INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year B - Seventh Sunday After Epiphany

ISAIAH 43:18-25.     This excerpt from one of the many prophetic poems contained in Isaiah 40-66 conveys a remarkable message from God to the Jews exiled in Babylon. Despite Israel's sin, especially their unwillingness to worship, God was not only going to forgive them, but also return them to their homeland.

This message still rings true for our time more than 2500 years after it was written by the unknown prophet of Israel's exile in Babylon.

PSALM 41.   This trustful prayer by someone who is seriously ill expresses the assurance of the psalmist that God will continue to bless him and restore his health. Everyone else expected him to die, but he is reassured by his faith that God was pleased with him no matter what may have caused his illness.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:18-22.   Scholars believe that over some considerable time several difficult pieces of correspondence had been melded into what we now know as First and Second Corinthians. In this passage Paul tells the Corinthians that he had always been straightforward in sharing the gospel with them. Proof of this, he claims, is the gift of the Holy Spirit which is God's down payment on the life eternal which is yet to come because they are "in Christ".

MARK 2:1-12.   This delightful incident brings together several elements in Mark's story of Jesus' early ministry. Crowds followed Jesus everywhere. Seeing the faith of a paralyzed man's friends, Jesus forgave the man's sins. When the man walked away cured of his illness, everyone was amazed. The scribes, experts in the Jewish law, were appalled at what they regarded as blasphemy.

This story confronted a critical issue in the Jewish tradition. Only God can forgive sin. Mark's purpose was to challenge his audience to believe the evidence this incident presents. He told this incident to further his theme that Jesus only very gradually revealed who he really was, the Messiah/Christ, the Son of God.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

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ISAIAH 43:18-25.     This excerpt from one of the many prophetic poems contained in Isaiah 40-66 conveys a remarkable message from Yahweh to the Jews exiled in Babylon. Despite Israel's sin, especially their unwillingness to worship faithfully, Yahweh was not only going to forgive them, but also return them to their homeland.

Although it is never mentioned, this startling reversal of fortunes for Yahweh's chosen people came about due to the ancient covenant between Yahweh and Israel. Despite Israel's repeated transgressions, Yahweh remained faithful. Yahweh did not overlook Israel's sins. In fact, vss. 22-24 reiterates their indictment.  In this poem the prophet does not minimize those sins. Instead he proclaims that the grace of Yahweh transcends them. On this basis he calls on Israel to turn from memory to hope.

In ancient times, as in the case today for people who have been exiled from their homelands, there was very little hope of ever returning. Indeed, many had become quite comfortable in their new surroundings. This had happened to such an extent that many had turned from Israel's traditional mission to worship Yahweh. Forbidden to offer the sacrifices of the temple, they had adopted other religious practices from their Babylonians masters. These were the "iniquities" referred to in vs. 23.

The prophet's hopes for the future and condemnation for the realities of the present stand out in sharp contrast. Perhaps more surprising is the way they are juxtaposed: first the promise, then the censure. This only serves to heighten the emphasis in vs. 25 on the true nature of Yahweh who is "blotting out your transgressions for my own sake." The only motivation for this dramatic change in the exile's circumstances comes from the character of Yahweh whose nature is to forgive.

This message still rings true more than 2500 years after it was written by the unknown prophet of  Israel's exile in Babylon. Time and again in recent centuries, one so-called Christian nation or another has turned to practices totally inimical to the Christian mandate to love God and neighbor. Wars of mass destruction, genocide, racial apartheid, exploitive greed, environmental destruction - sins too numerous to mention - have carried humanity into distant exile from God. And still God forgives, so that we can always start again on the new path that leads through the wilderness and

the desert to a providential future.

PSALM 41.   Does anyone ever use the reading from the Psalms as a preaching text? Most of the time these readings are no more than an antiphon to the Old Testament lesson. These two do not often have the same theme at all. It would have been better for this psalm to have been associated with last week's OT lesson. This trustful prayer could well have been Naaman's song after he had been cured of leprosy. It is likely, however, that it was composed several centuries later in the postexilic period.

As it stands, the psalm shows distinctive characteristics of wisdom literature where sin and sickness were thought to have a direct cause and effect relationship. Indeed, some of its phrases reflect attitudes found in Job's antagonists. For example, the psalmist's confession in vs. 4 finds a parallel in Elihu's charge in Job 36:7-11. The mischievous visitor in vs. 6 has a counterpart in Job's erstwhile comforters in Job 2:11.

On the other hand, this prayer by someone who has been seriously ill expresses the assurance of the psalmist that God will continue to bless him and restore his health. Everyone else, especially his enemies (vs. 7) and even his closest friend (vs. 9), expected him to die (vs. 8). Nonetheless he is reassured by his faith that God is pleased with him no matter what may have caused his illness (vs. 11).

It is not clear whether "my enemy" in vs. 11b is the illness from which he suffered or some opponent who wished for his demise. At the end of his ordeal, he is convinced that his integrity has saved him, not divine grace. The closing benediction probably does not belong to the psalm. It is an editorial conclusion to Book I of the five in the Psalter added for liturgical reasons.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:18-22.   Scholars believe that over a considerable period of time several difficult pieces of correspondence between Paul and the Corinthian community had been melded into what we now know as First and Second Corinthians. The sorting out of the various excerpts from the different letters is an on-going scholarly problem. Theories abound as to the way in which these excerpts can be fitted together. On the whole, however, the early part of 2 Corinthians (chs. 1-7) appears to deal with the resolution of a worsening relationship between Paul and the Corinthian community.

