BCP Daily Office Lectionary for Nov. 3, 2004
Source: http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm
Morning Psalm(s): AM Psalm 72 [Presbyterian: 89:1-18]
Evening Psalm(s) PM Psalm 119:73-96 [Presbyterian: 1:1-6]
Old Testament: Ecclus. 43:23-33 [Presbyterian: Zephaniah 2:1-15]
Epistle: Rev. 16:1-11
Gospel Luke 13:10-17
Presbyterian Readings for the current day:
http://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi
After describing the glories and wonders of nature, Ben Sira declares that God is greater than them all. "We could say more [about the wonders of nature] but could never say enough;/let the final word be: ‘He is the all.'/Where can we find the strength to praise him?/For he is greater than all his works" (Ecclus. 43:27-28). The statement, "He is the all" is "not to be taken in a pantheistic sense" (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB), though some say the phrase "derives from Stoic philosophies of the world as an organism generated and held together by a single (divine) principle" (Burton Mack, HarperCollins Study Bible). But the emphasis is on God's greatness. "Awesome is the Lord and very great,/and marvelous is his power./Glorify the Lord and exalt him as much as you can,/for he surpasses even that" (vv. 29-30).
John's visions of judgment continue with the first five of "the seven bowls of the wrath of God" (Rev. 16:1; cf. vv. 1-11). The bowls of wrath have been compared to "the plagues inflicted on Egypt (Ex. chs. 7-12)" (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB). "The descriptive details are not to be understood literally, but as contributing to the general effect of intense calamity and terror."
Luke describes Jesus' healing of a crippled woman who "was bent over and was unable to stand up straight" (Lk. 13:11). The following comments are from a sermon by Dr. Barbara Worden.
"The woman bent over made herself intentionally or not, less conspicuous. Being bent over is way we sometimes cope with our bad feelings about ourselves. She hoped she could go through life, both unseeing, and unseen. Linda was a girl who lived on my street when I was young. Ironically, her bent over body made her more not less conspicuous. Our woman bent over was compelled to look forever at her feet, certainly not the most attractive part of herself and occasionally at other people's feet. Linda was so focused on her own self-defined ugliness, she hardly ever looked at anyone else to really see them.
"Another thing that tends to make our spirits bend over is carrying loads too heavy for us without asking for help. In Guatemala City I saw a Maya woman picking up her little store of snacks for sale at the end of the day, her already tiny body made shorter, and shoulders rounded by years of carrying a burden with no help. How many of us are spiritually burdened because we persist in not asking for help."
Dr. Barbara Worden adds, "Jesus addresses the woman by the honorable name daughter of Abraham, he honors someone most people would prefer not to look at. She is honored by the name of her great ancestor, the quibblers of the law get no such honor. Part of lifting this woman from her bent over state is recognizing who she is, a daughter of Abraham, not a walking disease.
Fortunately the bent over woman in Luke was able to see where healing was to come from with her spiritual eyes, and was present to worship God when Jesus saw her."
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D., with help from Barbara Worden, Ph.D.