Nota Bene: Lexegetes

Here is the current word for Lexegetes:


LEXEGETE ™ / Year C

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER | May 13, 2007
Acts 16:9-15
Psalm 67 (Ps. 67:4)
Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5
John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9

Matthias, Apostle | May 14, 2007
Isaiah 66:1-2 Psalm 56 (Ps. 56:12)
Luke 6:12-16 Acts 1:15-26

ASCENSION OF OUR LORD | May 17, 2007
Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47 (Ps. 47:5) or Psalm 93 (Ps. 93:2)
Ephesians 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53




1a. TEXT: John 14:23-29

Jn. 14:23 Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Jn. 14:24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

Jn. 14:25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you.

Jn. 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

Jn. 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Jn. 14:28 You heard me say to you, `I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.

Jn. 14:29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.


1b. TEXT: John 5:1-9

Jn. 5:1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Jn. 5:2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes.

Jn. 5:3 In these lay many invalids-- blind, lame, and paralyzed.

Jn. 5:4 [see “Johannine Comma,” below]

Jn. 5:5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

Jn. 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

Jn. 5:7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me."

Jn. 5:8 Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk."

Jn. 5:9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath.


1c. CONTEXT: John 14:23-29


THE LAST DISCOURSE : Division One (Unit 3)


These verses are preceded by the question of Judas (not Iscariot) put to

Jesus within the context of The Last Supper. In 14: 22 we read: "Lord, how

is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world ?"

Judas represents all who fail to realize the difference between "seeing" and

"recognizing" Christ. The Johannine community is aware that faith can

be thought of merely in terms of believing the testimony of others, who are

trusted as witnesses. We can "believe" in the sense of trusting that others

have "seen" though we have not. We can put confidence in "words" in the

hope that one day we ourselves will experience the risen Christ.




Jesus answers that he is about to show himself to the disciples and not to

the world, as he gives a deeper mmeaning to "word." Keeping the word of

Christ does not consist of accepting a new Torah with new commandments,

or a body of doctrines or ideas. Christ's word is not his, but God's, and

God's Word is Christ, himself. Jesus is engaged in the process of

teaching the disciples that even though he is leaving, God will send them a


Counselor.



The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus says God will send in the Name of Love,

will teach us to recognize all that Christ is. All that he said is brought to

mind as we recognize him. Through the gift of the Spirit we are taught

"from within," by living and reflecting upon the experience of

that living.

2. ANALYSIS: John 14: 23-29


THE LAST DISCOURSE: Division One (Unit Three)


"Keep my word" [ton logon mou tereisei]. The

expression is used in vv. 23, 24, 8: 51 and 15:20;the

theme of keeping God's word appears in 1 John 2: 5. In

14: 15 and 21 we find the expression "keep my [the]

commandments." The meaning of the verb is in the sense of

"fulfilling." Jesus' commandments are not simply moral

precepts: they involve a whole way of life, in loving

union with him.


The plural and singular of the "word" appear in 24

without apparent distinction of meaning; and so the

variation between singular and plural in the use of both

"word" and "commandment" stems from the Old Testament,

where the Ten Commandments are referred to as the "words

of God." (Exod. 20: 1; Deut. 5: 5, 22) "And we will come

and abide...[monein]. Here the community refers to their

experience of the indwelling of God, as promised by Jesus.


As has happened frequently, Jesus does not answer Judas'

question directly. However, when properly understood,

what he says is an answer. He takes the opportunity to

explain once again what it really means to see him, and

therefore implicitly explains why the world cannot see

him. Now he points out that his presence after the

resurrection will also mean God's presence. In those who

love Jesus, and keep his word, they will abide.


Three features are common to the presence of God, Jesus,

and the Holy Spirit in these verses: 1. the necessary

conditions of loving Jesus and keeping his word; 2. the

statement that God (and Jesus) will come to abide within

the community; 3. and a reference to the indwelling of

the Spirit.

