INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE
Year A - PROPER 15
GENESIS 45:1-15. This incident in the long story of Joseph in Egypt follows the classic model of dramatic storytelling a tale of reversal and recognition exhibited by all ancient Middle Eastern mythology and legend as a means of communicating living truth. The passage, entitled in the NRSV as AThe Truth Revealed,@ came from two different versions from the 9th and 8th centuries BCE respectively. So vss. 7 and 8a appear to be repetitious, but in fact came from two original documents.
Although there is relatively little mention of God throughout the Joseph cycle, both versions express the same theology of history that God is Lord of history as does the pathos of this incident of Joseph revealing himself to his brothers.
PSALM 133. Two beautiful metaphors brilliantly illustrate this brief psalm. It is one of fifteen in a collection known as ASongs of Ascent@ (Pss. 120-134) incorporated into the Psalter. These hymns of praise may have been sung by pilgrims or the companies of Levites assigned to a regular period of service in the temple as they approached the temple courts. The theme of this little gem is not only the solidarity of the family, but of the whole nation.
ISAIAH 56:1, 6-8. [Alternate] This hymn celebrates the spirit of universalism, one of the main themes of Israel=s unknown prophet of the Babylonian Exile whose works form Isaiah 40-55. Not only Israel but people of all nations will be welcome to worship in God=s rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.
PSALM 67. [Alternate] This short psalm also celebrates the hope that all peoples will worship Israel=s God and receive God=s full blessing.
ROMANS 11:1-2a, 29-32. Countering the fear of many of his contemporary Jews, Paul sought to remind them that God had not rejected them by bringing Gentiles into the developing tradition that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah. Rather, Jews and Gentiles alike have now received the full measure of God=s mercy through Christ.
MATTHEW 15: (10-20), 21-28. There seems little doubt that Matthew fully intended to link of the parable and teaching in 15:10-20 with the story of Jesus healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman in a foreign country as two expressions of the universal love of God for all peoples.
This important lesson touches us pointedly at a time when we too are all prone to divide the good from the bad, our race, our country, our tribe, our folk, our faith from all those others.
A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS:
GENESIS 45:1‑15. This classic model of dramatic storytelling named by Aristotle as a tale of reversal and recognition is found in all ancient Middle Eastern mythology and legend. It communicated living truth - and still does. This passage, entitled in the NRSV as AThe Truth Revealed,@ consists of a conflation of the J and E narratives from the 9th and 8th centuries BCE respectively. Vss. 7 and 8a appear to be repetitious, but in fact come from the two separate documents. Both express the theology of history exhibited in these narratives, although there is relatively little mention of Yahweh/Elohim throughout the Joseph cycle.
Having lived through the tumultuous 20th century CE, we may find it more than a little difficult to conceive of God as Lord of history. This was a fundamental article of faith in Hebrew theology which the Christian church adopted without question. The eschatology of the four gospels, the Pauline corpus, the general epistles, and especially Revelation, show how extensively the apostolic church shared this world view. The story the ascension in Acts 1:6-11 and the expectation of the imminent return of Christ in power and glory make this clear. But it is a matter of faith in the providence of God and not obvious to and frequently denounced by those who do not share this conviction.
Note that the way Joseph addressed his brothers (vss. 4-11) almost places the blame on God for their sin. Such an attitude regards God as an authoritarian bully, manipulating human lives for God=s own purposes, albeit to human benefit. Would it not be better to see this as a redemptive experience rather than to lay blame as where it surely did not belong?
Nonetheless the joyful reunion of the brothers is heartwarming and told with all the power of a great climax to the story. The settlement of the tribe of Jacob in Goshen by direction of Joseph differs from the later account of Pharaoh=s order to this effect (45:28-47:12). Scholars presume that vs. 10, therefore, may be a gloss added when the combined narratives were being edited or copied by later scribes. Such >corrections= were not considered inappropriate in the ancient process of transmission.
We must not forget that this story is a tribal tradition sacred to the powerful alliance of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph. These were the dominant tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel between the end of Solomon=s reign (circa 922 BCE) to the Assyrian conquest of Samaria and exile of the northern tribes in 722-721 BCE. It is not surprising that these stories should exalt their ancestral hero. During this same period, the J and E documents came into existence. The J document appears to have originated in the Southern Kingdom of Judah while the E document came from the Northern Kingdom. Their combination into one text probably took place in Judah in the 7th century as a means of preserving the sacred story of the covenant people.
Scholars have long recognized that there may have been an Egyptian model from which many details of the story were taken. (See commentaries by such luminaries of the early 20th century as Skinner and Gunkel.) Such borrowing was common in ancient storytelling. In no way does this diminish the significance of the Israelite tradition and its greatly enhanced theological interpretation. Israel=s faith that God intervened providentially time and again in the history of Israel is a relevant part of the history of the human race. In the age of pluralism in which we now live, this faith could become an important element of a developing global theology inclusive of the history of all faith traditions.
