Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

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 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

I think there is a very entertaining historical novel or mini-series in this passage. 

18:5 We met Joab two weeks ago in the First Reading.  Who are Abishai and Ittai?  Who is Absalom?  What difference does it make that all the people heard the king’s orders to his commanders concerning Absalom?

18:6 Against Israel?  What army is fighting against Israel? Where is the forest of Ephraim?

18:7 Were twenty thousand Israelites killed or twenty thousand Israelites and Judeans?

18:8 Why are we told that the forest claimed more lives than the sword? How could the forest claim victims?

18:9 This sounds like a comedy of errors but might there also be some symbolism at work?

18:15 Ten to one are rather overwhelming odds. Did they know it was Absalom they were striking, against David’s orders?

18:31 Does this Cushite have no name?

18:32 I think this is not the news David was hoping to hear.

18:33 What if David had died instead of Absalom?

PSALM 130

BEWARE: It was only six weeks ago, the 13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, that this Psalm appeared in the Lectionary.
You may want to consider and consult Oscar Wilde's De Profundis as you consider this Psalm.

130:1-7 Could this Psalm describe David’s psychological and spiritual state in 2 Samuel 18:33

130:1 What and where are the depths how deep are they?

130:2 The Lord has ears?

130:3 What does it mean to mark iniquities? Does God mark, or not mark, iniquities?

130:4 Keep in mind that this “forgiveness” precedes the ministry of Jesus. How else might “revered” be translated?

130:5 What does it mean to wait for the Lord?  Have you ever waited for the Lord?”  I am inclined to think of contemplative prayer.

130:6 What imagery is being used here? I think the imagery is military but watch is also a nautical term.

130:7-8 Note how the psalm transitions from a personal focus to a communal focus. What were Israel’s iniquities?

EPHESIANS 4:25-5:2

One may want to consider and consult Seeking to be Faithful:Guidelines for Presbyterians in Times of Disagreement  as a contemporary expression of some of the concerns expressed in this passage. 
4:25 What falsehood might the author have in mind? How do we read and hear this passage in a culture filled with counterclaims of official lies and false news?

4:26 Anger is okay as long as it is managed and dealt with before sundown. In other words, it is not a sin to become angry, but one should not be consumed by anger.

4:27 How does one make room for the devil? Must we anthropomorphize evil?

4:28 Thieves in general or thieves in the church?

4:29 Perhaps silence is the better option.

4:30 How does one grieve the Holy Spirit?

4:31 How do you reconcile the way this verse deals with anger with the way 4:26 deals with anger? Did the author mean for this list to be exhaustive?

4:32 I have known some claiming to be Christian who were anything but what is described here.

5:1 I can understand a call to imitate Christ, but imitate God?

5:2 What is a fragrant offering?

JOHN 6:35, 41-51
6:35 Since when did bread alleviate thirst?

6:41 Were they complaining among themselves or to others? Why were they complaining?

6:42 What do you make of the fact that Joseph but not Mary is named?  This verse sounds like both his father and mother were still living.

6:43 Jesus answers my question for 6:41.

6:44 What does this verse say about predestination and free will?

6:45 Where in the prophets is this written?

6:46 According to the Jewish Scriptures, what would happen to a person who saw God?

6:47 Believes what? Is there a difference between eternal life and everlasting life?

6:48 What does Jesus mean by this? Note that this is one of the “I am” sayings in John. This time, nothing is said about bread alleviating thirst, as in 6:35.

6:49 True.

6:50 But Christians still die.

6:51 What is the significance of these three images and do they all mean the same thing: the bread of life (6:35, 48), the bread that comes down from heaven (6:41, 50), and the living bread(6:51)? Is it possible to read and interpret these verses without doing so through Eucharistic lenses?

                                                                  

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.

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary (Year B)

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 SAMUEL 11:26-12:13a

11:26 Why is Bathsheba not named in this verse?

11:27 How long was the period of mourning? Does this sound like “traditional marriage” and traditional “family values?”

12:1 How did Nathan know about what David had done? H Who is speaking to David, Nathan or God?

12:1b-6 Why does Nathan tell a story rather than simply confronting David? How could David not realize or understand what Nathan was doing?

12:5-6 Has David pronounced his own sentence/punishment?

12:7-10 Nathan speaks truth to power.  Who is serving Nathan’s role in American society and politics today?

12:10 Once again, Bathsheba is not named.

12:11 There would indeed be trouble in David’s house, but where his wives ever taken from him?

12:12 Can you spell “t-r-a-n-s-p-a-r-e-n-c-y”? Transparency is often called for and needed following a cover-up.

