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Daily
Scripture |
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Sunday
(September 19, 2010)* |
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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 |
Daily
Lectionary, Book of Worship Inter-Lutheran Commission on
Worship, c. 1978 (2002 printing) ‡ |
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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 |
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‡
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, Year C (now current). “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). |
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Unless
otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised
Standard Version ( |
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Sunday AM Psalm 93, 96 PM Psalm 34 Esther 3:1-4:3
or Judith 5:22-6:4, 10-21 James 1:19-27 Matt.
6:1-6,16-18 From the Sunday
Lectionary: (Cf. the
RCL) Jeremiah
8:18-9:1 & Psalm 79:1-9 or Amos 8:4-7
& Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-7
& Luke 16:1-13 (Cf. BCP) Psalm 138 Amos 8:4-7
(8-12) 1 Timothy 2:1-8 Luke 16:1-13 |
Sunday Morning: Psalms 67; 150 Esther 3:1-4:3 James 1:19-27 Matt.
6:1-6,16-18 Evening: Psalms 46; 93 |
Sunday Morning Pss.:
19, 150 Job 25:1-6,
27:1-6 Rev. 14:1-7, 13 Matt. 5:13-20 Evening Pss.:
81, 113 |
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25th
Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Jeremiah
8:18-9:1 Psalm
79:1-9 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13 |
Sunday,
September 18-24 Amos 8:4-7 Psalm 113 (7) 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13 Semicontinuous
reading and psalm Jeremiah
8:18-9:1 Psalm 79:1-9
(9) |
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* The Seventeenth
Sunday after Pentecost, references for the Sunday closest to September 21,
Year Two |
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For the Lutheran
Episcopal and Presbyterian
Esther 3:1-4:3
3:1 After these things King
Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and
set his seat above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king’s
servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for
the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do
obeisance. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to
Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” 4 When they spoke to him day
after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see
whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5
When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to him, Haman was
infuriated. 6 But he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So,
having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the
Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole
7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur–which means “the lot”–before Haman for the day and for the month, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, so that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, and the people as well, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12 Then the king’s secretaries were
summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to
all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the
governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to
every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was
written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring. 13
Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to
destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and
children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the
month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be
issued as a decree in every province by proclamation, calling on all the
peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went quickly by order of the
king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of
4:1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry; 2 he went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 In every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes. (Esther 3:1-4:3, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here from September 21, 2008 (the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two), when some of the comments were based on comments from September 24, 2006 (the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two).
In Friday’s reading we saw that Queen Vashti, by refusing a request to appear at the men’s banquet, fell into disfavor with King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) of Persia (Esth.1:12-19). In yesterday’s reading we were introduced to the Jew Mordecai and his cousin Hadassah, that is, Esther, for whom he served as a guardian (2:5-8). Esther was included among those from whom Vashti’s replacement as queen would be selected (v. 8), and Mordecai encouraged her not to reveal that she was Jewish (v. 10). Esther was selected as the next queen (vv. 15-17), which was celebrated by “Esther’s banquet” (v. 18). We also learned that Mordecai became aware of a conspiracy against the king, and his report led to the arrest and execution of the conspirators (vv. 21-23).
