Christmas Sensations: Taste Life!

Our Advent series this year is entitled Christmas Sensations. During the four weeks of Advent every year, the world is alive with the beautiful sounds of music and bells, delicious tastes of cookies and cakes, delightful aromas of baking and the cool, clean scents of evergreen, the loving touch of family hugs and reunions with friends, and the brilliant sights of brightly colored lights. The premise of the series is that every (pre-)Christmas sensation is an open INVITATION to relationship with God. At Christmas, our every sense is heightened in expectation that IMMANUEL will appear, God-With-Us, bringing hope, peace, joy, and love! Let's welcome Jesus into our hearts through a celebration of the senses.

On this Second Sunday of Advent, we want to TASTE Life in its fullness.

Taste in Scripture

Scripture uses good and bad tastes as metaphors for spiritual realities. When we are hungry, God gives good food to eat (Deuteronomy 8:3, Nehemiah 9:15). Manna, God's provision of food for Israel in the wilderness, tasted like honey wafers (Exodus 16:31) or rich cakes. The ability to discern the difference between good and bad by taste is something that we learn to do very early. Consider the well-known advent prophecy of Isaiah:

Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil [bad] and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil [bad] and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. (Isaiah 7:14-16, NRSV)

This "taste discernment" is an almost-universal human attribute. It is the plight of the omnivore to learn what is good and bad from the experience of tasting.



It is the plight of all humans since Adam and Eve (i.e., ALL humans!) to know the difference between good and bad by taste (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:22; Job 6:30). Taste is not an unmitigated blessing.




But the loss of taste is a harbinger of decline in human faculties and the approach of death (2 Samuel 19:35). Taste is one of the undeniable markers of "incarnate" human existence, one that is regulated by human law, custom, and convention (Colossians 2:20-23).

To "taste" something means to experience the whole--or at least to know its full character--through contact with a part. For example, if you "taste" even a morsel of bread during a fast, you may as well eat the loaf (2 Samuel 3:35, Jonah 3:7, Acts 23:14). And, of course, to "taste death" does not mean to be just a little sick (Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27, John 8:52, Hebrews 2:9).

Among the good things we are urged to taste in life are the Word of God (Psalm 119:103, sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter!), Wisdom (Proverbs 24:13), and Love (Song of Solomon 2:3).

Disciples are salty (Matthew 5:13, Luke 14:34)--they produce thirst for spiritual things in others and they "savor" the environment in which they live. And eating with sinners is the way of the Lord (and thus, the way of his disciples; Luke 5:29).

Finally, a taste is a preview of full satisfaction. It is a preview of coming attractions. The first taste of a banquet (e.g., a "wedding banquet," Matthew 22:2-9, 25:1-10, Luke 12:36-37) whets the appetite, revealing just enough to stoke our desire for more. That is what Advent tasting is all about, whetting our appetite for the feast that follows. Our advent tasting is merely suggestive of the full riches of the royal feast that awaits.

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:6-9, NRSV; see Luke 14:24)

Death, often a time for the "survivors" to eat and drink (and in the aNE to "share" food with the dead), is not a time when the dead can "taste" what the living do. A shade's existence is diminished and tasteless. The promise of advent is the promise of an end to such tastelessness and an End in God that is bursting with the flavor of life.

The contrast between hunger and fullness, death and life, is stark. Nowhere is the contrast more striking than with the Last Supper that Jesus shares with his disciples. The Passover meal is a memorial of salvation from death, celebrated in this instance by One who would shortly die. The promise of God is that this meal is not only a memorial, but also a foretaste of reunion celebration. The end of the story is not death but resurrection life, not famine but a return to feasting. And so, at Advent especially, we raise the cup and the bread to taste the promise of Life.

Psalm 34:1-10

A Psalm of trust in the LORD. In the midst of a dark and still darkening world, the Psalmist offers praise and trust that the LORD will save. Psalm 34:8 famously says "Taste and see that the LORD is good." (Leading some to suggest that the original "cult setting" for the psalm was the sharing of a celebratory meal, the shared portion of a sacrifice made in the temple as a thanksgiving offering to the LORD.) Those who take the Psalmist's advice will "have no want." Others, even the strong, will suffer from want and hunger, but those who trust in the LORD and seek him will not do without any good thing.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sandwiched between warnings about gluttony and disregard for the poor, Paul relays to the Corinthian church again what he has taught them regarding the Lord's supper. Their practice has in the past discriminated on the basis of wealth and prominence, in effect "selling" the good news rather than giving it away. This, Paul says, mocks the gospel and the death of Jesus, effectively nullifying the blessing that comes from participating in the Lord's Supper.

The Tenth Word: Beware Desire!

Beware Desire!

Finally, we come to the 10th Commandment! We might have hoped that this last Word would be less demanding, but if anything it is more so. We have seen something of a crescendo, a climax, as we have neared the end. From an attention to actions, we have moved to the realm of speech (false witness) and finally, now, to attitudes of the heart. From prohibitions against doing, we moved first to a Word against saying, and now to a commandment against even thinking about harming our neighbor. The terrain for the race has changed, and not for the easier. It as if we have left the flats, moved through the hill country, and are now cycling through the mountains. The final leg of the journey is uphill all the way to the finish line!

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The Ninth Word: Tell the Truth!

This week we look at the Ninth Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Lying is generally wrong wherever and to whomever it is done, but the point of this commandment is lying about our neighbor, lying to harm our neighbor, in a context where the word may in fact cause harm.

The Eighth Word: No Taking!

No Taking!

This week we consider the Eighth Commandment. It is the fourth in a series of commandments that focuses on loving our neighbor.

This study is about possessions, and holding them loosely, so if you are looking for some music to accompany the reading, you could do worse than the "jazz-influenced musical gumbo" entitled "Big Gap" by Dr. John and the Lower 911.

After having dealt with our first neighbor (our parents, the neighbors we are born with), our neighbor's life, and our neighbor's wife, the Second Table of the Ten Commandments shifts focus to our neighbor's stuff. As a goal, guarding our neighbor's stuff ranks a distant third place in terms of this commandment's priorities: the second priority is loving our neighbor as our self and the first is loving God!

The Seventh Word: Honor Marriage!

(...or, "have no other mates")

This week we consider the Seventh Commandment. It is the third in a series that focuses on loving our neighbor. After having dealt with our first neighbor (our parents, the neighbors we are born with) and our neighbor's life, The Second Table of the Ten Commandments shifts focus to the most intimate aspect of our most intimate relationship--the one we leave mother and father for, the one we take vows to protect.

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The Fifth Word: Respect Parents!

"Honor thy father and thy mother!"

This week we consider the Fifth Commandment. It is the first commandment that focuses on loving our neighbor, and it is a commandment with a promise attached. The Second Table of the Ten Commandments begins at home, where vital relationships are already established and likely to need attention, rather than with the stranger or enemy. We discover along the way that our expectations about who is addressed are being turned upside down. The commandment is addressed to the strong, the adults, so that children may learn and the aging, the vulnerable, and the poor be cared for.

The Sixth Word: Protect Life!

This week, we take things a little out of order. The sermon was about the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill!" The theme is appropriate to a weekend on which we commemorated the events of 9/11, especially given the conflict that surrounds the building of a mosque at Ground Zero and the threatened burning of the Qur'an by a Florida pastor. According to Jesus, the command to "Protect Life!" includes a requirement to seek reconciliation with, and to pray for and to feed, our enemies.

