Source: Hubblesite.org
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Cat's Eye Nebula
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+ L E N T + TWO +
Lexegete ™ | Year C | St. Luke
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Second Sunday in Lent
February 28, 2010
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27 (5)
Philippians 3:17--4:1
Luke 13:31-35
Prayer of the Day
God of the covenant, in the mystery of the cross you promise everlasting life to the world, Gather all peoples into your arms and shelter us with your mercy, that we may rejoice in the life we share in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Gospel Acclamation
The Son of Man must be | lifted up,
that whoever believes in him may have e- | ternal life. (John 3:14-15)
1a. CONTEXT: Luke 13:31-35
Luke's motif of Jesus' focus/goal of Jerusalem is one
aspect of these passages. This journey to Jerusalem is
urgent and crucial for his ministry (see 9:51, 17:11,
19:28). This passage fits with the image of Jesus as
facing, set off for, focused on Jerusalem--the ultimate
goal is the Cross. There is purpose and urgency.
In this context of the life and ministry of Jesus,
there is also the larger context of the time. The world
of the Luke's day included: the tensions of the Roman
rule, the economic realities of taxation, the various
Hebraic factions, and the impact of Jesus and the crowds
which he drew wherever he went. The life of Jesus was
already threatened; Jesus knew this and those around him
may have felt the tensions.
Jesus does not follow the questioner's general
theological theme and enter into a general hypothetical
debate. He sharpens the question into an issue of
personal commitment.
Author--Luke here shapes material that is primarily
from the Q source. This is indicated by the different
structure with which Matthew uses the same material, by
the use of Luke's own source material in vv. 31-33, and by
the editorial opening comment. (Proclamation 2; p. 29)
Audience--In vs. 23, the questioner represents no
group or class; it could be anyone, perhaps one of us.
=
1b. TEXT: Luke 13:31-35
ESV:
Lament over Jerusalem
31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
English Standard Version © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a ministry of Good News Publishers.
GREEK:
31Ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ προσῆλθάν τινες Φαρισαῖοι λέγοντες αὐτῷ, Ἔξελθε καὶ πορεύου ἐντεῦθεν, ὅτι Ἡρῴδης θέλει σε ἀποκτεῖναι. 32καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Πορευθέντες εἴπατε τῇ ἀλώπεκι ταύτῃ, Ἰδοὺ ἐκβάλλω δαιμόνια καὶ ἰάσεις ἀποτελῶ σήμερον καὶ αὔριον, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ τελειοῦμαι. 33πλὴν δεῖ με σήμερον καὶ αὔριον καὶ τῇ ἐχομένῃ πορεύεσθαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἐνδέχεται προφήτην ἀπολέσθαι ἔξω Ἰερουσαλήμ. 34Ἰερουσαλὴμ Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἡ ἀποκτείνουσα τοὺς προφήτας καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυνάξαι τὰ τέκνα σου ὃν τρόπον ὄρνις τὴν ἑαυτῆς νοσσιὰν ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε. 35ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν. λέγω [δὲ] ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἴδητέ με ἕως [ἥξει ὅτε] εἴπητε, Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου.
Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 26th ed. © 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart;
The Greek New Testament, 3rd edition © 1975, United Bible Societies, London
2. ANALYSIS: Luke 13: [22-30] 31-35
Luke 13 is generally seen within the central teaching
section of the Gospel. This material is thought to be
from several sources (much from 'Q') - and to have been
shaped by Luke.
Jerusalem may deserve attention; various
commentaries deal with the many aspects which touch on
these passages. Topics include: death of
prophets in Jerusalem (not recorded, but a traditional
view), Journey motif in Luke, Ascension motif in Luke,
previous journeys of Jesus to Jerusalem and others.
[ vs. 24 "Strive" the Greek verb, 'agonizesthe', is
also translated 'strain every nerve' and 'try your best.' ]
vs. 32 "Fox", in rabbinic writings the fox was
frequently used as a term for an unimportant person. The
'fox' as an animal was regarded as the slyest; and it was
regarded as the most destructive of animals.
vs. 34 "Hen", is a general term for a mother fowl.
The image is of a bird protecting her brood from danger -
a familiar picture in Jewish songs as well as the O.T.
(Deut. 32:11-12, Ruth 2:12, Ps. 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 61:4,
63:7, 91:4, Isa. 31:5).
'The Mother Eagle, Feminine Images of God IV' by
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott in DAUGHTERS OF SARAH (Vol. 7,
no. 6, Nov./Dec. 1981, p. 17f.) is a helpful presentation.
Exodus 19, Deut. 32, and Job 39 speak of the mother eagle
teaching her young to fly; Mollenkott writes, "What a
picture of a loving God, caring nurturantly for us when we
are weak, yet always aiming at the goal of our maturity
and internalized strength rather than at morbid dependency
upon a force external to ourselves." p. 18.
"It seems to have been an iron rule that prophets
should suffer and die violent deaths in the Holy City.
But Jesus is not just quoting a popular view. He is
preparing to accept the prophets' passions Himself. The
decisions must be taken in Jerusalem." (Kittel,
THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, Vol. VII, p.
328-9.)
3. STRATEGY: Luke 13: (22-30) 31-35
Several considerations are needed as the preacher
begins to shape the sermon based on the Gospel for Lent 2.
• How much of the material will be read, and
covered?
• Will any attention be given to the Journey to
Ascension, or the Journey to Jerusalem themes?
• What is the attitude of the Pharisees who warn
Jesus in vs. 31? Are they well-meaning, or are they
trying to trick Jesus?
• Are all the pericopes centered to answer the earlier
question in Lk. 13:22:
'Lord, will those who are saved be few?'
The Compassion of Jesus is suggested by the later
verses of the passage. The image of the mother hen and
her brood suggest the possibility for examination of the
mothering, caring, compassion of God. The whole matter of
the nature and characteristics of God are opened by these
verses.
Many may be receiving special mission offerings
during Lent for the Haiti earthquake and other special needs;
caring and compassion are elements of these programs.
The tension between caring and evangelism are
present in the Lk. 13: 34-35 passage; Jesus cared for the
city, but was rejected. The words 'would not' - literally
'you have not wished it' point to the element of personal
choice. Jesus wished that it were otherwise.
Lk. 13:23 'Lord, will those who are saved be few?'
This is a perpetual issue for the Church. There may be
situations which call for a general theological
examination of universal versus selective salvation. The
differences between Matt. 13: 31f and John 10: 7f may be
helpful. Likely we may wish to avoid the theoretical
question and move it to the personal.
The overall theme of personal choice may offer a
Lenten focus. Couched within the larger context and the
framework of the life and ministry of Jesus, the key
question in Lk. 13: 22-35 seems to be how to enter the
presence of God. "It is as though the Lord replied, 'The
crucial matter is not about numbers, many or few - the
crucial matter is what about you?'" (Walter Russell Bowie,
THE COMPASSIONATE CHRIST, p. 189.)
Exegete: Rev. Stephen T. Deckard is Director of Connectional Ministries
for the United Methodist Church in Western New York (Cicero, New York).
4. REFERENCES
Danker, Frederick W. Luke. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976.
Juel, Donald. Luke-Acts. The Promise of History.
Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1983.
5. MUSIC SUGGESTIONS
Some appropriate hymns for this day include the following:
THE GLORY OF THESE FORTY DAYS (HB 143),
IF THOU BUT TRUST IN GOD TO GUIDE THEE (HB 635,LBW 453),
LORD, WHO THROUGHOUT THESE FORTY DAYS (HB 142),
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD (HB 687/8,LBW 228/9),
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM PRAISE (HB 401,LBW 544),
CREATOR OF THE EARTH AND SKIES (HB 148),
KIND MAKER OF THE WORLD, O HEAR (HB 152),
LORD CHRIST, WHEN FIRST THOU CAM'ST TO EARTH (HB 598,LBW 421),
LORD, THEE I LOVE WITH ALL MY HEART (LBW 325),
JESUS, REFUGE OF THE WEARY (LBW 93),
O JESUS CHRIST, MAY GRATEFUL HYMNS BY RISING (HB 590,LBW 427).
________________________________________________
LEXEGETE © 2010
Tischrede Software
Dartmouth, MA 02747-1925
_________________________________________________
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
+ Ash Wednesday + February 17, 2010 +
Lexegete™ | Year C | St. Luke
________________________________________________________________________
Ash Wednesday
February 17, 2010
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 51:1-17 (1) or Psalm 103:8-14
2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and honest hearts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
or
Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Gospel Acclamation
Return to the | LORD, your God,
who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in | steadfast love. (Joel 2:13)
_____________________________________________________________
1a. CONTEXT: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
After his Baptism, according to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus
spent forty days in the wilderness, fasting and being
tempted by Satan (Mt. 4:1-11, Mk1:12f., Lk. 4:1-13). Our
Lord's fast was not, however, originally associated with the
Lenten season, which has its roots in the fasting and other
ascetical disciplines undertaken by catechumens in
preparation for Baptism at Easter. These pre-Easter
exercises can be traced at least to the second century; at
first they lasted only one or two days, and only in the
fourth century Festal Letters of St. Athanasius do we first
hear of a forty-day period of fasting. Even so, the
reckoning of Lent as a forty-day period has never been
established throughout the whole church: the Eastern
Churches spread the season over eight or nine weeks.
A penitential season of exactly forty days was made the rule
at Rome in the sixth century (before the time of Gregory
the Great); this was accomplished by including in the Lenten
fast the four days before the first Sunday in Lent. (The
Sundays in Lent do not count as fast- days; all Sundays,
being commemorations of Easter, are feast-days.)
