INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A - Proper 6

GENESIS 18:1‑15. The location for this epiphany is sacred “to this day.” It lies in Hebron, a place which Jews and Moslems alike still regard as sacred because of its association with Abraham. The point of the story is to tell of God’s appearance to Abraham in disguise to inform him that the promise of Gen. 12:2 will be fulfilled through the birth of a son despite the couple’s advanced years. Sarah’s derision provides the narrator an opportunity to ask, “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?”

PSALM 116:1‑2, 12‑19. This hymn of thanksgiving most likely accompanied a thank-offering sacrifice by an individual on recovery from a serious illness. It would appear to have been designed for ritual use in the temple in the presence of a congregation (vss.18-19).

EXODUS 19:2-8A. [Alternate] This brief passage describes the prelude to the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai. As Moses went up the holy mountain, God told him what to expect the responsibilities of the covenant would be. Obedience and loyalty of the people would result in their being God’s treasured possession among all the people of the world. Summoning the elders of Israel, Moses set before them these requirements. On behalf of the people, the elders accepted.

PSALM 100. [Alternate] This glorious hymn of praise and thanksgiving catches up in a few lines the whole experience of being a holy people as promised in the covenant of Sinai.

ROMANS 5:1‑8. Few passages in the whole of the New Testament have had such influence in the church since the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Paul stated clearly, how a just God treats the guilty. By his life, death and resurrection Jesus Christ had reconciled us to God. Because of this we now have a completely different relationship with God. All this is possible “because in God’s love has been poured into our hearts” through the Holy Spirit as the enabling power for our daily lives (vs. 5).

MATTHEW 9:35‑10:8. This passage might be called “the apostles mandate” because it concentrates on the task to be done and the twelve whom Jesus selected to undertake it. It also includes their initial instructions for beginning their work.

Jesus used his Galilean origins to good effect, identifying with the humble villagers among whom he had grown up. On the other hand, we know virtually nothing about half of the twelve disciples who accompanied him throughout his ministry.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

GENESIS 18:1‑15. The location for this epiphany is sacred “to this day.” It lies in Hebron, a place which Jews and Moslems alike still regard as sacred because of its association with Abraham. Multidisciplinary research has revealed that before Abraham settled there, it had been an important focal point for religious rites among the mixed population of southern Palestine.

What are we to make of this with its legendary background and its touches of irony? Walter Russell Bowie, expositor of Genesis in *The Interpreter’s Bible* makes much of Sarah’s laughter, relating it to other kind’s of human laughter (vol. 1, 617ff). That is not a bad idea for a light summer sermon. One could also build a plausible homily around the theme of hospitality using Abraham’s welcoming of his surprise guests as a starting point. A more scholarly approach might explain the various forms of epiphany by which God makes known to humans what God intends to do through them despite the apparent obstacles when they are willing to be agents of God’s purpose.

The point of the story, however, is to tell of Yahweh’s appearance to Abraham in disguise to inform him that the promise of Gen. 12:2 will be fulfilled through the birth of a son despite the couple’s advanced years. The emphasis of the story is on Yawheh’s power in contrast to the doubts of humans. Abraham’s reaction does not form part of the story, but Sarah’s derision and doubt provide the narrator an opportunity to ask the rhetorical question which becomes the pericope’s central theme: “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” That would seem to be the most promising preaching text in the passage.

A visiting preacher announced that he was going to preach on prayer. He gave the title of his sermon as “P.U.S.H. – Push!” As he launched into his homily, he spelled out what the initial letters really meant: “Push until something happens.” For the next half hour he excited the congregation with examples from scripture about doing just that. Abraham and Sarah wanting a child even though Sarah was beyond childbearing years was one of his prime examples. It wasn’t a very good choice so he improved on the story by saying that this is what every Christian should do. “Push until something happens.” Something happened for Abraham and Sarah alright. And because of that we have Jesus, the preacher said. The exposition may not be logical, but it does make a point.

PSALM 116:1‑2, 12‑19. This hymn of thanksgiving most likely accompanied a thankoffering sacrifice by an individual on recovery from a serious illness. It would appear to have been designed for ritual use in the temple in the presence of a congregation (vss.18-19). Some scholars question whether it is a single composition because in the LXX it was divided at vs. 9. It has been suggested that liturgical use brought the two parts together. More likely is John Patterson’s analysis in *The Praises of Israel,* (New York: Charles Scribners, 1950, 45-46) that it is a traditional *toda*, the Hebrew term for a song that accompanies a sacrifice.