Although Jesus' words do not exclude a parousia or

revelation in glory such as Judas expected, he is

implicitly saying that the Spirit's indwelling fulfills

some of the end time expectations. In Zech. 8: 3 we read:

"For look, I come to dwell in the midst of you."

Israel had expected this to take place in the

Temple, the house of God; but in Johannine thought this

became the hour when people would worship God neither on

Mount Gerizim nor in the Jerusalem Temple, but in Spirit

and Truth (4: 21-24). It should be noted that v. 26 is

the only place in this Gospel where the fullest Greek form

of "Holy Spirit," [to pneuma to hagiou], is employed.

This is therefore, the only passage that makes the

identification of the Paraclete with the Holy Spirit

explicit.


The verb form of "to leave," in the parting "Peace"

of v. 27, can have the sense of bequeathing, although it

is not a technical juridical term. There is a play here,

on the traditional Hebrew salutation, "Shalom." Jesus

gives it new meaning, as he fills it full with the gift of

salvation. "The peace of the Lord be with you," thus

becomes a traditional Christian salutation.






3. STRATEGY: John 14: 23-29



THE LAST DISCOURSE: Division One (Unit Three)



In preaching from this text, again the challenge is to

be found precisely in [anamnesis]: bringing the

Christ-peace to more than remembrance, to a present

reality in our community of faith. The peace of Christ is

not the courteous greeting exchanged in countless churches

on Sunday mornings. His gift of peace comes in the form

of salvation. It is Shalom in its root meaning of whole,

perfect and undivided, [shalem]. The peace Christ gives

is his "whole self," in whom lies the undivided One God,

and in whom we come alive in perfect union. In this peace

we can live at the very heart of the final struggle of

life and death, into which we all must enter as we die and

rise with Christ. He goes through death, returning to take us with him

into Life. In this peace we find the cause of our joy.

The True Image has come forth form God into human life,

the Son alive as an actual person: God and flesh at one.

In our spiritual rebirth, this Incarnation is opened up

to become God and flesh and men/women made whole. As our

response of love completes the union we are in Christ, we

rejoice. We are hid in the One returning to God! We

experience that it has already begun to happen, and so we believe.


In Rom. 6: 4, Paul writes: Through baptism we were

buried together with him in his death, so that as Christ

was raised from among the dead through the glory of God,

so we also might walk in the newness of Life.


4. REFERENCES: John 14: 23-29

Brown, Raymond E. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN, XIII -
XXI. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1970, pp. 638-51.

SYNOPSIS OF THE FOUR GOSPELS. Kurt Aland, ed.,
Württembergische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart/West Germany: United States Bible Societies, 1975, p. 291.

Whitson, Robley Edward. THE CENTER SCRIPTURES. Bristol, IN: The United Institute, Wyndham Hall Press, 1987.


5. Web Links

http://www.nd.edu/~jneyrey1/miracles.html
http://www.textweek.com/
http://www.theolog.org/
http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john5x1.htm
http://www.purewords.org/kjb1611/html/john5_4.htm


Exegete: Rev. Dr. Carol M. Worthing, ELCA (Retired), Edina, MN











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posted by davebuehler @ 8:20 AM 327 Comments
About Me

David A. Bühler, Ph.D.

David Buehler, Ph.D. has been teaching Ethics and Philosophy at Providence College in Rhode Island since 1993. His courses have included: Bioethics, Philosophy of Death & Dying, Introduction to Ethics, Philosophy of the Human Person, General Ethics, Ethical Issues in Leadership, and--since 1996--The Philosophy of Violence. The last cited one is a full survey course on social, historical, and moral dimensions of Global Violence in the 21st Century. Special attention is given to War, Killing, Atrocity, Torture, Genocide, and Multi-Media Violence. Readings for Fall 2006 included ON EVIL (A. Morton), WAR & THE ILIAD (S. Weil), SAVAGE SPAWN (J. Kellerman), and James P. Sterba's TRIUMPH OF PRACTICE OVER THEORY IN ETHICS (Oxford U. Press, 2005). A full reading list is available by contacting David by email--> davebuehler@post.harvard.edu

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