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Daily
Scripture |
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Saturday
(January 1, 2011)* |
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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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Saturday, Jan.
1, Holy Name AM Psalm 103 PM Psalm 148 Gen. 17:1-12a,15-16 Col. 2:6-12 John 16:23b-30 The Holy Name
of Jesus: From the Sunday
Lectionary: Psalm 8 Numbers 6:22-27
; Galatians 4:4-7 or Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 2:15-21 Eucharistic
Psalm 8; Exodus 34:1-8;
Romans 1:1-7; Luke 2:15-21 |
Saturday
January 1 Morning Pss.: 98; 149 Genesis
17:1-12a, 15-16 Colossians
2:6-12 John 16:23b-30 Evening Pss: 99; 8 |
Saturday
January 1 Morning Pss.: 98; 149 Genesis
17:1-12a, 15-16 Colossians
2:6-12 John 16:23b-30 Evening Pss: 99; 8 |
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New
Year’s Eve or Day Ecclesiastes
3:11-13 Revelation
21:1-6a Matthew
25:31-46 |
Name
of Jesus, Jan. 1 Numbers 6:22-27 Psalm 8 (1) Galatians 4:4-7 or
Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 2:15-21 |
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*Saturday in the
week of the First Sunday after Christmas, Holy Name, Year One |
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Genesis 17:1- 12a, 15- 16
17:1 When Abram
was ninety- nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am
God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant
between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell
on his face; and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you:
You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your
name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor
of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will
make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 I will establish my
covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their
generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your
offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you,
the land where you are now an alien, all the
9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, (Genesis 17:1-12a, NRSV)
[including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. 13 Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Genesis 17:12b-14, NRSV)]
15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” (Genesis 17:15-16, NRSV)
The following comments are based on those of January 1, 2009 (Holy Name, Year One), with reference to the comments on relevant comments from those on Genesis 17:15-27 of January 29, 2010 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two). In both instances comments were based on earlier comments, those of January 31, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), and earlier as noted there, and those of February 1, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), and earlier as noted there.
The Old Testament readings for today and for Monday (Jan. 3, 2011) are from Genesis, as would be the reading for January 2, if it were not a Sunday. In Year Two, there are six weeks of consecutive readings from Genesis (Gen. 1 to 35 in the weeks of the First to Sixth Sundays after the Epiphany, unless interrupted by an early Ash Wednesday). So it is clear that the Genesis reading today is used for special reasons, appropriate for the Festival of the Holy Name. James Kiefer explains the celebration of this day as follows:
On January 1st, we celebrate the Circumcision of Christ. Since we are more squeamish than our ancestors, modern calendars often list it as the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, but the other emphasis is the older. Every Jewish boy was circumcised (and formally named) on the eighth day of his life, and so, one week after Christmas, we celebrate the occasion when Our Lord first shed His blood for us. It is a fit close for a week of martyrs, and reminds us that to suffer for Christ is to suffer with Him. (James Kiefer, “The Holy Name of Jesus, or the Circumcision of Christ,” http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Holy_Name.htm, accessed again December 30, 2010)
Dr. Barbara Worden’s Christmas poem for 2004, “Circumcision,” plays on this theme:
To remind God, he is now a man
A human wound, seal of
..........................................................................................................................................
More wounds will seal his death to life, his life
To death foretold by the mohel’s knife.
The mohel, of course, is “the person who performs the circumcision in the Jewish rite of circumcising a male child on the eighth day after his birth” (cf. Dictionary.Com on the Internet at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mohel, accessed Dec. 30, 2010).
This reading also connects with the Christian Feast of the Holy Name in its reporting of the renaming of Abram to Abraham (Gen. 17:5), and of Sarai to Sarah (v. 15). According to Rabbi J. H. Hertz, “The change of name emphasizes the mission of Abraham, which is ‘To bring all the peoples under the wings of the Shechinah’.” The name change signifies that he will be “the ancestor of a multitude of nations.” “Ab means ‘father’; and the second half of the new name is an Arabic word for ‘multitude’ (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2nd ed., 24th printing, 1981, on Gen. 17:5). Sarah’s new name means “lady, gentlewoman” (William L. Holladay, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, s.v. I Ñ~r~h) or “princess” (David M. Carr, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th ed., 2010, on Gen. 17:15; cf. the earlier edition, The New Oxford Annotated Bible [NOAB], 3rd. edition, augmented 2007, on Gen. 17:15). According to Jon D. Levenson, “The change of name here [v. 5] and in v. 15 signifies a change in destiny. The childless couple will become the ancestors of many nations, including royal dynasties (v. 6 [cf. v. 16])” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, pp. 37-38, on Gen. 17:5).