Today’s reading introduces the villain. “After these things
King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him
and set his seat above all the officials who were with him” (Esth. 3:1). The
author makes a point of Haman’s connection, as a descendant, of Agag, the
Amalekite king defeated by King Saul of
This ancient enmity apparently comes to light when, though “all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him” (Esth. 3:2a), However, “Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance” (v. 2b). Mordecai is immediately questioned by “the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate,” who said to him, ‘Why do you disobey the king’s command?’ ” (v. 3). When Mordecai ignored these servants they persisted. “When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew” (v. 4). Mary Joan Winn Leith comments on the words, “day after day,” which she sees as a parallel to Gen. 39:10, where Joseph resists Potiphar’s wife . . . Both Mordecai and Joseph are falsely accused, then vindicated and promoted. Mordecai’s motives for refusing to bow are not clearly stated, but as with Vashti’s similarly enigmatic refusal, what might have been a private matter becomes a crisis involving the entire empire” (NOAB, 3rd ed., 2001, on Esth. 3:4). According to Adele Berlin,
Mordecai’s refusal [to bow down or
do obeisance, v. 2] is not based on religious principles, for biblical Jews or
Israelites may bow to superiors (Gen. 23:7; 43:28; Exod. 18:7; 1 Kings 1:23),
but on ethnic grounds so as not to give honor to an enemy of
Haman, “infuriated,” when “Mordecai did not bow down or do
obeisance to him” (v. 5), chose to make it a major issue, not just a personal
matter, for “he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So,
having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted (wq02bay4va, wayyebaqqēš)
to destroy (dym9w;hal;, lehašmîd)
all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole
Haman was apparently willing to bide his time, for his plans
to destroy the Jews are set nearly a year in advance. “In the first month,
which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast
Pur ( rUP, pûr)–which
means “the lot”–before Haman for the day and for the month, and the lot fell on
the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar” (v 7). “Pur,”
says
Haman seeks to carry out his conspiracy, telling the king:
There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, so that they may put it into the king’s treasuries. (Esth. 3:8-9, NRSV)
And the king responds readily to the one he has recently
honored (3:1): “So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to
Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. The king said to
Haman, ‘The money is given to you, and the people as well, to do with them as
it seems good to you’ ” (vv. 10-11). According to
Mordecai was devastated, of course by this turn of events. “When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry; he went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth” (4:1-2). The author presents a similar scene of dismay and grief among the Jews throughout the empire. “In every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes” (v. 3). The effect on Queen Esther and further developments await further readings this week.
Judith 5:22-6:4, 10-21
22 When Achior had finished saying
these things, all the people standing around the tent began to complain;
Holofernes’ officers and all the inhabitants of the seacoast and
6:1 When the disturbance made by the people outside the council had died down, Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, said to Achior in the presence of all the foreign contingents:
2 “Who are you, Achior and you mercenaries of Ephraim, to prophesy among us as you have done today and tell us not to make war against the people of Israel because their God will defend them? What god is there except Nebuchadnezzar? He will send his forces and destroy them from the face of the earth. Their God will not save them; 3 we the king’s servants will destroy them as one man. They cannot resist the might of our cavalry. 4 We will overwhelm them; their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and their fields will be full of their dead. Not even their footprints will survive our attack; they will utterly perish. So says King Nebuchadnezzar, lord of the whole earth. For he has spoken; none of his words shall be in vain. (Judith 5:22-6:4, NRSV)
10 Then Holofernes ordered his slaves, who waited on him in his tent, to seize Achior and take him away to Bethulia and hand him over to the Israelites. 11 So the slaves took him and led him out of the camp into the plain, and from the plain they went up into the hill country and came to the springs below Bethulia. 12 When the men of the town saw them, they seized their weapons and ran out of the town to the top of the hill, and all the slingers kept them from coming up by throwing stones at them. 13 So having taken shelter below the hill, they bound Achior and left him lying at the foot of the hill, and returned to their master.
14 Then the Israelites came down from their
town and found him; they untied him and brought him into Bethulia and placed
him before the magistrates of their town, 15 who in those days were
Uzziah son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris son of Gothoniel, and
Charmis son of Melchiel. 16 They called together all the elders of
the town, and all their young men and women ran to the assembly. They set
Achior in the midst of all their people, and Uzziah questioned him about what
had happened. 17 He answered and told them what had taken place at
the council of Holofernes, and all that he had said in the presence of the
Assyrian leaders, and all that Holofernes had boasted he would do against the
house of
19 “O Lord God of heaven, see their arrogance, and have pity on our people in their humiliation, and look kindly today on the faces of those who are consecrated to you.”