The name "Ash Wednesday" derives from the medieval
custom of blessing ashes which were used to mark the
foreheads of the faithful as a symbol of penitence. The
reformed churches have generally discontinued this
ceremony, which they felt did not accord well with the
Gospel command (in the Roman and Sarum Missals
the Gospel appointed is Mt. 6:16-18).
1. TEXT: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
ESV:
Giving to the Needy
6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Lord's Prayer
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you....
Fasting
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust [1] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[1] 6:19 Or worm; also verse 20
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by
Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
GREEK:
6σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ, εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν σου καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν σου πρόσευξαι τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ: καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι. 7Προσευχόμενοι δὲ μὴ βατταλογήσητε ὥσπερ οἱ ἐθνικοί, δοκοῦσιν γὰρ ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθήσονται. 8μὴ οὖν ὁμοιωθῆτε αὐτοῖς, οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν. 9Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς: Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου, 10ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου, γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς. 11Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον: 12καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν: 13καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ. 14Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, ἀφήσει καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος: 15ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οὐδὲ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἀφήσει τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν. 16Οταν δὲ νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποί, ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες: ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. 17σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι, 18ὅπως μὴ φανῇς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύων ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ: καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ ἀποδώσει σοι. 19Μὴ θησαυρίζετε ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅπου σὴς καὶ βρῶσις ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται διορύσσουσιν καὶ κλέπτουσιν: 20θησαυρίζετε δὲ ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὅπου οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται οὐ διορύσσουσιν οὐδὲ κλέπτουσιν: 21ὅπου γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρός σου, ἐκεῖ ἔσται καὶ ἡ καρδία σου.
Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 26th edition
© 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart;
The Greek New Testament, 3rd edition
© 1975, United Bible Societies, London
2. ANALYSIS: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The Gospel for Ash Wednesday, a section of the Sermon on
the Mount, is a short catena of what Bultmann calls "Rules
of Piety" (cf.5:23f., 23:16-22; Mk. 11:25; Lk. 17:3f.) They
contain very little that is foreign to the best in contemporary
Judaism. The section may be outlined as follows:
Introduction: Mt. 6:1 - Ostentatious piety is condemned.
l. On Almsgiving: 6:2-4.
2. On Prayer: 6:5-6.
3. On Fasting: 6:16-18.
4. On Treasures: 6:19-21.
Verses 1-6,16-18 are peculiar to Matthew's Gospel. The
content of the sixth logion of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas
is similar to that of 1-6,16-18: "His disciples asked him
and said to him: do you wish us to fast? And in what way
shall we pray (and) give alms? And what observances shall
we keep with respect to eating? Jesus said: Do not speak a
lie and do not do what you hate, because everything is
manifest before Heaven. For there is nothing hidden which
shall no be made manifest, and there is nothing covered that
shall remain without being revealed" [cf. Mt. 10:26, Lk.
12:2].
The content of these "rules" may well derive from Jesus
himself, but their formulation is due to the early Church.
The striking parallelism exhibited by the "rules" is clear
evidence of redactorial activity, either of Matthew or of
some earlier collector of Jesus' sayings.
To Matthew himself are doubtless due the introduction (6:1)
and the insertion of the Lord's Prayer (6:7-15).
Each of the first three "rules" consists of two brief
commands, one negative and one positive. The negative
commands enjoin the disciples not to imitate the
ostentatious behavior of the hypocrites who perform their
religious duties in public in order to gain a reputation for
piety (hopos phanosin tois anthropois [ doxasthosin hupo
ton anthropon]); solemn assurance is given after each
injunction that there is no further reward for hypocritical
behavior: amen lego humin , apechousin ton misthon auton .
The negative commands are couched in the plural, but the
positive ones are in the singular, as if in them the Lord is
addressing each individual disciple. Unlike hypocrites,
Jesus' followers are to perform their religious duties with
due modesty; their reward will be God's approval.
Mt. 6:1 - prosechete [de] tein dikaiosunen humon mei poiein
emprosthen ton anthropon pros to theathenai autois -
"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to
be seen by them" (AILL) - Dikaiosune is a very important
word in the NT. In the Pauline Epistles it is used of God's
righteousness, but here (and in Mt. 5:10,20) the meaning is
quite concrete: right conduct before God. It thus serves as a simple
shorthand for the acts of piety mentioned in the following verses.
- - The root of the athenai appears in English "theater"; the meaning
of the Greek verb is to look over, to regard (with attention and
surprise), rather than simply to see.
6:2 - hotan oun poies 'eleeimosunein - "Thus, when you give
alms..." (AILL) - Almsgiving had an important place in
Jewish piety. Tobit 12:8 runs, "It is better to give alms
than to treasure up gold. For almsgiving delivers from
death, and it will purge away every sin."
- - me salpiseis emprosthen sou... - "sound no trumpet
before you" (AILL) - There is no evidence for supposing that
the rich were accustomed to blow horns to summon the poor in
order to give them alms. The blowing of horns did play a
part in fasts, but this was a ceremonial matter. Jesus is
merely telling his disciples not to call attention to
themselves when giving alms to the poor; we might paraphrase
this saying as "Don't ring the church bells every time you
put a dollar in the collection plate." -- hupokritai - found
in vss. 2,5, and 16; the basic meaning is "one who explains
or interprets," hence actor. The word had originally a
neutral connotation, but in the NT only the sense "one who
acts insincerely" is found.
6:3 - me gnoto he aristera sou ti poiei he dexia sou - "do
not let your left hand know what your right is doing" (AILL)
- In the Bible, as in many ancient cultures, the right hand
is regarded as the hand of strength and of blessing (cf. Job
40:14;,Gen. 48:14), while the left hand is considered
unlucky,unclean, even deadly (Judges 3:15,21; II Sam.
20:9f.). This being so, it is at least conceivable that
this saying means "Don't let your left hand, which is
accustomed to doing evil, prevent your right hand from doing
good." However, it is more likely that we have here a
simple exhortation to secrecy. The saying also occurs in
logion 62 of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas.
6:4,6,18 - en to krypto kai ho pater sou ho blepon en to
krypto apodosei soi (vs. 18 has kryphaio for krypto). - "(so
that your alms may be) in secret; and God who sees in secret
will reward you." (AILL) - The phrase 'en to phanero is
absent from the best ancient manuscripts; it was no doubt
added by pious scribes wishing to make the antithetical
parallelism with the preceding en to krupto more explicit.
The point of all the "Rules of Piety," however, is not the
public nature of the Father's reward but its superiority to
mere human approbation.
6:5 - hoti philousin 'en tais synagogais kai 'en tais
goniais ton plateion estotes proseuchesthai - "for they love
to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street
corners" (AILL) - Standing was the usual attitude of prayer
among both Jews and Greeks. 'Estotes may represent a Hebrew
word meaning continue or persist; if so, Jesus is referring
to the length of the hypocrites' prayers. It seems more
likely, in view of the context, that Jesus is condemning
their love of publicity, although there is in fact no Jewish
evidence for the practice of praying in the streets except
during public fasts.
6:6 - su de hotan proseuchei, eiselthe eis to tameion sou
kai kleisas ten thuran sou proseuxai to patri sou - "But
when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray
to God (who is in secret)" (AILL) - This is a reminiscence
of Isaiah 26:20 - "come, my people, enter your rooms, shut
your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a while until the
wrath has passed by" - with "pray" in place of "hide." Jesus
takes public worship for granted (Mt. 5:24, Lk.18:9-14) but
those who engage in public worship should be as free of all
pretense as one who prays in the secrecy of a closet.
6:16 - hotan de nesteueite - "And when you fast"(AILL) -
Jesus took it for granted that his hearers practiced fasting
as an act of piety, though he made an exception for his
personal followers during his lifetime (9:14f. = Mk.
2:18-20; cf. also ll:18f. = Lk. 7:33f.). Pious Jews fasted
on Mondays and Thursdays; to distinguish themselves from
these "hypocrites," Christians were urged to fast on
Wednesdays and Fridays (Didache 8:1). --- me ginesthe hos oi
hypokritai skuthropoi, aphanizousin gar ta prosopa auton
-"do not look dismal, like the hypocrites,for they disfigure
their faces"(AILL) - Lack of proper nourishment can result
in one's appearing skuthropos, gloomy, sad, sullen, and it
is to avoid this that the Arch-eunuch urged Daniel and his
friends to abandon their vegetarian diet (Dan. 1:10
[Theod.]). The hypocrites in vs. 16 tried to imitate this
appearance by disfiguring their faces with ashes or
cosmetics.
6:17 - su de nesteuon aleipsai sou tein kefalein kai to
prosopon sou nipsai - " But when you fast, anoint your head
and wash your face" (AILL) - Jesus commands his disciples
to take the opposite course, and by anointing their heads
and washing their faces to imitate the happy appearance of
those who are celebrating a feast.
6:19,21 - These verses have parallels in Luke 12:33f. and
hence may derive from Q. There seems to be an allusion to
them in Jas. 5:2f. In logion 76 of the Coptic Gospel of
Thomas the saying in vs. 20 is conflated with the Parable of
the Pearl of Great Price (Mt. 13:45f.).
3. STRATEGY: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
"All the world's a stage,/ and all the men and women merely players"
--AS YOU LIKE IT , II,7.
Shakespeare's famous line has been echoed by many
writers, as any dictionary of quotations will
prove. This is hardly surprising, since all human beings
are obviously "actors" playing different "roles." But they
are not merely actors: two 19th-Century English clerics,
A.W. and J.C. Hare, point out that "Everybody has his own
theater, in which he is manager, actor, prompter,
playwright, sceneshifter, boxkeeper, doorkeeper, and
audience" (Guesses at Truth, 1827). We like, so far as we
are able, to manage our own lives, to be in control of the
"action" in which we are the "actors." In the language of
the New Testament we are hypocrites, "putting on an act" so
that we will be thought well of by others and, as the Hare
brothers say, by ourselves--for we are our own most
important audience. Or are we? God is also watching, even
when we are not consciously "on stage." Since Lent is a
time for self-examination, we might profitably ask ourselves
such questions as: Where is our "theater"? How are we
"managing" it? What audience are we usually performing for?
