TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 

Year C - PROPER 27

 

HAGGAI  1:15b-2:9.    The rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem after the return from exile in Babylon was one of the more dramatic events in Israel's history. This minor prophet Haggai is known for little else than his encouragement of this momentous task which was completed about 520 BC. The word he delivered in God's name formed the core of his message: "Work, for I am with you .... My spirit abides among you."

     This second temple lasted until destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The dream of some radical modern Israelis is to rebuild it once again where the Dome of the Rock, sacred to Islam, now stands.

 

PSALM 145:1-4, 17-21.     The Book of Psalms ends with a series of  hymns praising God and meditating on the nature of God. Note that these reflections are not couched in theological abstractions, but in terms describing God's actions, as  was typical of Jewish thought.

 

JOB 19:23-27a. (Alternate)   Suffering almost beyond endurance, Job utters a fervent appeal for understanding and quickly follows this with a declaration of his faith that his innocence will be vindicated. His words have often been read by Christians, mistakenly and perhaps under the influence of Handel’s recitative in his oratorio “The Messiah,” as a prophecy of the redemptive work of Christ.

 

PSALM 98. (Alternate) One of series of five psalms (Pss.95-100) probably used in celebrating the sovereignty of God at the New Year festival, this poem uses different sounds in nature as well as the human voice and musical instruments as the means of praise.

 

PSALM 17:1-9.  (Alternate)  The psalmist makes a plea for vindication and protection in difficult circumstances apparently caused by false accusations by implacable enemies.

 

2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-5, 13-17.     Paul believed sincerely in the early return of the Risen Christ. This belief combined the prophetic promises to Israel of a Day of Judgement and the coming of the Messiah. Here the apostle makes a further promise of salvation for those who have believed that Jesus is the Messiah/Christ and have been sanctified (i.e. made holy and so acceptable to God) by the Spirit. The faithful are urged to hold fast to these gospel traditions which Paul had given them in his preaching and his letters.

 

LUKE 20:27-38.     A group of Sadducees attempt to trap Jesus into a violation of the rigid Law of Moses concerning the marriage of a widow. The story is particularly ironic in that this sect of Judaism did not believe in resurrection. The trick question had only a malevolent intent. Jesus gave a blunt response: There's no marriage or sex in heaven!

 

 

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS

 

 

HAGGAI 1:15b-2:9.     Just two chapters long, the Book of Haggai is frequently lost as tenth among the last twelve books in the Old Testament. As one of the lesser prophets of Israel, Haggai’s message centred on the rebuilding of the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel. It also had significance beyond the faith-history of the Jewish people. Haggai called for a reassessment of national priorities at a time of economic and spiritual depression. That is very much a message for our time on this date, November 11, when we remember the fallen of past wars and face the problems confronting us at the start of a new one.

    

The promises of Ezekiel and Second Isaiah (Isa. 40-66) had not been fulfilled. The remnant of exiles in Babylon returning to their homeland in 539 BCE with high hopes of rebuilding their destitute city of Jerusalem and especially its sacred temple. What they had found were extremely depressing conditions. Chapter 1 of this very brief book describes the circumstances. Droughts had brought harvest failures and famine; inflation that made some rich and many poor; the temple lay in ruins and the people resisted doing anything about it. For nearly twenty years the rebuilding of the temple had languished although many of the people were very well housed.

 

About 520 BCE, Haggai again challenged the leaders of Israel, Zarubbabel, the governor, Joshua, the high priest, and the whole community to rebuild the temple. They undertook the task with renewed vigour as the prophet inspired them with a word from Yahweh. The people could easily have become dispirited because they had  memories of the glory of Solomon’s temple (2:3). Haggai urged them to carry on because Yahweh willed that the temple become a place of splendour greater than before and, once completed, would be the scene of Yahweh’s universal reign. (2:6-9)

    

Several elements of Haggai’s prophecy stand out: Yahweh’s ownership of all the earth’s resources (2:8), the inspirational quality of spiritual leadership, the need for community priorities based on spiritual values, and the universality of religious faith. Any one or all of these could be the basis for a sound Christian homily at this time. We struggle for meaning and inspiration in the midst of economic uncertainty, spiritual searching, threats of further terrorism under the guise of a perversion of Islam and a war in which few support but feel forced to fight.

 

We read and hear many criticisms of our present leadership in what is being called “a different  kind of warfare.” To be able to criticize is one of the great gifts of our free and open society. Everyone can become an armchair strategist or a television general when actually we are only trying to settle our anxious minds. Most pernicious of all are those of us - many preachers and scholars of comparative religion too - who pose as experts of Islam.