Next week we will study the Fifth Commandment. The remainder of the studies should follow in order!

The Fourth Word: Hallow the Day!

No Ordinary Appointment

This week I continue a study of the 10 Commandments at a website dedicated to the purpose: www.10wordstoliveby.com. This is a small group fellowship and discipleship Bible Study designed for use by our church. I am publishing it on the web in draft form to invite public suggestions and comment. The study and the sermon go together, so if you are in the Indianapolis area, you are cordially invited to attend. However, even if you miss the sermon, a quick read of the lesson for the week and the ten accompanying Discussion Questions may be of interest to readers of this blog. I'll be back to my familiar routine of posting after the 10 Commandments series is wrapped up in 6 more weeks.

Preview

Just imagine! The same God who spoke the worlds into existence without a lot of fanfare, is speaking a creating word directly to us. God's purpose in these commands is to establish an exclusive, dynamic, respectful, intentional relationship with us! Today we come to the Fourth Commandment. It is the final word written on the first of the two tablets inscribed by the finger of God on stone. In these first four commands, taken together, we now have a complete picture of the quality of the relationship that God wants to have with us:

A Passionate Relationship is:

• Exclusive (The First Word)
  
• Dynamic (The Second Word)
  
• Respectful (The Third Word)
  
• Intentional (The Fourth Word)

God's desire is to begin this relationship with us today. Do not wait! Make (and keep!) an appointment with God today.

The Third Word: Treasure the Name!

This week I continue a study of the 10 Commandments at a website dedicated to the purpose: www.10wordstoliveby.com. This is a small group fellowship and discipleship Bible Study designed for use by our church. I am publishing it on the web in draft form to invite public suggestions and comment. The study and the sermon go together, so if you are in the Indianapolis area, you are cordially invited to attend. However, even if you miss the sermon, a quick read of the lesson for the week and the ten accompanying Discussion Questions may be of interest to readers of this blog. I'll be back to my familiar routine of posting after the 10 Commandments series is wrapped up in 7 more weeks.

(Engraving by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
[March 26, 1794 - May 24, 1872]

Illustration was published in "Die Bibel in Bildern" [1860].
Scan by Ivan Burmistrov.)

The Third Word: Treasure the Name!

This week our Small Group Fellowship and Bible Study groups take on the commandment that many people think of as the commandment against cussing. However, as we have learned about both the First Commandment and the Second Commandment, there is more at stake for believers in this commandment than appears at first glance. This Third Commandment is also intended to safeguard and preserve our lives. The LORD our God desires a relationship with us that is living and passionate. God wants to be close enough to us that we know his name and call on it frequently. Join us this week as we learn to keep the Third Commandment!

The Second Word: No Images!

(Baal from Ugarit. Image source, http://www.historywiz.com/images/neareast/baal-lg.jpg)

The Second Commandment: No Images!

This week I continue a study of the 10 Commandments at a website dedicated to the purpose: www.10wordstoliveby.com. This is a small group fellowship and discipleship Bible Study designed for use by our church. I am publishing it on the web in draft form to invite public suggestions and comment. The study and the sermon go together, so if you are in the area, you are cordially invited to attend. However, even if you miss the sermon, a quick read of the lesson for the week and the ten accompanying Discussion Questions may be of interest to readers of this blog. I'll be back to my familiar routine of posting after the 10 Commandments series is wrapped up in 8 more weeks.

This week our study groups take on the prohibition against the making of images. This Second Commandment, like the First Commandment, is intended by God to safeguard and preserve our lives. The Second Commandment works by keeping our relationship with God from being stunted and remaining at one stage of development. The Second Commandment provides continued evidence that the LORD our God, the living God, desires a relationship with us that is living and passionate. God wants us fully present in this relationship, not fixated on our own "man-made" ideas and pictures of who God is.

The First Word: No Other Gods!

Finally for this week, I have posted the first full article in the Ten Commandment series with 10 Discussion Questions for small groups. The theme of the study is the "1st Word" (Protestant-Reformed ordering) of God to us: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (KJV)

(Wikimedia Commons, 1768 parchment by Jekuthiel Sofer)

Ten Words to Live By: The Prologue

The first post in my series on the Ten Commandments is an introductory article with 10 Discussion Questions following for small group study.

Now Moses was there with YHWH forty days and forty nights.  He did not eat bread or drink water, but carved the words of the covenant on the tablets, the '10 Words.' (Exodus 34:28; see Deuteronomy 4:13 and 10:4)

Ten Words to Live By: The Ten Commandments for Daily Living

For the next 10 Weeks, I will be publishing a study for small groups on the Ten Commandments on a dedicated web site and will update the links on my blog. The home page for the new study is Ten Words to Live By.

Vanity and Eternity

The contrast between living for ourselves and living for the kingdom is stark. The things that seem to us most substantial are fleeting, no more permanent than the mist that disappears quickly in sunlight. The things that seem to us least substantial--the immaterial things--are eternal. Jesus says to invest in the kingdom for lasting results.


(Image source, http://www.eaglegiftsgalore.net/Papers/Morning%20Mist.gif)

Supernatural Growth

Colossians 2:6–15 (16–19)

As the writer makes clear in the prolog (1:1-2), the addressees are believers, "saints [hagiois] and faithful [pistois] brothers in Christ." That is why he so readily assumes (2:6) that they already "received" Christ Jesus the Lord. His concern is what course of life they will follow now. His exhortation is that these brothers and sisters in Christ live (peripateite, literally "walk") in Christ. It is as if Christ were one of two (or more) paths (courses or directions) in which their life might go. They, having received Christ, are encouraged by the apostle to continue on their way in Christ without hesitation, backtrack, detour, or regret.

(Image source, http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/Crossroads.jpg)

The two images that follow supplement the metaphor of the pathway from two different realms of life. First, the apostle likens "walking in Christ" to putting down roots ('errizomenoi). In other words, life in Christ should be like life in God (Psalm 1), like the person who delights in the "Torah" (teaching) of YHWH" and meditates on that teaching regularly. Such a person is "planted" like a tree on streams of life-giving water. Such a person avoids walking, standing, or sitting on that other (bad/evil) path.

(Image source, iStockphoto.com, by John Woodcock)

The second image is drawn not from the world of nature, but from the world of human artifice. People who live in Christ are being "built-up" ('epoikodomoumenoi) on Christ.

(Image source, http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Better-Homes/images/Concrete-Block-Foundation.jpg)

The apostle says that we should not be a bunch of loose bricks haphazardly stacked on a foundation. It does not help much for the foundation to be strong if the bricks are not "firmly attached" (bebaioumenoi means strengthened [reinforced], confirmed, or the like). It is right to think of the sequence that is still preserved today in Christian rites of initiation for children and youth: baptism, instruction in the faith, and confirmation. Reception is not the one sufficient response for all of life. The journey--the growth--continues. "Be confirmed in (the/your) faith!" says the apostle. Prove the faith reliable, validate it, attest it, have it ratified! It is not enough to receive the teaching about Christ Jesus the Lord; you have to put it into practice and verify that it is true for yourself. If you do that, the final words of Colossians 2:7 will be true of you: you will be "abounding in thanksgiving." In other words, having all that you need and more (perisseuo), overflowing with thanksgiving (eucharistia).

