INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A - PROPER 26

JOSHUA 3:7-17. The Book of Joshua narrates the story of Moses' successor, Joshua, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan, dividing it among the twelve tribes and renewing their covenant with God.

This passage is a sacred legend of how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River following the ark of the covenant bearing the stones inscribed with the commandments. It is patterned after the story of Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea.

The legend was adapted as the basis for a well-known spiritual sung by American slaves, "One More River to Cross." The story spoke to the slaves of the hope for freedom in a new land.

MICAH 3:5-12. [Alternate] Micah holds an important place in Old Testament prophecy. He lived in the late 8^th century BCE when Assyria threatened the existence of both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. His prophecies declared uncompromising justice as God’s sole interest at a time when more popular prophetic voices sought to please their political masters and accepted bribes for doing so.

PSALM 43. [Alternate] Usually regarded as the conclusion to Ps. 42, as it appears in the Hebrew, this lament calls for God’s help in defense against ungodly opponents. As customary with laments, it ends with a vow committing the psalmist to worship faithfully and expresses hope for ultimate deliverance from his trials.

1 THESSALONIANS 2:9-13. There seems to be a note of self-justification in this brief passage, as if Paul was both grateful yet unsure of how he was received by the Thessalonians. He is reassured, however, that they did accept his preaching of the gospel as God's word.

MATTHEW 23:1-12. In this chapter Jesus delivers a severe tongue-lashing to the scribes and Pharisees, the strictest of many parties in Israel at that time. In reading it we must keep in mind that Matthew's Gospel was written about 85 AD when Christians were in conflict with Jews about Jesus as the Messiah and the inclusion of Gentiles in the early church. At first the church has been exclusively Jewish. The passage may reflect that period of bitter conflict more than the attitude of Jesus himself.

Nonetheless, Jesus did rebuke anyone who showed false piety. The passage ends with his call to service as true faithfulness.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF THE READINGS.

JOSHUA 3:7-17. No one can fail to note the difference between the first five books of the OT known as the Penteteuch and the Book of Joshua which begins what the Hebrew tradition called "the Former Prophets" (Joshua, Judges. I & II Samuel, I & II Kings) and some Christian scholars have designated as "the Histories." The Book of Joshua narrates the story of Moses' successor, Joshua, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan, dividing it among the twelve tribes, and renewing the Covenant with Yahweh. These three elements are found in quite distinctive segments, each with its own special characteristics: the invasion and occupation (chs. 1-12); the apportionment of Promised Land among the twelve tribes of Israel (chs. 13-21); the renewal of the Covenant (chs. 22-24). The whole work bears the marks of Deuteronomic editors. It is believed that its final composition took place during the Babylonian captivity either in Babylon or Judea although earlier editions and oral traditions certainly preceded this final work. The book is not "history" as we understand that term today. Rather, it is history seen through eyes of faith from a distinctive theological point of view.

This passage tells the sacred legend of how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River following the Ark of the Covenant. The story follows the pattern of Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. The ark contained the stones inscribed with the commandments given to Moses and was carried by Levitical priests (3:3). As the priests entered the water of the Jordan, the river's flow stopped and backed up as if behind a dam (vs. 13). This phenomenon attributed to divine intervention has been known in modern times to have had natural causes. In 1927 a landslide caused by an earthquake blocked the river for more than 27 hours.

According to the story also, the crossing of the river was to take place during the harvest when the river was in flood. In the lower Jordan valley, this occurs in April at the height of the spring run-off of melting snow at the sources of the Jordan on Mount Lebanon far to the north. While the whole twelve tribes made their way across on dry ground, the ark remained in the middle of the river bed.

