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Daily
Scripture |
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Friday
(December 3, 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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Friday AM Psalm 16, 17 PM Psalm 22 Isa. 3:8-15 1 Thess. 4:1-12 Luke 20:41-21:4 [Francis
Xavier]: Psalm 62:1-2,
6-9 Sirach 2:1-11;
1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 16:15-20 Eucharistic Psalm 27:1-6, 17-18
Isaiah
29:17-24; Matthew 9:27-31 |
Friday Morning Pss.: 102, 148 Isa. 3:1-4:1 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Luke 20:41-21:4 Evening Pss.: 130,
16 |
Friday Morning Pss.: 102, 148 Isa. 3:1-4:1 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Luke 20:41-21:4 Evening Pss.: 130,
16 |
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Year A, Daily Psalm 72:1-7,
18-19 Isaiah 30:19-26 Acts 13:16-25 |
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*Friday in the
week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One |
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Isaiah 3:8-15 (Episcopal); 3:1-4:1 (Presbyterian, Lutheran)
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3:1 For now the Sovereign, the LORD of hosts, is taking away from support and staff– all support of bread, and all support of water– 2 warrior and soldier, judge and prophet, diviner and elder, 3 captain of fifty and dignitary, counselor and skillful magician and expert enchanter. 4 And I will make boys their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 5 The people will be oppressed, everyone by another and everyone by a neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the base to the honorable. 6 Someone will even seize a relative, a member of the clan, saying, “You have a cloak; you shall be our leader, and this heap of ruins shall be under your rule.” 7 But the other will cry out on that day, saying, “I will not be a healer; in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; you shall not make me leader of the people.” 8 For and because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence. 9 The look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. 10 Tell the innocent how fortunate they are, for they shall eat the fruit of their labors. 11 Woe to the guilty! How unfortunate they are, for what their hands have done shall be done to them. |
12 My people–children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you, and confuse the course of your paths. 13 The LORD rises to argue his case; he stands to judge the peoples. 14 The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord GOD of hosts. 16 The LORD said: Because the daughters of and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet; 17 the Lord will afflict with scabs the heads of the daughters of and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarfs; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and nose rings; 22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the garments of gauze, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils. 24 Instead of perfume there will be a stench; and instead of a sash, a rope; and instead of well–set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a binding of sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame. 25 Your men shall fall by the sword and your warriors in battle. 26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; ravaged, she shall sit upon the ground. 4:1 Seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes; just let us be called by your name; take away our disgrace.” (Isaiah 3:1-4:1, NRSV) |
The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from December 5, 2008 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 8, 2006 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated with revision and supplement from December 3, 2004 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One).
Wednesday’s reading began with a glorious picture of peace
with the LORD governing the nations from
In the opening stanza, judgment turns ironic, as the LORD is
removing the essentials. “For now the Sovereign (NOdxAhA, hā’ādôn),
the LORD of hosts (tOxbAc;‑hv!8hy4, YHWH tsevā’ôth),
/ is taking away from
The picture of social disorder continues. “Someone will even
seize a relative, / a member of the clan, saying, / ‘You have a cloak; / you
shall be our leader, / and this heap of ruins / shall be under your rule.” /
But the other will cry out on that day, saying, / I will not be a healer; / in
my house there is neither bread nor cloak; / you shall not make me / leader of
the people” (vv. 6-7). Joseph A. Blenkinsopp calls this “a brief cameo (cf. Am.
3:12; 6:9-10) providing a narrative illustration of social disorder (cf. Mic.
7:5-6). People will be so concerned with their own survival that no one will
want to take charge” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Isa.
3:6-7). A reason is given for why “
Another stanza declares that the guilt of
In the following stanza, “the LORD rises to argue his case,” that is, to present a formal indictment, as “he stands to judge the peoples” (v. 13). In this “indictment of the state leadership,” says Blenkinsopp, “the language is forensic, presupposing location in a court of law; hence the LORD rises to deliver the indictment (cf. Mic. 6:1-5; Ps. 50:82)” (ibid., on vv. 13-15). “The LORD enters into judgment / with the elders and princes of his people; / it is you,” he says, “who have devoured the vineyard; / the spoil of the poor is in your houses” (v. 14). The prophet thus anticipates the Daily Office Reading for next Sunday (Isa. 5:1-7, the Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard). “What do you mean,” asks the LORD, “by crushing my people, / by grinding the face of the poor?” (3:15). According to Blenkinsopp, “Exploitation of the poor (by enclosure and confiscation of lands, indentured service, etc.) is a principal target of eighth-century BCE prophetic polemic (Am. 2:6-8; 3:9-11; 6:4-7; 8:4-6; Mic. 2:1-3; 3:1-4, 9-12)” (ibid., on vv. 13-15).
One result of such oppressive policies is a significant
imbalance between the wealthy and the poor. The prophet turns to a related
consequence, “the haughtiness of wealthy women” (a part of Sommer’s title for
3:16-4:1, above). The LORD, speaking through the prophet calls “the daughters
of Zion . . . haughty,” for they “walk with outstretched necks,
/ glancing wantonly with their eyes, / mincing along as the go, / tinkling with
their feet” (v. 16). The prophet doesn’t linger on the description of the
women, but proceeds to description of their fate, for “the Lord will afflict
with scabs / the heads of the daughters of
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
A Life Pleasing to God
4:1 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; 4 that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, 5 not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone
write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another;
10 and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout
The following comments are repeated here from May 1, 2010 (Saturday in the Fourth Week of Easter, Year Two), when comments were based on those of December 5, 2008 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated from April 19, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from December 8, 2006 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when they were combined with revision and supplement from December 3, 2004 (Friday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from May 13, 2006 (Saturday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two).
Much of 1 Thessalonians has reviewed Paul’s relations with the believers in Thessalonica, but Paul begins in chapter 4 to deal with certain issues. “Finally, brothers and sisters,” he says, “we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live (peripatei:n, peripatein, lit. ‘ to walk’) and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing [peripatei:te, peripateite, lit. ‘you are walking, you walk’]), you should do so more and more” (1 Thess. 4:1). “For you know what instructions (paraggelivai, paraggeliai) we gave you through the Lord Jesus” (v. 2). It seems that Paul presented Christian halakah to his churches. (Halakah, from j`lahA, h~lak, ‘walk,’ is a term for Rabbinical interpretation of biblical commands.) Frederick William Danker defines the word translated “instructions as “ ‘pronouncement designed to provide guidance’,” sometimes “command, order, imperious in kind” as in Acts 5:28; 16:24, but here, “instruction, order, pedagogical in kind 1 Thess. 4:2; 1 Tim. 1;5, 18” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. paraggeliva, paraggelia).
Paul focuses here on sexual propriety. He issues a call to holy living. "For this is the will of God, your sanctification (aJgiasmovV, hagiasmos): that you abstain from fornication (porneiva, porneia); that each one of you know how to control your own body (skeu:oV, skeuos, ‘vessel’ and related meanings) in holiness (aJgiasmovV, hagiasmos) and honor, not with lustful passion ( ejn pavqei ejpiqumivaV, en pathei epithymias), like the Gentiles who do not know God" (1 Thess. 4:3-5). Of “who do not know God,” Abraham Smith says, it is “a typical slur against Gentiles (Ps. 79:6; Jer. 10:25)” (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Thess. 4:5). Danker defines the word translated first as “sanctification,” then as “holiness,” as “ ‘dedication to the interests of deity,’ holiness, consecration . . . specifically of God’s achievement in believers through Jesus Christ” (op. cit., s.v. aJgiasmovV, hagiasmos). The word translated “fornication” means “ ‘sexual immorality,’ fornication, unchastity” (ibid., s.v. porneiva, porneia). In the phrase translated “lustful passion,” the word “passion” is used “of undisciplined desire,” and means “passion” (ibid., s.v. pavqoV, pathos). The word translated “lustful,” means “ ‘strong feeling/interest,’ desire,” or, as here, “ ‘inordinate/improper desire,’ craving” (ibid., s.v. ejpiqumiva, epithymia). So its use in the genitive case suggests that the phrase means “in passion of improper desire,” or as the NRSV put it, “with lustful passion.” Edgar M. Krentz says, “Reference to the will of God anticipates the strong theological emphasis in vv. 6-8. Greco-Roman sexual laxity scandalized Jews (see v. 5), so Paul often warns against fornication (see 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:13, 18; Gal. 5:19)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Thess. 4:3). These warnings, of course, do not mean that he is aware of such activity among the Thessalonian believers; otherwise he would have been more specific (cf. 1 Cor. 5). Of “how to control your own body (see 1 Cor. 7:2), Krentz suggests “how to take a wife for himself ([NRSV] text note b; lit. ‘how to possess a vessel or implement’) is preferable. Both translations are possible, but Paul is discussing relationships here.” And of “holiness and honor,” he adds, Paul evaluates marital sex positively (see also 1 Cor 7:3-6)” (ibid., on v. 4). Paul’s sentence continues, “For this is the will of God . . . that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger ( e[kdikoV, ekdikos) in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you” (vv. 3a, 6). According to Krentz, “Paul describes God as an avenger, an OT motif (Ps. 94:1), to stress the eschatological significance of what he teaches; see also 1:10; Rom. 2:16; 12:19” (ibid., on v. 6). Paul summarizes. “For God did not call us to impurity (ajkaqarsiva, akatharsia, lit. ‘filth, uncleanness’) but in holiness (aJgiasmovV, hagiasmos, see above)” (v. 7). And he reminds the Thessalonians of the authority behind his instructions. “Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you” (v. 8). Krentz notes that “Holy Spirit [is] mentioned in 1:6; 5:19, [but is] not as prominent here as in 1 Corinthians and Romans” (ibid., on v. 8).