 

What is the role of religious faith in a time of war? Does this help us to establish a clearer set of priorities? Does God takes sides in any conflict causing death and destruction such as we are now witnessing? Or does God want us to find more appropriate ways of achieving our sincere hopes of peace and prosperity, not only for ourselves, but for the millions of refugees and oppressed people of the world?

 

 

PSALM 145:1-5, 17-21.      Like several other psalms, in Hebrew this hymn of praise takes the form of an acrostic. Each couplet begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (Cf. Psalms 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111-112, 119). This poetic form developed relatively late and characterized poetry of the wisdom teachers of the Persian and Greek periods in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Despite that severe structural limitation, the psalm possesses a surprisingly rich spiritual power.

    

Though the concept of Yahweh as a powerful monarch had developed much earlier, the idea of Yahweh’s sovereignty over all nations came to the fore only during the prophetic period from the late 8th to the 6th centuries BCE. This psalm glorifies Yahweh as a ruler whose greatness is beyond human comprehension (vs.3). Yahweh’s mighty, miraculous acts give rise to this praise (vss. 4-5). But it is Yahweh’s faithful, compassionate justice and tender care for all people which draws the greatest praise from the psalmist (vss.17-20). Therefore, the psalmist repeats his vow made in vs.1  to “speak the praise of Yahweh” and summons “all flesh” to join him (vs. 21).

 

Few other OT passages reach the inspirational level found in praising Yahweh’s constant love that this psalm expresses (vss. 8-9). What a pity that this part of the psalm has been omitted from this reading. These neglected verses reveal the richness of the psalmist’s personal faith. He fixes his hope not only the sovereignty of divine love (vss. 10-13), but Yahweh’s everlasting faithfulness (vss. 14-18). Herein too lies our hope for these difficult times.

 

 

JOB 19:23-27a. (Alternate) It is indeed a pity that interpretation of this text has been skewed by devout Christians, including many scholars, who read it in terms of their own faith and theology rather than as it stands in Jewish religious literature.  Suffering almost beyond endurance, Job utters a fervent appeal for understanding and quickly follows this with a declaration of his faith that his innocence will be vindicated. His words have often been read by Christians, mistakenly, and perhaps under the influence of Handel’s recitative in his oratorio “The Messiah,” as a prophecy of the redemptive work of Christ.

 

In its original Hebrew, the text of this passage has many corruptions. Scholars have tried to decipher it in two ways. Some scholars emend it to remove all indication of life after death. Others torturously correct it to make life after death more explicit. In fact, two interpretations are possible. Either Job counts on vindication of his innocence before his death or hopes for it after death.

 

We find other substantiation of these two points of view in earlier passages. In 9:33 he seeks an umpire to settle the issue he is having with his interlocutors. He would like God to do this rather than a man, but he  cannot find God or bring him into court. Some scholar have gone beyond the meaning of this passage to see in  it a prophetic witness to Christ as the one who is both human and divine. No hint of a messianic figure can be found in this context. So we must conclude that such an interpretation comes from an imposed theological viewpoint.

 

In 16:19 & 21, Job returns to his need for a mediator, someone to be his witness before God to make the  case of his innocence as counsel for the defence. This is the language of the law courts where Job is only asking for a fair trial. The idea that the word “Redeemer” in 19:25 constitutes a prophecy of the redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ stems from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate rather than the Hebrew text.

 

Job has only one desire: to leave a lasting memorial and protest of his innocence.

To do this he needs help which his friends in the dialogue have denied him. From this comes his need for a human vindicator to acquit him of any guilt for his great suffering and to bring God to his side. Yet he does place his trust in God and believes devoutly that he will be vindicated whether in this life or in life beyond death. 

 

In a cemetery in Kalispell, Montana, there is a tombstone marking the grave of a  pioneer doctor in that community. During some 45 years as the local physician at the beginning of the 20th century, he founded several community institutions including the Boy Scouts of America, the Masonic Order, the choral society, and the radio station. He was also a devout Christian and a member of his church choir. His tombstone bears the symbols of a pair of radio towers, the Masonic crest, the Scout crest and the first notes of Handel’s recitative, “I know that my redeemer liveth.”