Earlier in Genesis we read about Hagar who, while pregnant with Ishmael (Gen. 16:4), was treated harshly by Sarai and fled to the wilderness (v. 6b), when, in a theophany, she was encountered by the angel of the LORD and, after being reassured, returned to Abram and Sarai (vv. 7-14). Later we read the report of Ishmael’s birth, “Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael” (Gen. 16:15), and a reminder of Abram’s age at the time, for he was “eighty- six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael” (v. 16).
Today’s reading, which begins a few years later, reports that “when Abram was ninety- nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty (yDawa lxe, ’‘l šadday); walk before me, and be blameless’ ” (Gen. 17:1). According to Jon D. Levenson, “El Shaddai is believed to have originally meant ‘God, the One of the Mountain’ and thus to have expressed the association of a deity with his mountain abode well known in Canaanite literature (cf. the ‘LORD, Him of Sinai’ in Judg. 5:5)” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Gen. 17:1). Ronald Hendel presents a similar explanation, and adds, “God’s revelation of this name to Abraham will be superseded by his revelation of the name Yahweh to Moses in the next covenant (Ex. 6:3 . . .)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Gen. 17:1). Rabbi J. H. Hertz says, “The derivation of the Divine Name, Shaddai, is uncertain. The usual translation, ‘Almighty,’ is due to the Vulgate” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2nd ed., 1981, on Gen. 17:1). The injunction to “walk before me, and be blameless” (v. 1) is followed by a promise: “And I will make my covenant (tyr9B;, berîth) between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous” (v. 2).
According to Jon D. Levenson, “Source critics identify ch. 17 as the P(riestly) version of the covenant with Abraham (of which the J version appears in ch. 15. Nothing in ch. 17,” he adds, “indicates any awareness that the covenant mandated there has, in fact, already been established two chapters earlier” (on Gen. 17:1-27). Victor P. Hamilton argues–not against Levenson directly, but against the “source critics” he cites:
The traditional view argues that ch. 17 represents a reconfirmation of God’s covenant promises and oath to Abraham. Since at least eleven years had elapsed from the first announcement of a covenant, since Sarai was still sterile, and since the patriarch’s household was rife with rancor and deep strife, one might wonder if the covenant promises still hold true. Or have these promises been amended to [adapt] to novel circumstances? (The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17, NICOT, 1990, on Gen. 17:1-8).
Rabbi Hertz distinguishes the covenant passages in chapters
15 and 17. “What follows [in chap. 17] is not a compact between God and the
Patriarch, but a statement of the plans which He had designed for Abram and his
descendants” (loc. cit.). He would concur with the traditional view described
by
God’s promise continues, elaborating the promise of a multitude of nations, and promising the land. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant (MlAOf tyr9B;, berîth ‘ôl~m), to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God” (vv. 6-8). According to Hendel, “Although the Abrahamic covenant is conditioned on Abraham’s virtue, it is an everlasting covenant (v. 7), and the promised land will be a perpetual holding (v. 8). In the historical context of the P source, which may have included the Babylonian exile, this is an expression of great trust and hope” (op. cit., on Gen. 17:3-8). Carr holds similar views:
Within the Priestly tradition, the
promise to be God to Abraham and his offspring leads to the divine provision of
religious laws and a tabernacle sanctuary into which God comes to dwell in
Israel’s midst (Ex. 25-321; 35-40. Line the covenant with Noah (9:8-17), this
covenant to be bound to
As the narrator continues–using Abraham’s new name– God instructs Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations” (v. 9). And God directs Abraham and his offspring to be circumcised as a sign of this covenant. “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old” (vv. 10-12a).