PSALM 133. Two beautiful metaphors illustrate this brief psalm. It is one of fifteen in a collection known as ASongs of Ascent@ (Pss. 120-134) incorporated into the Psalter. These hymns of praise may have been sung by pilgrims or the companies of Levites assigned to a regular period of service in the temple as they approached the temple courts. The theme of this little gem is not only the solidarity of the family, but of the whole nation.
On this characteristic of kinship in tribal life, the security of the nation depended. Particularly during the Hellenistic period (circa 330-165 BCE), the threat to Hebrew traditions increased greatly as the economy became commercialized and the whole Middle East came under the political domination of militaristic and secular overlords, Alexander and his successors, the Seleucid dynasty. Religious pilgrimages to Jerusalem became a significant aspect of the culture of the Jewish Diaspora. The story of boy Jesus and his parents attending the Passover in Jerusalem exemplified its meaning in Jewish life. (Luke 2:41-52) With the restoration of Israel=s national statehood in the latter half of the 20th century and the availability of air transportation, the importance of this custom has been revived.
The two metaphors come from very different realms of human experience, but still have much in common. They share the common symbol of pouring, as in an anointing. Vs. 2 specifically describes an anointing with precious oil, as Jesus was anointed on two occasions. This practice formed part of the daily toilet of the rich, usually with scented olive oil or a perfumed ointment. This had both cooling and analgesic effect as well as covering unpleasant body odours in the hot climate. It was also widely practiced on festival occasions. It was customary to anoint the heads of important guests at feast (cf. Luke 7:46). The coronation of a new king also included an act of anointing symbolic of the monarch=s role as the servant of Yahweh. (The Hebrew/Aramaic mashiah meant >anointed= and was translated into Greek as christos.)
The other metaphor in vs. 3 recalls two important sources of water: dew and Mount Hermon. From that mountain in Lebanon flows virtually all the fresh water in Israel. It is the source of the Jordan from which Israel still draws most of its water for irrigation and public consumption. One of the places where dew falls more plentifully on clear, humid nights is on the slopes of Mount Hermon. This meteorological phenomenon provides another important source of moisture for the vegetation on these mountain slopes.
The metaphors refer, of course, to the life-giving blessings of Yahweh (vs. 4). They vividly portray the pilgrims= praise on approaching the sacred temple precincts.
ISAIAH 56:1, 6-8. [Alternate] This hymn celebrates a spirit of universalism, one of the main themes of Israel=s unknown prophet of the Babylonian Exile whose works form Isaiah 40-55. Not only Israel but people of all nations will be welcome to worship in God=s rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.
In many respects, the suggestion that non-Jews would be acceptable in the courts of the temple was anathema to strict orthodoxy. The Second Temple built by Zerubbabel among the ruins of Jerusalem after the return from exile could not have been a very elaborate structure as was Herod=s reconstruction of it. Although exact archeological and literary evidence is lacking, it would appear to have had separate courts as did it later successor. The purpose of the courts was to prevent everyone but male members of the covenant community from approaching the Holy of Holies. In this way, the vision of Isaiah 56 was therefore denied. No Gentile could approach closer than the outermost court.
The great travesty of Jewish religious sentiment occurred when in 167 BCE Antiochus IV surnamed Epiphanes violated the temple, set up an altar to the Greek god Zeus over the altar of burnt offering and forced Jews to take part in the festivities on pain of death. The rebellion of Mattathias and the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty enabled the rededication of the temple in what is now celebrated in Judaism as the Feast of Hanukkah.
The vision of the ancient site of temple as the place for universal worship of the one true God remains undiminished although not yet fulfilled. Moslems regard it as equally sacred as the Jews. Over the centuries since Mohammed is believed to have ascended to heaven from the site, have built two of their most sacred mosques where Herod=s temple once stood. Because of its association with Jesus, Christians also regard it as a holy site and frequently join with Jews in prayer at the West Wall, the only part of that structure remaining.
PSALM 67. [Alternate] This short psalm also celebrates the hope that all peoples will worship Israel=s God and receive God=s full blessing.
ROMANS 11:1‑2a, 29‑32. We read this segment of Paul=s diatribe as Christians; a Jew would read it from a very different point of view. Jews then did not and now do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah/Christ. Yet Paul could never have rejected the historical faith of every Israelite that the Jews were God=s chosen and covenanted people. Rather, he cast this conviction in the mold of a virtual double predestination (vss. 2a, 28b, 32).
However difficult it may be for us to recognize how a loving God could condemn everyone so that God=s grace and mercy might be extended to all through election, that is what Paul seems to be saying in this passage. This avoids the problem cited in vs. 1 as to whether or not God has rejected Israel. For Paul, such a rejection would be impossible as long as there is a remnant of Israel Ain Christ@ (i.e. accepting the gospel and thus being part of the ecclesia, the church). Thus, those who have been called and have responded to the gospel in faith have become not only the remnant of Israel who were God=s elect in ancient times, but the new Israel God has now created in Christ. Sadly, he relegates those who have not so responded to the category of Aenemies of God@ (vs. 28). They are still the elect, because the gifts of such a calling are irrevocable (vs.29); but they are disobedient to their call (vs. 30).