 


 

PSALM 98. (Alternate) This is one of a series of six so-called “enthronement psalms” psalms probably used in celebrating the sovereignty of Yahweh at the New Year festival. It uses different sounds in nature as well as the human voice and musical instruments as the means of praise. (See Pss. 47, 93, 96-99) The reason for such an outburst of rejoicing lay in the mighty saving acts of Yahweh extending in mercy to Israel. Their purpose was to draw the attention of the whole world and thus inform all peoples of what Yahweh was doing through this specially favoured people.

 

Vs. 4 identifies the songs of praise as worshipers parade into the temple.

In vss. 5-6, musical instruments add to joyous cacophony. Finally, all nature and all creatures are summoned to support the noisy disharmony.

 

The idea of Yahweh as a monarch to be enthroned each new year conveyed the spiritual truth of a supreme being to whose will the people owed obedience. This concept went as far back as the times of Gideon (Judges 8:23) and presumably also reflected the double roles of an ancient Middle Eastern monarch as ruler and chief religious figurehead or priest. The Israelites had adopted this concept after their settlement in Canaan. Yahweh was their King-God similar to the monarchs of other cultures. In the post-exilic period when there were no reigning monarchs, the annual ritual of  the enthronement of Yahweh has taken the place of royal coronations. Ps. 72 refers to a coronation when the monarch ascended Israel’s throne as the representative and “son” of Yahweh. From these customs and practices came the concept of the saving messiah so familiar to Christians in the gospel depictions of Jesus as the Messiah and King of the Jews.

 

 

 

PSALM 17:1-9.  (Alternate) Job himself could have spoken these words. The psalmist makes a plea for vindication and protection in difficult circumstances apparently caused by false accusations by implacable enemies.

 

 The exact nature of his alleged transgression does not surface anywhere in this excerpt or in the whole psalm. Vss. 4-5, however, do suggest that he may have been accused falsely of a violent act of which he claims innocence. In vss. 6-7 he appeals to Yahweh and seeks refuge in the temple. Even there he is pursued and surrounded by his enemies (vss. 8-9). Ps. 65:4 contains similar words. Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings1:31-32 describes a similar situation. While this excerpt does not  include the whole of the psalm, it does end as a typical lament with a note of confident faith.

 

Common English speech has many sayings and phrases derived from scripture.

Vs. 8a contains one such popular expression. Few who used it may realize where  it comes from. The Hebrew actually reads, “the little man of the eye.” This refers to the pupil of the eye which when looked at closely reflects the image of the one examining it.

 

Another common biblical metaphor in vs. 8b, “hide me in the shadow of your wings,” refers to divine protection for those in danger frequently pray. It may have come from the winged symbol representing the Egyptian sun-god or from the wings of cherubim depicted in Canaanite and Middle Eastern mythology as a winged bull. Or it may simply mean the wings of a mother bird guarding her chicks. The first biblical reference in Gen. 3:24 has the cherubim guarding the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The expression appears several other times elsewhere in scripture.

 

Only Shakespeare’s plays rival the Bible in the use so many commonly used expressions. Having such masterpieces of literature as the works of the world’s greatest dramatist and the English Bible inevitably meant that they could become the patois of the people.

 

 

2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-5, 13-17.      Written about 48-49 CE, the First Letter to the Thessalonians expressed the theological viewpoint of Paul’s early ministry. The second letter, however, has caused a continuing scholarly debate about its authenticity on two grounds: its eschatology differs from that of I Thessalonians; and the language and content of the second is so nearly like that of the first that it must be from someone who copied Paul’s style to deal with a later situation. If there is any consensus, it concludes that Paul wrote both letters, and that the second, written shortly afterward,  deals with a misinterpretation of what he had said about the second coming of Christ in the first.

 

The early church focused much of its attention on the subject of the Parousia or Second Coming of Christ. Apostolic preaching and teaching sought to prepare the first members of the church for this event which they anticipated would happen very soon. The longer the passage of time between the resurrection and the Parousia, the greater became the uncertainty as to its imminence. Some scholars believe that this was the situation which the second letter addressed.

    

On the other hand, scholarly consensus has settled on Paul dealing with a special situation which had arisen after he had first taught among these people. Apparently some of the Thessalonian converts had become convinced, perhaps persuaded by outsiders, that the Lord had already returned and they were living in the end time.  This rumour greatly distressed the Thessalonian church. Paul was uncertain whether this had been caused by his own earlier letter or a forged letter as suggested by vs. 2.  He sought to dispel this idea by referring to his earlier teaching based on the traditional Jewish apocalypticism about a time of rebellion which must proceed the promised day of the Lord (vss. 4-12). The recently published collection of the complete Dead Sea Scrolls contains very similar ideas as do some of the apocryphal books of the OT. Paul would have been familiar with the latter if not the former collection.