12:13 Does David’s reaction surprise you?

PSALM 51:1-12

51:1 Does it make any difference to one’s interpretation or application of this Psalm if the “me” was or was not David?  Is there a difference between “steadfast love” and “abundant mercy” or is this just a Hebraic poetic literary device? Now that we do not use quill pens, bottles of ink, and blotters, how many people will not understand the expression “blot out my transgressions?”

51:2 Are “wash” and “cleanse” as well as “iniquity” and “sin” more examples of poetic doublets?

51:3 See above.

51:4 Was David’s sin against only God?  What about Uriah?  When we sin, is our sin against God only or also against the image of God in others?

51:5 Is this a proof text for the doctrine of original sin?

51:6 Is this more poetic parallelism or is there a theological point being made here, that truth is similar to, or the same as, wisdom? What is the secret heart?

51:7 Why hyssop?  I remember when it seemed like snow was pretty white, but more recently it seems to contain a lot of soot.

51:8 What bones have been crushed and why? Is the reference to crushed bones a metaphor?

51:9 When it comes to God and sin, can we assume “out of sight, out of mind?” God may see and know everything, but what if God chooses to turn away and forget?

51:10 Does this verse envision a heart and spirit transplant, or just spiritual and moral transformation? Maybe we all need a spiritual stint in our spiritual heart.

51:11 Would God ever cast anyone away?  Would God ever take back the holy spirit.  Note the lower case “h” and “s!”  I think this Psalm does not assume a Doctrine of the Trinity and one ought not to impose a Christian Doctrine on a Jewish text.

51:12 Parallelism aside, in my English speaking mind, I cannot but help making a distinction between “Restore” and “sustain,” but I doubt the distinction exists in the original Hebrew.  You be the judge.

EPHESIANS 6:1-16

4:1 You perhaps either love or loathe Paul’s use (overuse?) of “therefore” (although some do not consider Ephesians to be authentically Pauline).  What precedes his “therefore?” Does this verse presume a Doctrine of Election? What sort of life is a worthy life? Was Paul actually imprisoned when he might have written this?

4:2 What does it mean to bear with one another in love?

4:3 What is the unity of the Spirit? What is the bond of peace?

4:4-6 How do we interpret these verses in light of the Roman Catholic and Protestant split and the plethora of Protestant Denominations as well as the distinction between Evangelical/Conservative and Progressive Christianity?

4:7 What was the measure of Christ’s gift?

4:8 Where is this said?

4:9-10 Why are these verses in parenthesis? Why are they here?

4:11 Gift apparently refers back to verse 7. What distinguishes the various offices or functions that are named? Do you think this list was meant to be exhaustive?

4:12-13 Why did Christ give gifts. What is the full stature of Christ?

4:14 Does it sometimes seem that adult Christians have never grown beyond their children’s Sunday school understanding of the Scripture and Christian faith? By using “We” does the author suggest that he too was once a  child? Whom might the author have had in mind when referring to people’s trickery and craftiness?

4:15 How does one speak the truth in love? Did Nathan speak the truth in love to David in today’s First Reading?

4:16 It seem the author has a holistic, communal understanding of the church.

JOHN 6:24-35

6:24 I wonder how many boats there were.  Is “looking for Jesus” merely a physical activity?  After all, this is the Fourth, and often a multivalent, Gospel.  Where these people “seekers” in the modern sense? Why did the crowd go to Capernaum to look for Jesus?

6:25 This is not the most profound question to ask someone after looking for them and finally finding them. Imagine climbing a mountain in search of enlightenment from a master and upon arrival, instead of asking “What is the meaning of life?” you ask “When did you come here?”

6:26 Jesus does not answer the question asked of him but rather assaults their motivation for their looking for him. Did he want them to come looking for him because of the signs he had done?

6:27 This is a theologically loaded verse. Have fun unpacking it. Is it “work” to look for Jesus? What “seal” is being referred to?

6:28 What are the works of God?

6:28-29 As much as I love this Gospel, these two verses seem to suggest that what is important is either faith as trust or right belief, not right action.

6:30 An interesting reappearance of “work” and “sign” in light of the preceding verses. Are “work” and “sign” interchangeable? Could Jesus ever do enough “works” or perform enough “signs” to satisdy this crowd?

6:31 Why are these people and Jesus so obsessed with food, bread and manna?

6:32-33 Was manna the true bread from heaven? How is Jesus like manna?

6:34 What about the manna needing to be consumed the day it was gathered?  What about the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer “give us this day our daily bread?” And these people are asking for bread always?

6:35 One of the “I am” sayings found in the fourth Gospel.  How does bread keep one from being thirsty?

