INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A - PROPER 21

 

EXODUS 17:1-7.  This is another incident in the long story of Israel's continuing struggle to believe and follow God's leading during their wandering in the wilderness.  Moses comes into conflict with the Israelites because they have no water and want to return to Egypt where water was plentiful.  Following God's instructions, Moses makes water flow by striking a rock.  The point of the story is that faithful living is obedience to God, not finding plentiful resources.

PSALM 78:1-4, 12-16.   The whole psalm celebrates God=s goodness to the Israelites. In this segment the psalmist recounts some of the mighty acts of God during the Exodus and early years in the deserts of Sinai.

 

EZEKIEL 18:1-4, 25-32.   [Alternate]  Emphasizing individual retribution for sin as opposed to the traditional tribal retribution, Ezekiel defends the fairness of God=s judgment. He then repeats God=s challenge that each person repent of his or her sin and live righteously.

 

PSALM 25:1-9.  [Alternate]. Reiterating the principle of individual moral responsibility, the psalmist pleads that God be merciful, accept his repentance and teach him humble, righteous living.

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:1-13.   Paul tells the Philippians how to live as Christ lived, selflessly, sacrificially and in faith that God in enabling them to do so. The central part of the reading (vss. 5-11) may have been an early Christian hymn with deep theological meaning, perhaps originally composed by Paul himself.

 

MATTHEW 21:23-32.  Challenged by his opponents to identify his authority as he was teaching in the temple, Jesus refused. He further challenged them with a simple but obvious riddle about John the Baptist. When they refused, he excoriated them for not believing John the Baptist when even tax collectors and prostitutes did so.

 

 

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

 

EXODUS 17:1-7.  This is another incident in the long story of Israel's continuing struggle to believe and follow God's leading during their wandering in the wilderness. Maps show that though surrounded by sea with relatively narrow links to the land masses of Africa and Asia, the Sinai Peninsula is actually an extension of the deserts of Egypt and Arabia. The northern extension of the Great Rift Valley of Eastern Africa separated them millions of years ago.  (See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Rift_Valley.) The climate is torrid and dry. Fresh water is extremely scarce. The Bedouin tribes who have made it there traditional home for millennia spend their lives in search for water and pastures for their meagre flocks of sheep and goats. The narrative of the Exodus continues with an incident drawing upon these realities.

 

The role of any tribal leader in such circumstances was to provide his people with sustaining supplies of water. Moses came into conflict with the Israelites because they had found no adequate sources of water on their journey. They wanted to return to Egypt where water had been plentiful. 

 

The traditional story-tellers may have known the exact location of the campground called Rephidim, but we do not. It lay somewhere between the wilderness of Sin and Mount Sinai. Neither of those have been exactly located by modern archaeology. Since the 4th century CE Christian scholars have regarded a mountain named Jebel Musa near the apex of the triangular Sinai Peninsula as the likely spot. For the past 15 centuries the site has been marked by a monastery dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. At least three other competing locations have also been suggested. Another theory points to the close similarity of Sin and Sinai indicating that the two were reasonably close to one another. This passage seems to emphasize that the Israelite progress was by stages indicating a greater distance. Such unanswered questions depend almost entirely on one=s maximal or minimal view of the historicity of the scriptural record.

 

The OT has two other references to this event in Deut. 33:8 and Ps. 95:8-9. In both the implication is as straightforward as in this instance: the Israelites= contention amounted to testing Yahweh=s presence among them as they wandered toward the promised land. The point of truth in the story is that faithful living is obedience to God, not finding plentiful resources.

 

Two other points stand out in the story as we have it: 1) Moses did not go alone. Good leadership in any enterprise has plenty of support, especially when there is grumbling in the ranks. 2) The grumbling was actually a test of faith. Not just Moses= leadership was challenged; trust in Yahweh had reached a low point among the wandering tribe.

 

The metaphor of Moses= staff, probably a normal shepherd=s staff, has some significance. To strike the rock as he had struck the Nile symbolized the power given to him by Yahweh. To have such power controlled the destiny of those who followed him. Yet the power was always derived as the first reference to Moses= staff in Ex. 4:1-5 stated. It was never possessed by him nor used except at the specific command of Yahweh. This derived power indicated to those who would believe that Yahweh was indeed still with them as arduous as the journey might have been.

 

 

PSALM 78:1-4, 12-16.   The whole psalm celebrates God=s goodness to the Israelites despite their frequent rebellion. In this segment the psalmist recounts some of the mighty acts of God during the Exodus and early years in the deserts of Sinai. Included in these two excerpts are two particular events of the Exodus B the dividing of the sea and the splitting of the rocks to provide water. This follows the liturgical role of the psalm as an opportunity for the people to participate in the service of the Word and reinforce their hearing of OT reading.

 

 

EZEKIEL 18:1-4, 25-32.   [Alternate]  Emphasizing individual retribution for sin as opposed to the traditional tribal retribution, Ezekiel defends the fairness of God=s judgment. He then repeats God=s challenge that each person repent of his or her sin and live righteously.