Like the wisdom psalm (Psalm 1), which gives equal consideration to both the good path and the bad, the apostle considers the sorts of things that might cause his brothers and sisters to stray from the good path (2:8, 16, 18, 20-21). These are things that might be used to capture and carry the saints down the path of slavery (sulagogon). Especially worrisome to the writer are "philosophy and empty deception," ways of life that are based on human tradition and how the world supposedly works, rather than on Christ. These other roads are not real roads. These false paths are, in reality, nothing of consequence. Any of them that might have been powerful enough at one time to attract and hold the saints have now been subjected to the rule of Christ. The holding power of human tradition and norms has been removed--de-clawed, de-fanged, and otherwise decommissioned with respect to our mode of living by our baptism (a spiritual circumcision that cut us off from the power of the flesh). The physical rituals that sometimes entice our interest as alternative paths are but shadowy outlines and weak imitations of powerful spiritual realities--i.e., food, drink, new moons, festivals, and sabbaths can only trip us up now if we allow them to be used to judge (krino) or condemn us (i.e., allow someone other than Christ to be our Lord). They are puny approximations. Christ is the reality. In the same way, we should not allow anyone to steal our prize (katabrabeuo).

(Image source, http://blog.masslive.com/leftbank/2008/05/small_051027_sn_UmpireTN.jpg)

There are those who will want to rule against us like a bad umpire whose ability to take away the win is limited to our acquiescence to his bad calls. In the day when this epistle was written, such umpires were calling the saints "out" (or "foul") when they did not make a show of humility (through physical abuse of the body; see verse 23) or show proper respect to angels, or put enough credence in elaborate visions.

(Image source, http://thebsreport.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/blind_umpire.jpg)

Such people, the apostle says, are too proud of their worldly intellect. They are ordering people not to handle, taste, or touch material things, as if such things matter. Do not listen to them or you will end up on the wrong path.

The right path involves grabbing hold of Christ, who is the head from whom the whole body--being held together and supplied by joints ('aphon, "connections") and fastenings (sundesmon)--grows with the growth that only God can give (see Ephesians 4:15-16 and Colossians 1:6, 10).

What sort of growth is that? It is the sort of weedy growth exhibited by the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:28, Luke 12:27), which receive and provide grace and beauty without toil. It is the sort of growth exhibited by the tiny mustard seed, which matures from the smallest of seeds to the largest of trees (Matthew 13:31-32, Luke 13:19). It is like the farmer's seed that falls on good soil (Mark 4:8), multiplying 40X, 60X, or even 100X. It is the sort of growth spurt that newborn babies have that first insatiable year of milk craving (1 Peter 2:2). It is the sort of growth spurt that a child who is favored and specially marked by the Holy Spirit will enjoy, gaining strength, wisdom and grace (Luke 1:80 and 2:40). But it is also the sort of growth enjoyed by the church in Acts, when "the word of God continued to spread [and] the number of the disciples increased greatly" (Acts 6:7, NRSV; also Acts 12:24, Acts 19:20). It is the sort of growth you see on a major construction site when the steel starts to go up (Ephesians 2:21). It is the sort of growth that requires multiple workers, often workers who are at odds with one another as well as those who are working in cooperation, always acknowledging and "overflowing with thanksgiving" always because it is God who actually provides the growth. One plants and another waters, but it is God who grows stuff (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). It is the sort of growth that results in more righteousness, good works, and stronger faith and an increase in all the other fruit of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 9:10, 10:15; Colossians 1:6, 10). It is the sort of increase that happens despite the odds against it, as in the case of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. In other words, it is the sort of growth that Pharaoh and his minions cannot kill (Acts 7:17), especially as the time grows near for deliverance.

Being on the right path means being on the path of growth in Christ, a path of supernatural growth. It is not natural. But neither is it artificial. The sort of growth imagined by Paul for the church, organic but supernaturally strong (not artificial), is had only by prayers such as the one Jesus taught his disciples and the sort of desire for the kingdom that he also cultivated in them.

Luke 11:1–13

An Obnoxious Visitor

Amos 7:7–17

Amos, an accidental visionary, is assaulted with a prophetic image: he is shown the Lord standing on top of a vertical wall, with a "plummet" ('anak) in his hand. In the South, we sometimes call this rudimentary construction tool a "plumb-bob" (or "plum-bob," from Latin plumbum, lead [weight]; the Semitic cognates are also related to lead or tin). When Amos has made some sense of this uninvited visual stimulus, the Word of the LORD then invades the ears of the prophet with an obvious question, "What do you see, Amos?" To which this Southerner and would-not-be prophet replies, "A plumb-bob."


(Image source, istockphoto.com, File#: 10283194)

The Lord then brings Amos straight to the point: "I am placing a blumb-bob in the middle of my people, Israel. I will no longer forgive him." (`abar + lo, lit. "pass by ... to him," with the omission of `al-pesha`; see Micah 7:18 for an example of the fuller usage in a promise of salvation, rather than a judgment oracle. We have seen this verb recently, in the story of Elijah at Mt. Horeb.)

This oracle to Amos appears on the surface to contradict the words of Micah:

Who is a God like You, Forgiving iniquity And remitting transgression; Who has not maintained His wrath forever Against the remnant of His own people, Because He loves graciousness! (TNK, Micah 7:18)

Yet Amos persists in saying what he sees and hears, that the Lord will desolate (shmm) the "high places of Isaac" (bamoth yischaq, rather than yitschaq; see Jer. 33:26 and Psalm 105:9) and will destroy (chareb, lit. dry up, be laid waste, in ruins) the "sanctuaries of Israel" (miqdeshey yisra'el). In other words, the religious structures on which the Northern Kingdom of Israel depends are so out of plumb they will soon be falling down. And the Lord will attack the "house" (beth, synecdoche for the full power and rule of the king and his court/heirs) of Jeroboam with the sword (chereb; note the play on words with chareb, above). In other words, the political structures are also in trouble. Everything in the Northern Kingdom is so out of kilter that it cannot last. It will fall...or, more accurately, be pushed and toppled. Ancient cities, like Samaria, depended on strong walls for defense. Jeroboam II and his court were responsible for the upkeep both of the walls and the religious structures. But here is this trouble-making southerner, pointing out the obvious based on his visions and auditions.



(Image source, http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/above-ground-masonry-walls.shtml)


(Image source, http://www.reformationtours.com/site/490868/uploaded/leaning-tower-of-pisa.jpg)

Amos, who is a border-crossing rabble-rouser, quickly gets into trouble with the powers that be. He has crossed over (barely) from the Southern Kingdom of Judah into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and is openly criticizing King Jeroboam on his own turf (albeit close to the border; he's not in Samaria, the center of the king's power base). Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, who is Jeroboam's agent, tells the king what Amos is doing (i.e., qashar, hatching a conspiracy [a league or covenant bond] in the "middle [qereb] of the house [beth] of Israel." In other words Amos is, by his act of speaking out, performing the function of the plumb-bob that God has set in the middle of his people. The prophet is the plumb-bob. According to Amaziah, the weight of the prophet's words is also the very thing that will bring down the house. Amaziah concludes his letter to the king with a couple of choice quotes from Amos, words designed to ensure a swift, harsh verdict and imprisonment or death for the prophet.