The word “covenant” (tyr9B;, berîth) appears repeatedly in Genesis, chapter 17 (cf. vv. 2, 4, 7 [twice], 9, 10, 11, 13 [twice], 14, 19 [twice], 21). The term appears in Genesis 15:18, the only other occurrence in the Abraham narratives. Circumcision, introduced in chapter 17, is to become the hallmark of Jewish identity (cf. Gal. 2:7-10). It is so regarded by Rabbi J. H. Hertz, who comments on the words “this is My covenant which ye shall keep” (Gen. 17:10):
The meaning is not that the Covenant is to consist in the rite of circumcision, but that circumcision is to be the external sign of the Covenant. As the following verse declares, ‘it shall be a token of a covenant,’ just as the rainbow was the token of the covenant with Noah. . . . To whatever origin and purpose it might be traced . . . It is the rite of the covenant; and unbounded has been the loyalty and devotion with which this vital and fundamental institution of the Jewish Faith has been and is being observed. Jewish men and women have in all ages been ready to lay down their lives in its defence. The Maccabean martyrs died for it. . . . (I Maccabees I, 61). The same readiness for self-immolation in defence of this sacred rite we find in the times of the Hadrianic persecution, in the dread days of the Inquisition, yea, whenever and wherever tyrants undertook to uproot the Jewish Faith. Even an excommunicated semi-apostate like Benedict Spinoza declares: ‘Such great importance do I attach to the sign of the Covenant, that I am persuaded that it is sufficient by itself to maintain the separate existence of the nation for ever.’ (ibid., on Gen. 17:10)
In the interval in the lectionary reference for today, we come to specific as to who must be circumcised. “Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant” (vv. 12-13). And the command to be circumcised is enforced with a sanction. “Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant” (v. 14).
When the reading reference resumes God explains the name change, noted above, from Sarai to Sarah. “God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (vv. 15-16). According to Rabbi Hertz, “Sarah,” the new name “brings out more forcibly the meaning ‘Princess’ than the archaic form Sarai’ ” (ibid., on v. 15). Jon D. Levenson says, “Unlike its parallel in ch. 15 (J), the P account of the Abrahamic covenant specifies Sarah as the mother of the promised son, and thus makes her indispensable to the fulfillment of the promise to her husband” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Gen. 17:15-22). But, as indicated yesterday, there are alternatives to the commonly held sources theory. Christina de Groot seems to suggest a certain neglect of Sarah in the failure to keep her informed. She points out that “up to this point in the narrative [chap. 17], we have not been told if Sarah is aware of the promise God made to Abraham. In the next episode Sarah finally learns that she is to bear a son” (The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary, 2002, p. 12, on Gen. 12-21, specifically on chap. 17). She will get the news in the following chapter (Gen. 18:10).
Colossians 2:6- 12
Fullness of Life in Christ
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:6- 12 , NRSV)
The following comments are based on those on Colossians 2:8-13 (of April 23, 2010 (Friday in the Third Week of Easter, Year Two), of January 1, 2009 (Holy Name, Year One), January 10, 2008 (Thursday in the week of Epiphany Sunday, ref. for Jan. 10, Year Two), and of May 7, 2009 (Thursday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year One).They are also based on comments on the present reading (Col. 2:6-12) of January 1, 2009 (Holy Name, Year One), and on earlier comments as indicated there.
After initial thanks for the Colossians’ Christian faith
(Col. 1:3-8), his prayer for their strengthening in the faith (1:9-14), his
presentation of the supremacy of Christ (1:15-21), his discussion of their need
to “continue securely established and steadfast in the faith” (v. 23a, cf. vv.
21-23), his interest in the Colossians (vv. 24-29), and his continued concern
for them (2:1-6), he warns them about false teaching. The sufficiency of Christ
is put in contrast to the false teaching. He warns against what has been called
“the Colossian heresy,” not heretical beliefs of the Colossian Christians
themselves, but a kind of religious movement or teaching to which they were
exposed. First he admonishes them emphatically. “As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him (ejn aujtw:/
peripatei:te, en autō(i) peripateite), rooted and
built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving” (2:6-7). The first meaning of the word translated
“live your lives” is “walk” (cf. AV/KJV), but Frederick William Danker gives a
second meaning, “ ‘engage in a course of behavior,’ whether morally
acceptable or reprehensible, walk (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. peripatevw, peripateō). This meaning reflects the sense of the rabbinical
term “halakah,” used of rabbinical interpretation of biblical instructions
about how to live (cf. j`lahA, hālak, “walk”; cf.
also Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the
Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature,
vol. I, 1959, s.v. hkAlAhE, halākāh).