 

A recent publication by American scholar Robert Eisenman proposed a different origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls than has been held for about 50 years. This thesis  presented James, the brother of Jesus, as the leader of the Qumran Community

from which the scrolls emanated. Eisenman also believes that Paul and James were bitter antagonists in the early Christian community. If this could be proved, then some of the questions about the background of 2 Thessalonians could be clarified.

    

Paul had a very specific message for the Thessalonian Christians. Through their belief in the gospel as they had heard it from Paul and by their sanctification in holy living they had become the first fruits of the Spirit. They would share the resurrection glory of Christ himself. So they must stand firm in what they had been taught and what he had written to them in his first letter.

 

Here Paul is speaking from his background as a Jewish rabbi familiar with the Hebrew scriptures. It is possible if not probable that the concluding clause of vs. 14, “so that you might possess for your own the splendour of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NEB) refers not only to the resurrection, but also to the shekinah, “the glory of the Lord” representing God’s eternal presence. It also recalls the words of Ps. 146:5 “On the glorious splendour of your majesty and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.”

 

To Paul, there was no greater, more wondrous deed done by God’s everlasting love than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The NT narratives of the incarnation, transfiguration, the resurrection, the ascension and Paul’s conversion all featured bright, shining light symbolizing the active presence of God. So too did the OT narratives of the theophany at Sinai (Exod. 24:17; 34:23-35), the manifestation of the divine presence at the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:11), and the departure of “the glory of the Lord” in Ezekiel’s vision of the chosen people going into exile and their return from exile in Babylon (Ezek. 10:18-19; 43:2-5).

 

How else could this passage end than with the moving prayer for the Thessalonians comfort and strength while they awaited the anticipated Parousia (vss.16-17)?

 

 


LUKE 20:27-38.      Belief in resurrection did not receive much attention in Jewish thought until a relatively late date. Before that the Jews believed with most people in ancient times that after death both the wicked and the righteous would have a miserable, shadowy existence in the underworld, the Hebrews called it Sheol. The idea of the wicked flourishing and the righteous suffering in this life, as the wisdom literature of Job and Ecclesiastes observed, and the idea of reunification of soul and body and the rebirth of the Jewish nation as found in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 37), gave impetus to the concept of  resurrection. The exiles had brought that concept back from their stay in Babylon where they had found it in the Zoroastrian tradition. Later Jewish thought also incorporated the Greek idea of immortality. In the 2nd century BCE the Book of Wisdom fully developed the belief that the righteous would be vindicated and live forever in God’s presence.

    

In Jesus’ time the Qumran community who had inscribed the Dead Sea Scrolls adhered to this belief in the immortality of the righteous. The Pharisees adopted a more subtle concept of resurrection and life after death. Alone among the dominant religious parties, the Sadducees rejected all belief in life beyond death and held to the traditional view of a shadowy existence in Sheol. This confused background coloured the incident reported in this reading.

    

The Sadducees’ based their challenge to Jesus on the law of levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5-6. On the death of a husband, the man’s closest next of kin had authority and responsibility for the widow’s protection. The custom  sought to maintain the continuation of the Jewish family and the legal succession of property. This had become important at different periods of Israel’s history as the propertied class prospered. It is most simply described in the story of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 4:1-12).

 

Aware of the trickery the Sadducees had posed in their riddle, Jesus replied that in a life where death is irrelevant, such a law was meaningless. Quoting from Exodus 3:6 he argued that quite apart from the Sadducees’ naive view of resurrection, the Torah did indeed imply a belief in eternal life beyond death. He said, in effect, that all life consists of a gracious friendship with God, a relationship  which Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still enjoy because it is a relationship which death cannot end. In other words, Jesus used one scripture to veto another.

 

To some, this may seem like idle casuistry. Not so. Nothing in the gospels is there for superfluous reasons. Luke strove to make this the crucial point in telling this story of the Sadducees attempt to entrap Jesus. The gospel of the resurrection had introduced a whole new concept of life beyond death quite beyond anything the Jews had previously imagined.

 

Without question, Luke and all other NT authors, believed in resurrection. However we may like to interpret this passage, the details of what lies beyond death is not as important as the faith that whatever happens will be due to God’s act of gracious love in raising Jesus Christ from the dead.

    

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