Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

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.

JEREMIAH 2:4-13

2:4 What is the meaning of “hear?”  Am I hearing echoes of The Shema? What is the difference, if any, between house of Jacob and house of Israel? Perhaps this is just a Hebraic poetic device?

2:5 One becomes what one desires?  Is the LORD asking a rhetorical question?

2:6 They did not say this, but they should have. What is the LORD getting at?

2:7 What is the relationship between the land and the LORD’s heritage? Is the LORD espousing an environmental ethic? How have we defiled the land?

2:8 None of these things would ever happen today, would they?

2:9 This language sounds like it is from a court of law. I can understand the people being accused, but not their grandchildren.  Why must later generations suffer for the action or inaction of people generations before them?

2:10 Why Cyprus and Kedar? Such a thing as what?

2:11 Have the people sold their birthright for a bowl of porridge? How have we done the same or similar?

2:12 Why are the heavens brought into this?

2:13 A double whammy! You do know what a cistern is, don’t you?  Why would one need a cistern when one has a fountain? Why am I thinking of John 4:5-26?

PSALM 81:1, 10-16

81:1 Sing aloud.  Sing ALOUD!  Sing with gusto and spirit.  Shout.  SHOUT! Don’t mumble or whisper.  Let the people passing by the outside of the church hear what is happening inside!

81:10 See Jeremiah 2:6. If we open our mouths wide, what will the LORD fill them with?

81:11 Must listening involve submission?

81:12 So it is God’s fault?

81:13 What does it mean to walk in God’s ways? What are God’s ways?

81:11-13 This reads like a restatement of the Jeremiah Reading, nothing less than God’s indictment of the people.

81:14 But until then . . . ?

81:15 What is the difference between hating the LORD and not listening to the LORD’s voice?

81:16 What do the finest wheat and honey from the rock symbolize? Since when did honey come from a rock? This finest wheat and honey from the rock sounds tastier than bland communion wafers.

81:14-16 God does not speak of pending punishment but rather promised rewards.  It is easier to attract flies with honey (from the rock) than vinegar.

HEBREWS 13:1-8, 15-16

13:1 What mutual love is being referred to?

13:2 Does this allude to anything in the Hebrew Scriptures?  Have you ever entertained angels without be aware of it until later? How might this verse impact our immigration policy debate?

13:3 What does it mean to “remember?”  Why am I feeling guilty for not having renewed my membership in Amnesty International?

13:4 How might this verse inform debates about same sex marriage, if at all?

13:5 How can a capitalist read this with a straight face? Where has God said this?

13:6 Who or what is being quoted?

13:7 Does this refer only to leaders of religious communities or all leaders? Contrast this with Jeremiah 2:8.

13:8 Are you the same yesterday, today and forever?  What is the meaning and purpose of this verse in this context?

13:15 Verbal praise is a sacrifice pleasing to God, but is any other sacrifice needed?

13:16 Is “sharing” the only good work or just one among many?

LUKE 14:1, 7-14

14:1 This sounds like a memory, but the author cannot place the time or location.  I have such momentary lapses of recall, why shouldn’t Luke?  Or could this be a fictional account? Who were watching Jesus, the Pharisees? The other guests?

14:7 Where are the places of honor? While some were watching Jesus, Jesus was watching the guests.

14:8 Thus sit down at the place where you find your name card and don’t go exchanging name cards.

14:9 Who would want to experience such ignominious disgrace?

14:10 Why is it that when people go to concerts and plays, they want to sit near the front, but when they go to worship, they want to sit in the back? Are down and up only physical location descriptions or do they mean something more?

14:11 This sounds like one of the Gospel’s formulaic reversal of fortunes sayings.

14:12 Is “luncheon” really the best translation? Who do you invite into your home for meals or entertaining and why? I wonder why the  host invited Jesus.

14:13 Do we invite these people to the Lord’s Table?

14:14 So payment is deferred, but there is still a payment?

14:12-14 Is this a mere parable or a metaphorical interpretation and application of a later Eucharistic theology and the placement of that theology back into the text?

                                                                  

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 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time / Proper 17 (Year A)

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.

EXODUS 3:1-15

3:1 The Moses saga continues with last week’s infant Moses now a married, grown man.  What other great figures from the Jewish Scriptures spent their early life as a shepherd?  Is the fact that Moses’ father-in-law was a priest a foreshadowing of Moses future role? Where or what is Midian and is it significant? Why would Moses lead his flock beyond the wilderness where there be dragons or deities? Did Moses know he was near Horeb, the mountain of God, or is this description hindsight?

3:2 Note that in the NRSV it is “the”—not “an”—angel of the LORD.  Why do we usually refer to this as “the burning bush” rather than “the bush that was not consumed?” How often are angels and/or the LORD associated with fire?

3:3 Turn aside?  Where had Moses been looking before he looked at the bush?

