Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 15th 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.

AMOS 7:7-17

7:7 How many people in the pews may not know what a plumb line is, what it does, and what it is for?

7:8 When had the Lord passed the people of Israel by?

7:9 What and where were the high places of Isaac? How many sanctuaries did Israel have? Who was Jeroboam?

7:10 What do we know about Amaziah? Why is Bethel significant? Does the conflict between Amaziah and Amos reflect the conflict between the exoteric and esoteric forms of the Jewish faith?

7:11 Amos has apparently spoken truth to power.  Who are the prophets in our day speaking truth to power?

7:12 What is a “seer” and where do we find such people today? What was the relationship between Amaziah and Amos?

7:13 As a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I read this passage as a biblical warrant for maintaining the Washington Office of the church.

7:14 Is this an example of feigned humility?

7:15 What does this verse say about the nature of God’s call?

7:16 Note the formulaic introduction. Who says “Do not prophesy …?”

7:17 This is not good news, nor the sort of news any political figure would want to hear. Whose wife “shall become a prostitute?”

PSALM 82

82:1 How do we as monotheists handle passages like this, a passage that speaks of “the divine council” and God holding judgment “in the midst of the gods?”

82:2 Shall we read this verse as a prayer having been answered by the prophecy of Amos? Does God ever judge unjustly or show partiality to the wicked? How do you handle “Selah” in the public reading of scripture?

82:3 Might this be a lower- and middle-class cry?

82:4 Who is or are the wicked?

82:5 Who has neither knowledge nor understanding?

82:6 Who is speaking?  Who are “gods?”

82:7 Who is this verse talking about?

82:8 When we pray this prayer, are we not asking for God to judge us as harshly as other countries?

COLOSSAINS 1:15-28

1:1 Who is the real author of this letter, Paul or Timothy? Was Timothy not also an apostle?

1:2 Is there a distinction between “the saints” and “faithful brothers and sisters in Christ” or is this an example of multiple references to the same group?

1:3 Is the author speaking of intercessory prayer?

1:4 I wonder who Paul and Timothy heard this from.

1:5 What hope is laid up for us in heaven?

1:6 What if the grace of God is not comprehended?

1:7 What, if anything, do we know about Epaphras? Is Epaphras the answer to my question about Colossians 1:4?

1:8 What is love in the Spirit? Why is Spirit capitalized?

1:9 Have Christians in Colossians not already been so filled?

1:10 How do we grow in the knowledge of God?

1:11 This blessing could be used as a benediction. What could Paul have thought Christians in Colossae might have to endure?

1:12 What is the inheritance of the saints in light?

1:13 Note the juxtaposition of darkness in this verse with light in the previous verse.

1:14 Is redemption the same as forgiveness of sins?

LUKE 10:387-42

10:25 What is the meaning of “test?” Why might the lawyer have called Jesus “teacher?” Perhaps this verse ought to be read in conversation with Colossians 1:12.

10:26 Is Jesus turning the question back on the lawyer? What law was Jesus referring to?

10:27 Where did this answer come from?

10:28 This “right” answer seems to point toward praxis, that is right belief leading to right actions rather than focusing on mere orthodox belief as the test of faith.  Note the language: “Do” this and you shall live,” not “Believe” this. Is “living” the same as inheriting eternal life?

10:29 How often, and in what ways, do we seek to “justify” ourselves rather than relying on God to justify us? Think about what spiritual and religious insight would have been lost if the lawyer had not asked this question.

10:30 What would a normal journey from Jerusalem to Jericho be like?

10:31 What sort of priest?

10:32 What is a Levite?

10:33 What is a Samaritan and how would a Samaritan contrast with a Levite and a priest?

10:34 The Levite did something! He did not just pray.

10:35 While the Samaritan paid for the man’s lodging, he did not give the two denarii directly to the man. I have known many churches that would pay for a night’s lodging but not give directly to the person who needed the lodging.

10:36 What is the meaning of “neighbor?”

10:37 The lawyer again answers correctly. How is God like a neighbor?

10:30-37 Have we heard this parable too many times to hear it as if we are hearing it for the first time and to hear it in new, fresh, and enlightening ways?  How can we hear it anew every time we hear it?

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 14th 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.

2 KINGS 5:1-14

5:1 Why would the LORD give victory to the General of a foreign king?  What is the nature of this “leprosy?”

5:2 Were the Arameans and the Israelites at war?

5:3 What prophet was in Samaria?

5:4 Why did Naaman report to his lord, presumably the king of Aram?

5:5 Is this an example of Old Testament international diplomacy? Are the silver, gold and garments a gift, a peace offering, a bribe, or what?  What would be their current economic value?

5:6 Why did Naaman go to the king of Israel instead of directly to the prophet in Samaria?

5:7 At least this king, unlike previous kings, knows that he is neither God nor exercises divine-like power.

5:8  Who really needs to learn that there is a prophet in Israel? What is more important, learning that there is a prophet in Israel or learning the God of Israel is a mighty God?