What audiences should we pay more attention to? What are
the "box-office receipts"? What sort of applause do we
seek? From other people? From ourselves? From God?
What is the value of this "applause" in each case?
4. REFERENCES: Matthew 6:1-6,16-21
Bultmann, Rudolf. The History of the Synoptic Tradition,
transl. by John Marsh.2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell,1968.
M'Neile,A.H. The Gospel According to Matthew. London:
MacMillan,1952.
Johnson, S.H. "The Gospel of Matthew," in the Interpreter's
Bible, vol. 7. NY: Abingdon, 1951.
M.H. Shepherd. The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary.
NY: Oxford University Press, 1950.
G. Kittel, ed. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,
transl. by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.
Articles on: dikaiosune, theaomai, eleemosune, nesteuo,
proseuchomai, salpingo, and hypokrites
5. MUSIC SUGGESTIONS
The new Episcopalian Hymnal 1982 has two settings (EH
140,141) of John Donne's poem, "Wilt thou forgive that sin
where I begun"; the second of these,harmonized by J.S. Bach,
may be easier for congregational singing. LORD JESUS, SUN
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (EH 144) and NOW QUIT YOUR CARE AND
ANXIOUS FEAR AND WORRY (EH 145) both look forward from the
penitential season to the goal of Easter. Also traditional
are O LORD, THROUGHOUT THESE FORTY DAYS (LBW 99) and
SAVIOR WHEN IN DUST TO YOU (LBW 91), and MY SONG IS LOVE
UNKNOWN (EH 458, LBW 94).
Exegete: Eugene V.N. Goetchius, Ph.D.,Th.D. now retired, was professor of Biblical Languages from 1963-1989, holding chairs simultaneously in the Episcopal Theological School and the Philadelphia Divinity School. He taught Greek and Hebrew and collaborated with colleagues from Harvard Divinity School and Weston School of Theology in teaching introductory courses in New Testament interpretation and exegesis. He wrote a Greek grammar book, The Language of the New Testament, with accompanying workbook; The Teaching of the Biblical Languages and The Gifts of God. He received his Th.D. in New Testament Studies from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1963 and his Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Linguistics from the University of Virginia in 1949.
Lexegete™ | Year C | St. Luke
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First Sunday in Lent | February 21, 2010
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 (11)
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
Prayer of the Day
O Lord God, you led your people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide us now, so that, following your Son, we may walk safely through the wilderness of this world toward the life you alone can give, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Gospel Acclamation
One does not live by | bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the | mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)
________________________________________________________________________
1a. CONTEXT: LUKE 4:1-13
This text, the temptation of Jesus, is located at the
beginning of Lent, and the story itself is located in the
synoptics prior to the beginning of Jesus' public
ministry. All three synoptics use this story as Jesus'
preparation for public ministry following his Baptism.
Matthew and Luke interject a genealogy following the
Baptism and preceding the temptation story. Mark is brief
in describing the temptation story and merely says that
Jesus was tempted by Satan. Matthew and Luke expand on
the temptations describing three specific temptations. In
both, the first temptation comes after the narrative
states that Jesus fasted for forty days, and "that he was
hungry."
Luke makes the second temptation related to all the
kingdoms of the world, and the third temptation is one of
personal safety for Jesus. Matthew has the last two
temptations reversed in order from Luke. Some contextual
items are quite obvious: Jesus in some kind of dialog
with Satan; The temptations forming a framework or stance
for all of Jesus' public ministry; Jesus' knowledge of
and comfort with quoting scripture (hence indicating a
rabbinical style of life); and the challenge of Satan to
Jesus to "prove who He is", by doing things that were
traditionally associated with messianic expectations.
Two other items need attention in the contextual
setting: Whereas Matthew and Mark end with the angels
ministering to Jesus, Luke--who has put the angels'
protection as the last temptation--makes no mention of the
angels ministering to Jesus; and ends this pericope with
the note that indicates there is more to come from the
devil!
1b. TEXT: LUKE 4:1-13
ESV:
4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’ 11 and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Greek:
1Ἰησοῦς δὲ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ὑπέστρεψεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, καὶ ἤγετο ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ 2ἡμέρας τεσσεράκοντα πειραζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου. καὶ οὐκ ἔφαγεν οὐδὲν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ συντελεσθεισῶν αὐτῶν ἐπείνασεν. 3Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος, Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰπὲ τῷ λίθῳ τούτῳ ἵνα γένηται ἄρτος. 4καὶ ἀπεκρίθη πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Γέγραπται ὅτι Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος. 5Καὶ ἀναγαγὼν αὐτὸν ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς βασιλείας τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐν στιγμῇ χρόνου: 6καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος, Σοὶ δώσω τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἅπασαν καὶ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἐμοὶ παραδέδοται καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν θέλω δίδωμι αὐτήν: 7σὺ οὖν ἐὰν προσκυνήσῃς ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ, ἔσται σοῦ πᾶσα. 8καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Γέγραπται, Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις. 9Ἤγαγεν δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἔστησεν ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, βάλε σεαυτὸν ἐντεῦθεν κάτω: 10γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι Τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε, 11καὶ ὅτι Ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου. 12καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Εἴρηται, Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου. 13Καὶ συντελέσας πάντα πειρασμὸν ὁ διάβολος ἀπέστη ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἄχρι καιροῦ.
Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 26th edition © 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart;
The Greek New Testament, 3rd edition © 1975, United Bible Societies, London
2. ANALYSIS: LUKE 4:1-13
1-2 Iesous de pleires pneumatos hagiou - This
describes in two sentences (RSV) the time Jesus spent in
the wilderness. Not only was he full of the Holy Spirit,
but he was led by the Spirit throughout the wilderness
time. Schweizer suggests that those who are possessed by
the Spirit are most vulnerable to temptation. Mark
suggests that Jesus was driven by the Spirit. The forty
days may be a standard literary device to make the
unconscious connection with the commonly known religious
stories of trial and judgment: the Exodus and the Noah
story. Note that Luke uses the noun "diabolon" throughout
his pericope, for the evil one, rather than the proper
noun. Also there is a hint that the temptations may come
at the end of the wilderness fast, for "when they were
ended, he was hungry." After this statement Luke
describes the temptation to satisfy hunger.
3-4 Eipen de auto ho diabolos - This is the first
temptation. At first reading it seems to be a temptation
to satisfy a physical need--hunger. But the first phrase
is a direct challenge to Jesus's identity and mission.
Vincent Taylor's work on the Names of Jesus places much
significance on the titles given to Jesus. In this case,
the devil uses the title Son of God. In both OT and NT
precedent, this is a title given to someone who has the
power to reveal God. This use of the title can be seen as
the challenge of evil to God.
Note the stylistic formula denoting Jesus' response
according to the RSV:
"And Jesus answered (apekrithei) him." NIV simply says:
"Jesus answered." But the words in the Greek NT are not
exactly the same in all three responses: Verses 4, 8 and
12. Jesus' response is a quote from the manna story
(Deuteronomy 8:3b), and certainly the literary connection
is made between this event and the provision of manna in
the wilderness.
5-8 Kai anagagon auon edeixen auo pasas tas basileias
teis oikoumeneis - The Second temptation does not begin
with a challenge to God but puts Jesus in the World. It
is here that the devil appears to have control and the
ability to give something to Jesus, for a price. "in a
moment of time" is an interesting phrase, that must be a
standard idiomatic expression. Jesus' response is the
Creed of Judaism: The Shema.
9-12 epi to pterugion - The Third temptation combines
the tactics of the two previous temptations: It places
Jesus in a precarious position, and it challenges his
identity. Furthermore, the devil also quotes scripture.
This also places Jesus in the "religious" setting, i.e. at
the Temple. This is at once both a lofty challenge, yet
almost ludicrous in its absurdity.
These three temptations not only represent rather
traditional challenges of evil to God, there is in Luke's
version a powerful, yet subtle, building of the momentum
and power of the temptations. In the first temptation it
is the devil and Jesus' hunger that depict a personal
struggle. The second temptation involves the whole world,
and the devil's presumed ownership. The third temptation
uses a religious context, and all the challenges to
identity, and even Jesus' method of quoting scripture, for
an issue of personal safety.
13 ho diabolos apeste ap autou archi kairou - Luke
gives the impression that every kind of temptation has
been tried on Jesus, but that the devil has not yet given
up. For the devil there is a "kairos," just as there is a
"kairos" for God, Jesus and God's people.
3. STRATEGY: LUKE 4:1-13
In the classical homiletical style of a generation
ago, this text is perfect! It is complete with
Introduction (tell them what you are going to tell them),
three main points (tell them), and conclusion (tell them
what you told them). Probably each one of us would do
well to preach this style of sermon at least once on this
text. But it is full of many other possibilities that
cannot be overlooked.
This text describes what it means to be "driven." In
Jesus' case, he is driven by the Holy Spirit. This would
provide an entry point for dialog with "type A"
personalities, and possibly open up the pitfalls of such a
personality type. Most of the time we characterize "type
A's" with a subtle negativity; but here is the opportunity
to affirm and to connect in a meaningful and theological
manner.
A second issue that this text raises is the matter of
identity. Jesus has to prove he is God, and to prove
himself in the face of evil. Do we have to prove we are
good mothers by making certain that our children always
have what they want to eat? Do we have to prove we are
good fathers by giving our children everything they could
ever ask for?
