BCP Daily Office Lectionary for Nov. 9, 2004
Source: http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm
Morning Psalm(s): AM Psalm 78:1-39 [Presbyterian: 123:1-4]
Evening Psalm(s) PM Psalm 78:40-72 [Presbyterian: 30:1-12]
Old Testament: Joel 1:15-2:2(3-11) [Joel 1:15-2:2 (3-11) or Joel 2:3-11]
Epistle: Rev. 19:1-10
Gospel Luke 14:25-35
Presbyterian Readings for the current day:
http://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi
Joel announces the judgment of "the day of the LORD" (Joel 1:15; 2:1). In many respects, the day of the LORD seems to be the result of the locust invasion. "Is not the food cut off before our eyes/joy and gladness from the house of our God?" (Joel 1:16). "The seed shrivels . . . the storehouses are desolate;/the granaries are ruined/because the grain has failed" (v. 17). "They [the locusts] have the appearance of horses,/and like war-horses they charge" (2:4). But the devastation is understood as God's judgment. "The LORD utters his voice/at the head of his army;/how vast is his host!/Numberless are those who obey his command./Truly the day of the LORD is great;/terrible indeed–who can endure it?" (v. 11). It reminds me of a statement by a seminary professor from Holland. "I felt compelled–in spite of my understanding of New Testament pacifism–to resist the Gestapo [during the Nazi period]; but we all felt that we were under the judgment of God."
John reports seeing praises in heaven for the defeat of Rome. "He has judged the great whore/who corrupted the earth with her fornication,/and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants" (Rev. 19:2). The praises lead to rejoicing "for the marriage of the Lamb has come,/and his bride has made herself ready" (v. 7). The Lamb is Christ and the bride is the church, to be united henceforth and forever. A blessing is pronounced on "those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (v. 9). One of my seminary professors, Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, began a sermon on Christian marriage something like this: "The Bible begins with a wedding [Adam and Eve], and ends with a wedding [the marriage supper of the Lamb]. Throughout the Bible there is frequent use of human marriage as a picture of God's relationship with his people." "On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, ‘My husband,' and no longer will you call me, ‘My Baal.' . . .And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD" (Hosea 2:16, 19-20).
Jesus discusses the cost of being a disciple at some length in Luke 14:25-35. The statement that the disciple must hate family members is clearly hyperbole. It's a matter of relative value, highlighting the supreme importance of God's calling and his kingdom. Where Luke has "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple" (v. 26), Matthew has "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Mt. 10:37). The saying about carrying the cross (Lk. 14:27) has parallels in Matthew 10:38 and in Mark 8:34 and parallels (Mt. 16:24; Lk. 9:23). It "may refer rather to the shame of being an outcast than to the pains of death" (Krister Stendahl, commenting on Mt. 10:38, Peake's Commentary). Luke continues with the warning to count the costs, illustrated by reference to calculations needed before building a tower (Lk. 14:28-30). The point is a call to commitment, not an excuse for turning away.
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.