Amaziah also addresses Amos directly, telling him to go back home to Judah and to leave the people of the Northern Kingdom alone. After all, Bethel is the king's sanctuary (miqdash) and royal palace (beth). Amaziah seems maybe a little jealous of Amos and protective of his own privilege (as a priest at Bethel). Amaziah also seems oblivious and completely unconcerned about the veracity of the vision Amos saw--and that, if Amos is correct, this temple and palace are so out of plumb that they are falling down.


(Image source, http://www.tekoa.org.il/images/Tekoa-and-DeadSea.jpg)

Amos responds to Amaziah's command to leave by denying that he is a religious professional. He isn't into prophecy for money or as a result of heredity. He has a different (perhaps lesser) livelihood, as well as a different home. The only reason Amos has transgressed the border is that YHWH "took me" (laqach) and "told me" to go and prophesy to YHWH's people, Israel. Amos counter's Amaziah's claim of legitimacy from the king with a claim of legitimacy from God. The encounter ends badly for Amaziah, with a personal word of judgment to accompany the national calamity that Amos has seen coming.


(Image source, http://www.tekoa.org.il/images/tekoa/wadi4.jpg)

Amos is the quintessential bad guest. He acts like a mother-in-law wiping her white glove over the furniture. He takes a carpenter's level, square, and rule with him everywhere, pointing out the places where the walls are not plumb and, the walls not perpendicular and the corners not square. What are we to do with such a guest? Drive him away? ...or take his advice?

Luke 10:25–37

We encounter a similar confrontation in Luke 10 between a lawyer and Jesus. Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem, but traveling through Samaria. The lawyer wants to test Jesus with a question about how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds (as usual), not with an answer but with a question that turns the tables on the lawyer: "What do you think?" The lawyer answers well, using the plumb-line of Scripture: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (NRSV, Luke 10:27) Everyone, Jew and Samaritan, would agree that adherence to this commandment would build strong, tall, straight (plumb) walls. Jesus affirms the lawyer's answer: "Indeed, do this and you will live."

But the lawyer wasn't satisfied with the Scriptural plumb-bob. He wanted to "justify himself," to judge what's plumb and what's not plumb using himself as the standard. So he asked Jesus another question: "And who is my neighbor?" To which Jesus replies with the story of the Good Samaritan. At the end of the story, Jesus holds the plumb-bob provided by a foreigner, a Samaritan's love, to redirect the lawyer's question: "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" (Luke 10:36, NRSV) Again, the lawyer answers well, "The one who showed him mercy." To this, Jesus responds, go and do likewise. Go and be a plumb-bob.


(Image source, http://www.12stoneart.com/product_images/62/20061214_good_samaritan.jpg)

We are given the opportunity, like Amos was and like the lawyer was, or like the priest and the Levite and the Samaritan were, to respond to this call of God to be a "plumb-bob" in a world of leaning walls and unsafe structures. God takes us from whatever occupation we have and whatever place we call home to speak the truth about what we see and to love and show mercy both near at home and far away.

The Advance Team

2 Kings 5:1–14

Let it never be said that the Bible lacks a sense of humor. Today's story is about Naaman, a Syrian captain, whose name in Hebrew means "beautiful" (masculine form of Naomi, mother-in-law of Ruth). The root occurs in Ugaritic (na`amanu) and (possibly) Amorite (nachmanu), and is the Semitic name for the deity also-known-as Adonis (Wikipedia link; note the two-fold connection of "rebirth" [killing and making alive, 2 Kings 5:7] and youthful beauty).

(Image source, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Aphrodite_Adonis_Louvre_MNB2109.jpg)

The crescendo of praise for Naaman that builds throughout the first verse crashes abruptly with a single word at the very end of the sentence: we are startled to learn that this foreign beauty is afflicted with leprosy, a terrible, disabling, disfiguring skin disease. This dream of a man, for whom the world is his oyster, who is an army commander, a V.I.P., always welcome in the corridors of power, a winner, a great warrior and a man of great strength, has been struck with the disease of those who are poor, malnourished, vulnerable and weak.

The irony of this story continues unabated as an offer of help comes to the great man Naaman in the form of a small, captive, nameless servant girl from a defeated country. In another reversal of great and small, the captive servant girl's own words are quoted verbatim in the court of the king. Then, when golden boy Naaman departs to obtain his healing, we come to the heart of things. Naaman expects to purchase his salvation from the prophet in Samaria with a boatload of stuff: ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten suits of clothes. These "things" are are the tools for Naaman's "advance team."

The irony intensifies as Naaman approaches the king of Israel with a letter (another thing that "prepares the way" for Naaman) demanding healing. How is Naaman (or his boss, the Syrian king) to know that the king of Israel and the prophet in Samaria (and the prophet's God, YHWH) do not get along well and are usually on opposite sides of Israel's wars of religion? The king responds to the letter immediately by tearing his clothes (a visible sign of distress) and tells the truth (at least rhetorically): Am I a God? Am I able to kill and bring back to life? I cannot save this man from leprosy! But the king in Samaria also assumes that the Syrian king has an ulterior motive in making such an unreasonable demand, to pick a fight, to create an excuse to invade this vassal kingdom again.

Elisha, who just last week took on the mantel of Elijah, saves the day. Elisha invites the king to send Naaman to the prophet's own house. So, Naaman and his stuff arrive, expecting hospitality befitting his V.I.P. status. But Elisha doesn't invite him to come inside. Instead he sends out a messenger (mal'ak, an angel, like the little servant girl from whom Naaman has already received help) with instructions to go and wash seven times in the river Jordan. Because the prophet himself did not come out (notice the parallel with Jesus' sending of the seventy in Luke 10), Naaman is angry. His expectations regarding the mode for his salvation have been disappointed. He is not being treated with the deference and respect he demands. In a huff of superiority, he declares that the waters of his own land are better than those of Israel. He sulks away in a smoldering rage.

In another reversal of big and little things, it is once again the servants who save the day, reminding their master that he would have gone to any (great) length to secure his health, so why not do this (little) thing? The reading ends with Naaman's obedience and healing. Like Adonis, he is reborn. His skin is new like a baby's.

(Image source, http://thedailychapter.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/)

Our reading for today ends without telling us what happened to all the "stuff" that Naaman brought to purchase his salvation. For that, we must read the rest of the chapter. Note especially 2 Kings 5:19 and the connection to Luke 10:5.

Luke 10:1–11, 16–20

© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. Disciple Feet, Luke 10:11. Image rights available ($2.50) for church use.

Once again, Jesus sends out disciples (see 9:2) to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal those who are sick, like Naaman. The difference is that whereas Naaman sought out the prophet (and people often sought out Jesus), these disciples seek out the sick. Going from town to town, they have the job of getting folks ready for the coming of Jesus. They are the advance team, testing the receptivity of the town and the hospitality of its people and providing a foretaste of the Kingdom that is coming near.

© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. July 4 To Do List, Luke 10:4. Image rights available ($2.50) for church use.

Making preparations for an "event" can sometimes be as intense as hosting the party itself. It is in the making of arrangements that money is committed, relationships are formed, and the work of the advance team makes or breaks an event. Some venues and cities are better hosts than others, but even the best will not live up to full potential without good advance work.

The disciples could be excused for thinking that they needed "stuff" to roll out the red carpet for Jesus and the Kingdom. Like the Indianapolis Host Committee for Super Bowl 2012, they may feel the pressure to perform well.