5:9 I wonder how many were in Naaman’s entourage.

5:10 Why did Elisha send a messenger to Naaman rather than meeting with the leper general? What is the significance of the number seven? Are there any other examples in Scripture of the restorative powers of the Jordan, or of someone washing seven times?

5:11 What might the the waving of a hand symbolize? It seems that Naaman wants theatrics but Elisha eschews them.

5:12 I think Naaman has a point. What does this verse have to say about holy healing shrines like Lourdes?

5:13 At least the servants had some sense. What might this verse teach us about spiritual disciplines?

5:14 What does this verse say about Elisha? Would or could others be so healed or was there something special about Naaman? Was the Jordan considered to possess restorative and healing properties? As a pastor, I resonate with this story.  Sometimes it seems that people will take to heart major proposals but dismiss less major ones.  

PSALM 30

The Psalm Reading is usually chosen as a commentary on the First Reading.  How does Psalm 30 enlighten or expand upon 2 Kings 5:1-14?  Whose voice might we be hearing in this Psalm, the voice of the leper general or the voice of Elisha, both, or another voice altogether?

5:1 Drawn up from what and to what?

5:2 Is healing the only form of help to pray for?

5:3 What and where is Sheol? What kind of pits are there?

5:4 How can one give thanks to God’s holy name when God’s holy name is usually not to be pronounced?

5:5 Personally, I love this verse.

5:6 Maybe this verse explains why Presbyterians are so often unmoved when change is needed.

5:7 What does it mean for God to hide the divine face?

5:8 How do you define “supplication?”

5:9 Is the Psalmist attempting to blackmail God?  Reason with God? Bribe God?

5:10 Is that all the psalmist wants, a helper?

5:11 Again, on a personal note, this verse ranks right up there with v.5. Was the psalmist doing a happy dance?

5:12 What is the relationship between praise and thanksgiving?

GALATIANS 6:(1-6)7-16

(6:1) By addressing his readers as “My friends” is Paul being honest?  Patronizing? Buttering them up? Were their Christians in Galatia who had not received the Spirit?

(6:2, 5)  Compare and contrast “Bear one another’s burdens” with “For all must carry their own loads.”  What is the difference between a burden and a load?

(6:3) Who are nothing? Who are something? Which are you?

(6:4) What does it mean to “test” one’s work?

(6:6) Is Paul arguing for just compensation, asking for an honorarium, gift or stipend, or something else altogether?

6:7 How were the Galatians, or at least some of the Galatians, “mocking” God?  How do we mock God today? What do you sow? What do reap?

6:8  How, or in what ways do we sow to our own flesh and how, or in what ways, do we sow to the Spirit? Doi agricultural images, similes, and metaphors still have a place in a post-industrial, information economy and age?

6:9 When are we tempted to give up?

6:10 Note that we (Christians) are to work for “the good of all” even though we may focus on

the family of faith.  I am reminded of a phrase from George Orwell’s Animal Farm, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

6:11 Is this an example of Paul taking over from his secretary? What a find it would be to discover or unearth the original manuscript of Paul’s letter to the Galatians!  Maybe this could be another Indiana Jones story. Why might Paul have written in such large letters?

6:12 What persecution might Paul have been talking about?

6:13 What law was Paul thinking of?

6:14 What does Paul mean “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world?”

6:15 What sort of new creation was Paul talking about?

6:16  What rule?  “The Israel of God” sounds like an odd phrase. To whom does it refer?

LUKE 10:1-11, 16-20

10:1 After what? Compare the parallels in the other Gospels.  Why send people out in pairs?  I think the argument can logically be made that Jesus intended to visit at least thirty-five towns and places. What does this verse say about the need for planning and preparation? I wish we had the names of some if not all these seventy. Why don’t we?

10:2 Is the harvest still plentiful in the community in which you live?

10:3 Who are the wolves? What do lambs in the midst of wolves need?

10:4 Why greet no one on the road?

10:5 Do you bless homes when you enter them?

10:6 What does it mean to share in peace? What does it mean for peace to rest on a person?

10:7 Another economic imperative?  Compare this to Galatians 6:6.Why not go about from house to house?

10:8 Do food restrictions, allergies, and other concerns not matter?

10:9-11 Regardless of the reception, the message is nearly the same:  “The kingdom of God has come near (to you).”  How do we know when it is appropriate to wipe the dust off our feet in protest and to move on? Have you ever wiped the dust off your feet when you left a place? I have.

10:16 The logical argument is that whoever rejects you rejects the one who sent Jesus, which I presume is God. This has undoubtedly been quoted by some unscrupulous pretenders.

10:17-19 How shall we interpret and apply these verses in a postmodern world which often shuns “the spiritual” as make believe and unreal?  I mean, when was the last time a
“spirit” submitted to you or anyone else you know?

10:20 How has this verse influenced those who appeal to the longer ending of Mark to defend their “snake handling?”

                                                                  

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 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 8 (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.