Do we have to prove our authority by ordering a secretary
to bring a cup of coffee, or to pick up our laundry?
A third way of approaching this text would be to look
at the redundant phrases as common punctuation or starting
expressions. "And Jesus Answered, It is Written..." How
do we react when confronted by the challenges of
life--challenges that will detract us from our mission, or
even destroy our effectiveness?
A fourth way of dealing with this text is to take the
devil's stance. What things would most easily attract
someone away from their purpose in life? The preacher
could even write some letters in the manner of C.S.Lewis.
John Killinger says each temptation was "extremely
basic to human nature." (page 31) The temptations were
"for bread, for glory and for religious certainty." (page
32) A fifth way of dealing with this text would be to
select the most basic or commonly expressed needs in your
specific community and do a l980's version of the story.
For some it might be a lifetime contract for employment, a
stated recognition factor (a month's vacation after 10
years, a silver watch after 25 years, and a gold ring
after 50 years), and having the company president know you
and always call you by your first name and ask about your
family.
4. REFERENCES: LUKE 4:1-13
Schweizer, Eduard. THE GOOD NEWS ACCORDING TO LUKE.
John Knox Press, Atlanta. l984.
Taylor, Vincent. THE NAMES OF JESUS. MacMillan,
London. 1954.
Killinger, John. A DEVOTIONAL GUIDE TO LUKE. The
Gospel of Contagious Joy. Word Books, Waco. 1980.
Luecke, Richard. VIOLENT SLEEP; Notes Toward the Development of
Sermons for the Modern City. Fortress Press, Philadelphia. 1969.
Craddock, Fred. PREACHING. Abingdon Press, Nashville. 1985.
5. WORSHIP SUGGESTIONS: LUKE 4:1-13
Hymn: "O Lord, Throughout these forty days" (HB
142, LBW 99) sets the theme in a traditional mode.
Hymn: "Breathe on me, Breath of God" (HB 508, LBW
488) could well be used in reference to the "Filled by
the Spirit" theme.
I cannot overlook the rich possibilities in the other
lessons: Psalm 91 describes the confidence of one "filled with the
Spirit". Deuteronomy 26: 5-10 "The Wandering Aramean"
passage describes the test of the people of God.
Romans 10:8bff again picks up the theme of filling of the person
by the Spirit of God, and the subsequent confidence it produces.
Exegete: Dale I. Gregoriew, D.Min., a graduate of Princeton Seminary, continues as pastor of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Allen, Texas. He was sworn in on August 8, 2001, as chaplain of the Allen Police Department. He served for three years as associate chaplain before this promotion.
Lexegete © 2010
Tischrede Software
Dartmouth, MA 02747-1925
http://yourobdtsvt.blogspot.com
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Ash Wednesday
February 17, 2010
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 51:1-17 (1) or Psalm 103:8-14
2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and honest hearts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
or
Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Gospel Acclamation
Return to the | LORD, your God,
who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in | steadfast love. (Joel 2:13)
_____________________________________________________________
1a. CONTEXT: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
After his Baptism, according to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus
spent forty days in the wilderness, fasting and being
tempted by Satan (Mt. 4:1-11, Mk1:12f., Lk. 4:1-13). Our
Lord's fast was not, however, originally associated with the
Lenten season, which has its roots in the fasting and other
ascetical disciplines undertaken by catechumens in
preparation for Baptism at Easter. These pre-Easter
exercises can be traced at least to the second century; at
first they lasted only one or two days, and only in the
fourth century Festal Letters of St. Athanasius do we first
hear of a forty-day period of fasting. Even so, the
reckoning of Lent as a forty-day period has never been
established throughout the whole church: the Eastern
Churches spread the season over eight or nine weeks.
A penitential season of exactly forty days was made the rule
at Rome in the sixth century (before the time of Gregory
the Great); this was accomplished by including in the Lenten
fast the four days before the first Sunday in Lent. (The
Sundays in Lent do not count as fast- days; all Sundays,
being commemorations of Easter, are feast-days.)
The name "Ash Wednesday" derives from the medieval
custom of blessing ashes which were used to mark the
foreheads of the faithful as a symbol of penitence. The
reformed churches have generally discontinued this
ceremony, which they felt did not accord well with the
Gospel command (in the Roman and Sarum Missals
the Gospel appointed is Mt. 6:16-18).
1. TEXT: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
ESV:
Giving to the Needy
6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Lord's Prayer
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you....
Fasting
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust [1] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[1] 6:19 Or worm; also verse 20
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by
Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
GREEK:
6σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ, εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν σου καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν σου πρόσευξαι τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ: καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι. 7Προσευχόμενοι δὲ μὴ βατταλογήσητε ὥσπερ οἱ ἐθνικοί, δοκοῦσιν γὰρ ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθήσονται. 8μὴ οὖν ὁμοιωθῆτε αὐτοῖς, οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν. 9Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς: Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου, 10ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου, γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς. 11Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον: 12καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν: 13καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ. 14Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, ἀφήσει καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος: 15ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οὐδὲ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἀφήσει τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν. 16Οταν δὲ νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποί, ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες: ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. 17σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι, 18ὅπως μὴ φανῇς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύων ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ: καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ ἀποδώσει σοι. 19Μὴ θησαυρίζετε ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅπου σὴς καὶ βρῶσις ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται διορύσσουσιν καὶ κλέπτουσιν: 20θησαυρίζετε δὲ ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὅπου οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται οὐ διορύσσουσιν οὐδὲ κλέπτουσιν: 21ὅπου γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρός σου, ἐκεῖ ἔσται καὶ ἡ καρδία σου.
Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 26th edition
© 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart;
The Greek New Testament, 3rd edition
© 1975, United Bible Societies, London
2. ANALYSIS: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The Gospel for Ash Wednesday, a section of the Sermon on
the Mount, is a short catena of what Bultmann calls "Rules
of Piety" (cf.5:23f., 23:16-22; Mk. 11:25; Lk. 17:3f.) They
contain very little that is foreign to the best in contemporary
Judaism. The section may be outlined as follows:
Introduction: Mt. 6:1 - Ostentatious piety is condemned.
l. On Almsgiving: 6:2-4.
2. On Prayer: 6:5-6.
3. On Fasting: 6:16-18.
4. On Treasures: 6:19-21.
Verses 1-6,16-18 are peculiar to Matthew's Gospel. The
content of the sixth logion of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas
is similar to that of 1-6,16-18: "His disciples asked him
and said to him: do you wish us to fast? And in what way
shall we pray (and) give alms? And what observances shall
we keep with respect to eating? Jesus said: Do not speak a
lie and do not do what you hate, because everything is
manifest before Heaven. For there is nothing hidden which
shall no be made manifest, and there is nothing covered that
shall remain without being revealed" [cf. Mt. 10:26, Lk.
12:2].
The content of these "rules" may well derive from Jesus
himself, but their formulation is due to the early Church.
The striking parallelism exhibited by the "rules" is clear
evidence of redactorial activity, either of Matthew or of
some earlier collector of Jesus' sayings.
To Matthew himself are doubtless due the introduction (6:1)
and the insertion of the Lord's Prayer (6:7-15).
Each of the first three "rules" consists of two brief
commands, one negative and one positive. The negative
commands enjoin the disciples not to imitate the
ostentatious behavior of the hypocrites who perform their
religious duties in public in order to gain a reputation for
piety (hopos phanosin tois anthropois [ doxasthosin hupo
ton anthropon]); solemn assurance is given after each
injunction that there is no further reward for hypocritical
behavior: amen lego humin , apechousin ton misthon auton .
The negative commands are couched in the plural, but the
positive ones are in the singular, as if in them the Lord is
addressing each individual disciple. Unlike hypocrites,
Jesus' followers are to perform their religious duties with
due modesty; their reward will be God's approval.
Mt. 6:1 - prosechete [de] tein dikaiosunen humon mei poiein
emprosthen ton anthropon pros to theathenai autois -
"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to
be seen by them" (AILL) - Dikaiosune is a very important
word in the NT. In the Pauline Epistles it is used of God's
righteousness, but here (and in Mt. 5:10,20) the meaning is
quite concrete: right conduct before God. It thus serves as a simple
shorthand for the acts of piety mentioned in the following verses.
- - The root of the athenai appears in English "theater"; the meaning
of the Greek verb is to look over, to regard (with attention and
surprise), rather than simply to see.
6:2 - hotan oun poies 'eleeimosunein - "Thus, when you give
alms..." (AILL) - Almsgiving had an important place in
Jewish piety. Tobit 12:8 runs, "It is better to give alms
than to treasure up gold. For almsgiving delivers from
death, and it will purge away every sin."
- - me salpiseis emprosthen sou... - "sound no trumpet
before you" (AILL) - There is no evidence for supposing that
the rich were accustomed to blow horns to summon the poor in
order to give them alms. The blowing of horns did play a
part in fasts, but this was a ceremonial matter. Jesus is
merely telling his disciples not to call attention to
themselves when giving alms to the poor; we might paraphrase
this saying as "Don't ring the church bells every time you
put a dollar in the collection plate." -- hupokritai - found
in vss. 2,5, and 16; the basic meaning is "one who explains
or interprets," hence actor. The word had originally a
neutral connotation, but in the NT only the sense "one who
acts insincerely" is found.
6:3 - me gnoto he aristera sou ti poiei he dexia sou - "do
not let your left hand know what your right is doing" (AILL)
- In the Bible, as in many ancient cultures, the right hand
is regarded as the hand of strength and of blessing (cf. Job
40:14;,Gen. 48:14), while the left hand is considered
unlucky,unclean, even deadly (Judges 3:15,21; II Sam.