(Image source, http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/images/news/logos/SuperBowlBidlogo.jpg)
And for that, they need "stuff," right? They need improved facilities, money, clothes, shoes, etc. They need to make a great impression, to polish their image, to "sell" the Kingdom event to those influential people whose acceptance or rejection of their message means so much.

But Jesus is having none of it. Like Elisha, he is refusing the "stuff" and reinforcing the message that the Kingdom of God comes to town on the dirty, dusty feet of little servant girls and poor disciple messengers. These are feet without shoes, people without money, without extra changes of clothes. They bring one thing only, the message of peace. As they heal the sick, they say that the Kingdom of God has come near. They eat what they are given and go where they are told, stay where they are welcomed and move on when they are not.

Discipleship does not require a lot of packing. Are you ready? Leave your stuff. Forget your list. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Have your feet been reborn? Are they in the picture? Is your name written in heaven? Then rejoice!

© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. Disciple Feet, Luke 10:2. Image rights available ($2.50) for church use.

Grace Abounds but Time Is Short

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

The passage from 2 Kings begins much as today's reading from Luke 9 (below). When YHWH was about to take Elijah up to heaven in the storm wind, Elijah and Elisha [his disciple] set out from Gilgal on a journey. Elijah asks his student to stay put, while Elijah goes on to Bethel. But Elisha replies to Elijah much as Peter does to Jesus, and with the same desire expressed by two of the would-be followers of Jesus in today's reading from Luke, "I will not leave you." So they continued along the road to Bethel, ... and then on to Jericho (2:4-5), and finally to the banks of the Jordan.

(Image source, http://www.ecva.org/exhibition/substance/images/knippers.jpg)

The connection between the Exodus of Elijah and that of Moses is cemented in Luke's gospel with the ministry of Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration, just prior to the passage we take up today (Luke 9:28-36). One similarity and a great difference between the departure of Elijah and that of Jesus is the effect it has on the disciples. The Spirit of Jesus does descend when the day of Pentecost "has fully come." And it descends with the promise of even greater works and the mantel of the authority of Jesus' ministry. But the journey of Jesus is not merely the journey of a servant of God. The Son of Man was God's own Son, and when we set out with him, it is the complete transformation of our lives and our world that ensues. It is we who are transformed.


(Image source, http://elaynelaporta.com/gallery/images/medium/ot_elijah-fiery-chariot_MED.jpg)

Luke 9:51-62

(Image source, http://ombudsben.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/foggy-boat-tall.jpg?w=500&h=878, blog article at http://ombudsben.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/obviously-confused-sometimes-sunk/)

Luke 9:51 begins with a time stamp, a captain's log. The days of (prior to, until) Jesus' "ascension" (lit. "taking up," analempsis) were filling up (sumpleroo). The latter verb is used three times by Luke, the first time in Luke 8, when Jesus falls asleep in a sailboat that is being swamped with water. The last time is on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), translated in the KJV as "when the day of Pentecost was fully come."

The days are filling up--they are coming fast and furious--for Jesus, with the riskiness of a boat filling quickly with water, but Jesus is master of both waves and days. There is no panic, only a firming, or fixing (sterizo), of his orientation toward Jerusalem. Luke has already told us (9:31) that Jesus' departure from Jerusalem will be his Exodus ('exodos). Like the book of Mark, the book of Luke narrates one deliberate journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, after which in one eventful week Jesus enters on Palm Sunday is killed on Good Friday and raised on Easter Sunday.


(Image source, http://www.ohiobass.org/StateTournaments/Erie/PIC-1.jpg, article, http://www.ohiobass.org/StateTournaments/Erie/Erie.htm)

Jesus sends ('apostello, from which we get apostle) messengers (angelos, angels; see Malachi 3:1 and 4:5, for the connection to Elijah) ahead into a Samaritan village to prepare the way ('etoimazo; see Luke 1:17, 1:76, and 3:4). Preparation is something the fool does to excess for himself (Luke 12:20), trying to preserve his own life, and preparation is something a servant dutifully performs for his master (Luke 12:47, 17:8). But in Jesus' vita, the notion of preparation seems to hover over that last week, the destination toward which he has now turned: the Last Supper with his disciples (Luke 22:9, 12-13) and his burial (Luke 23:56, 24:1). If there is foreshadowing about Jesus' death and resurrection in 9:51 it is strengthened by this command to the messengers in 9:52.

Jesus' reception (dechomai, or lack thereof) in this Samaritan town is something of a surprise, given the crowds that follow him (Luke 7:11, 8:4) and the many miracles he performs, though we have already seen some ambiguity and outright rejection of Jesus (8:37, even from the very beginning of his ministry in his own home town, 4:16-30, Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke, p. 827). The reception of Jesus, his word and his servants, has become a recurring theme in Luke 8 and 9, starting with the parable of the sower (8:13, those who "receive" the word gladly, but have no roots) and continuing with instructions to the disciples who are headed out on a preaching and healing mission (9:5). Jesus tells the disciples to shake off the dust of any place that does not "receive" them as a testimony against the people of that place. This basic rule of hospitality is turned into a responsibility for all disciples in 9:48, where receiving "this little child" (or "the least among you") is tantamount to receiving Jesus and the One who sent Jesus. In this case, the people of the Samaritan village reject Jesus specifically because his traveling destination is Jerusalem (9:53). They are rejecting him and refusing him hospitality not because of his previous acts but because of his forward trajectory.

James and John, those hotheads (Sons of Thunder, boanerges, in Mark 3:17), ask Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the villagers, presumably a heightening of the instruction they had been given in 9:5 because the offense is aimed not at disciples but at their Lord. (And/or it may be another allusion to Elijah's ministry and words, "let fire come down from heaven and consume you," 2 Kings 1:10, 12.) But Jesus turns around (strepho) and rebukes them ('epitimao, used in response to fever [4:39], demons [4:35, 41; 9:42], the storm wind [8:24]). In 9:20-21, Jesus has already "rebuked" the disciples after Peter's confession, commanding them not to tell anyone that he is the Christ.

Instead of calling fire from heaven, Jesus and his disciples simply leave the one Samaritan village (9:56) for another. The Son of Man, after all, has come to seek and to save (Luke 19:10), not to destroy. It is not clear whether Jesus and the disciples shake the dust of this town from their feet, but as they are walking along the road (toward Jerusalem), a new episode begins when an unidentified man says, "I will follow ('akoloutheo) you wherever you may be going" ('aperchomai). Jesus has already responded to similar initiatives, for example, the entreaty from the demoniac. Jesus sent the demoniac away, saying "go home" (hupostrepho, Luke 8:39) and tell what God has done for you. To this man who appears along the way to Jerusalem, Jesus gives a portrait of life as a disciple, which is borrowed from the world of nature:

Foxes (and their kits) have holes.

(Image source, http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0408/0965.jpeg)


Birds (and their hatchlings) have nests.

(Image source, http://www.ornithology.com/images/BabyBirds_Miller_061705.jpg)


But the Son of Man (and his "followers" or "disciples") has nowhere to lay his head.

We are not told what this man decided about "following" Jesus further toward Jerusalem after this off-putting response by Jesus, but no sooner has this conversation concluded than Jesus takes the initiative and says to another man, "Follow me." Instead of responding with an immediate "yes," this man wants to "go home" like the demoniac to his family, not to spread the good news about what God has done, but to "bury my father." The question seems to be one of priority, of least and greatest, first and last; what comes first, the Kingdom of God or the cares of this world (Luke 13:30, 14:18, and the parable of the sower)? The second man's answer makes it clear that for him, responsibility to family comes before "following" Jesus on his way toward Jerusalem.