“See to it,” says Paul, “that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the elemental spirits of the
universe, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8). Paul includes the term
“philosophy” here, but the movement he describes was a kind of religious
movement–what we might call a cult–and not academic philosophy as it is known
today. “Philosophy,” says Jennifer K. Berenson, “includes ethical and
religious teachings” (The New Oxford
Annotated Bible, 4th ed., 2010, on Col. 2:8; cf. the 3rd ed., NOAB,
3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Col. 2:8). But the reference to “elemental
spirits” of the universe, she adds, refers to “spiritual entities or
perhaps the four primal elements” [earth, air, fire and water], which she says
are “associated with the Jewish law (Gal. 4:1-5, 9-10)” (ibid., both eds.). Various
forms of “sophistry” and misuses of “philosophy” were prevalent at the time,
and may well have been an aspect of the views Paul warns against. He emphasizes
the complete adequacy of Christ, “in [whom] the whole fullness of deity dwells
bodily” (v. 9). J. Paul Sampley says, commenting on the “fullness of God
that dwells in Christ” (Col. 1:19), “reaffirmed in 2:9; see also Eph. 1:23;
4:10; cf. Jn. 1:16) [it] is available in him for all believers (see 2:10 [where
this is cross referenced])” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006,
on Col. 1:19). “You [Colossian believers] have come to fullness in him [i.e.,
in Christ],” says Paul, “who is the head of every ruler and authority” (v. 10).
The Colossian believers “were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by
putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ” (v. 11). This
happened, he says, because “when you were buried with him in baptism, you were
also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the
dead” (v. 12). Berenson notes that “circumcision marked membership in
Paul follows with exhortations about how the Colossians should live, but that goes beyond today’s reading. They have “died” “with Christ” (v. 20), and “raised with Christ” (3:1), the implications of which will fill the remainder of the letter.
John 16:23b-30
Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
Peace for the Disciples
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”
29 His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” (John 16:23b-30, NRSV)
The following comments are based on relevant comments from those on John 16:16-23 of April 17, 2010 (Saturday in the Second Week of Easter, Year Two) and those of April 18, 2009 (Saturday of Easter Week, Year One), from comments on the present reading from January 1, 2009 (Holy Name, Year One), and from earlier comments as indicated there.
In John’s version of the Last Supper, when Jesus has told the disciples about his coming departure (Jn. 16:16) with some explanation (vv. 17-22), pointing out that they “will have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (v. 22), he explains their forthcoming new relationship with them. When the disciples fully understand they will be able to petition in prayer according to God’s will. “On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (v. 23). According to David K. Rensberger, revised by Harold W. Attridge, “On that day, here apparently [refers to] Jesus’ resurrection (see 14:20, though elsewhere in the NT it refers to his second coming on the last day (Mt. 7:22; Lk. 10:12; 17:31; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2 Tim. 1:18; 4:8). After Jesus’ resurrection, God answers prayers in Jesus’ name (see 15:16; cf. 14:13-14)” (op. cit., on vv. 23-27). Raymond E. Brown considers two meanings here, based on different word order in different manuscripts:
In Vaticanus [ms. B], Sinaiticus [ms. x], and the Coptic versions, the phrase ‘in my name comes after the verb ‘to give’ and must be interpreted thus. But in Bezae [ms. D], Alexandrinus [ms. A], and the Byzantine tradition, ‘in my name’ is placed before the verb ‘to give’ and so may be translated with the preceding line: ‘If you ask anything of the Father in my name, He will give it to you.’ This translation, supported by OL [Old Latin] and OS [Old Syriac], agrees with xv 16 (‘The Father will give you whatever you ask Him in my name’) and also, in sentence pattern, with xiv 14 . . . The textual witnesses are evenly divided, but we prefer the former rendering because it is more difficult and unusual. Nowhere else in John or in the NT is it said that things will be given in Jesus’ name, and the scribes may have conformed this statement to the more usual pattern of asking in that name. That the idea of the Father’s giving in Jesus’ name would be at home in Johannine thought is seen in xiv 26: ‘The Paraclete . . . that the Father will send in my name.” (The Gospel according to John XIII-XXI, Anchor Bible 29A, p. 723 on Jn. 16:23).