It would seem that Paul had made a second visit to Corinth after writing 1 Corinthians. This visit is not reported in the version of Paul's journeys recorded in Acts. The reason for the second visit is also unclear, but it would appear to have been an unsuccessful attempt at reconciliation with those who had questioned his apostolic authority.

However it may have come about through extensive redaction, the main focus of the second letter as it now stands in the canon can be discerned. The main contents of the letter as a whole deal with Paul's opponents, a defense of his apostleship and the eschatological hope believers have because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Reconciliation between the apostle and the Corinthians community dominate the early chapters. This reconciliation reflects the eschatological reconciliation Christ himself effected between God and the world and thus gives both shape and purpose to the role of Christians as ambassadors for Christ in the world. Paul's apostleship and  his relationship with the Corinthians thus acquires its authority from the essential relationship of Christ to the world as reconciling Savior and Lord.

 In opening words of the letter prior to this passage Paul affirms the reconciliation which has ended the conflict he formerly had with the Corinthians. In this brief excerpt he tells them that he had always been straightforward in sharing the gospel with them. Proof of this, he claims, is the gift of the Holy Spirit which is God's down payment on the life eternal which is yet to come. The guarantee has been given to them because they had been baptized and anointed to symbolize that they are now "in Christ".

The key phrases in this passage are in vss. 21-22, "by anointing us, putting his seal on us." This may refer to the practice of anointing a baptismal candidate with oil after he or she had been baptized. This practice later became a significant part of the sacrament's symbolism, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church. This anointing confirmed that baptized person now belonged to Christ and had received the gift of the Holy Spirit through the church.

A seal was also an important instrument in an age when few people could read or write. By means of a seal, usually of wax impressed with an embossed signet or ring, a document or other artifact could be authenticated. A deed of property bore a seal as did an imperial order. According to Matthew 27:66, the tomb where Jesus as buried had been sealed. A seal identified the authority of the person who had given the order or owned the particular article. Slaves were often branded with the seal of their master. Baptismal anointing revealed that the Christian now belonged to Christ.

Another key word in vs. 22 is the Greek work *arrabon* translated in various versions of the NT as "earnest" (KJV), "guarantee" (RSV) or "first installment" (NRSV). Putting those three English words together,*arrabon* meant a guarantee by the payment of a first installment that a person was in earnest in making a commercial deal such as the purchase of a property or a cow. In this instance, Paul assured the Corinthians that the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church was God's guarantee that the full, eternal and spiritual life promised in Christ would be available to all who believed.

The metaphor still has considerable power, for our baptism identifies us as belonging to Christ and the gift of the Spirit guarantees that we shall receive eternal life. This does not mean, however, that baptism automatically assures us of eternal life. There is no such thing as baptismal regeneration. That is another subject in itself to which this passage does not make reference. The presence of the Holy Spirit, however, is the guarantee that this regeneration (sanctification) can take place, preparing us here and now for the fully sanctified life to come.

MARK 2:1-12.   A childhood memory of a picture in old Sunday church school materials came back to me as I read this story. Time and familiarity with the story may have elaborated the scene in my mind. The artist may also have taken considerable liberties in depicting the house and its surroundings.

Jesus was seated under the overhanging roof shading the door of a house in Capernaum. The crowd gathered around him were so closely packed that no one could approach. Two of a group of four men had climbed up on the roof and were removing the tiles. Another stood on the ground receiving the tiles passed down from above. The fourth stood beside their friend, rigid with paralysis, as he lay on a pallet watching intently. His face bore a look of hope mingled with fear.

This delightful incident brings together several elements in Mark's story of Jesus' early ministry. Crowds followed Jesus everywhere. Seeing the faith of a paralyzed man's friends, Jesus forgave the man's sins. When the man walked away cured of his illness, everyone was amazed. The scribes, experts in the Jewish law, were appalled at what they regarded as blasphemy.

Vs. 10 contains the significant words of the passage: "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins ...."  This declaration, addressed to the scribes, confronted a critical issue in the Jewish tradition. Only God could forgive sin. Jesus had claimed the divine prerogative. Mark told this incident to further his theme that Jesus only very gradually revealed who he really was, the Messiah/Christ, the Son of God. Mark's purpose was to challenge his audience to believe the evidence this incident presents. 

This story ends a whole series of healing miracles which began and ended in Capernaum (1:21-2:12). Without telling us why, Mark shows us that Jesus had relocated his ministry to this fishing village on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was from there that Jesus called five of the disciples. We might well wonder why. There were several possible reasons.

Through Capernaum ran a major highway, the Via Maris, from the seacoast to Damascus and on to the east. Yet it was far enough away from Tiberias, the new, mainly Gentile city to the south where in 25 CE Herod Antipas had set up his capital.  Perhaps as a carpenter he had been forced to work on the building of that city. This could have caused Jesus’ antipathy toward Antipas evident elsewhere in the gospel narrative. Capernaum also had a fairly mixed and stratified population of fishermen, farmers, skilled artisans, merchants, tax collectors, etc. These people struggled to make a living from the water and the land, and also from the commerce which the trade route yielded. This location also gave Jesus access to nearby villages and to the hill country to the north and west where he could carry on his ministry among receptive listeners without too much interference from political and religious authorities.

Mark made it plain that the scribes and Pharisees were never far away. They were the antagonists who created the conflict that gave Mark's story power. That is not to say that their opposition to Jesus was fictitious. Mark was a good storyteller, however, and the movement of his gospel depended on the continual and growing presence of those hostile to what Jesus sought to do in proclaiming by word and deed the inauguration of God's reign of love. It was this conflict which led eventually to Jerusalem and the cross. Behind this story lay the prophetic message of Second Isaiah and the figure of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

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