3:4 What if Moses had never turned aside? Might we miss signs of God’s presence if we are not attentive, not turning aside to notice something out of the ordinary? How often in the Jewish Scriptures does God call a person’s name twice?  How many people in the Jewish Scriptures, and who, respond to God “Here I am.” If the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses from the midst of the bush, why did the LORD and not the angel call to Moses?

3:5 Why do some people remove their shoes and socks when standing on holy ground? Why do Christians not worship barefooted? I wonder how close to the bush Moses was when he was commanded to remove his sandals.

3:6 Who was Moses’ father?  Abraham?  Isaac?  Jacob?  Someone else?  Why are only men mentioned?  Can we be faithful to Scripture and include Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel as well as Zilpah and Bilha in this list? Why was Moses afraid to look at God?

3:7 What took God so long to respond?  How does God “know” their sufferings?

3:8 Where has God come down from and why did God need to come down at all?  What is a land flowing with milk and honey like? Is it not a problem that this land seems to be already inhabited by others?

3:9 How did the cry of the Israelites come to God?  How did God see?

3:10 So, God comes down (v. 7), but sends Moses!

3:11 A perfectly good question. 

3:12 It sounds like the confirmation will be after the fact?  It is like me telling you that you are an excellent Biblical scholar and you asking me how you can be sure that you are an excellent Biblical Scholar and me answering that you will know you are an excellent Biblical Scholar when you earn a Ph.D.

3:13 Why does Moses refer to “your ancestors” rather than “our ancestors”?  Why is knowing God’s name so important?

3:14 “I AM WHO I AM?” Why, in NRSV, does this appear in upper case letters?

3:15 It seems that the LORD is known more by past associations than name or title, nevertheless, exactly what is God’s name and title?  Is God’s name the same as God’s title?

PSALM 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b

105:1 In the NRSV, “LORD” is all upper case.  Therefore, what would be the “name” to call on?  What are the LORD’s deeds? Who are the peoples?

105:2 This is beginning to read like a couplet. Are Hymns in worship sung “about” God or “to” God? Are the LORD’s wonderful works the same as the LORD’s deeds?

105:3 How does one “Glory in” the LORD’s name when the LORD’s name is not pronounced? Does your heart rejoice?

105:4 How can we continuously seek God’s presence? Is the LORD not always present with us?

105:5 Are both “miracles” and “judgments” among the LORD’s works in 105:2?

105:6 Why is Isaac omitted?

105:23-26 Is this merely a retelling of part of salvation history or is something more going on here?

105:45b A budding psalmist can never go wrong ending a psalm this way. How often do we end up praising the LORD for something we at first was a curse?

ROMANS 12:9-21

12:9 How can love not be genuine?  Is “hating evil” the opposite of “holding fast to what is good?”

12:10 Is non-mutual affection better than no affection at all?

12:11 What is zeal? What does it mean to be ardent in spirit?

12:12 How does one persevere in prayer?

12:13 Is this a reference to any particular offering?  How long should hospitality to strangers last?

12:14 What does Paul mean by “bless”and”curse?”

12:15 Who were rejoicing and who were weeping?

12:16 What if we extended the admonition to “live in harmony with one another” to extend to other species?  Who are the lowly? I think Socrates would have liked this verse.

12:17 What is noble in the sight of all?

12:18 And what if by “all” we meant all living creation, not just other humans? What if it is not possible to live peaceably with all?

12:19 What is the “wrath of God”?  While Paul advises us to not avenge ourselves, what about state sanctioned punishment for crime? Where is it written that “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” and how often is it quoted out of context and misapplied?

12:20 Since when is food and water the same as burning coals?  Is this good statecraft and foreign policy?  What would H. Richard Niebuhr say about this? What sort of enemies does Paul have in mind?

12:21 Paul is sounding like Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.  Or maybe King and Gandhi learned their non-violent civil resistance from Paul!  Or Jesus?

MATTHEW 16:21-28

16:21 From what time on? Why did Jesus not show this earlier? What does it mean that he is “showing” and not “telling?”

16:22 Why did Peter take Jesus aside?  Why did Peter rebuke Jesus?

16:23 Did Jesus just refer to Peter as Satan?  What is the pun in referring to Peter as a stumbling block?  What is the human thing Peter was setting his mind on?  What was the divine thing Jesus wanted Peter to set his mind on?

16:24 What does it mean to “deny” oneself? Is there a difference between taking up Jesus’ cross and taking up one’s own cross?

16:25 What is the meaning of this?  Is this a paradox?

16:26 What is a life worth?

16:27 Who is “the Son of Man”?  Is Jesus applying this title to himself? Why this shift from moral admonition to apocalyptic language?

16:28 How shall we interpret this passage nearly twenty centuries after the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ?  What does it mean to “see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom?”   Can we read this as a reference to the Christian Pentecost of Acts rather than a second coming of Christ?

ADDENDUM

I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church, Wheeling, WV. Sunday Worship at Bethlehem begins at 10:45 AM. Here is Bethlehem United's Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/Bethlehem-United-Presbyterian-Church-102482088303980