“Until now,” says Jesus, “you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete” (v. 24). For “ask and you will receive,” Rensberger and Attridge refer to Mt. 7:7-8; Lk. 11:9-10 and their note on 14:12-14 (op. cit., on v. 24). In their earlier note, they say, “Believers are Jesus’ successors and Jesus ‘returns’ through their work” (ibid., on 14:12-14). The promise that the disciples’ petitions will be granted clearly relates to their mission as representing Christ. Joy, as C. S. Lewis and others have reminded us, is not mere happiness or pleasure. Paul called upon the Thessalonians to “Rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16), even in the unpleasant circumstances of real or potential persecution. Asking “in my name” surely means something like this: Ask in a manner that is appropriately related to God’s will. I believe that if we really understood what is in our best interest, we would understand what God wants for us. He has our best interest at heart. So asking in his name will be asking for God’s best blessings on our lives, and lead to joy.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech (paroimivai, paroimiai),” says Jesus. “The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures (paroimivai, paroimiai), but will tell you plainly (parrhsiva/, parr‘sia(i)) of the Father” (v. 25). The term parrhsiva (parr‘sia), according to Frederick William Danker, is used “of plain and direct speech, plain speech” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. parrhsiva, parr‘sia). The term paroimiva (paroimia) occurs six times in the New Testament, meaning “proverb” (2 Pet. 2:22, in reference to the citation from Prov. 26:11, cf. Prov. 1:1, 26:7), but in John’s Gospel meaning “dark saying, figure of speech” (Jn. 10:6; 16:25 twice, and v. 29 twice) (F. Wilbur Gingrich, Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 1965, s.v. paroimiva, paroimia). Danker gives the second meaning: “as relatively extended metaphor illustration, comparison Jn. 10:6; 16:25, 29” (op. cit., s.v. paroimiva, paroimia). John Marsh says, “Jesus knows that what he has said cannot but be enigmatic to the disciples. But once the death has occurred and the glorification of the Son has taken place, the enigmatic character of speech about his death will have gone. John is probably truer to the facts than Mark in suggesting that right to the very end the disciples did not fully understand the teaching of Jesus, but found it puzzling” (Saint John, Westminster Pelican Commentaries, 1968, p. 547, on v. 25).
“On that day,” says Jesus, “you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf” (v. 26). “On that day,” says Brown, “means: when the hour mentioned in [v.] 25 has come to its fulfillment. In 23 it was said: ‘On that day you will have no more questions to put to me.’ We argued that these were questions for information and understanding and not petitions; we see here that ‘on that day’ there will still be petitions” (op. cit., p. 724, on v. 26). Jesus’ sentence continues, “for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father” (vv. 27-28). For “I came from God,” Rensberger and Attridge refer to 3:2; 8:42; 13:3; 17:8 (op. cit., on vv. 27-28). Of the words, “the Father himself loves you,” Marsh says, “he needs no mediatorial prompting from me [i.e. from Jesus]. The Godhead is not divided against itself!!” (op. cit., p. 548, on vv. 27, 28). On the words, “because you have loved me and have believed,” Marsh says,
This does not mean that the love of God is narrow, or even contingent upon a man coming to love the Son. The reader must not forget that this is the gospel which says ‘God so loved the world . . .’ What Jesus is doing here is to assure the disciples that as they live within the love of the Father for the Son and share in it, they can be perfectly certain that their proper requests ‘in the name of the Son’ will be granted. There is no reluctance to be overcome. (ibid.).
Jerome H. Neyrey, S.J., says, “As ideal broker, Jesus belongs both to God’s world and the disciples’. He came from the Father into the world and now returns to the Father (1:1-18; 3:13; 13:1-3)” The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th ed., 2010, on Jn. 16:28). The evangelist John continues his report, saying, “His disciples said, ‘Yes, now you are speaking plainly ( ejn parrhsiva/, en parr‘sia(i)), not in any figure of speech (paroimiva, paroimia)!” (v. 29; for the Greek terms, see above). “Now,” say the disciples, “we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God” (v. 30). Rensberger and Attridge say, “The disciples are overconfident (as in 13:36-38), thinking mistakenly that now is the hour when Jesus will speak plainly . . . and they will believe” (op. cit., on vv. 29-30). Jesus’ response implies some uncertainty.
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.