Paul turns to the subject of love for one another within the
Christian community. “Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters (filadelfiva,
Luke 20:41-21:4
The Question about David’s Son (Mt 22.41-46; Mk 12.35-37)
41 Then he said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ‘
44 David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?”
Jesus Denounces the Scribes (Mt 23.1-7; Mk 12.38-40)
45 In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering (Mk 12.41-44)
21:1 He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 20:41-21:4, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from June 18, 2009 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from December 5, 2008 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 21, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 8, 2006 (Friday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when they were combined with revision and supplement from December 3, 2004 (Friday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from June 16, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One).
For texts parallel to today’s reading from Luke, see the separate file, David’s Lord - Woes to Scribes and Pharisees - Widow’s Mite. For the place of these accounts by Luke, see the following table. For recent comments on Mark’s version of the three accounts in today’s reading, see comments in the Archive for August 21, 2009 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year One). For comments on Matthew’s version of the question about David’s Son or David’s Lord, see comments in the Archive for May 12, 2010 (Wednesday in the Sixth Week of Easter, Year Two).
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A Series of
Questions during Jesus’ Ministry in |
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Matthew |
Mark |
Luke |
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The Question about Authority |
21:23-27 |
11:27-33 |
20:1-8 |
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On Paying Tribute to Caesar |
22:15-22 |
12:13-17 |
20:20-26 |
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The Question About the Resurrection |
22:23-33 |
12:18-27 |
20:27-40 |
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The Great Commandment |
22:34-40 |
12:28-34 |
[10:25-28] |
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The Question about David’s Son |
22:41-46 |
12:35-37a |
20:41-44 |
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*Based on Kurt Aland, Synopsis of the Four Gospels , rev. printing, 1985, p. 351. |
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For a more detailed outline of Jesus’ ministry in
After fielding a series of questions from opponents, Jesus
addresses them with a question about whether the Messiah is “David’s son.” “Then,”
says Luke, “he said to them, ‘How can they say that the Messiah is David’s
son?” (Lk. 20:41; cf Mk. 12:35). In Matthew, Jesus’ question doesn’t provide
the answer. “Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah?
Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David’ ” Mt. 22:41b, 42). While
it is not clear in Luke, the question is likely addressed to scribes and others
as well (cf. Lk. 20:1, 46) as Mark’s question makes clear (Mk. 12:35; cf.
“Pharisees” Mt. 22:41). In Mark and Luke, Jesus provides the answer, citing
Psalm 110:1. Mark’s version says, “David himself, by the Holy Spirit declared ,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, / “Sit at my right hand / until I put your enemies
under (uJpokavtw, hypokatō) your feet” (Mk. 12:36). A textual variant in Mark, uJpopovdion (hypopodion, “footstool”) for uJpokavtw (hypokatō, “under”), makes the wording agree with Luke’s, which
was likely a correction of Mark based on the Septuagint (Ps. 109:1 LXX)
wording, where uJpopovdion tw:n podw:n sou (hypodion tōn podōn sou, “the footstool of your feet”)
translates the equivalent Hebrew, j~yl,%g4ral; Mdo6hE (hadōm leraglękā). According to
Bruce M. Megzger,
The parallel in the preferred text of Matthew (22:44)
supports Mark’s substitution of uJpokavtw [hypokatō]
(B DgrY 28 syrs copsa,bo al) for the Septuagint’s uJpopovdion [hypopodion].