Then follows one of Jesus' most enigmatic sayings: "Let the dead bury their own dead" (Luke 9:60). But the upshot is clear: don't "go home"; instead, go announce the (good) news about the Kingdom of God.

Yet a third man says (like the first) "I will follow you, Lord" but (like the second) first let me go back ('epistrepho, similarly to the demoniac in 8:39) and say good-bye to ('apotassomai, foresake and give up, Luke 14:33) those at home. To this man, Jesus says, "No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks to the rear is useful for the Kingdom of God."


(Image source, http://www.wtpafm.com/morning/trucks/image004.jpg, blog http://www.wtpafm.com/morning/trucks.html)

So, are you on the road with Jesus, following closely, so that when the "fullness of time" comes you too will be with him in Jerusalem?

What road are you taking, a road of vengeance or of grace?

What time is it for you?

Do you feel your boat filling up?


(Image source, http://www.navalassoc.org.au/nautical%20compass011.gif)

What destination is your compass oriented toward? Do you have a solid fix on that location?

These are "homecoming" days as Jesus makes his way toward Jerusalem. He forgives a lack of hospitality in a Samaritan town and almost in the same breath refuses the requests of disciples for more space or time with parents and domestic chores. The reading from 2 Kings allows the contrast with Elijah's ministry and his treatment of Elisha, a disciple who is allowed to return home to "kiss" his parents goodbye before starting on the path of discipleship.

Extreme Makeover: Life Edition

I Kings 19:1-15a

We begin with the story of Elijah. While it is not our primary focus this week, the story does provide some serendipitous points of contact that may help to illumine our reading of the Gospel of Luke. Between the story of Elijah's raising of a dead boy (I Kings 17:8-24, 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time) and this story of Elijah's flight from Jezebel toward Mt. Horeb lies a mountain-top experience of another kind (Mt. Carmel, I Kings 18), a conflict between Elijah and the religious establishment of Israel in which Elijah very much enjoyed the upper hand. I Kings 19 begins with a reference to that prior victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, but then turns suddenly to the presentation of a contemporary threat. There is a sports cliche that comes to mind here: "you are only as good as your last game." In other words, Carmel is over--it is ancient history now--and Jezebel stands ready to challenge Elijah's freshly won claim that his God, YHWH, is superior to her god, Baal.

You might think that a guy who had recently resuscitated a corpse and called down fire from heaven might exude a little confidence. You might expect him to indulge a little swagger. But not today, not Elijah. His mental game is off. His mind isn't in it. He's not trying; he's stopped looking for a strategy to move ahead in the race. He's not even looking to tie. And he's given up on keeping body and soul (nephesh) together. He hasn't the courage, the strength, the heart, the ________ (you fill in the blank) that is required to keep going. He is ready to sit one out, to warm the bench, maybe to quit the team for good. He has lost the will to win. He is sated with the struggle. He says, "Enough already!" (rab `attah; see 2 Samuel 24:16 // 1 Chronicles 21:15) Elijah just wants to curl up under a broom tree and die. He needs someone who understands what he has been through. He needs someone to care that he's been trying all this time to make a difference, but that the cards seem stacked against him. I think he needs an Extreme Makeover.

You know the show.



It is a "reality show" (a misnomer of a genre if ever there were one). The show's premise is that there are real people in this world who are right now struggling against incredible odds to do the right thing. They may be winning a few battles here and there--they may even seem tragically heroic--but they are obviously losing the war. The whole of life seems hopelessly stacked against them. Without some "miraculous" intervention, without some sort of extraordinary good luck, they are going under. They may as well throw in the towel now unless they get help. And they do not need just a little help. They need a complete reshuffling of the deck. The genius of the show is that it has discovered the perfect symbol for this transformation: it is the demolition and rebuilding of the family's house. Given how we "worship" our homes (at least we did once, before the recent Great Recession), it is somehow deemed appropriate that the complete transformation of a family's life be narrated as the awe-inspiring story of a house transformed. In just a matter of days, in seemingly miraculous fashion, the family's old home is destroyed and a new home is constructed in its place, with the help of friends, neighbors, and community.

The question is whether Elijah gets this sort of transformational help when he calls out to God.

Elijah does get help. He receives a hot meal or two delivered by the deacons. (1 Kings 19:5-6, 7-8) He gets some much needed rest while he is "dropping out" and taking a little spiritual R&R. While on his "vacation" he attends the Mt. Horeb church, the same place where Moses went, for a spiritual retreat. He is hoping for a little revival of the spirit, some encouragement, maybe a burning bush or an eleventh commandment, earthquake, fire and smoke. But instead of allowing him to settle in and take his ease, God asks Elijah point blank what he's doing there. (mah-lekah poh; the only other time such a question is asked of someone seeking a refuge, Isaiah 22:16, it is clearly an unfriendly question: "What right have you to be here? Who gave you permission?")

Why are you here? God asks the question twice. (1 Kings 19:9, 13) Both times, Elijah answers the same.

I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.

(I Kings 19:10, 14; NRSV)

After the first answer, YHWH tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain in his presence, because YHWH is crossing over ("going through," `abar; NOT pasach, "passover"; see Exodus 12:23 for the difference). It is not altogether clear whether YHWH's presence is, at the present, a threat of curse or a promise of blessing for Elijah. Does this mean death or life? In the end, we are not sure whether YHWH has even shown up for the appointment. There have been great natural phenomena occurring, wind-shattering of rocks and the like, but YHWH is eerily absent (qol demamah daqqah, "the thinnest whisper of a voice"), as if we were waiting with Elijah for the other shoe to drop.

After YHWH repeats the question and Elijah repeats the answer, it seems that YHWH's "help" with Elijah's transformation comes in the form of an acceptance of Elijah's resignation. (1 Kings 19:16) However, two tell-tale signs contradict that assumption: first, Elijah is told to "go back the way you came" (shub ledarkekah)--in other words, go home, to your old place; and, second, he is commissioned to anoint two kings (Hazael of Damascus, a foreign king; and Jehu, king of Israel). This is perhaps the most significant assignment of his prophetic career; it is hardly a retirement. In fact, the anointing of his successor could be seen as "life insurance" taken out before embarking on hazardous duty. Whatever Elijah was seeking when he came; he received what he needed to continue as a prophet. Sometimes, perhaps, what we need is not an Extreme Makeover, but a swift kick in the pants.

Galatians 3:23-29

According to Paul, the coming of Christ, our faith in Christ and our baptism into Christ, represent an Extreme Makeover. Our lives have been transformed from their former state of slavery and imprisonment to a state of freedom as adopted children and heirs of God's promise. We were sinners under a great debt and in danger of immediate foreclosure and homelessness; but now we are justified, paid up, by faith with a new lease on life. In our new life in the Spirit, there is no prejudice, no distinction, based on the old realities that had things stacked against us: there just isn't a difference now in our family between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave and free. We are all one in Christ. Even our closets have been transformed, even our clothes have changed, to demonstrate this new reality.

Luke 8:26-39

But before we get too comfortable with this new life, we should ask whether there is an example of the aftermath of such a complete life transformation. Have others survived it?

