Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement
of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary
Ruminations 2.0. Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings
for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral
experience. Believing that the questions we ask are often more important
than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with
sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to
encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible
study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and
encouraged.
2:15 Does the fact that this verse places us within
the second account of creation affect how to interpret this verse? What is
different about the LORD God of the second account of creation compared to the
God of the first account of creation? Is “man” the best translation of the
Hebrew?
2:16 Really?
2:17 What is so special about the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil? Was it poisonous? Please note that there is no
mention of what sort of fruit tree this was. It was not necessarily
an apple tree. How would the “man” know which tree was the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil? How was it different from all the other trees in
the garden? What are the possible meanings/interpretations of “death”?
3:1 Note that the antagonist is a “serpent” but not necessarily a
snake. Had the LORD God made the serpent? Where else in the Hebrew Scriptures
will we find serpents? Is the serpent playing word games, or what?
3:2-3 The woman seems to offer an honest defense, although she seems
to recount God saying more than we were originally told. Did God
actually say all this, or has the woman embellished the original admonition?
3:4 Depending on what “death” means, it seems that the serpent can
be judged truthful. On the one hand, the man and the women will
eventually die a biological death, but not immediately. On the other
hand, I think it can be argued that the man and woman were about to die a
spiritual death.
3:5 So, knowing good and evil makes one like God? Is
this why the woman eats of the tree, to be like God? Or does she eat of the
tree simply to know good and evil? Or does she eat of it as a simple act of
rebellion? Or curiosity?
3:6 It seems wisdom is associated with knowing good and
evil. The amateur philosopher in me is beginning to
squirm. How can we relate this story to Plato’s analogy of the cave?
3:7 The metaphor of “open eyes” representing knowledge seems more
Indo-European than Semitic, yet this second account of creation almost
certainly comes to us from the Semitic oral tradition. I find it
interesting that in the New Testament “their eyes were opened” is what the
disciples experienced on the way to Emmaus as Jesus explained to them all that
had happened. For those who appreciate a little risqué Biblical humor, here is
a joke I learned from one of my college Religion Professors. Q: If
Eve wore a fig leaf, what did Adam wear? A: A hole in it.
2:15-17, 3:1-7 Is this the best text to introduce
Lent? How much of our interpretation of this text is influenced by
Augustine’s doctrine of original sin? Consider Matthew Fox’s Original
Blessing for a different perspective on this text.
PSALM 32
32:1 This may be an appropriate Psalm if one reads
the Genesis account within the framework of original sin, but what if one does
not? In light of this verse, I wonder if the man and woman of the
Genesis Reading sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths primarily to
cover their genitals or to cover their sin? What does it mean that “sin is
covered”?
32:2 I read no deceit in either the man or the woman of the Genesis
Reading. Did you? What does it mean that the LORD imputes iniquity?
32:3 How can someone “keep silence” while at the same time
“groaning”?
32:4 What does God’s heavy hand feel like? What do you
and your congregation do with the “selah”? Do you ignore it, read
it, or interpret it musically?
32:5 Confession is good for the soul as well as the
psyche. Does God forgive the guilt of our sin without forgiving the
sin? What is worse, sinning, or trying to cover up our sin? Why am I
thinking of President Nixon and the Watergate scandal?
32:6 How does the “therefore” leading to an admonition follow from
an individual’s experience? What does the rush of mighty waters represent or
symbolize?
32:7 What does it mean that God is a “hiding” place? Are
there some theological gymnastics going on as hiding one’s sin is replaced by
hiding in God?
32:8 Who will do the instructing here? Who will be doing the
watching?
32:9 How do we read this and the previous verse in light of the
Genesis reading? In other words, “don’t be an ass”? How is God’s law like a bit
and bridal?
32:10 From you experience, does it ring true that the wicked are
tormented? Does being surrounded by steadfast love prevent one from
being tormented?
32:11 I hear a Call to Worship in this verse.
ROMANS 5:12-19
5:12 It does not seem right to begin a Reading with “Therefore”. We are not given the premise of the
argument. What was it that
Paul was saying? Is Paul
speaking literally, figuratively, or in a mythical sense? If death spread to all because of sin,
then did sin spread like a virus? Viral
infection offers a different image than sin being passed on through
procreation. Paul seems to let Eve
get off easy.
5:13
If we had no law, we would not be aware of our sin?
5:14
What does it mean that death “exercised dominion”? Portraying Adam as “a type of the one
who was to come” is a significant theological move. Why does Paul play it? You may want to
consider Karl Barth’s Christ and Adam: Man and Humanity in Romans 5
5:15
How is the free gift not like the trespass? What is the “free gift”?
5:16
Is it worth exploring the juxtaposition of trespass/condemnation and free
gift/justification?
5:17
It sounds as if now, people exercise dominion if life, whereas before, death
exercised dominion.
5:18
Here is another “therefore” but at least this time we know what came before it.
Is this “act of righteousness” the same as the “free gift” in 5:16?
5:19
Note the verb tenses. Does this and the preceding verse suggest a universalism?
5:12-19
What does it mean to think of and talk about Jesus as “the second Adam”? Would
Paul have altered his argument if he had understood modern biology and DNA?
MATTHEW 4:1-11
4:1 I cannot help but read this account and its
parallels without thinking of Martin Scorsese’s 1988 controversial film
adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ 1960 novel The Last Temptation of
Christ. Why would the Spirit lead Jesus into the
wilderness? What does the wilderness represent? You may also want to
explore this passage’s theological connection with The Desert Fathers and Mothers.
How shall we deal with “devil” language?
4:2 What does the forty days and forty nights remind you of? Why
would Jesus fast? What do you and your congregation know about
fasting? How does this passage inform our understanding and practice of Lent?
4:3 What do you make of the fact that “the devil” and “the tempter”
are apparently used interchangeably? What is the temptation
here? Might the tempter be attempting to sow seeds of doubt?
4:4 What do you make of the fact that Jesus responds by quoting
Scripture? What Scripture is Jesus quoting?
4:5 Was this a literal “taking”?
4:6 What warning is there in the fact that the devil could
correctly quote Holy Scripture? What is the nature of this temptation? What
Scripture does the devil quote?
4:7 Is there more going on here than proof-texting? Are
Jesus and the devil lobbing Scripture texts like hand grenades? How do we test
God? Why am I thinking of Exodus 17:7?
4:8 A week after the Transfiguration of the Lord, I might be
hearing this verse a little differently than I would on any other Sunday. Why
can we not take this literally?
4:9 What is the nature of this temptation?
4:10 First it was the devil, and then it was the tempter, now it is
Satan. Should we read “Satan” as a name or a title?
4:11 Here come the reinforcements, even if a little
late. What does it mean that the angels came and “waited” on Jesus?
4:1-11 Do we read this passage as a description of real events in time
and space or the description of a spiritual wrestling within Jesus?
ADDENDUM
I am
a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United
Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00
AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The
Trek.
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