20:9f.). This being so, it is at least conceivable that
this saying means "Don't let your left hand, which is
accustomed to doing evil, prevent your right hand from doing
good." However, it is more likely that we have here a
simple exhortation to secrecy. The saying also occurs in
logion 62 of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas.
6:4,6,18 - en to krypto kai ho pater sou ho blepon en to
krypto apodosei soi (vs. 18 has kryphaio for krypto). - "(so
that your alms may be) in secret; and God who sees in secret
will reward you." (AILL) - The phrase 'en to phanero is
absent from the best ancient manuscripts; it was no doubt
added by pious scribes wishing to make the antithetical
parallelism with the preceding en to krupto more explicit.
The point of all the "Rules of Piety," however, is not the
public nature of the Father's reward but its superiority to
mere human approbation.
6:5 - hoti philousin 'en tais synagogais kai 'en tais
goniais ton plateion estotes proseuchesthai - "for they love
to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street
corners" (AILL) - Standing was the usual attitude of prayer
among both Jews and Greeks. 'Estotes may represent a Hebrew
word meaning continue or persist; if so, Jesus is referring
to the length of the hypocrites' prayers. It seems more
likely, in view of the context, that Jesus is condemning
their love of publicity, although there is in fact no Jewish
evidence for the practice of praying in the streets except
during public fasts.
6:6 - su de hotan proseuchei, eiselthe eis to tameion sou
kai kleisas ten thuran sou proseuxai to patri sou - "But
when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray
to God (who is in secret)" (AILL) - This is a reminiscence
of Isaiah 26:20 - "come, my people, enter your rooms, shut
your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a while until the
wrath has passed by" - with "pray" in place of "hide." Jesus
takes public worship for granted (Mt. 5:24, Lk.18:9-14) but
those who engage in public worship should be as free of all
pretense as one who prays in the secrecy of a closet.
6:16 - hotan de nesteueite - "And when you fast"(AILL) -
Jesus took it for granted that his hearers practiced fasting
as an act of piety, though he made an exception for his
personal followers during his lifetime (9:14f. = Mk.
2:18-20; cf. also ll:18f. = Lk. 7:33f.). Pious Jews fasted
on Mondays and Thursdays; to distinguish themselves from
these "hypocrites," Christians were urged to fast on
Wednesdays and Fridays (Didache 8:1). --- me ginesthe hos oi
hypokritai skuthropoi, aphanizousin gar ta prosopa auton
-"do not look dismal, like the hypocrites,for they disfigure
their faces"(AILL) - Lack of proper nourishment can result
in one's appearing skuthropos, gloomy, sad, sullen, and it
is to avoid this that the Arch-eunuch urged Daniel and his
friends to abandon their vegetarian diet (Dan. 1:10
[Theod.]). The hypocrites in vs. 16 tried to imitate this
appearance by disfiguring their faces with ashes or
cosmetics.
6:17 - su de nesteuon aleipsai sou tein kefalein kai to
prosopon sou nipsai - " But when you fast, anoint your head
and wash your face" (AILL) - Jesus commands his disciples
to take the opposite course, and by anointing their heads
and washing their faces to imitate the happy appearance of
those who are celebrating a feast.
6:19,21 - These verses have parallels in Luke 12:33f. and
hence may derive from Q. There seems to be an allusion to
them in Jas. 5:2f. In logion 76 of the Coptic Gospel of
Thomas the saying in vs. 20 is conflated with the Parable of
the Pearl of Great Price (Mt. 13:45f.).
3. STRATEGY: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
"All the world's a stage,/ and all the men and women merely players"
--AS YOU LIKE IT , II,7.
Shakespeare's famous line has been echoed by many
writers, as any dictionary of quotations will
prove. This is hardly surprising, since all human beings
are obviously "actors" playing different "roles." But they
are not merely actors: two 19th-Century English clerics,
A.W. and J.C. Hare, point out that "Everybody has his own
theater, in which he is manager, actor, prompter,
playwright, sceneshifter, boxkeeper, doorkeeper, and
audience" (Guesses at Truth, 1827). We like, so far as we
are able, to manage our own lives, to be in control of the
"action" in which we are the "actors." In the language of
the New Testament we are hypocrites, "putting on an act" so
that we will be thought well of by others and, as the Hare
brothers say, by ourselves--for we are our own most
important audience. Or are we? God is also watching, even
when we are not consciously "on stage." Since Lent is a
time for self-examination, we might profitably ask ourselves
such questions as: Where is our "theater"? How are we
"managing" it? What audience are we usually performing for?
What audiences should we pay more attention to? What are
the "box-office receipts"? What sort of applause do we
seek? From other people? From ourselves? From God?
What is the value of this "applause" in each case?
4. REFERENCES: Matthew 6:1-6,16-21
Bultmann, Rudolf. The History of the Synoptic Tradition,
transl. by John Marsh.2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell,1968.
M'Neile,A.H. The Gospel According to Matthew. London:
MacMillan,1952.
Johnson, S.H. "The Gospel of Matthew," in the Interpreter's
Bible, vol. 7. NY: Abingdon, 1951.
M.H. Shepherd. The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary.
NY: Oxford University Press, 1950.
G. Kittel, ed. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,
transl. by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.
Articles on: dikaiosune, theaomai, eleemosune, nesteuo,
proseuchomai, salpingo, and hypokrites
5. MUSIC SUGGESTIONS
The new Episcopalian Hymnal 1982 has two settings (EH
140,141) of John Donne's poem, "Wilt thou forgive that sin
where I begun"; the second of these,harmonized by J.S. Bach,
may be easier for congregational singing. LORD JESUS, SUN
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (EH 144) and NOW QUIT YOUR CARE AND
ANXIOUS FEAR AND WORRY (EH 145) both look forward from the
penitential season to the goal of Easter. Also traditional
are O LORD, THROUGHOUT THESE FORTY DAYS (LBW 99) and
SAVIOR WHEN IN DUST TO YOU (LBW 91), and MY SONG IS LOVE
UNKNOWN (EH 458, LBW 94).
Exegete: Eugene V.N. Goetchius, Ph.D.,Th.D. now retired, was professor of Biblical Languages from 1963-1989, holding chairs simultaneously in the Episcopal Theological School and the Philadelphia Divinity School. He taught Greek and Hebrew and collaborated with colleagues from Harvard Divinity School and Weston School of Theology in teaching introductory courses in New Testament interpretation and exegesis. He wrote a Greek grammar book, The Language of the New Testament, with accompanying workbook; The Teaching of the Biblical Languages and The Gifts of God. He received his Th.D. in New Testament Studies from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1963 and his Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Linguistics from the University of Virginia in 1949.
Lexegete™ | Year C | St. Luke
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First Sunday in Lent | February 21, 2010
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 (11)
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
Prayer of the Day
O Lord God, you led your people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide us now, so that, following your Son, we may walk safely through the wilderness of this world toward the life you alone can give, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Gospel Acclamation
One does not live by | bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the | mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)
________________________________________________________________________
1a. CONTEXT: LUKE 4:1-13
This text, the temptation of Jesus, is located at the
beginning of Lent, and the story itself is located in the
synoptics prior to the beginning of Jesus' public
ministry. All three synoptics use this story as Jesus'
preparation for public ministry following his Baptism.
Matthew and Luke interject a genealogy following the
Baptism and preceding the temptation story. Mark is brief
in describing the temptation story and merely says that
Jesus was tempted by Satan. Matthew and Luke expand on
the temptations describing three specific temptations. In
both, the first temptation comes after the narrative
states that Jesus fasted for forty days, and "that he was
hungry."
Luke makes the second temptation related to all the
kingdoms of the world, and the third temptation is one of
personal safety for Jesus. Matthew has the last two
temptations reversed in order from Luke. Some contextual
items are quite obvious: Jesus in some kind of dialog
with Satan; The temptations forming a framework or stance
for all of Jesus' public ministry; Jesus' knowledge of
and comfort with quoting scripture (hence indicating a
rabbinical style of life); and the challenge of Satan to
Jesus to "prove who He is", by doing things that were
traditionally associated with messianic expectations.
Two other items need attention in the contextual
setting: Whereas Matthew and Mark end with the angels
ministering to Jesus, Luke--who has put the angels'
protection as the last temptation--makes no mention of the
angels ministering to Jesus; and ends this pericope with
the note that indicates there is more to come from the
devil!
1b. TEXT: LUKE 4:1-13
ESV:
4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’ 11 and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Greek:
1Ἰησοῦς δὲ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ὑπέστρεψεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, καὶ ἤγετο ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ 2ἡμέρας τεσσεράκοντα πειραζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου. καὶ οὐκ ἔφαγεν οὐδὲν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ συντελεσθεισῶν αὐτῶν ἐπείνασεν. 3Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος, Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰπὲ τῷ λίθῳ τούτῳ ἵνα γένηται ἄρτος. 4καὶ ἀπεκρίθη πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Γέγραπται ὅτι Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος. 5Καὶ ἀναγαγὼν αὐτὸν ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς βασιλείας τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐν στιγμῇ χρόνου: 6καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος, Σοὶ δώσω τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἅπασαν καὶ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἐμοὶ παραδέδοται καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν θέλω δίδωμι αὐτήν: 7σὺ οὖν ἐὰν προσκυνήσῃς ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ, ἔσται σοῦ πᾶσα. 8καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Γέγραπται, Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις. 9Ἤγαγεν δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἔστησεν ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, βάλε σεαυτὸν ἐντεῦθεν κάτω: 10γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι Τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε, 11καὶ ὅτι Ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου. 12καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Εἴρηται, Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου. 13Καὶ συντελέσας πάντα πειρασμὸν ὁ διάβολος ἀπέστη ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἄχρι καιροῦ.
Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 26th edition © 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart;
The Greek New Testament, 3rd edition © 1975, United Bible Societies, London
2. ANALYSIS: LUKE 4:1-13
1-2 Iesous de pleires pneumatos hagiou - This
describes in two sentences (RSV) the time Jesus spent in
the wilderness. Not only was he full of the Holy Spirit,
but he was led by the Spirit throughout the wilderness
time. Schweizer suggests that those who are possessed by
the Spirit are most vulnerable to temptation. Mark
suggests that Jesus was driven by the Spirit. The forty
days may be a standard literary device to make the
unconscious connection with the commonly known religious
stories of trial and judgment: the Exodus and the Noah
story. Note that Luke uses the noun "diabolon" throughout
his pericope, for the evil one, rather than the proper
noun. Also there is a hint that the temptations may come
at the end of the wilderness fast, for "when they were
ended, he was hungry." After this statement Luke
describes the temptation to satisfy hunger.
3-4 Eipen de auto ho diabolos - This is the first
temptation. At first reading it seems to be a temptation
to satisfy a physical need--hunger. But the first phrase
is a direct challenge to Jesus's identity and mission.
Vincent Taylor's work on the Names of Jesus places much
significance on the titles given to Jesus. In this case,
the devil uses the title Son of God. In both OT and NT
precedent, this is a title given to someone who has the
power to reveal God. This use of the title can be seen as
the challenge of evil to God.
Note the stylistic formula denoting Jesus' response
according to the RSV:
"And Jesus answered (apekrithei) him." NIV simply says:
"Jesus answered." But the words in the Greek NT are not
exactly the same in all three responses: Verses 4, 8 and
12. Jesus' response is a quote from the manna story
(Deuteronomy 8:3b), and certainly the literary connection
is made between this event and the provision of manna in
the wilderness.
5-8 Kai anagagon auon edeixen auo pasas tas basileias
teis oikoumeneis - The Second temptation does not begin
with a challenge to God but puts Jesus in the World. It
is here that the devil appears to have control and the
ability to give something to Jesus, for a price. "in a
moment of time" is an interesting phrase, that must be a
standard idiomatic expression. Jesus' response is the
Creed of Judaism: The Shema.
9-12 epi to pterugion - The Third temptation combines
the tactics of the two previous temptations: It places
Jesus in a precarious position, and it challenges his
identity. Furthermore, the devil also quotes scripture.
This also places Jesus in the "religious" setting, i.e. at
the Temple. This is at once both a lofty challenge, yet
almost ludicrous in its absurdity.
These three temptations not only represent rather
traditional challenges of evil to God, there is in Luke's
version a powerful, yet subtle, building of the momentum
and power of the temptations. In the first temptation it
is the devil and Jesus' hunger that depict a personal
struggle. The second temptation involves the whole world,
and the devil's presumed ownership. The third temptation
uses a religious context, and all the challenges to
identity, and even Jesus' method of quoting scripture, for
an issue of personal safety.
13 ho diabolos apeste ap autou archi kairou - Luke
gives the impression that every kind of temptation has
been tried on Jesus, but that the devil has not yet given
up. For the devil there is a "kairos," just as there is a
"kairos" for God, Jesus and God's people.
3. STRATEGY: LUKE 4:1-13
In the classical homiletical style of a generation
ago, this text is perfect! It is complete with
Introduction (tell them what you are going to tell them),
three main points (tell them), and conclusion (tell them
what you told them). Probably each one of us would do
well to preach this style of sermon at least once on this
text. But it is full of many other possibilities that
cannot be overlooked.
This text describes what it means to be "driven." In
Jesus' case, he is driven by the Holy Spirit. This would
provide an entry point for dialog with "type A"
personalities, and possibly open up the pitfalls of such a
personality type. Most of the time we characterize "type
A's" with a subtle negativity; but here is the opportunity
to affirm and to connect in a meaningful and theological
manner.
A second issue that this text raises is the matter of
identity. Jesus has to prove he is God, and to prove
himself in the face of evil. Do we have to prove we are
good mothers by making certain that our children always
have what they want to eat? Do we have to prove we are
good fathers by giving our children everything they could
ever ask for?
Do we have to prove our authority by ordering a secretary
to bring a cup of coffee, or to pick up our laundry?
A third way of approaching this text would be to look
at the redundant phrases as common punctuation or starting
expressions. "And Jesus Answered, It is Written..." How
do we react when confronted by the challenges of
life--challenges that will detract us from our mission, or
even destroy our effectiveness?
A fourth way of dealing with this text is to take the
devil's stance. What things would most easily attract
someone away from their purpose in life? The preacher
could even write some letters in the manner of C.S.Lewis.
John Killinger says each temptation was "extremely
basic to human nature." (page 31) The temptations were
"for bread, for glory and for religious certainty." (page
32) A fifth way of dealing with this text would be to
select the most basic or commonly expressed needs in your
specific community and do a l980's version of the story.
For some it might be a lifetime contract for employment, a
stated recognition factor (a month's vacation after 10
years, a silver watch after 25 years, and a gold ring
after 50 years), and having the company president know you
and always call you by your first name and ask about your
family.
4. REFERENCES: LUKE 4:1-13
Schweizer, Eduard. THE GOOD NEWS ACCORDING TO LUKE.
John Knox Press, Atlanta. l984.
Taylor, Vincent. THE NAMES OF JESUS. MacMillan,
London. 1954.
Killinger, John. A DEVOTIONAL GUIDE TO LUKE. The
Gospel of Contagious Joy. Word Books, Waco. 1980.
Luecke, Richard. VIOLENT SLEEP; Notes Toward the Development of
Sermons for the Modern City. Fortress Press, Philadelphia. 1969.
Craddock, Fred. PREACHING. Abingdon Press, Nashville. 1985.
5. WORSHIP SUGGESTIONS: LUKE 4:1-13
Hymn: "O Lord, Throughout these forty days" (HB
142, LBW 99) sets the theme in a traditional mode.
Hymn: "Breathe on me, Breath of God" (HB 508, LBW
488) could well be used in reference to the "Filled by
the Spirit" theme.
I cannot overlook the rich possibilities in the other
lessons: Psalm 91 describes the confidence of one "filled with the
Spirit". Deuteronomy 26: 5-10 "The Wandering Aramean"
passage describes the test of the people of God.
Romans 10:8bff again picks up the theme of filling of the person
by the Spirit of God, and the subsequent confidence it produces.
Exegete: Dale I. Gregoriew, D.Min., a graduate of Princeton Seminary, continues as pastor of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Allen, Texas. He was sworn in on August 8, 2001, as chaplain of the Allen Police Department. He served for three years as associate chaplain before this promotion.
Lexegete © 2010
Tischrede Software
Dartmouth, MA 02747-1925
http://yourobdtsvt.blogspot.com
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Transfiguration of Our Lord
Transfiguration of Our Lord • Epiphany Last • 2-14-10 • Exodus 34:29-35
Ps. 99 (9) • 2 Cor. 3:12–4:2 • Lk. 9:28-36 [37-43a]
Prayer of the Day
Holy God, mighty and immortal, you are beyond our knowing, yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Transform us into the likeness of your Son, who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
SERMON: " White-Out" | Advent Lutheran, Middleboro, Massachusetts
It was an unforgettable experience that day in 1966. You might say I was in my glory, because I was skiing Squaw Valley ...and at that point in my life skiing was sheer joy. I was alone, like a surfer splashing through waves in the ocean, except that it was a sea of billowing, deep white powder snow in the High Sierra, far above Lake Tahoe. It wasn’t very cold, but the wind whipped across the deep snow, digging deep, icy cold drifts. There was only one trail up there I hadn’t explored, and so I thought I would give it a try. As I got aboard the chairlift I could barely see the red parka of the skier in a chair twenty yards ahead of me. It was late afternoon, but the sky seemed neither light nor dark, but filled with hug flakes of snow. The wooden chair slowly coiled its way to the top of the mountain and I looked back but could see non one behind me on the lift. Now and then I could hear shouts below me on the trail, but then they disappeared and I was clearly all alone at 10,000 ft.
As I slid down the ramp, I tried to find my way through the falling snow. But suddenly I was blind. I could not see a thing, and now I felt more alone than ever. It was far worse than being in a darkened closet. The natural reaction when you can’t see is to open your eyes wider, but it was of no use. That only made things worse. This was what is known and respected in the mountains as a white-out, and as far as I was concerned it was just as fearful as an avalanche. My eyes were no help to me at all, so I finally closed them and tried to sidestep down the steep summit trail. Like a bat in a cave, I had no idea where I was going except what I could tell from listening to the wind, hoping to hear another skier, praying I would not slam into a tree, fearing that I might lose my way somewhere in the foods far from any sort of help.
Amazingly, I could find the center of the trail by paying attention to my sense of balance and the downward pull of the slope, known as the fall line. It was slow and nerve-wracking because i knew the sun was shining brightly somewhere out there beyond the blizzard. Just then someone in a red parka bumped up against me and we both began to make out the sound of others below us in the same dilemma. Suddenly, like the switch of mighty lightbulb, the snow lifted and real sunlight filtered down through the trees. the sky now seemed as clear and pure as I have ever seen it before or since, and tinted a bright green by my temporary blindness. The ground seemed as firm and receptive as if one had been at sea for weeks, and the feeling of relief and sanctuary and joy was indescribable.
That day I learned that light alone is not enough for seeing. A light that shines on us in the darkness is one thing, but a light that blinds or over-powers us with its brilliance is another. The light that is clear and pure and strong cannot be overpowered or turned into darkness. The light that lifts us up from darkness is the true light, which came down from heaven, and it leads to safety and deliverance, even though we ourselves may at times find ourselves blinded by this same true light.