Patterson wrote: “The occasion was a private, not a public, feast. The man was accompanied by his friends who were probably entertained by him. It is obvious that such a song could not be composed by him on the spur of the moment. What we have here is a form designed for general use. The worshiper was led in the act of worship by the ministering priest. The individual concerned said the words after the priest just as a man and woman will repeat the words of the marriage service after the officiating minister. Harps and lutes might accompany the song. The form may be analysed as follows: introduction, narration recounting the trouble, calling on God, deliverance, acknowledgment, and announcement of thankoffering.

After an initial statement of worshiper’s reason for thanksgiving, this reading skips over the description of his illness, his appeal for help and deliverance. In a congregation assembled in the temple he praises God, offers a libation, and makes a personal commitment to the Lord. Some corruption of the text has crept in through repetition. Vs. 14 and vs. 18 are the same, though the latter seems less appropriate. Vss. 11 and 15 seem irrelevant. Some Aramaic vocabulary suggests a late post-exilic date when that dialect was becoming the lingua franca of the Jewish people.

Nonetheless, the psalm has stood the test of time for devotional use in the Christian church. It has been for centuries a significant part of the Anglican liturgy in the traditional “Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth,” now little used. Two metrical versions appeared in the Scottish Paraphrases of 1650, one of which, “I’ll of salvation take the cup,” was still in active use in communion services as late as the middle of the 20^th century.

The passage may have come from the priestly strata, probably of the exilic period but also shows the influence of the Deuteronomist editors of post-exilic times. This shows up most clearly in the words attributed to Yahweh in vss. 3-6 which outlined the implications of keeping the covenant.

There is an interesting contrast between those words and the fact that Moses reported his epiphany to the elders (vs. 7). Yet it was the people, not just the elders, who respond in vs. 8.

One of the fascinating aspects of current events in 2005 has been the way in which the general populace of several countries – Ukraine, Georgia, France, the Netherlands, and even Vatican City – have completely disregarded the council and government of their nominal leaders to change the course of history for millions of ordinary people. In democratoic and quasi-democractic societies, ordinary people can and do take matters into their own hands with dramatic effect.

PSALM 100. [Alternate] Who among us modern Christians has not rejoiced with the ancients in singing this glorious hymn of thanksgiving in the words of the Geneva Psalter to the tune of Old 100^th or one of the newer, catchy tunes such as Linnea Good’s *Make a Joyful Noise*? The psalm catches up in a few lines the whole experience of being a holy people as promised in the covenant of Sinai.

The majestic words define what being the holy people of God meant to the Israelites as the entered into the temple to worship. Although every religious people regardless of their tradition may have a similar feeling of who they are, there surely cannot be a better expression of the experience.

ROMANS 5:1‑8. Few passages in the whole of the NT have had such influence in the church since the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Legend has it, though it has often been repeated as historical fact, that Martin Luther’s study of this passage inspired him to post his “Ninety-five Theses Against Indulgences” on the church door of the Wittenburg Castle.

Paul stated here as clearly as he ever did, the basis for and the status of our relationship with God. To do so he used a forensic term drawn not from Roman law courts, but from his Hebrew background, and particularly the LXX version of the OT. The Greek LXX used the word *dikaioun* (= to treat rightly or regard as right) and its cognate word *dikaiosuné* (= justice, rightness) to translate the Hebrew concept of how a just God treats the guilty.

Discussing Paul’s use of the Greek terms which we translate as “justify” and “justification” E.C. Blackman, former professor of NT at Emmanuel College, Toronto, wrote: “The distinctive teaching of the OT comes out in reference to Yahweh’s dealing with refractory Israel. God’s problem, if we may so put it, is that his people are often guilty, and he must give a verdict against them, because he is just. But equally because he is just, and because the Hebrew concept of justice was a redeeming and not merely a punishing activity, God’s punitive judgments are not final, but the means to ultimate redemption. Thus, in a certain sense, he does ‘justify the ungodly’ (Rom. 4:5), though to say no more than this would be to caricature the OT doctrine.” (*The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary.* vol. 2, 1027.)