20 Then they reassured Achior, and praised him highly. 21 Uzziah took him from the assembly to his own house and gave a banquet for the elders; and all that night they called on the God of Israel for help. (Judith 6:10-21, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here from September 21, 2008 (the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from September 24, 2006 (the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two):
As we noted yesterday, Achior’s outline of
In today’s reading, we learn that Holofernes was not alone
in his displeasure with Achior’s advice. “When Achior had finished saying these
things,” we are told, “all the people standing around the tent began to
complain” (v. 22a). As is often the case, in their anger and frustration they
blame the messenger, for “Holofernes’ officers and all the inhabitants of the
seacoast and
The disturbance “made by the people outside the council”
dies down (6:1a), and Holofernes, quick to agree with the people, denounces
Achior “in the presence of all the foreign contingents” (v. 1b): “Who are you,
Achior and you mercenaries of Ephraim, to prophesy among us as you have done
today and tell us not to make war against the people of Israel because their
God will defend them? What god is there except Nebuchadnezzar?” (v. 2a). According
to Toni Craven, revised by John J. Collins, by asking “Who are you? What god
is there except Nebuchadnezzar? Holofernes asks important identity
questions that constitute one of the corresponding symmetries in the two halves
of the book. In 8:12, Judith asks the magistrates of Bethulia, Who are you
to put God to the test today?” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed.,
2006, on Jdt. 6:2). The reference to Nebuchadnezzar as a “god” appears in the
Book of Judith prior to the first reading in the present series (Jdt. 4:1-15,
Friday, Sept. 17, 2010). Holofernes responded to pleas from coastal cities
(Azotus and Ascalon, cf.
In the present context Holofernes continues his denunciation of Achior and the “mercenaries of Ephraim.” “He [i.e., the ‘god’ Nebuchadnezzar] will send his forces and destroy them from the face of the earth. Their God will not save them; we the king’s servants will destroy them as one man” (vv. 2b, 3a). He claims invincibility. “They cannot resist the might of our cavalry” (v. 3b).
And, prior to his ejection of Achior from the camp (vv. 5-13), Holfernes issues a challenge. “We will overwhelm them; their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and their fields will be full of their dead. Not even their footprints will survive our attack; they will utterly perish. So says King Nebuchadnezzar, lord of the whole earth. For he has spoken; none of his words shall be in vain” (v. 4). According to Linda Day, “Holofernes again asserts the divine sovereignty of Nebuchadnezzar” (NOAB, 3rd ed., 2001, on Jdt. 6:2-4, with ref. to 3:8).
After predicting Achior’s death along with the conquered
Israelites, Holofernes gives an order. “Then Holofernes ordered his slaves, who
waited on him in his tent, to seize Achior and take him away to Bethulia and
hand him over to the Israelites” (Jdt 6:10). Holofernes probably assumed that
the Israelites would destroy Achior as an enemy, but that was mistaken.
Holofernes’ “slaves took him and led him out of the camp into the plain, and
from the plain they went up into the hill country and came to the springs below
Bethulia” (v. 11). Of “springs,” Day
says, “in
Holofernes attacks the western
nations. The confrontation between the various nations who refused to aid
Nebuchadnezzar is told in a threefold chiastic [i.e., reverse symmetry]
structure—similar episodes are repeated in reverse order. Each unit is defined
by a major shift of scene, alternation between the nations of Assyria and
In the present context she refers to this structural
analysis. “In Section C’, which begins the second half of the chiastic
structure for Part 1 of the book (see note on 2:14-7:32), the scene shifts back
to
“Then,” says the narrator, “the Israelites came down from their town and found him [i.e., found Achior]; they untied him and brought him into Bethulia and placed him before the magistrates of their town, who in those days were Uzziah son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris son of Gothoniel, and Charmis son of Melchiel” (vv. 14-15). Commenting on “Uzziah . . . of the tribe of Simeon,” Craven and Collins say, “The tribe of Simeon first settled in the general vicinity of Shechem (Gen. 34; Deut. 27:12) but later moved to the most southerly border of the cultivated land in the vicinity of Beer-sheba with the capture of the town Zephath/Hormah (Judg. 1:17; it is not mentioned in the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5) or the blessing of Moses (Deut 33). Judith is also from the tribe of Simeon (9:2). Chabris, Charmis [are] invented characters” (ibid., on v. 15). As the story continues, we are told, “They [i.e., the magistrates of Bethulia] called together all the elders of the town, and all their young men and women ran to the assembly” (v. 16a), apparently because they were aware of the threat and danger (cf. chap. 4). “They set Achior in the midst of all their people, and Uzziah questioned him about what had happened. He answered and told them what had taken place at the council of Holofernes, and all that he had said in the presence of the Assyrian leaders, and all that Holofernes had boasted he would do against the house of Israel” (vv. 16b, 17). “Then,” says the narrator, “the people fell down and worshiped God and cried out: ‘O Lord God of heaven, see their arrogance, and have pity on our people in their humiliation, and look kindly today on the faces of those who are consecrated to you’ ” (vv. 18-19). Craven and Collins comment on “Then the people . . . worshiped God,” saying, “As in 4:12, the people turn to God in their distress” (ibid., on v. 18). And, in contrast to Holofernes attitude toward Achior, the people of Bethulia “reassured Achior, and praised him highly. Uzziah took him from the assembly to his own house and gave a banquet for the elders; and all that night they called on the God of Israel for help” (vv. 20-21).
