John Shearman's
 Liberal Lectionary Analysis

Rev. John Shearman

 INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

[A more complete analysis follows this brief summary for church bulletins.]

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 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.

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 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: "Pray 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. "Pray 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.

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.

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 has been the way in which the general populace of countries completely disregard the counsel and government mandates of their nominal leaders to change the course of history for millions of ordinary people. In democratic and quasi-democratic societies, ordinary people can and do take matters into their own hands with dramatic effect. At times this can be accompanied with considerable violence bordering on civil war. In the spring of 2008, the contrasting attempts of Chinese and Burmese authorities to deal with devastating natural disasters may well reveal how history can be changed by meeting the needs of those suffering great privation.

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 (Eng. = to treat rightly or regard as right) and its cognate word dikaiosuné (Eng. = 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, late 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."

Many Christians have sincere doubts that any interpretation of Christ's vicarious death on our behalf is still necessary. While rejecting the several traditional theologies of atonement, few have yet expressed any better approach. On the other hand, within the last decade or two several theologians have developed a representative theology of atonement within a covenantal relationship with God that has promising relevance for the present day. Among these are N.T. Wright, formerly of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and now Bishop of Durham, in England, and Douglas John Hall, also formerly of McGill University, Montreal, in his trilogy, Thinking the Faith..., Professing the Faith..., and Confessing the Faith: Christian Theology in the North American Context. (Augsburg Fortress Press, 1991, 1996 and1998).

In an article on Wright's theology of the atonement written in 2003, Mark Horne, of Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Missouri, quotes him as follows: "Because Jesus is the Messiah, he sums up his people in himself, ... that what is true of him is true of them." (Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. pp. 47-48.) Then Horne adds this comment: "As is evident from this quote, and is elaborated many other places in Wright's work, Paul argues that all who believe the Gospel are now the true Israel so that Jesus' role as Israel's "representative" means that he is the representative not of unbelieving Israel (if they remain in unbelief) but of believers whether Jew or Gentile (so that even "the ex-pagan Christians are told that they are all sons of God").

In the same article, Horne comments further: "The whole Christian gospel could be summed up in this point: that when the living God looks at us, at every baptized and believing Christian, he says to us what he said to Jesus on that day. He sees us, not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in Jesus Christ. It sometimes seems impossible, especially to people who have never had this kind of support from their earthly parents, but it's true: God looks at us, and says "You are my dear, dear child; I'm delighted with you."

Elsewhere Wright dramatically defined Christian living in this sentence: "We, as Jesus' actors, are called to inhabit the world of the Bible and then act out that worldview for a new day."

Douglas John Hall has masterfully expounded how Jesus Christ continues his ministry through us:

"What sustains the disciple community is not the consistency of faithfulness of its members, but the faithfulness of Jesus, One in whose representative life and ministry the members of the community are continuously being given a part." (Confessing ..., 51) Later in the same volume he described God's surprising choice of people like us in the Christian church to achieve the divine purpose in saving the world:

"God's manner of achieving this end ... is to choose, out of all the world, those who may represent God before all other creatures and all creatures before God. Through the struggle of these few ... an alternative way of being will be introduced into the course of the world's history that will prepare for the consummation." (Confessing ..., 326)

Prof. R. Larry Shelton, an evangelical Methodist theologian at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, in Newberg, Oregon, stated a somewhat similar view in his response to our contemporary doubts about atonement in the context of God's covenant with humanity:

"Christ's sacrificial act of submissive obedience to God in the face of the sin of self-righteous humanity is the supreme historical revelation of God's self-giving love. As a vicarious expression of penitence for all humanity who will participate in Christ's life and death by faith, Christ enables a grieving God to believe in us again. The love which goes to such lengths to win back a "crooked and perverse generation" creates hope anew for a world which is lacking in integrity, trust, and community."

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. The problem remains, however, whether this is a Matthean invention or a remembered tradition from the early oral transmission of the Christian gospel.

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 of the time, there were possibly two which might qualify for such a description - Sepphoris and Tiberias. Both were relatively new, and both had been built as the capital city for Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Though not mentioned in the NT, Sepphoris, just five miles north of Nazareth, had held the tetrarch's establishment since 4 BCE. In 25 CE it was replaced as Antipas' capital 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, the Via Maritima, 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. It is inconceivable, though impossible to prove, that 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, the late Heinz Guenther, of Emmanuel College, Toronto, 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."