2 KINGS 2:1-2, 6-14

2:1 The Elijah narrative continues. Is there any significance to a whirlwind? What do we know about Gilgal?

2:2 Why Bethel? Why might Elijah have wanted Elisha to stay behind?

2:6 Note the repetitive nature of the dialogue. What is the meaning of the formulaic “As the LORD lives?”

2:7 What is the company of prophets? Who were these prophets, where did they come from, and why were they there?

2:8 Elijah parts the Jordan. Is this the feat that earns him a place with  Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration? Compare and contrast Elijah’s mantle and what he does with his mantle with Moses’ rod and what Moses does with his rod.

2:9 What was the value of Elijah’s spirit and how could it be doubled?  I might be willing to settle for half. How can one person’s spirit be passed on to another person? How does this verse inform our understanding of Pentecost?

2:10 What is the nature of this seeing?

2:11 What is the connection between the chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire and the whirlwind?

2:12 Who is the “Father” Elisha was exclaiming to or about? Why did Elisha tare his clothes?

2:13 Why does Elijah leave his mantle behind?  What does it symbolize?

2:14 What an odd question! What is your mantle and who bequeathed it to you?  Where does your spirit symbolically reside?

PSALM 77:1-2,11-20

77:1 What does crying aloud to God sound like?

77:2 Day and night means all the time. What does an outstretched hand represent?

77:11 What are the deeds and wonders of the LORD? Note the change from speaking of the LORD in the third person to the second person direct address.

77:12 What might the Psalmist mean by “meditate?” Are God’s mighty deeds ever your muse?  They certainly were for this psalmist.

77:13 Is this a rhetorical question? What other gods are there?

77:14 Who are the peoples?

77:15 Does language like this lead toward anthropomorphizing of God?

77:16 Do we usually attribute feelings, even fear, to inanimate things like water? Is the Psalmist alluding to the parting of the Reed Sea or the parting of the Jordan? This psalmist seems to like repeating phrases (see 77:1 as well.)

77:17 Is this an illusion to the God of the storm or merely a reference to God’s power over nature?

77:18 It was likely the mention of the “whirlwind” that prompted the lectionary committee to pair this psalm with today’s first reading.  How does this psalm ”interpret” or expand upon today’s first reading? I wonder how common thunder storms are in Palestine.

77:19 Is this a reference to the Exodus?

77:20 Moses and Aaron were apparently shepherds standing in for God.

GALATIANS 5:1, 13-25

5:1 Who needs verses 13-25?  This first verse can serve as the text for several sermons, especially so close to the United States’ celebration of Independence Day. What is the nature of Christian freedom? What does it mean to stand firm?

5:13-15, 16-25 As freedom is contrasted with slavery, so too is flesh contrasted with Spirit, and the works of the flesh are contrasted with the fruits of the Spirit.

5:13 Is slavery in freedom anything like responsibility?

5:14 I wonder where Paul got this idea.

5:15 This is good advice, especially in this presidential primary season. I wonder what Paul meant by “bite and devour”. Was Paul alluding to cannalbalism?

5:16 How does one live by the Spirit?

5:17 Why might Paul have set up this dichotomy between Spirit and flesh?

5:18 What is the relation between the Spirit and the law?

5:19-21, 22-23 Does it mean anything that there are more “works of the flesh” listed than there are “fruits of the Spirit” listed?

5:19 Obvious to Paul, perhaps.

5:20 In my mind there is a BIG difference between idolatry and something like jealousy or anger.

5:21 “Things like these” can be broadly interpreted. When and where had Paul warned them before?

5:22-23 Is this meant to be an exhaustive list? Why no “and things like these?” Note that in 5:19 “works” is plural while in 5:22 “fruit” is singular.

5:23 How could there be a law against such things?

5:24 How have those who belong to Christ crucified the flesh?

5:25 How might living by the Spirit be different from being guided by the Spirit?

LUKE 9:51-62

9: 51 Why “days” (plural) rather than “the day” (singular)? What, exactly, does the author of Luke mean by “taken up?”

9:52 I wonder about the identity of these messengers. Why might Jesus have needed advance preparations? I find it interesting that they entered a village of the Samaritans.

9:53 What was it about Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem that caused the Samaritans not to receive him?

9:54 Where do such thoughts come from? Did James and John really have the power to do this?

9:55 Is this perhaps the only “rebuke” in the Gospels other than Jesus rebuking Peter?

9:56 Was the other village not in Samaria?

9:57 Could one of the disciples have said this?

9:58 What is the meaning of this enigmatic saying?

9:59 The first person (5:57) volunteered to follow. Now, Jesus calls on someone else to follow. Does this second person not make a reasonable request?

9:60 Another puzzling saying? How can the dead bury the dead?

9:61 This request does not seem as reasonable as the one before it.

9:62 Yet one more perplexing saying. What happens when one plows ahead while looking behind?

9:57-62 Notice the progression:  A person says they will follow.  Jesus calls a second person to follow. A third person says they will follow.  Apparently, none of the three do follow.  What about you?

                                                                  

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.