James 1:19-27
Hearing and Doing the Word
19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. 21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.
26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:16-27, NRSV)
The following comments are based on comments on James 1:16-27 of May 19, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from November 14, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 11, Year Two), comments were repeated from, or based on, some of the earlier comments from November 12, 2004 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), from May 3, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year One), from November 17, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two), from May 15, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year One), and from September 21, 2008 (the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two).
“Anger does not Produce God’s Righteousness”
The reading from James begins with an admonition to live righteously. “You must understand this, my beloved” he says: “let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (Jas. 1:19. Cain Hope Felder calls this “a three-part wisdom saying (cf. Sir 5:11) [that] alerts the reader to an important distinction between James and Paul. Paul (2 Cor. 5:21) probably means a ‘righteousness found in God’ but imparted to believers as a gift, whereas the Jewish Christian James means a standard of righteousness established by God to which the believer seeks to conform” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible [NOAB], 3rd. edition, augmented 2007, on James 1:19). This admonition to be “slow to speak,” says James B. Addison,
may refer to the perils of the tongue and the perils of overmuch speaking–a stock theme of the ancient moralist. ‘Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds slack and remiss’ [Sir. 4:29]. In the second part of the Epistle (chs. 3, 4) James mentions one particularly vicious sin of the tongue, viz., malicious slander (4:11), which the rabbis called ‘the third tongue’ (lishan telitay), for it slays three persons–the speaker, the spoken to, and the spoken of [b ‘Arakin 15b]. (The Epistle of James, NICNT, 1995, p. 78, on Jas. 1:19)
The admonition to be “slow to anger” is followed by the
explanation, “for your anger (ojrghv, org‘, ‘wrath’
AV/KJV) does not produce God’s righteousness (dikaiosuvnh, dikaiosyn‘)”
(v. 20). Among other interpretations of this which
The objection to [human] wrath is not simply that it is bad tactics and futile. Even if a pedagog’s wrath–contrast God’s patience (1:5)–may produce righteousness in his pupil (Zahn), Christians are not told to eschew wrath because it has no good effect on the persons wronged. The reason is not necessarily the possible effect on the target of my wrath: you might be more grieved, and even damaged, by cold, calculated, and justified censures than by any heated chastisement from my tongue. In Christianity, sin is forbidden primarily because of its effect on the sinner. (ibid., p. 79 on v. 20)
We are further advised to rid ourselves “of all sordidness
and rank growth of wickedness,” welcoming instead “the implanted word that has
the power to save [our] souls” (v. 21). This “implanted word,” says Felder, is
“a rare phrase meaning the same as ‘word of truth’ in 1:18” (op. cit., on v.
21). After considering various views, Addison concludes that “implanted” ( e[mfutoV,
emphytos) does not mean “innate” (Hort), but rather, based on Hort’s
reference to “a secondary ingrowth,” and to “a Divine gift” (Hort’s phrase),
“we may very well say ‘sown’ or ‘planted’ (but not ‘engrafted,’ KJV), in the
regularly used metaphorical sense” (op. cit., p. 81, on v. 21).