Between last week's table talk (Luke 7) and this week's demoniac comes the parable of the sower (8:4-15) and the comment from Jesus about setting one's light on a lampstand (8:16) and (on hearing that his mother and brothers are looking for him) that his real family is "those who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21) Then we come to the story of the demoniac, which coincidentally begins with a change of scenery. Jesus and his disciples set out across the lake in a boat and while they are under sail Jesus falls asleep. When a storm blows up and threatens to capsize the boat, the disciples call out for help. ('apollumetha, "we perish"; it is the equivalent of the "demolition" required by an Extreme Makeover.) Jesus quickly comes to their aid, not transforming their lives, but rescuing them from impending death in the storm. The winds and the waves, and their obedience to Jesus, are impressive and clearly connected to the transformational power of faith, but they leave the disciples, like Elijah before them, with more questions than answers. (Luke 8:25)

When they arrive, Luke points out again that they are not at home. They are in the country of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes), which is the opposite ('antipera) side of the Sea of Galilee. (Luke 8:26) A man comes out to meet them who is in dire straits. Even the Extreme Makeover folks would have difficulty knowing where to start because the man has neither home to demolish nor clothes to throw away. His home is in the tombs. (mnemasin; Luke's only other use of the term in the gospel is for the tomb of Jesus, the sepulcher with the stone across the front, Luke 23:53 and 24:1, and for the tombs of David [Acts 2:29] and Abraham [Acts 7:16]). Having just read I Kings, we cannot avoid hints of Elijah's cave on Mt. Hebron here. But the demoniac in Luke throws us a curve. The demoniac demands of Jesus an answer to the same question God posed to Elijah: "What are you doing here?" More to the point, "What do you want with me?" This is, I think, a clear indicator of the sort of Extreme Makeover Jesus brings, the kind in which he himself participates. The demolition of our old life (crucifixion) and construction of our new life (resurrection) is one in which he has gone before to pave the way, so that we too may experience new life.

See the entry for Mark 5 for a riff on the full story of the demoniac.

A question remains: How does one cope with a total transformation of one's life? Stress, even good stress, can be "bad" for you. It is good that Jesus sends folks "back home" in their "right mind." What's our role in welcoming such folks who have been changed and transformed by God's grace? Going "home" to a new life in Christ has consequences. What should we do to accept and receive someone who's been "born again" and whose life has been redeemed? How often do we invite Jesus to leave and go somewhere else to practice his transforming work?

Just a little nod to Father's Day, note 1 Kings 19:4!

Haunted

Mark 5:1-20

Time was, when I was a boy of 9 or 10 or 11, that this was my favorite New Testament story. There were perhaps two reasons. First, I was the son of a Pentecostal preacher and had seen much evidence of the dramatic effects of the Holy Spirit on many people—so it was not a great stretch, with a boy’s overactive imagination, to conjure a vivid picture of the sort of havoc an unclean spirit might produce. Here was a New Testament story—and there weren’t many—to rival the Old Testament stories of David and Goliath (where, much to a young boy’s delight, the giant literally loses his head) and the so-called witch of Endor. Secondly, I think my fascination with the demoniac’s story derived also from a Pentecostal penchant for archaic language. The Holy Spirit was for us during my formative years the Holy Ghost—and Mark 5 (//Luke 8:26-39), read from the King James Version, the Bible of my youth, was inhabited by a man “possessed with devils”—and those “devils” appeared in the text quite frequently, even in verses where I now know that the Greek text is more restrained. Nowadays the Greek is “more faithfully” rendered by the NRSV’s antiseptic “they.” The KJV was so much better, don’t you think, for a boyish imagination?—far better “devils” than “they.” What my friends and I discovered back then was a ghost story to keep a boy up at night and devils enough to keep him whispering solemn speculations for hours into the night.

So, when, somewhat desperate for a text for this sermon before Presbytery (Middle Tennessee, 2003; Year 1 of the Revised Common Lectionary [RCL] Daily Lectionary, Week following Sunday between July 17 and 23 inclusive) I noticed that Mark 5 appeared as Thursday’s Gospel reading, I took it as a providential sign and was once again enticed to “turn aside to see” this strange text that “burns, yet is not consumed.”

We children of the Enlightenment, denizens of the 20th and now the 21st century, no longer believe in ghosts and devils. We assume that we have exorcised (that’s exorcise, not exercise) or can successfully exorcise all the devils from their hiding places in Mark 5. We are, after all, and with apologies to Amy Jill Levine, “the very model of a modern Bible exegete.” Naturally, we no longer subscribe to a literalistic reading in which two or four or six thousand demons drive two thousand swine off the side of a cliff and into the sea. We are older now, more mature, more civilized and sophisticated. We know all too well that what the ancient writers understood as spirit possession would likely be diagnosed today in a sterile, clinical hospital ward as some sort of mental illness—-though, if we are honest, we will also admit that it is no less terrible and terrifying for its diagnosis. We Presbyterian exegetes know to ask all those “who, what, where, and when” questions that domesticate and bind this text to its ancient context. And we know that we should not move on to a consideration of what the text means here, to us, today, until it has been “successfully” bound, gagged, and interred in the city of Gerasa or Gadara or Gergesa, in the region of the gentile Decapolis, between Galilee and Judea, under Roman Imperial administration, some two thousand years ago. We know all that.

Still, there are ghosts in this text that haunt me. This text, like the demoniac himself, refuses to stay confined to its modern shackles. Though commentary after modern commentary warns us against misreading this story as a condemnation by Jesus of an economic system in which 2,000 swine are more valuable than a single, though deranged human life, still pulpits resound with this “misreading” every time the text is read (though that may now be rarely done). Why does such an economic “misreading” persist? Perhaps the Spirit of Christ seeks once again by the reading of his Word to confront the very demons that possess us—our material possessions. Knowing full well that consumerism destroys our bodies and our spirits—and more so the bodies and spirits of our homeless, mentally ill neighbors—our modern reaction to the arrival of Jesus may be to run to him with the magic of rote prayers begging that he not torment us by “freeing” us of our possessions. Deluded, we may even say that we prefer our life in the caves, bound by our possessions, but free of God and one another. And, like the residents who found the man clothed and in his right mind, we may catch a serious case of NIMBY (not in my back yard) when cured demoniacs try to rejoin polite society—even polite church society.

Yes, there are still ghosts in this text that haunt me--21st century ghosts and devils aplenty. Horizons may have shifted with the computer age, but we still have horizons. We still, and with reason, fear loss of mental capacity, aging, and loneliness. We still succumb to sickness and pain, despite extraordinary efforts to avoid them. And we still loathe and fear death, that most fearsome and seemingly most invincible of all devils.

Friends, the good news is this: Jesus still confronts and casts out devils. Jesus is still the one who calms the storm and raised Jairus’s daughter. Jesus, though he died, lives forever more—and gives us life eternal. We, like the demoniac, are charged to go home to our friends to tell how much the Lord has done for us. I find it is ironic, then, that this text may NEVER be read in our churches, since Mark 5:1-20 conveniently drops out of the RCL for Sundays and Festivals somewhere between the 12th and 13th Sundays in Ordinary Time in Year B. Did we notice?

Note: the parallel text in Luke 8:26-39 does appear on the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.

A Host's Inhospitality

A bit of "table talk" by Jesus in Luke 7 sets up three points of contrast: an ungracious host (showing how little forgiveness he has received), a woman whose love for Jesus shows (prior to the fact) how much forgiveness she is open to receiving, and Jesus our guest. (Brendan Byrne, The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke's Gospel, Liturgical Press) Who knew that hospitality is such a yard stick (measuring cup) for forgiveness?