Paul had already stated the universal sinfulness of all humanity (3:23). How could a just and holy God then relate to humans whose sin totally separated us from divine holiness? Only by grace, by totally undeserved acts of love that remove all barriers to the relationship. That has been the special work of Jesus Christ (i.e. the work of at-one-ment). By his life, death and resurrection he had reconciled us to God. Because of this we now stand in a completely different relationship with God. Our response to this unprecedented initiative by God in Christ is to accept our new relationship in grateful trust and to live a new life in faithful obedience to God, as Jesus himself had done. In the end, we shall also share the glory of God even as Jesus did after his resurrection (vs. 2) From this springs all the qualities required for living out our new relationship in this world despite all the suffering it may entail (vs. 3): endurance, character, hope (vss.3-4). All this is possible “because in God’s love has been poured into our hearts” through the Holy Spirit as the enabling power for our daily lives (vs. 5).

In a rhapsody of amazed adoration, Paul then went on to tell how this had all come about. Jesus Christ had died for us ungodly sinners. This above all proves how much God loves us. How many great hymns of faith have been written to repeat and yet failed to surpass the majestic simplicity of Paul’s words, “While we were sinners Christ died for us.”

Quite authentic, however, is the description of Jesus’ peripatetic ministry. He apparently used his Galilean origins to good effect, identifying with the humble villagers among whom he had grown up. As for the urban communities, there were possibly two which might qualify for such a description - Tiberias and Sepphoris. Both were relatively new, and both had been built as the capital city for Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Sepphoris, just five miles north of Nazareth in the Galilean hills, had held the tetrarch’s establishment since 4 CE, but in 25 CE was replaced by Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee because it gave better access to both regions of the tetrarchy. It was also the hub for local roads and the great trade route from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf via Damascus and the valley of the Tigris-Euphrates River.

Tiberias may have been still under construction when Jesus carried on his ministry. Apart from this vague reference (vs. 1), he does not seem to have visited there. The population of these urban centres was very mixed - Galileans and foreigners, high and low, Jews and gentiles, slaves and freedmen, and the usual hangers-on at the tetrarch’s court. Is it not conceivable, though impossible to prove, that Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth, may have actually worked there during the construction of Tiberias? After all, Nazareth was only about fifteen miles to the southwest.

Recent studies about the historical Jesus affirm that he preferred smaller, rural communities, and ministering among the underclasses, because he himself was from that same element of Jewish society. His compassion for the plight of these people stands out in all the gospels. So the tradition reported in vs. 36 had deep, personal meaning. It is possible that his words recorded in vs. 37 originated in a proverb well known to the same common folk. It is the kind of saying one might hear during the busy harvest season when extra laborers were urgently needed. Is it even possible that many laborers had been siphoned off as virtual slave labor for the construction of Tiberias?

The naming of the twelve creates a problem for every interpreter. We know virtually nothing about half of them. That there were twelve seems have greater correlation with the tradition of the twelve tribes of Israel than with any reliable historical data. The renowned British scholar, B.H. Streeter, regarded the disappearance of the twelve from post-Easter Christian history as a great mystery. Redaction critic, Heinz Guenther, formerly of Emmanuel College, Toronto, has made a thorough investigation of the ‘twelve’ in a fascinating little book, *The Footsteps of Jesus’ Twelve In Early Christian Tradition.* (American University Studies Series VII. Theology and Religion. Vol. 7. New York: Peter Lang, 1985)

Guenther examined the Hebrew and Hellenistic symbolism of the number itself and three distinct “twelve’ traditions in the NT. He found in them a common denominator: “They bespeak the church’s new Israel consciousness” because they gave substance and power to the church’s identity in its historical context. His conclusion is aptly stated in relation to this passage: the story of the twelve is narration, not history. He wrote: “‘Narrated’ claims must not be confused with ‘historical’ claims. Faith can move mountains but it cannot convert the story about Jesus’ appointment of exactly twelve followers into historiography. The church is not apostolic because the earthly Jesus himself has appointed just ‘twelve’ earthly disciples. It is apostolic whenever and wherever as a community representing ‘twelveness’ it is ready to confess Jesus Christ, assuming responsibility ‘with him’ for an imperiled world in which the Lord has promised to be ‘with his followers’ to the close of the age.”

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