the groups itself may indicate ethnic diversity in the population of Canaan. (op. cit. p. 468, on v. 10)

 

Joshua continues to address the people, Athe ark of the covenant of the Lord (NOdxA, ’~dôn) of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan@ (v. 11). And he gives specific instruction. “So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe” (v. 12). “Twelve men,” says Meyers, “indicates the tribal components of the unified groupBall IsraelBthat figures prominently in Joshua; it anticipates the ceremonial acts of 4:1-9, 20). And Joshua describes what will happen next. “When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand (Udm4fayav4, weya>am edû) in a single heap (dne)” (v. 13). As noted above, this is to be a repeat of the miracle at the Red Sea when they left Egypt, but on a smaller scale. According to Dentan and Hoppe, the whole crossing “took on the appearance of a liturgical ceremony@ (op. cit., on Josh. 3:1-17). Meyers notes that the verb AStand in reference to the miraculous piling up of water, is also used for the miraculous halt of the sun=s course in 10:13. “Heap,” says Meyers, “is an unusual term, used elsewhere in the Bible only in references to the parting of the Sea of Reeds (Exod. 15:8; cf. Ps. 78:13). The crossing of the Jordan is thus made parallel to the crossing of the Sea of Reeds; cf. Ps. 114:3” (op. cit., p. 468, 470, on v. 13).

 

Romans 11:25‑36

 

All Israel Will Be Saved

 

25 So that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written,

AOut of Zion will come the Deliverer;

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.@

27 AAnd this is my covenant with them,

when I take away their sins.@

28 As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

33 O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 AFor who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?@

35 AOr who has given a gift to him,

to receive a gift in return?@

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:25-36, NRSV)

 

The following comments are repeated here from April 4, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One):

 

On July 16, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from March 31, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were repeated from July 19, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), when they were combined with revision from July 14, 2004, in an email sent July 12, 2004 for July 12-18, and from March 19, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One). They are repeated again here with some editing and supplement

 

Still addressing Gentiles, Paul says, ASo that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery (musthvrion, myst‘rion); a hardening (pwvrwsiV, pÇrÇsis) has come upon part (ajpo; mevrouV, apo merous) of Israel, until (a[criV, achris) the full number (plhvrwma, pl‘rÇma) of the Gentiles has come in@ (Rom. 11:25 NRSV, cf. TNIV, AV/KJV). The phrase, literally Afrom a part@ (ajpo; mevrouV, apo merous) has the unusual sense given above. The phrase pwvrwsiV (pÇrÇsis) . . . ajpo; mevrouV (apo merous) means Aa partial hardening@ (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 2000, s.v. mevroV, meros, (1) (c), cf. ajpov, apo, (6) ). C. K. Barrett notes this unusual meaning; he says,

 

The content of the secret [musthvrion, myst‘rion], hinted at in vv. 7, 12, and in the allegory, is now stated. . . . A >Partial= [ajpo; mevrouV, apo merous], renders a phrase which recurs in xv. 15, 24; 2 Cor. i. 14; it may be adjectival (as, apparently, here), or adverbial. The >hardening= [pwvrwsiV, pÇrÇsis] (cf. v. 7) was only partial, since there was a remnant that believed. Through this hardening arose the Gentile mission (vv. 11, 28), and it will continue until its purpose is complete. (A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Harper=s New Testament Commentaries, 1957, p. 223, on Rom. 11:25)

 

ABut what,@ asks Barrett, Adoes the >full number= mean? AThis hardening,@ says Neil Elliott, Ais temporary until the full number of the Gentiles, those destined to trust in God, has come in@ (NOAB, 3rd ed., 2001, on Rom. 11:25). But Barrett appears to be not so sure at this point:

 

From v 12 it appears that it [full number (plhvrwma, pl‘rÇma)] must mean either >all Gentiles that ever were born= or >all Gentiles intended by God to belong to the elect=. Only the context as a whole can decide between these two alternatives, which indeed cannot be taken as strict alternatives, since the >number intended by God= might be identical with the >total number=. (loc. cit.)

 

Ben Witherington III disagrees Awith Käsemann=s conclusion that what is meant is that all Israel experienced a partial hardening. . . . Rather what must be meant is that a part of Israel, a large part, were hardened, but this condition was of a limited duration” (Paul=s Letter to the Romans; A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, 2004, p. 273, on Rom. 11:25).