                                                                  

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.

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

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 SAMUEL 11:1-15

11:1 Why was the spring the time when kings went out to battle?  I thought spring was the time for romance. David had been a great military leader. Why does he now stay behind?

11:2 Was David a voyeur? Was he looking for a beautiful woman? Did this beautiful woman know that the king could see her from the king’s roof?

11:3 Does it make any difference that this was the daughter of Eliam, or that her husband was a Hittite? What is a Hittite?

11:4 One has to love biblical euphemisms!  What was the sin here—David and Bathsheba committing adultery, or the two of them having sex when she was possibly not yet fully ritually pure?

11:5 And this was before home pregnancy tests!

11:6 Why did David send for Uriah?

11:7 Did David send for Uriah simply so he could ask these questions?

11:8 Once again, another biblical euphemism!  I wonder about the nature of the present?

11:9 Why did Uriah not go sleep with his wife in his own home?

11:10 Was this a rhetorical question or was it asked for the reader’s benefit?

11:11 There is your answer to the question I asked related to verse 9, but would David not have known this without asking?

11:12 Why would David want Uriah to remain in Jerusalem another day?

11:13 Why did David get Uriah drunk?

11:14-15 How ironic is this? Why does David want Uriah to die?

11:6-15 David stands out on the royal balcony and proclaims to the crowd “I am not a crook!”  Can you spell “c-o-v-e-r-u-p”? What was worse, David’s sin of adultery, David arranging for the death of Uriah, or the terrible web of cover up and deceit?

PSALM 14

14:1 Apparently atheists but not agnostics are, according to the psalmist, fools?  I can agree with the first line, but not the second and third.

14:2 OK, I know, it is trite, but I am reminded of the Advent/Christmas saying “The Wise (Magi) Still Seek Him.”

14:3 Who have all gone astray? This reads like an indictment of all humanity.

14:4 How does one eat people like bread.  Who is “they?”

14:5 Where is “there?”

14:6 This sounds like another Scripture passage for the 99%.

14:7 And when will that deliverance and restoration come? When will it take place?

EPHESIANS 3:14-21

3:14 For what reason?

3:15 What does this mean?

3:16 What is the inner being?

3:17 What does the heart represent?

3:18 Four dimensions!  I regularly pray that those who worship where I preach and lead worship will have the power to comprehend.  Is lack of comprehension on the part of some the only problem preachers and teachers face?

3:19 What does it mean for something to surpass knowledge? What is beyond knowing?

3:20 What power is at work within us?

3:21 How long would all generations be?

JOHN 6:1-21

6:1 After what? Why did this sea have at least two names? 

6:2 What is a “large” crowd? In the context of this gospel, what are “signs”?

6:3 What mountain? Note that Jesus was with his disciples, but apparently not the crowd.

6:4 How near?  So what?

6:5 If Jesus was on a mountain, why did he look up to see people coming toward him?  It seems like he should look down.  Why ask Philip and not another one of the disciples? Was it the responsibility of Jesus and the disciples to feed the crowd?

6:6 What was Jesus going to do? How does Jesus test us?

6:7 By today’s standards, six month’s wages at minimum wage would be over $7,500.  How much bread could you buy with that and how many people could you feed?

6:8 Why Andrew?  I wonder if Andrew ever grew tired of being identified as Simon Peter’s brother. I wonder if Simon Peter was ever identified as Andrew’s bother.

6:9 Jesus asked about bread, not fish and bread. Is there anything significant about five loaves and two fish?  Is there any significance to the bread being barely loaves?  What do you know about Tabgha? I wonder how Andrew found out about this boy.

6:10 Why the comment about there being a lot of grass? $7,500/5000 = $ 1.50 / person.

6:11 What about people who might be still be standing even though they were told to sit?  Is this why we generally sit in the pews (not grass) to receive the Eucharist? Does this sound like Eucharistic language to you?

6:12 Why should no bread or fish be lost?

6:13 Is there any significance to there being twelve baskets? Was there no fish left over?

6:14 Do all “signs” lead to this public pronouncement of faith?

6:15 When did Jesus withdraw from the mountain?  The people wanted to make Jesus King and he had not yet even given them a circus, just a free meal!

6:16 Why?

6:17 Is there a subtext to the phrase “It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them?”

6:18 Is the “strong wind” a metaphor for the Holy Spirit or might it symbolize something else, or was it just a comment about the weather?

6:19 Why were they terrified?

6:2o What might “It is I” allude to?

6:21 Did they take Jesus into the boat or not? Was the boat immediately reaching land another sign?

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. My various blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and Appalachian Trials.