Paul=s argument moves on to complete his discussion of the Jews= disobedience. He separates Athe sheep from the goats,@ as it were, the obedient from the disobedient. He concludes that God=s purpose in doing so was that God=s mercy might be shown to those who are in Christ (vs. 31). Does this not blame God for the disobedience of Israel? Is this what double predestination really means? God predestined Israel to disobedience so that he might then elect all those who have now responded to the gospel?
Nowhere in this passage does Paul use the word predestination, although that may well be what he is implying. Or is he no more than fixing a place for the Jews in God=s plan of salvation? Remember what has gone before in this letter: all humanity have sinned; all will be saved by grace through faith. Despite every advantage the moral law of the covenant gave them, the Jews had failed in their moral obligations. So they were now, like everyone else, wholly dependent on the grace of God for their salvation. As William Barclay has commented: AThe whole process was designed to show that neither Jew nor Gentile could ever be saved apart from the mercy of God.@ (Daily Bible Study: The Letter to the Romans. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press, 1957, 164.)
However ambiguous this may appear to us, it does clarify Paul=s absolute conviction that God is in sovereign control over history, past, present and future. Barclay=s poetic words are noteworthy: AThere was nothing which moved with aimless feet. Not even the most heartbreaking event or series of events was outside the will and purpose of God. Events can never run amok. The purposes of God can never be frustrated. It is told that a child stood at the window on a night when the winds were raging on the face of the earth, and when the gale was terrifying in its savage velocity. >God,= she said, >must have lost grip on the winds tonight.= To Paul, that was precisely what never happened. Things and men, and processes and nations were never out of control, as he saw it. Everything was serving the purpose of God. ... He would have insisted that in it, and through it all, God=s purpose was a purpose of salvation, not a purpose of destruction.@ (ibid., 165.)
MATTHEW 15: (10‑20), 21‑28. At first reading these two pericopes appear to us to have no relation; but they must have had for Matthew. In vss. 10-20 he gives us Jesus= attitude to the strict interpretation of the Holiness Code found in Leviticus. The Pharisees of Jesus= time held that whatever rules of ritual cleansing were good for the priests (Lev. 22:1-16) were also applicable to lay people who earnestly kept the covenant laws. For them, the Levitical code was designed to make all Israel a holy people. Jesus did not cast the whole law aside, but only sought to make it subservient to human need. The rules of ritual cleanliness must give way if they served only to inhibit the meeting of real human need and genuine moral obligation. This included application of the law to all aspects of human relations.
The sayings of Jesus quoted in vss. 11, 13 and 14 may come from an early source since they also appear almost verbatim in the sayings gospel known in its 2d century Coptic translation of a Greek original known as the Gospel of Thomas. Vs. 14 also appears in Luke 6:39 and is presumed to come from the hypothetical tradition known as Q. No sooner had Jesus said these things in Matthew=s account, however, than he faced an actual situation which called for real life practice of them in relation to a foreign woman.
The district of Tyre and Sidon was Canaanite territory on the Mediterranean coast to the north and west of Galilee. The citizens were a greatly mixed people who may still have had some Canaanite blood, but also well diluted by infusions of Syrian and Phoenician elements. They were Gentiles, of course, and thoroughly Hellenized since the time of Alexander the Great. The designation of a Canaanite woman in vs. 22 was a typically Jewish term of reproach and disparagement, as is the troubling reference by Jesus to dogs in vs. 26. Troubling as such words may be coming from Jesus= mouth, Jews did speak of their Gentile and pagan neighbors in such terms. Matthew undoubtedly used the quotation for dramatic effect. His obvious intent was not to categorize the woman or her ancestry, but to sharpen the contrast and to show how Jesus changed his mind with regard to this woman=s need.
Matthew wrote from a Jewish point of view for a predominantly Jewish audience, but also for Jews who met in the church fellowship with many Gentiles and sat with them in the agapé meals preceding the eucharist. This story would have special meaning to such an audience.
Many scholars have proposed that the provenance of the gospel was actually in Antioch, Damascus, or some other Syrian city with a mixed population very much like this particular situation. The impact of the story to such a congregation would be nothing short of astonishing. In effect, Matthew here opened the door of freedom to both Jews and Gentiles in the same way that Peter=s dream at Joppa and Paul=s conversion on the Damascus road had done.
Jesus= comment on the woman=s faith requires special note. She obviously saw in this Ason of David,@ a synonym for a Jew, someone with a special gift for healing. Three times she addressed him as ALord,@ but is this Matthew=s designation emphasizing the sovereignty of Christ? As Christians, we may think so; but did the Syro-Phoenician woman? Is it not possible for people outside our tradition to have faith, Asaving@ faith - Moslem faith, Hindu faith, Jewish faith, even Buddhist faith, although Buddhists are not theists as those other traditions?
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