 

Reported instances in recent years of tribal and/or familial retribution such as gang rape and murder of women whose husbands or brothers have committed crimes send shock waves through Western society. This is largely due to our assumptions, fully sanctioned by laws, that only the perpetrators of wrongdoing should be charged and punished for specific transgressions.

 

Until the time of Ezekiel during the Babylonian Exile (586-539 BCE), tribal justice was the norm in all Middle Eastern cultures including Israel. Indeed, throughout the OT there in a clear sense of corporate responsibility for the breaking of Israel=s covenant with Yahweh. Hence the proverb in vs. 2 which this whole passage was designed to counter.

 

Note especially that the basis for this revolutionary change in moral responsibility is solely the faith that all life belongs to God. This could be and probably has been used as a powerful text supporting the pro-life movement. However, anti-abortionists frequently overlook the fact that the moral responsibility for bringing new life into being is the sexual behaviour of the parents, not the foetus so created in the natural and divinely sanctified manner.

 

Note too that the principle of individual moral responsibility extends to the whole society (vss. 30-31) and not just selected individuals. Debate as to whose behaviour should be role models for youth B clergy, parents, popular musicians, movie stars, sports heroes, etc. B in no way removes the responsibility from everyone. We are all responsible individually and collectively for the moral quality of our society.


PSALM 25:1-9.  [Alternate]. Reiterating the principle of individual moral responsibility, the psalmist pleads that God be merciful, accept his repentance and teach him humble, righteous living. Trusting in the steadfast love of God and seeking to learn God=s way becomes the key to the righteous life God requires of each person.

 

In the Hebrew original the psalm has the artificial form of an acrostic and includes some wisdom motifs (vss. 4-5; 12-14). Thus it was composed in the later post-exilic period. It would seem that the psalmist has well understood the principle of individual responsibility that Ezekiel introduced to Israel during the Babylonian Exile (586-539 BCE).

 

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:1-13.   Undoubtedly one of the finest excerpts from Paul=s writing, this passage tells the Philippians how to live as Christ lived, selflessly, sacrificially and in faith that God in enabling them to do so. The central part of the reading (vss. 5-11) may have been an early Christian hymn with deep theological meaning, perhaps originally composed by Paul himself.

 

Paul constantly appealed for unity in the Christian communities he had founded. In some respects the Philippian congregation may have been the strongest and most united of all. A few clues suggest that it may also have been his favourite; e.g. Amake my joy complete@ (vs. 2); Ajust as you have always obeyed me@ (vs. 12). Nonetheless, his special feeling for them in no way prevented him from seeing that they represented the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit of God at work among them (vss. 1b, 13).

 

Perhaps more than a doctrinal statement about which some may quibble, the hymn declares that the exemplary model of Jesus as the best that human beings can be rests on his special relationship with God. And so does the quality of our moral life (vss. 4-5). The Christian life consists of being like Jesus, even to reiterating his sacrifice and, as John envisions in Revelation 7, being accepted into the heavenly realm to the praise of his glory.

 

 

MATTHEW 21:23-32.  Challenged by his opponents to identify his authority as he was teaching in the temple, Jesus refused. He further challenged them with a simple but obvious riddle about John the Baptist. When they refused, he excoriated them for not believing John the Baptist when even tax collectors and prostitutes did so. The excerpt ends with a parable unique to Matthew=s Gospel.

 

Never without opposition throughout his ministry, Jesus sought to redirect the tradition of Israel away from ritual legalism and a dominant priesthood toward a more meaningful trust by the individual in the gracious and forgiving love of God. This approach threatened the religious authorities of the time. Scholars like Jeremias and Vermes have shown how these authorities classified everyone into those categories and classes who were ritually pure and so acceptable within the temple precincts. Anyone challenging this social and moral rigidity was automatically suspect by both Pharisees and Sadducees. The former party were strict legalists who sought to shape the nation=s moral life in adherence to the full set of Mosaic laws; the latter controlled the priesthood and temple. John the Baptist was one prophet whom both authorities rigorously opposed. Although the NT record does not reveal it, he may well have been prevented from preaching in the temple precincts. When Jesus undertook to do so, he was immediately challenged.

 

Undaunted, Jesus used the tried and true method of answering his critics with another, even more challenging question. They refused to answer because either response could have been used against them. Jesus had used their challenge to his authority to hoist them on their own petard.

 

The parable that follows may not be original in its present form and may not have come from Jesus but from Matthew. It also could have been adapted from a similar old Jewish parable about God=s gift of the Torah to Israel. Various Greek texts give different versions of the story, some reversing the roles of the two brothers. The message of the story is clear: God requires righteous conduct, not hypocritical behaviour.

 

 We must beware of interpreting this parable from a supersessionist point of view. Christians have no claim to moral superiority over Jews. The final thrust that the tax collectors and prostitutes may have an advantage over the religious authorities can be seen as a justification for Jesus= ministry to those whom the authorities totally rejected. It meant that the irreligious may sometimes respond to the good news of God=s forgiving love more readily than those whose self-deceiving moral superiority makes them impervious to its appeal. The main key is a person=s sense of self-worth which can deceive even the most perceptive to think of ourselves more highly than they ought to think (Rom. 12:3).

 

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