The point of the story is the claim of faith in vs. 10: "By this you shall know that among you is the living God ...." Do we see the events of our time, however caused, in a similar light from the viewpoint of faith? Do apparently remarkable victories or devastating tragedies in our contemporary world have inspirational components? Did televised scenes of disabled children and women from the war zone of Angola move so many nations to ban personnel land mines? Without such an attitude would the conscience of the world have been awakened by the massacres of so many innocent victims of civil wars in Rwanda and Cosovo? How can this theological principle be applied to the current struggles in Afghanistan and Iraq? Or should it be applied to current events at all?

PSALM 107:1-7, 33-37. This is the first psalm in the last of five parts into which the Book of Psalms is divided. It may in fact be two psalms combined in one at an early stage of editing. As it now stands it is a beautiful thanksgiving litany. Regardless of its source in the Hebrew scriptures, it stands on its own as one of the great pieces of poetry in any literature of the world. A collection of English poetry for use as an Ontario public school text once included the KJV rendering of a significant excerpt from it.

The first segment of this reading expresses gratitude for Yahweh's steadfast love, universal redemption and providential help in extreme distress (vss.1-9). The same theme carries through the whole poem in ever more specific detail with many illusions to Israel's historic pilgrimage from Egypt to the Promised Land. Throughout the whole poem there is a compelling, antiphonal refrain, "Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind." (NRSV vss. 8, 15, 21, 31) Each time this refrain has a different secondary element which appears to draw ever closer to the ritual ceremonies in the temple (vss. 9, 16, 22, 32) for which this was almost certainly a thanksgiving litany. The fact that this refrain does not occur in vss. 33-43 has caused some scholars to distinguish this latter segment (not included in this reading) as a second, didactic psalm even though it too celebrates the unpredictable providence and special concern of Yahweh for the poor and needy.

The poem bears the unmistakable marks of the prophetic message of Second Isaiah. It probably dates from the Persian period or even the Hellenistic age when the liturgies of the temple had been developed to a high degree with litanies such as this. It still carries a potent message for our own times when the poor of the world are evident on our very doorstep while the resources of the world are being consumed so unequally.

MICAH 3:5-12. [Alternate] Micah, of whom little is known other than that he was a rural Judean, holds an important place in Old Testament prophecy. He lived in the late 8^th century BCE when Assyria threatened the existence of both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. His prophecies declared uncompromising justice as God’s sole interest at a time when more popular prophetic voices sought to please their political masters and accepted bribes for doing so.

Power has a strange way of attracting popular support by means of solicitous propaganda. We confront this every day, even in the most democratic societies, giving it the curious name of “spin.” As this passage points out so graphically, ancient Israel had its spin doctors too. They were called false prophets who sought favours by saying what their political masters wanted to hear.

The times when the core of Micah’s prophecies were uttered were decidedly different than those desired by Israel’s leaders. In an era of great political and religious corruption and compromise, faithful Israelites had to struggle to maintain the purity of their faith tradition rooted in the justice and righteousness of Yahweh that required faithful obedience to the Covenant.

A growing gap between rich and poor characterized the age of Micah’s contrarian prophecies. Naturally, the rich and powerful sought to continue the comforts they enjoyed no matter how much it violated the nation’s religious heritage or whatever the cost to those less powerful than they. They found plenty of favourable support in the twisted prophecies of those whom they could bribe. At the same time they worshipped hypocritically believing that they were safe in God’s providential care (vs. 11).

PSALM 43. [Alternate] Usually regarded as the conclusion to Ps. 42, as it appears in the Hebrew, this lament calls for Yahweh’s help in defense against ungodly opponents. As customary with laments, it ends with a vow committing the psalmist to worship faithfully and expresses hope for ultimate deliverance from his trials.

Like the prophecy of Micah above, it appeals for divine justice. As such it appropriately fills the role in Christian liturgics of the psalm as serving an antiphon or response to reinforce the message of the Old Testament lesson. In this instance, the psalmist’s attitude ascends from that of a sufferer from wounds in body and soul (cf. 42:10) who has experienced severe persecution to one of trust and confidence.