But before we turn to the Gospel of Luke, we pause for a moment to consider the Psalmist's cry of desperation.

Psalm 5:1-8

The Psalmist begins with a prayer for attention, which moves from a plea for God to take the earplugs out and turn to face the supplicant ("give ear") to a plea for God to take enough interest in what is being said that the prayer will register on the divine radar. The psalmist wants God to listen with understanding and discernment, to distinguish (binah) the individual words, phrases, and sentences so that sounds of the supplicant's prayer will be intelligible to God. The psalmist wants God to understand the prayer, not merely to hear the sound of praying.
The psalmist's prayer is characterized as a cry for help by someone who has been hurt. (shewa`; the root occurs 11 times in the book of Job and 10 times in the Psalms, but only rarely elsewhere.) Such cries of distress have a purpose and that purpose is to summon a strong helper, a hero. In this case the hero is God, who is envisioned in his role as king. (A warrior and defender; someone with great power; if the king cannot help, who will be able?)



Scroll to 3:11 for the relevant section.

Even though I'm president of the United States, my power is not limitless, so I can't dive down there and plug the hole. I can't suck it up with a straw. All I can do is make sure that I put honest, hard-working smart people in place ... to implement this thing.

(President Barack Obama)
What sorts of things, other than oil spills, merit such a cry? The need for mercy (from a judge; Psalm 28), the need for healing (Psalm 30), and the need to be found or located (e.g., when lost at sea; Psalm 31), among others.



(Image source, http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37650809/ns/sports-othersports/)
Photo: 16-year-old, Abby Sunderland, in her wrecked sailboat, Wild Eyes. She is now on a French fishing vessel, which rescued her half way between Australia and the coast of Africa. She spent two days without communication and sent out distress signals before she was rescued.

The Psalmist ends on the same theme we will see soon in the gospel reading, the one who has been saved from much also loves much. Gratitude is the hallmark of the life saved.

Luke 7:36-8:3

It helps first to remember the Roman setting of Jesus' party invitation. Often we make unfounded assumptions that can be dispelled with a few images, imaginative reconstructions of the Roman triclinium, the arrangements of the three couches, the placement of the table, the open end from which food would have been served.


(Image source, http://library.thinkquest.org/22866/Dutch/Plaatjes/aanlig2.gif)


(Image source, http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston180.jpg)




(Image source, http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston179.jpg)

306. The places on each couch were named in the same way, (locus) summus, medius, and īmus, denoted respectively by the figures 1, 2, and 3 in Figure 179. The person who occupied the place numbered 1 was said to be above (super, suprā) the person to his right, while the person occupying the middle place (2) was above the person on his right and below (īnfrā) the one on his left. The place of honor on the lectus summus was that numbered 1, and the corresponding place (1) on the lectus īmus was taken by the host. To the most distinguished guest, however, was given the place on the lectus medius marked 3; this place was called by the special name locus cōnsulāris, because if a consul was present, it was always assigned to him. It was next to the place of the host, and, besides, was especially convenient for a public official; if he found it necessary to receive or send a message during the dinner, he could communicate with the messenger without so much as turning on his elbow.

(Johnson's Private Life of the Romans)

Roman dinners were social events, with guests. We too often forget in this age of home theaters that home entertainment in the Roman world was of necessity live entertainment. There was music and dancing. ("`We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'" Luke 7:32, NIB) There was recitation of written work, poetry and speeches, plays and the "good" parts of the best tragedies and comedies. And there was Jesus. He could be counted on for a miracle, a sign or good work, an exorcism, a good parable, a provocative statement, or something else altogether unexpected. You have to wonder from all the dinner invitations he received whether Jesus was considered by some of the rich folks of his day as just another form of entertainment. ("The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" Luke 7:34, NRSV) For a good description, see the Wikipedia article on Roman cuisine, table culture

So, Jesus received yet another invitation to dinner, this time from a Pharisee. He accepted, Luke says, taking his place (which one?) and reclining with the other guests at the table. (Luke 7:36) About that time a woman who has heard that Jesus will be reclining on that couch at dinner in the Pharisee's house shows up with an alabaster bottle of ointment or perfume (muron) she has bought for the occasion. It is strongly aromatic, often used for anointing dead bodies (Luke 23:56).

The Expensive Stuff

(Image source, http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d49742/d4974297x.jpg)


The Cheap Stuff

(Image source, http://www.jerusalem-antiquities.com/images/Roman%20Glass%20Perfume%20Jar6.jpg)

The woman with her alabaster jar walked into the room in full view of the guests and made her way around the table until she stood behind Jesus. There she took her stand, weeping, and began to shower his feet, drenching them with her tears. She was wiping them dry with her hair. And she was kissing his feet and anointing them with the perfume.

The host, taking it all in, says to himself, "He's no prophet! Or he would know what sort of woman is touching him (7:39, hapto, most often of people "grabbing" Jesus, hoping he will "touch" and heal them: e.g., Luke 5:13; 6:19; 7:14; 8:16, 44-47; 11:33; 15:8; 18:15; and 22:51). This is nothing new or out of the ordinary to Jesus. People in need are always grabbing for him. Parents are always bringing their babies to him so that he may touch them. But this woman's a sinner! (harmotolos, see 5:30, 32) Jesus was always being accused of fraternizing with sinners and publicans by the Pharisees; yet, whose table is he sharing today?

Jesus turns to his host and says, "Simon, I have something to say to you." Now we get to glimpse the guise under which Jesus has been invited, because Simon responds, "Go ahead, teacher!" (didaskalos)

Jesus offers an after-dinner parable:

(Image source, http://newportricheyflforeclosures.com/images/forecloserichie.jpg)


(Image source, http://housesforeclosure.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/bungalow.jpg)

A man who owed (chreopheiletai $500,000 and a man who owed $50,000 both had their loans re-negotiated with the bank (see Luke 16:5). (charizomai, generously, graciously, forgave and pardoned.) Now neither man owes anything, both have unblemished credit scores, and both can keep their houses. Tell me, which will love the banker more?

Jesus replies, "You judge correctly." (Similar to the way the Psalmist prays that God will hear and understand his prayer.) Then Jesus convicts Simon: "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave (didomi, echoing the inability of the debtors to "repay," apodidomi, their obligation) me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair." (NRSV, Luke 7:44) Jesus continues enumerating the host's many obligations, a kiss and oil for his head, which Simon had failed to perform. Her many sins have been forgiven, for she loves much. ...and then he trails off, ...but the one who has been forgiven little loves little.

Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the story is the order in which the statements occur. Jesus makes the declarative (objectively real) statement to Simon that the woman's sins have been (perfect! / past) forgiven before he turns to the woman and informs her (subjectively real) that her sins are (now) forgiven (perfect!).

(Image source, http://test.huntmuseum.com/qzty2o/2276.jpg)


(Image source, http://www.carlos.emory.edu/files/05classic05L.jpg)

The other guests are flabbergasted, asking, as will often be the case with Jesus, "who is this who even forgives sins?" Jesus, not missing a beat, says to the woman that it is her faith that has saved her. Her love for Jesus is an expression of the depth of that faith. Her love is deeper, it seems, than the love of Simon, and so is her faith.

How deep is my love?

How much faith do I have?