BCP Daily Office Lectionary for Oct. 21, 2004

 Source: http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm

Morning Psalm(s): AM Psalm 37:1-18

Evening Psalm(s) PM Psalm 37:19-42

Old Testament: Ecclus. 10:1-18

Epistle: Rev. 9:1-12

Gospel Luke 10:25-37

The first part of the lesson from Ecclesiasticus characterizes good ruling officials, "a wise magistrate" (Ecclus. 10:1), "the people's judge" and "his officials," "the ruler of the city" (v. 2), and the "king" (v. 3). Burton Mack (HarperCollins Study Bible) suggests that this may be "a veiled polemic" against Israel's foreign rulers, "against Ptolemaic-Seleucid hegemony." In the third century B.C.E. Israel was controlled by Hellenistic (Ptolemaic) Egypt, then early in the second century by Hellenistic (Seleucid) Syria. But ben Sira likely remembers the "Last Words of David," "One who rules over people justly,/ruling in the fear of God,/is like the light of morning,/like the sun rising on a cloudless morning/gleaming from the rain on the grassy land" (2 Sam. 23:3-4). Ben Sira then continues with instructions on the sin of pride (Ecclus. 10:6-18), perhaps a besetting sin of officials and rulers at many levels. "For the beginning of pride is sin,/and the one who clings to it pours out abominations" (v. 13).

Revelation's fifth trumpet plague (Rev. 9:1-12) is an invasion of "demonic locusts, which combine the terrors of evil spirits and of invading horsemen (probably Parthians)" (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB). It "resembles the locust plague of Ex. 10:4-20 [on Egypt] and is modeled after Joel 2:1-11" (David E. Aune, HarperCollins Study Bible). The "king" of the locusts, the "angel of the bottomless pit" is called Abaddon (Hebrew) and Apollyon (Greek). "The name Abaddon, which means "Destruction," denotes the depths of Sheol (Job 26:6)" (Metzger). Aune is probably mistaken in linking the name Apollyon to the god Apollo. The Greek word has the form of a participle, Apolluon, based on apollumi, the word translated "perish" in John 3:16, for example, and so is a translation of the Hebrew Abaddon. We are reminded again that, as God protected the Hebrews from the plague of locusts on the Egyptians, the redeemed are protected from this demonic plague of locusts.

In Luke's Gospel, when Jesus answers the question about the greatest commandment (Lk. 10:25-28; cf. Mt. 22:34-40; Mk. 12:28-31) including "and your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18), the questioner (a lawyer) follows with "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus responds by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan. A number of excuses might be offered (and perhaps have been offered) for the behavior of the priest (Lk. 10:31) and the Levite (v. 32) who "passed by on the other side." The victim might be dead, and to touch him would render them ritually impure, unfit to enter the Temple, which was perhaps their destination. They may have been running late, or they may have considered it inconvenient to stop and help the victim. (Were they concentrating on their prayers?) We might spend time emphasizing the fact that it was a despised foreigner, a Samaritan [an early day Palestinian?], who "was moved with pity" (v. 34) and addressed the victim's needs. But the simple point of the parable is the need–and the call–to find answers to needy human conditions wherever we find them, genocide, starvation, disease, state-sponsored terrorism, homeless people, and so forth.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.