Perhaps thinking of the angelic figures, the cherubim, believed to flank or support the throne of Yahweh and serve as guardians of the ark, he immediately imagines them reflecting God’s light and truth. So he asks that they lead him to the very presence of Yahweh. For Jews of that time, the temple on the holy hill of Jerusalem represented

the divine presence. There he vows to offer praise accompanied by an ancient musical instrument, the lyre. Then his despair will turn to hope and trust in Yahweh’s providential care.

1 THESSALONIANS 2:9-13. We can never know the exact circumstances of Paul's ministry in Thessalonica to which he makes reference in this brief passage. It seems to contain a certain note of self-justification, as if Paul was both grateful yet unsure of how he and his fellow Christian missionaries had been received by the Thessalonians. He also voiced genuine concern that these new Christians might not be able to withstand the persecution to which they were being subjected.

On the surface, it would appear that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy has been criticized or falsely accused of malingering and living off the generosity of the Christian community. Paul protests that they "had worked night and day, so that they might not burden any of you." This may refer to Paul's tent-making ministry, something he could have carried on very easily in this important seaport city.

Thessalonica had a dubious reputation due to being capital of a Roman province and a major commercial centre on the main highway between Rome and its eastern provinces. As in many cities in the Roman Empire, the Jewish community there was of considerable size and influence. The brief account of the mission given in Acts 17:1-9 suggests that the antagonism, especially from some of the Jews, had been so severe as to incite a riot in the marketplace. It is also possible that if employment opportunities had been uncertain at that time, the arrival of three strangers who took jobs from some of the local folk had confused public perception of their mission.

Paul and his companions had been forced to flee the city by night in order to protect their friends in Christian community who had given them shelter. It would also appear from the tenor of vs. 10 that charges of immoral behavior had been leveled against the missionaries. This Paul refuted as forcefully as he could by appealing to the Thessalonian community's memories of their genuine care for and encouragement of them in the Christian life (vss. 11-12). In vs. 13 Paul expressed some reassurance that they did accept his preaching as God's word and not mere human manipulation.

The accusation leveled against the apostles in Acts 17:6 contains a memorable text on which innumerable sermons have been preached. While expressing genuine concern for those whom he had persuaded to follow the new way despite victimization by their opponents, Paul reiterated that same theme: The Christian gospel and the way of discipleship following from it "turns the whole world upside down." It still does for those who accept the challenge, as we are made aware in the public media almost every day whenever the Christian gospel challenges powerful interests and contemporary standards of behavior.

Nonetheless, Matthew quotes Jesus as rebuking anyone who showed false piety. The tradition found in all the gospels clearly points to this being very much the mind of Jesus as the apostolic church knew it. The Pharisees had interpreted the will of God as the minute details of the law and the tradition of the elders, which in the 2nd century was written down in the *Mishnah*. Matthew represented Jesus as advocating rigorous adherence to the essentials of the law (cf. Matt. 5:18). Yet he also defined Jesus' major messianic function as reinterpreting the law as a sincere and unequivocal expression of love for God and neighbor. This tension surfaces very plainly in this passage.

Specifically, Jesus criticized the Pharisees for their public show of religious fervour without performing what God required of them. The example he gave of this hypocrisy was their desire "to sit on Moses' seat." This was a seat of honour in the synagogue close to the arch where the scrolls of the Torah were kept. Whoever sat there was recognized as having the authority to teach. Similarly, they also wore fine garments carefully designed according to the prescription of Numbers 15:37-39, and they sought preferential places at banquets and in synagogues symbolizing their importance as teachers of the law.

The instructions given to Christian disciples, whether by Jesus himself or by the author of the gospel speaking to his own community, stand in stark contrast to the hypocritical actions of the Pharisees (vss. 8-10). The recommended behavior for Christian disciples recalls the stinging prophecy of Micah 6:6-8 condemning the sacrificial ritualism of the temple several centuries earlier. Humility like that of a servant was required of all.

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