The Jewish Torah was held to be redemptive, the medicine of life and a ‘spice’ against the yetser [i.e. the (evil) impulse. with ref. to b. Qid. 30b and b Baba Bathra 16a]. ‘Torah is the only way that leadeth to life’ [“Wayyiqra Rabba 29]. Like the Torah, the implanted Word was redemptive, uniquely so since this was the ‘Torah of the Messiah.’ James may not mention Christ by name, but Christ’s Saviorhood, if not explicitly elaborated here, is everywhere implied. (ibid., with ref. to Oesterley)
Doers of the Word
James calls for righteousness in our actions. He says, “be
(or ‘become,’ Givnesqe,
Ginesthe) doers (poihtaiv, poi‘tai) of the
word, and not merely hearers (ajkroataiv, akroatai) who deceive themselves” (v.
22). Later he will argue that faith without “works” is useless; they belong
together (James 2:14-26).
two contrasts: (i) between a hasty, forgetful glance and an attentive, sustained study; (ii) between the picture, glimpsed in a mirror of a mortal, physical face, and the picture, contained in the divine law, of the ideal pattern of each immortal soul for the time being inhabiting the mortal flesh, and while still in that flesh, striving to approach that immortal ideal. (ibid., pp. 82-83 on vv. 23-25)
The actions are similar, but the reflections are from different sources, the one from a mirror, and the other from “the perfect law, the law of liberty” (v. 25). The immediate forgetting of the one has little or no effect, but the “attentive, sustained study of the other is life-transforming. Sophie Laws comments on the law of liberty: “Jewish teachers also argued that the law is not a constraint, but rather gives true freedom” (op. cit., on Jas. 1:25). Torah (hrAOT), the Hebrew word for “law,” frequently means “direction,” or “instruction,” and is related to the verb y-r-h (hry) , which means “instruct, teach” (William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 1971, 4th impression 1978, impression 1988, s.v. hrAOT, torah, and hry, y-r-h III). We might understand the liberty or freedom which following the laws (rules) gives if we think of the rules of an athletic game (e.g. baseball, soccer) or the principles of music. One who knows the rules of the game and is trained in following them can follow the rules with good results. One who knows the principles of music and is trained in the use of a musical instrument can play with a freedom unavailable to the novice. In both instances, “breaking the rules” will lead to unsatisfactory results. As with many topics treated in James, chapter 1, this one relates to a fuller treatment later in the book (i.e. 2:8-13).
Pure and Undefiled Religion
James moves on to say, “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless” (v. 26, cf. v. 19). As before this saying anticipates a later section of the book (3:2-21). The truly religious person will care for the needy, “orphans and widows,” and will “keep oneself unstained by the world” (v. 27; cf. 2:14-17). So James gives us a lot to think about. Being “doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves” (v. 22), has broad implications. We might search this chapter for things to do–what does he mean? But though the chapter concludes with a warning to “bridle” our “tongues” (v. 26), and a definition of pure religion as “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (v. 27), the “doing” is not confined to this chapter. Fulfilling “the perfect law, the law of liberty” (v. 25), means not being partial (chap. 2), taming the tongue (chap. 3) and so forth.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Concerning Almsgiving
6:1 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Concerning Prayer (Lk 11.2-4)
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-6, NRSV)
Concerning Fasting
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here from May 3, 2010 (Monday in the Fifth Week of Easter, Year Two), when they were repeated from September 24, 2009 ( Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year One), when they were repeated from April 21, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from September 27, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year One), when comments were repeated from September 24, 2006 (the Sunday closest to September 21, 2006, Year Two), when they were repeated with slight revision from May 15, 2005 (Monday of the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two); compare the similar comments of May 15, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two).
The Sermon on the Mount draws our attention to Jesus’ teachings on aspects of piety, including almsgiving (Mt. 6:1-4), prayer in secret (vv. 5-6), how to pray, including the Lord’s Prayer (vv. 7-15), fasting (vv. 16-18), treasure in heaven and related matters (vv. 19-24), and the remedy for anxiety (vv. 25-34). For the selections in today’s reading, vv. 1-18, excluding the Lord’s Prayer–which is the reading for tomorrow–there are no parallel passages in Mark or Luke (though there are echoes of these teachings from Matthew in early Christian writings such as Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654, the Gospel of Thomas, the Didache, and Justin Martyr; cf. K. Aland, Sunopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum, 3rd ed., 1975, secs. 60-66, pp. 85-90).