Life is not so simple that we can break it down into particles that are all positive or all negative, all good or evil. Life is never so black-and-white. Indeed, it seems as if it is more often the gray areas of inconsistency and moral uncertainty that give us trouble. Here is where we most often lose our way or even become unable to see the alternatives before us--perhaps because today there are so many of them. And God’s answer is to send us the true light, which can help us even though we are blinded by its glory, a light that can guide us even when we feel alone or helpless or lost. How does God do all this? By flipping a giant switch in our lives? No. By bringing us an abstract idea of Perfection and Goodness? Never. God does it by bringing Godness down-to-earth, to us and down to our size in a human child. This is how God chooses to penetrate our darkness, our blindness, our white-out. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
“God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” -- II Cor. 4:6 (ESV)
It is this amazing grace which has touched all of our lives. But be careful, lest you imagine that God has given us this gift only in order to prove his love. Christ comes as the incarnation of love, not as its Proof. Love is something you give, not something you prove. And it is this very capacity for love in each of us that it most Godly and Divine, when we see it in its true light. Then we recognize what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. Until we see that, well, we might just as well be snowblind in a whiteout. Perhaps we reveal our own blindness when we expect God to prove his love for us. Someone told me she liked the Bible because it was full of proof of God’s love: proof like miracles or curing the sick and lame, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind.
But this is backwards theology. Jesus never cured to prove. The Bible was not written to provide proof for our doubting nature, and Jesus was unmoved by such controversies. He cured where faith was present, or because he simply chose to heal this one or that one in the depth of their need. The miracles are there, but that’s not why the faith is there. The faith was in Him and the good news he preached. Maybe the real miracle is that so many went on trusting in him in spite of the fact that they remained blind or lame or lost or in prison or alone. And many still do.
Christ came unrecognized, except by a few scruffy shepherds and kooky astrologers, and he remained unaccepted for the most part. Few in the ancient world recognized the glory of God in him. Greeks in those days were proud of their philosophy and wisdom--why should they care about a Jewish baby? And Jews awaited a strong deliverer who would come in power to save them--why should they care about a carpenter’s child? Romans sat secure in their world domination, or so they thought. Athens...Rome... Jerusalem, each one looked to its own source of purpose and life and light. But only to those who accepted this Gift, who recognized God’s love in his Son, to these God gave a glimpse of his eternal glory.
I said that I was in my glory that day in the High Sierra 44 years ago, caught in the blinding light of a white-out. But that isn’t quite right. The real glimpse of glory was in discovering that I was not alone, after all...that safety and sanctuary were really not that far away from me. The glory descended in clear, broad daylight, full of comfort and joy. My prayer is that each of you may discover that same glory in the coming year...finding God’s love and care in some down-to-earth time and place in your life...that you may see with an inner vision that the true light is at hand, full of grace and truth.
AMEN.
Ps. 99 (9) • 2 Cor. 3:12–4:2 • Lk. 9:28-36 [37-43a]
Prayer of the Day
Holy God, mighty and immortal, you are beyond our knowing, yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Transform us into the likeness of your Son, who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
SERMON: " White-Out" | Advent Lutheran, Middleboro, Massachusetts
It was an unforgettable experience that day in 1966. You might say I was in my glory, because I was skiing Squaw Valley ...and at that point in my life skiing was sheer joy. I was alone, like a surfer splashing through waves in the ocean, except that it was a sea of billowing, deep white powder snow in the High Sierra, far above Lake Tahoe. It wasn’t very cold, but the wind whipped across the deep snow, digging deep, icy cold drifts. There was only one trail up there I hadn’t explored, and so I thought I would give it a try. As I got aboard the chairlift I could barely see the red parka of the skier in a chair twenty yards ahead of me. It was late afternoon, but the sky seemed neither light nor dark, but filled with hug flakes of snow. The wooden chair slowly coiled its way to the top of the mountain and I looked back but could see non one behind me on the lift. Now and then I could hear shouts below me on the trail, but then they disappeared and I was clearly all alone at 10,000 ft.
As I slid down the ramp, I tried to find my way through the falling snow. But suddenly I was blind. I could not see a thing, and now I felt more alone than ever. It was far worse than being in a darkened closet. The natural reaction when you can’t see is to open your eyes wider, but it was of no use. That only made things worse. This was what is known and respected in the mountains as a white-out, and as far as I was concerned it was just as fearful as an avalanche. My eyes were no help to me at all, so I finally closed them and tried to sidestep down the steep summit trail. Like a bat in a cave, I had no idea where I was going except what I could tell from listening to the wind, hoping to hear another skier, praying I would not slam into a tree, fearing that I might lose my way somewhere in the foods far from any sort of help.
Amazingly, I could find the center of the trail by paying attention to my sense of balance and the downward pull of the slope, known as the fall line. It was slow and nerve-wracking because i knew the sun was shining brightly somewhere out there beyond the blizzard. Just then someone in a red parka bumped up against me and we both began to make out the sound of others below us in the same dilemma. Suddenly, like the switch of mighty lightbulb, the snow lifted and real sunlight filtered down through the trees. the sky now seemed as clear and pure as I have ever seen it before or since, and tinted a bright green by my temporary blindness. The ground seemed as firm and receptive as if one had been at sea for weeks, and the feeling of relief and sanctuary and joy was indescribable.
That day I learned that light alone is not enough for seeing. A light that shines on us in the darkness is one thing, but a light that blinds or over-powers us with its brilliance is another. The light that is clear and pure and strong cannot be overpowered or turned into darkness. The light that lifts us up from darkness is the true light, which came down from heaven, and it leads to safety and deliverance, even though we ourselves may at times find ourselves blinded by this same true light.
Life is not so simple that we can break it down into particles that are all positive or all negative, all good or evil. Life is never so black-and-white. Indeed, it seems as if it is more often the gray areas of inconsistency and moral uncertainty that give us trouble. Here is where we most often lose our way or even become unable to see the alternatives before us--perhaps because today there are so many of them. And God’s answer is to send us the true light, which can help us even though we are blinded by its glory, a light that can guide us even when we feel alone or helpless or lost. How does God do all this? By flipping a giant switch in our lives? No. By bringing us an abstract idea of Perfection and Goodness? Never. God does it by bringing Godness down-to-earth, to us and down to our size in a human child. This is how God chooses to penetrate our darkness, our blindness, our white-out. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
“God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” -- II Cor. 4:6 (ESV)
It is this amazing grace which has touched all of our lives. But be careful, lest you imagine that God has given us this gift only in order to prove his love. Christ comes as the incarnation of love, not as its Proof. Love is something you give, not something you prove. And it is this very capacity for love in each of us that it most Godly and Divine, when we see it in its true light. Then we recognize what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. Until we see that, well, we might just as well be snowblind in a whiteout. Perhaps we reveal our own blindness when we expect God to prove his love for us. Someone told me she liked the Bible because it was full of proof of God’s love: proof like miracles or curing the sick and lame, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind.
But this is backwards theology. Jesus never cured to prove. The Bible was not written to provide proof for our doubting nature, and Jesus was unmoved by such controversies. He cured where faith was present, or because he simply chose to heal this one or that one in the depth of their need. The miracles are there, but that’s not why the faith is there. The faith was in Him and the good news he preached. Maybe the real miracle is that so many went on trusting in him in spite of the fact that they remained blind or lame or lost or in prison or alone. And many still do.
Christ came unrecognized, except by a few scruffy shepherds and kooky astrologers, and he remained unaccepted for the most part. Few in the ancient world recognized the glory of God in him. Greeks in those days were proud of their philosophy and wisdom--why should they care about a Jewish baby? And Jews awaited a strong deliverer who would come in power to save them--why should they care about a carpenter’s child? Romans sat secure in their world domination, or so they thought. Athens...Rome... Jerusalem, each one looked to its own source of purpose and life and light. But only to those who accepted this Gift, who recognized God’s love in his Son, to these God gave a glimpse of his eternal glory.
I said that I was in my glory that day in the High Sierra 44 years ago, caught in the blinding light of a white-out. But that isn’t quite right. The real glimpse of glory was in discovering that I was not alone, after all...that safety and sanctuary were really not that far away from me. The glory descended in clear, broad daylight, full of comfort and joy. My prayer is that each of you may discover that same glory in the coming year...finding God’s love and care in some down-to-earth time and place in your life...that you may see with an inner vision that the true light is at hand, full of grace and truth.
AMEN.
Friday, February 12, 2010
+ T R A N S F I G U R A T I O N + 2010 +
LEXEGETE™ | YEAR C | St. LUKE
__________________________________
Transfiguration of Our Lord
Last Sunday after Epiphany
February 14, 2010
Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 99 (9)
2 Corinthians 3:12–4:2
Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a] [37-43a]
Prayer of the Day
Holy God, mighty and immortal, you are beyond our knowing, yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Transform us into the likeness of your Son, who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. This is my | Son, my Chosen,
lis- | ten to him! Alleluia. (Luke 9:35)
1a. CONTEXT: Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus is found in
all the synoptic gospels and records the intense religious
experience of the three disciples Peter, James and John.
In all three accounts it follows the confession of Peter
and marks the transition from Jesus' preaching in Galilee
to his mission in Jerusalem.
Luke's transfiguration story places Jesus at the
summit of the prophetic and messianic expectations of his
age. The story is not incidental to Luke's gospel, nor an
example of synoptic coincidence. Luke's account, though
essentially similar to the versions of Matthew and Mark,
illumines the true power in Jesus' healing, teaching and
law-giving, and foreshadows the weakness of his followers,
who seem to be drowsy at crucial moments. The vision of
the three disciples is a turning point in Luke's gospel.