Since the latter reading is quoted in Lk. 20:43 and Ac 2:35, copyists would
have tended to replace Mark’s modification with the ‘correct’ reading. (A Textual Commentary on the Greek New
Testament, 1971, p. 111, on Mk. 12:36).
According to Luke, Jesus made his point with a question.
“David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” (Lk. 20:44; cf. Mk.
12:37). In Matthew, the question is conditional: “If David thus calls him Lord,
how can he be his son?” (Mt. 22:45). The Psalm text says, “The LORD (hvAhy4, YHWH, LXX oJ kuvrioV, ho kyrios) says to my lord
(yn9doxla%, la’dōnî, LXX tw:/ kurivw/ mou, tō(i) kyriō(i) mou), / ‘Sit at my right hand /
until I make your enemies your footstool’ ” (Ps. 110:1, LXX 109:1). The
Hebrew text distinguishes the divine name, the LORD (YHWH) from “my lord” (yn9doxla%, la’dōnî). In the Old
Testament context, the latter, according to Patrick D. Miller, is “the king” (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed.,
2006, on Ps. 110:1), which, within
In the second account, Jesus denounces the scribes for ostentatious behavior: “In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets’ ” (Lk. 20:45-46; cf. Mk. 12:37b-39; Mt. 23:1, 5b, 6), He also denounces them for oppression of widows, “They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation” (Lk. 20:47 = Mk. 12:40). For “devour widows’ houses,” Mark has a participle katesqivonteV (katesthiontes) where Luke has a finite verb, katesqiousin (katesthiousin), and so for “say long prayers”: Mark has a participle, proseucovmenoi (proseuchomenoi) where Luke has a finite verb, proseuvcontai (proseuchontai). But the English translation is the same. Matthew’s similar Woe to the scribes and Pharisees, included in the long list of Woes (Mt. 23), is not found in the older manuscripts. Metzger explains why Matthew 13:14 should be considered a later addition:
That ver. 14 is an interpolation derived from the parallel in Mk. 12:40 or Lk. 20:47 is clear (a) from its absence in the earliest and best authorities of the Alexandrian, the Western, and the Caesarean types of text, and (b) from the fact that the witnesses which include the passage have it in different places, either after ver. 13 (so the Textus Receptus) or before ver. 13. (op. cit., p. 60, on Mt. 23:13).
In Mark’s account, one scribe is portrayed to whom Jesus
said, “You are not far from the
In contrast to the rebuke for the oppression of widows (Lk. 20:47a), it is a widow who earns Jesus’ praise because of her gift. “He [i.e., Jesus] looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury” (Lk. 21:1a; cf Mk. 12:41). Luke tells us that “he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins (lepta; duvo, lepta dyo)” (Lk. 21:1b; cf. Mk. 12:42; Lk. omits Mark’s explanation, “which are worth a penny [kodravnthV, kodrant‘s]”). A leptovV (leptos) was a “small copper coin, 1/128 of a denarius, something between a penny and a mill” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 2000, s.v. leptovV, leptos). At that rate, 1/64 of a worker’s day’s wage, comparison with the present day value of a penny is not far off. When was the last time you bent over to pick up a penny? Mark’s word translated “penny” (kodravnthV, kodrant‘s) is “a Latin loanword, ‘quadrans’ . . . actually one quarter of an ‘as’ . . . 1/64 of a denarius . . . It was the smallest Roman coin” (BDAG, s.v. kodravnthV, kodrant‘s).
When Jesus observed the widow’s gift, according to Luke, “He said, ‘Truly ( =Alhqw:V, Al‘thÇs) I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them” (Lk. 21:3). This somewhat abbreviates Mark’s version: “Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly ( =Amhvn, Am‘n ) I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury” (Mk. 12:43). Luke also slightly abbreviates Jesus evaluative conclusion: “for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on” (Lk. 21:4). Compare Mark’s version: “For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mk. 12:44).
By contributing her
“penney’s worth,” she puts to shame those who “contributed out of their
abundance” (Lk. 21:4a), probably including the scribes who “for the sake of
appearance say long prayers” (20:47b). Richard A. Horsley, commenting on Mark’s
version, characterizes this passage, which “illustrates how the scribes devour
widow’s houses: by inducing them to give their meager resources to the
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.