The reading today begins with advice about not flaunting one’s piety. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them,” says Jesus, “for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Mt. 6:1). He thus introduces a collection of sayings about different aspects of personal piety. “So whenever you give alms,” says Jesus, “do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others” (v. 2a). “Truly I tell you,” adds Jesus, “they have received their reward” (v. 2b). In other words, the praise and respect given for the moment is all their reward, with no eternal value. On the contrary, says Jesus, don’t give alms hoping for the praise of people. “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (vv. 3-4). J. Andrew Overman says, “Acts of justice, like prayer (vv. 5-6), are between the doer and God, not for public approval, in contrast to Roman philanthropy, which included the public display of good works” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Mt. 6:3-4). A similar use of the saying about hands occurs in the Gospel of Thomas. “Jesus said: I tell my mysteries (musthvrion [mystērion]) [to him who is worthy of my] mysteries (musthvrion [mystērion]). That which your right (hand) will do, let not your left (hand) know what it does” (GT 62, trans., B. M. Metzger, in Aland, op. cit., p. 525). But more to the point, with reference to Jesus’ teaching about almsgiving, C. G. Montefiore (a Jewish author) says, “There is no novelty for Jewish readers in the excellent remarks about almsgiving. They are characteristically Rabbinic” (The Synoptic Gospels, vol. II, 1968, p. 95 on Mt. 6:1-4). He admits that “Doubtless there were ‘hypocrites’ in the age of Jesus, as in every subsequent age and among all creeds,” but he decries a tendency for some to use Jesus’ words, go further, and “attack the Rabbinic religion as such” (ibid.). We should agree, and assume that while Jesus’ criticisms apparently had certain individuals or groups in mind, they should not be generalized and applied to all Jews everywhere. He himself was a Jew, as were all of the first Christians. Montefiore cites the belief of Dr Büchler (Journal of Theological Studies, 1909),
that the allusion to trumpets and to praying and almsgiving in the streets ([vv.] 2 and 5) points to the particular and only occasion when such practices prevailed. This was on public fast-days for rain, held usually in seasons of drought during October and November. Perhaps Matt. vi. 1-4, 16 may have been spoken at this very season. Jesus would seem to deprecate the public giving of alms and the public fasting which then prevailed. At all events there is no other allusion to praying in the streets in the Rabbinical literature. (op. cit., pp. 95-96)
We must be aware of Jewish sensitivity to criticism in these areas. However, it is probably true that Matthew, by including in his Gospel these criticisms made earlier by Jesus, was really focusing on the shortcomings of Christian believers within his community, which doubtless included a few “hypocrites.” We also note that the instructions for Christian piety are put in contrast with what “the Gentiles do” (v. 7), but that is part of tomorrow’s reading.
However, the subject of prayer is introduced in today’s reading. “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt. 6:5-6). A similar saying in the Didache (or the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) introduces its version of the Lord’s Prayer, contrasting Christian prayer with that of “the hypocrites”: “You must not pray like the hypocrites, pray as follows as the Lord bid us in his gospel” (Didache 8:2, trans. Cyril C. Richardson, Early Christian Fathers, on the Internet, at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/richardson/fathers.viii.i.iii.html, accessed again September 17, 2010).
For today, the reading passes over the Lord’s Prayer
(tomorrow’s reading), to advice about fasting. “And when you fast,” says Jesus,
“do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as
to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received
their reward” (Mt. 5:16). Jesus advises, “But when you fast, put oil on your
head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by
your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward
you” (vv. 17-18). Again, the Didache has advice distinguishing the fasting of
Christians from that of “the hypocrites”: “Your fasts must not be identical
with those of the hypocrites. They fast on Mondays and Thursdays; but you
should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays” (Didache 8:1, at ibid., accessed again
September 17, 2010). This work, from the early second century (cf.
Many Christians have found value in the pious activities described in today’s reading. Prayer should come naturally to us, and the giving of alms–help where needed–is certainly important. Fasting has certain value as well, but one should exercise Christian stewardship as well, including care for one’s health and well-being.
As noted above, for the Lutheran
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.