On the mountaintop Jesus' Galilean ministry is seen by the
light of Jewish hopes and the road ahead to Jerusalem is
first illumined.
Peter, John and James wake up to see Elijah and Moses
with Jesus, but alert readers of Luke's gospel might well
have been prepared for their appearance. The story of the
feeding of the 5,000 with loaves of bread and fish invokes
a miraculous feeding story of Elijah's in 2 Kings 4:42 and
Moses' feeding of the tribes in the wilderness. At the
beginning of chapter 9 Luke uses Herod to introduce these
associations. Jesus' activities had given rise to reports
that either John the Baptist had been raised, or that
Elijah or one of the prophets had appeared, and Herod
confesses a curiousity. "John I beheaded; but who is this
about whom I hear such things?" (Luke 9:9). Jesus,
according to Luke, asks who the people say he is.
The disciples report the titles Herod had also
heard: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets.
Peter shares Herod's doubt concerning these but goes
beyond curiousity to conviction. He confesses that Jesus
is "the Christ of God." Now with John and James, Peter
will see Jesus' true identity in the vision of the
transfiguration.
1a. TEXT: Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]
GREEK:
28Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους ὡσεὶ ἡμέραι ὀκτὼ [καὶ] παραλαβὼν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ Ἰάκωβον ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος προσεύξασθαι. 29καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ προσεύχεσθαι αὐτὸν τὸ εἶδος τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἕτερον καὶ ὁ ἱματισμὸς αὐτοῦ λευκὸς ἐξαστράπτων. 30καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄνδρες δύο συνελάλουν αὐτῷ, οἵτινες ἦσαν Μωϋσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας, 31οἳ ὀφθέντες ἐν δόξῃ ἔλεγον τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ ἣν ἤμελλεν πληροῦν ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ. 32ὁ δὲ Πέτρος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ ἦσαν βεβαρημένοι ὕπνῳ: διαγρηγορήσαντες δὲ εἶδον τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς δύο ἄνδρας τοὺς συνεστῶτας αὐτῷ. 33καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ διαχωρίζεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἀπ∍ αὐτοῦ εἶπεν ὁ Πέτρος πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν, Ἐπιστάτα, καλόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς ὧδε εἶναι, καὶ ποιήσωμεν σκηνὰς τρεῖς, μίαν σοὶ καὶ μίαν Μωϋσεῖ καὶ μίαν Ἠλίᾳ, μὴ εἰδὼς ὃ λέγει. 34ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος ἐγένετο νεφέλη καὶ ἐπεσκίαζεν αὐτούς: ἐφοβήθησαν δὲ ἐν τῷ εἰσελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν νεφέλην. 35καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῆς νεφέλης λέγουσα, Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἐκλελεγμένος, αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε. 36καὶ ἐν τῷ γενέσθαι τὴν φωνὴν εὑρέθη Ἰησοῦς μόνος. καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐσίγησαν καὶ οὐδενὶ ἀπήγγειλαν ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις οὐδὲν ὧν ἑώρακαν. [ 37Ἐγένετο δὲ τῇ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ κατελθόντων αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους συνήντησεν αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς. 38καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου ἐβόησεν λέγων, Διδάσκαλε, δέομαί σου ἐπιβλέψαι ἐπὶ τὸν υἱόν μου, ὅτι μονογενής μοί ἐστιν, 39καὶ ἰδοὺ πνεῦμα λαμβάνει αὐτόν, καὶ ἐξαίφνης κράζει, καὶ σπαράσσει αὐτὸν μετὰ ἀφροῦ καὶ μόγις ἀποχωρεῖ ἀπ∍ αὐτοῦ συντρῖβον αὐτόν: 40καὶ ἐδεήθην τῶν μαθητῶν σου ἵνα ἐκβάλωσιν αὐτό, καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν. 41ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν, ω γενεὰ ἄπιστος καὶ διεστραμμένη, ἕως πότε ἔσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ ἀνέξομαι ὑμῶν; προσάγαγε ὧδε τὸν υἱόν σου. 42ἔτι δὲ προσερχομένου αὐτοῦ ἔρρηξεν αὐτὸν τὸ δαιμόνιον καὶ συνεσπάραξεν: ἐπετίμησεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἀκαθάρτῳ, καὶ ἰάσατο τὸν παῖδα καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτὸν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ. 43ἐξεπλήσσοντο δὲ πάντες ἐπὶ τῇ μεγαλειότητι τοῦ θεοῦ. Πάντων δὲ θαυμαζόντων ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἐποίει εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ,
Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 26th edition
© 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart;
The Greek New Testament, 3rd edition
© 1975, United Bible Societies, London
ESV:
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, [1] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; [2] listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
[ 37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God. But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus [3] said to his disciples,
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.
(1) 9:31 Greek exodus
(2) 9:35 Some manuscripts my Beloved
(3) 9:43 Greek he
2. ANALYSIS: Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]
Luke 9:28-9 - Jesus brings Peter, John and James to
mountain in order to pray [proseuchasthai, from
proseuchomai--to offer or pour out prayer].
Throughout Luke's gospel moments of revelation occur
while Jesus is at prayer. Jesus was praying at his baptism
when the heavens opened (3:21), on the mountain before
choosing the disciples (6:12), on the Mount of Olives "as was
his custom" before his crucifixion (22:39), as well as on the
mountain of transfiguration. In this moment of prayer
the important dynamic is the communication and openness
between heaven and earth that is established in Jesus'
dialogue with God. Nothing particular is requested or
sought by Jesus. In Luke's gospel occasions of prayer
signify rather the intimacy Jesus has with God.
Luke 9:32 - Luke contrasts the intensity of Jesus'
prayer with the sleep [bebaremenoi hypno, from
bareo--weighted down with sleep] of the disciples. Their
reaction might indicate that the transfiguration took
place at night; in any case it foreshadows the sleep of
the disciples during Jesus' final night of prayer in the
Garden of Gethsemane. When the disciples waken from
their lethargy, they see Jesus in glory (doxa), speaking to
Moses and Elijah. Luke emphasizes the fact that Jesus and
his disciples are having distinct appearances of the
transfiguration. He notes the confusion of Peter who
gropes for a concrete resolution to this spiritual event.
"Let us build three booths," says Peter, who does not see
that Jesus' glory is from within and visible only to the
eyes of faith.
Luke 9:31 - Moses and Elijah have been speaking to
Jesus about the "departure" [exodos] he would fulfill in
Jerusalem. Moses speaking of Jesus' "exodus" is a prism
revealing a number of theological reflections: Jesus as
deliverer, Passover Lamb, leader, and prophet. Because
Moses and Elijah experienced suffering and rejection
before being vindicated by God, they legitimately share
with Jesus this foreshadowing of glory. Luke has already
drawn references to Moses and Elijah in the feeding
miracle, their symbolization of the "Law and the Prophets"
now establishes a new relationship between the "old" and
the "new" in the teaching of Jesus. In Luke this
encounter between the old and the new, heaven and earth,
suffering and exaltation, is the moment of glory [doxa].
It is beheld first by the disciple who made the
confession: "You are the Christ" and began to "see"
through the eyes of faith.
3. STRATEGY: Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]
The story of the transfiguration of Jesus
provides wonderful material for reflection on the theme of
Christian growth. One might revive the "nature versus
nurture" controversy to demonstrate two seemingly
opposed theories of faith development. Luke might at first
seem to support the view that faith is born of momentous
experiences, that Christians need to point to a time of
revelation, or conviction. On closer scrutiny, Luke
gives ample cues that this mountaintop experience of the
disciples is to be interpreted in the context of Jewish
history and hopes, in the ongoing teaching and testifying
of the disciples, and in the slow path of the cross. The
mountain is a vantage point from which roads coming and
going can be seen.
Another direction to take in preparing a sermon on
this text could be to examine the role of prayer in the
life of a Christian. Luke is careful to distinguish
different kinds of prayer, and believers would do well to
note that not all prayer involves a relationship of asking
and receivingl. Moments of prayer during Jesus' ministry
establish and nurture his intimacy with God, his
continuity with the history of the Jewish people, and
his identity as Savior.
Exegete – The Rev. Maria Erling, ThD, is Associate Professor of the History of Christianity in North America and Global Missions at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, PA.
4. REFERENCES: Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]
For a concise discussion of the transfiguration in Luke, and indeed an excellent
brief overview of the entire gospel, see O.C. Edwards, Jr.
LUKE'S STORY OF JESUS. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986.
Edwards is Professor of Preaching at Seabury-Western
Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, and a LEXEGETE™ contributor.
5. MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]
Two texts set to the Gregorian Chant "Adoro Te Devote"
are appropriate for this day: THEE WE ADORE O HIDDEN
SAVIOR (LBW 199), and ETERNAL SPIRIT OF THE LIVING CHRIST (HB
698, LBW 441).
A hymn focusesd on the theme of prayer is LORD, TEACH US HOW TO PRAY ARIGHT (LBW 438).
On the Transfiguration itself, HOW GOOD, LORD, TO BE HERE (LBW 89)
is suitable, especially the third stanza which sums up this day as follows:
" Fulfiller of the past and hope of things to be,
we hail your body glorified and our redemption see."
Others which apply to this occasion include:
CHRIST UPON THE MOUNTAIN PEAK (HB 129/130)
O LIGHT OF LIGHT (HB 133/4)
O WONDROUS TYPE, O VISION FAIR (HB 136/7, LBW 80)
CHRIST, WHOSE GLORY FILLS THE SKIES (HB 6/7)
WHEN MORNING GILDS THE SKIES (HB 427)
____________________________________
Lexegete™
© 2010 Tischrede Software
Dartmouth, MA 02747-1925
www.yourobdtsvt.blogspot.com
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