 

Paul moves on to a conclusionBnot so much from the argument itself, but rather from the Hebrew Bible: AAnd so all Israel will be saved; as it is written,

 

>Out of Zion will come the Deliverer;

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.=

>And this is my covenant with them, (Rom. 11:26, 27a, citing Isa. 59:20-21 [Ps. 14:7])

when I take away their sins.= ” (Rom. 11:27b, citing Isa. 27:9; Jer. 31:33-34)

 

Barrett calls this Aa composite quotation . . . It may be,” he says, Athat Paul drew it from a Testimony Book, or that he himself, subconsciously perhaps, combined the two passages” (op. cit., p. 224 on vv. 26-27). Barrett finds a similar problem to the question about “all Gentiles?” in reference as well to the Jews. “When all the Gentiles meet [sic, >meant=?] to be included in the people of God have been included, >all Israel will be saved=. . . . In what sense does Paul mean >all Israel=? >Israel as a whole= or >each several Israelite?= “ (op. cit., p. 223, on v. 26). Witherington calls verse 26 Aone of the most controversial verses of these chapters [i.e., Rom. 9-11]@ (op. cit., p. 273, on v. 26). He says, Athe quandary is over whom Aall Israel@ refers to, (1) Jews and Gentiles in Christ, (2) all the elect of Israel, (3) the whole nation of Israel including every individual, or (4) the nation of Israel with certain exceptions@ (ibid., pp. 273-274). Witherington rejects no. (1). AIt is extremely problematic to understand >Israel= in v. 26 to mean something different than it means in v.25, where it surely does not refer to any Gentiles . . .” (p. 274). He rejects no. (3) because Aelsewhere in this chapter Paul has made very clear that he believes apostasy happens. Persons do not remain saved unless they remain or stand in and on their faith@ (p. 275). He rejects no. (2) because Athe problem with arguing that all the elect from Israel are meant is that such a view would be self-evident, even absurdly so in light of what Paul has already said” (ibid.).

 

A brief look at some of the considerable amount of literature discussing what it is that Paul meant when he said, AAnd so all Israel will be saved@ (v. 26), discloses a range of interpretations: (1) the new AIsrael” is composed of Christian Jews and Gentiles, (2) all of Israel will be saved, since their election is Airrevocable@ (v. 29), (3) in some respects, Paul is inconclusive, and defers to the wisdom of God. Views such as these are discussed by Charles H. Cosgrove [ARhetorical Suspense in Romans 9-11: A Study in Polyvalence and Hermeneutical Election,@ JBL 115/2 (1996) 271-287]. He concludes, at least, with an intriguing comment:

 

I offer the following as a paraphrase of the implicit directive issuing, as a semantic effect, from Rom. 11:11-32 when that stretch of scripture is construed as a communicatio [Latin for Acommunication”] set in perpetual textual suspension. Paul=s text says, in effect,

 

To read me rightly, you must deliberate with me about what you want the identity and destiny of carnal Israel to be. If you refuse to deliberate, you have not given me a fair hearing. If you accept, you become co-accountable for what my text means. (p. 287)

 

For my part, I am willing to defer to the wisdom of God, and say with father Abraham, AShall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?@ (Gen. 18:25). Barrett, whose final answer seems compatible with Witherington=s discusses his question (above), AIsrael as a whole” or “each several Israelite?”

 

There is an interesting parallel to Paul=s words in Sanhedrin, x. 1: All Israelites have a share in the world to come. This statement certainly does not refer to each several Israelite, for it proceeds to enumerate a long list of exceptions: from >all Israel= must be subtracted all Sadducees, heretics, magicians, the licentious, and many more. It means that Israel as a whole is destined for eternal life in the Age to Come. This, of course, does not prove that Paul=s meaning was the same; but when his two statements about Gentiles and Jews are taken together, it seems probable that he is thinking in representative terms . . . first the remnant of Israel, then Gentiles, finally Israel as a whole. (op. cit., pp. 223-224, on v. 26)

 

Paul seems unwilling to say that God has revoked his covenant with Israel. He refers to a time when Athey are enemies of God for your sake,” that is, allowing for a period of time in which Gentiles are converted, but Aas regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors” (Rom. 11:28). Paul adds, Athe gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (v. 29). The disobedience to the gospel on the part of the Jews has allowed Gentiles to receive mercy: AJust as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience” (v. 30), but the corollary is the reverse. Paul adds, Aso they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy” (v. 31). In the end, we find that GodBas we should have expectedBis even-handed. AFor God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all” (v. 32). Barrett says:

 

Here at length the full meaning of Paul=s >double predestination= is revealed. God has predestinated all men to wrath and he has predestinated all men to [Barrett surely means >men= in the generic sense, all humankind.] mercy. If they were not predestinated to the former they could not be predestinated to the latter. It is true that the stress here does not lie on the >all men= but on the >disobedience= and the >mercy=; Paul does not intend to make a definite pronouncement about the ultimate destiny of each individual man. but the hope of mankind is more, not less, secure because it is rooted in the truth about God, rather than in a truth about man himself. (op. cit., p. 227, on v. 32)

 

Paul ends with expressions of wonder at God=s grace and providence. AO the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable are his ways!@ (v. 33). The next three verses follow in a similar vein, ending with ATo him [God] be the glory forever. Amen@ (v. 36).

 

Matthew 25:31‑46

 

The Judgment of the Nations

 

31 AWhen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, >Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.= 37 Then the righteous will answer him, >Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?= 40 And the king will answer them, >Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.= 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, >You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.= 44 Then they also will answer, >Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?= 45 Then he will answer them, >Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.= 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.@ (Matthew 25:31-46, NRSV

 

The following comments are repeated here from December 19, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 26, 2009 (the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One), comments were repeated from July 16, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from December 22, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 29, 2007 (the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One), when comments combined material, some repeated from time to time, with some further editing from July 14, 2004, in an email sent July 12, 2004 for July 12-18, from July 24, 2005 (the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One), from December 17, 2005 (Saturday in the week of the third Sunday in Advent, Year Two), and from July 19, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two).

 

Following the Parables of the Ten Maidens (Mt. 25:1-13) and the Talents (vv. 14-30), Matthew presents the scene of judgment Awhen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory@ (Mt. 25:31). Apart from general references to judgment at the coming of the Son of Man (e.g., Mt. 16:27; Mk. 8:38b; Lk. 9:26b; cf. Mt. 7:23; Lk. 13:27-28), and a verse in John (Jn. 5:29; cf. Mt. 25:46), there are no parallel passages to this reading from Matthew.

 

At that time, says Jesus, AAll the nations ( e[qnh, ethn‘ ) will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats@ (v. 32). For Aall the nations,@ J. Andrew Overman compares the same phrase in the Great Commission, Amake disciples of all nations [pavnta ta; e[qnh, panta ta ethn‘], and suggests, AA better translation would be >all the people of the world=@ (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on v. 32). AFor all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil@ (2 Cor. 5:10).

 

People will be separated by putting Athe sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left@ (v. 33). The king [the Son of Man = Jesus] will commend one group and condemn the other for doing, or not doing, essentially the same things. ACome, you that are blessed by my Father,@ he will say to the Asheep,@ the ones at his right hand, Ainherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me@ (vv. 34‑36). According to Overman, Athe list of works of mercy ends with an unusual one, visiting prisoners, perhaps based on Isa. 61:1" (ibid., on Mt. 25:35-36). The Asheep,@ that is, Athe righteous will answer him, >Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?= A (vv. 37-39). The king=s answer, according to Jesus, is, ATruly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me@ (v. 40).

 

When he turns to those on his left hand, the Agoats,@ the opposite is true. What he says to the other group, and their response, is a negative mirror image of what he says to the first group (vv. 41-43). The other group has not done these things. They ask, AWhen was it that we [did not do these things]?@ (v. 44), and the answer takes a similar form. They have not done it Ato one of the least of these@ (v. 45), and so Athese will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life@ (v. 46). AYou that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,@ and so forth (vv. 41‑44). They also ask, AWhen?@ and the answer has the same form. ATruly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me@ (v. 45). The scene concludes with the separation of these from the righteous. AAnd these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life@ (v. 46). Compare Jesus statement to the Jews in the discussion that follows his healing of the lame man, John 5:28-29, where Jesus says, ADo not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come outBthose who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation@ (Jn. 5:28-29; cf. also Mk. 8:38b; Mt. 16:27; Lk. 9:26b).

 

It is a sobering thought that the criterion is expressed in Matthew in terms of sins of omission, not brutal atrocities. But doesn=t our neglect of those less fortunate have something of the same effect? We can only be thankful for God=s grace and longsuffering! AFor his steadfast love (mercy AV/KJV) endures forever@ (the refrain in the second line of each of 26 verses in Ps. 136).

 

As noted above, for the Lutheran Readings for today, and comments on them, see the Episcopal Readings in the file for June 30, 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