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.
Even after skipping over
some verses of chapter twenty-four, this is still the longest of the day’s
Readings.
24:24 Who is speaking?
24:35-40 This sounds like things
have turned out pretty well for Abraham and Sarah. Almost sacrificed,
Isaac is now of marrying age. What to do? He cannot marry one of the
locals, can he? Do we find in these verses the roots of a prosperity
Gospel?
24:35 How do we deal with the
slavery issue?
24:36 Note that Abraham, not
Sarah, is the master.
24:37 Abraham and Sarah consider
the land they are living in to be a foreign land. Are Abraham and Sarah
refugees, illegal aliens, settlers, invaders, or what? Why is it important that
Isaac not marry a foreigner?
24:42-44 Do these verses remind
you of any verses in the NT, John 4:1-42 perhaps?
24:42 What is it about
springs? Is the LORD not also the God of the person speaking? Where slaves
usually compelled to worship and serve the god of their master?
24:43 Must the woman be young?
24:44 What do you think if
this almost divining, soothsaying, match-making method?
24:45 What does it mean to
“speak in one’s heart”? How did the servant know Rebekah’s name?
24:46 Why was Rebekah so
willing to serve a stranger?
24:47 Who are these people
and why are they being named? What is the significance of the ring and
bracelets?
24:48 I wonder if there were
any women in this village who were not Abraham’s kin.
24:49 Is the servant speaking
to Rebekah, the LORD, or someone else? What is this turning to the right hand
or the left language all about?
24:58 Who called? Can we
consider this “The call of Rebekah?”
24:59 Why does Rebekah have a
nurse?
24:60 Can we read this as the
blessing of Rebekah? Is it mere coincidence that this apparent blessing almost
perfectly dovetails with the LORD’s blessing of Abraham and Sarah?
24:61 Rebecca had maids as
well as a nurse? I wonder how many maids accompanied Rebekah. How does a
nurse differ from a maid?
24:62 What do we know about
these places?
24:63 Was Isaac expecting or
watching for camels to appear?
24:64 Why did Rebekah slip
from the camel when she saw Isaac?
24:65 Why was Rebekah not
veiled until she was about to meet Isaac? How does this verse shed light on
current debates about the hajib? I thought Abraham, not Isaac, was the slave’s
master.
24:66 Have we just been told
everything Isaac was told?
24:67 Why did Isaac take
Rebekah into his mother’s tent rather than his own? Freud might have something
to say about this verse. How did we get from the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah
to the death of Sarah in just one verse?
PSALM 45:10-17
45:10-15 While these words were
not originally addressed to Rebekah, they do seem to fit. This reads like
a liturgy from a royal wedding. Have you ever used them or heard them
used in a wedding liturgy?
45:10 What does it mean to
incline one’s ear?
45:11 Is beauty all that
matters? Is the Lord and bowing language just an example of the sexism of
patriarchy?
45:12 Who are the people of
Tyre?
45:13 Is every bride a
princess? Was Rebekah a princess?
45:14 How have we gone from
many colored, gold-woven robes to white wedding dresses?
45:15 Who is joyful and glad?
45:16-17 The psalm seemed to
have been speaking to and of the Bride. Now it seems to speaking to the
Bridegroom/King.
45:16 What and where is the
place of ancestors? Why are sons but not daughters mentioned?
45:17 Is male progeny the
only way to be remembered?
SONG OF SOLOMON 2:8-13
Perhaps this alternate
reading is suggested by the love mentioned in Genesis 24:67.
2:8-13 Can you hear these words
perhaps coming from Rebekah’s mouth? These are some of the most sensual
passages in Scripture. I think we do them disservice to spiritualize them
and see them as anything less than biblical erotica.
2:8 Is there some poetic
hyperbole here?
2:9 Why the plural “our”?
It sounds like the beloved is a bit of a peeping Tom.
2:10 “Come away” to where
and what for?
2:11 Why do we have this
reference to the seasons and weather?
2:12-13 Do these verses suggest
more than just natural fertility and human love?
2:12 Whose time of singing
has come?
2:13 The ending lines sound
like a refrain., See 2:10.
ROMANS 7:15-25a
7:15 Here are some Pauline
verses I can finally fully identify with!
7:16 Why?
7:17 Does the devil make us
do it?
7:18 I too, know this. What
is the relation between flesh and will?
7:19 Sometimes even the good
we think we are doing is corrupted and ends up being sinful.
7:20 I doubt if the “sin”
defense would stand up in a court of law.
7:21 Is this just a play on
words or 180° theological move?
7:22-23 What is the contrast
being made between “inmost self” and “members”? How many “laws” are there?
7:22 Does “law of God” refer
to the Ten Commandments or something else?
7:23 What members is Paul
referring to? What is the relationship between members and mind?
7:24 Could we ever use this
liturgically as part of a Confession of Sin or does it sound to antiquated?
Does anyone even use the word “wretched” in common, every day speech anymore?
7:25 What does this phrase
add to Paul’s argument? Why does Paul make this exclamation?
MATTHEW 13:1-9, 18-23
11:16 Why might I read this
differently in my late 50’s than I would have in my early 30’s? What generation
was Jesus speaking about?
11:17 Is this a quote? From
what or where is Jesus quoting?
11:18 Why does John get
dragged into this? Who said John had a demon?
11:19 How do those in the
pews hear and understand “Son of Man”? Who was saying such things about
Jesus? What point is Jesus making by referring to Lady Wisdom and “Her” deeds?
11:18-19 It seems that prophets
are damned if they don’t and damned if they do?
11:25 What “things” have been
hidden from some and revealed to others? Who are the “wise and
intelligent” and who are the “infants”? Does the mention that the Lord of
heaven and earth has “hidden” these things place this in the genre of
apocalyptic literature or a mystery religion?
11:26 What was God’s gracious
will?
11:27 It seems as though
Jesus has gone from praying to proclaiming.
11:28-30 These verses seem to
stand on their own. Are they out of context? Do they naturally and
logically follow from what precedes them? How might they add to our
understanding of the previous verses? I think a whole sermon could be preached –
a whole lesson developed – around these three verses.
11:28 What heavy burdens
might Jesus have had in mind?
11:29 What is Christ’s yoke?
11:30 What is Christ’s
burden?
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment