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 15th 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 6:1-5, 12b-19

6:1 Was one of those 30,000 named Indiana Jones?  Is there any significance to the number 30,000? I wonder what it meant to be a chosen man.

6:2 Where is Baale-judah and what does the name mean?  What are cherubim, where were they, and how was God enthroned upon them?

6:3 Why a new cart and not an old cart? Who was Abinadab and why had the ark of God been in his house?

6:4 If Ahio went out in front, did Uzzah follow behind?

6:5 What might this dance have looked and sounded like? Can you imagine Sunday morning worship being anything like what is here described?

6:12b I though the ark had been in the house of Abinadab.  Who was Obed-edom and why was the ark of God in his house?  What took place in the verses, 6-12a (that are not part of the lectionary) that could explain this?

6:13 Why make a sacrifice after six paces?  Why not four paces, or seven or eight? Why make a sacrifice at all?

6:14 Déjà vu.  What is an ephod?

6:15 I wonder what this shouting sounded like.

6:16 Why might Michal have despised David?

6:17 What is an offering of well-being?

6:18 Was David acting as if he were a priest?

6:19 What do you make of the distribution of food? Is the food at all symbolic?

PSALM 24

24:1 Is there any difference between “the earth” and “the world” or is this just an example of Hebraic poetic structure? Might we be reading this verse differently in light of Laudato Si’?

24:2 Are “seas” and “rivers” another example of Hebraic poetic structure? How does this reflect the Hebrew cosmology of that day?

24:3 Are “hill of the LORD” and “holy place” yet one more example of Hebraic poetry? Is this a reference to Jerusalem and Zion?

24:4 More poetic doublets.

25:5 And yet more poetic doublets.

25:6 And again. How does one seek the face of God? How do you handle “Selah?”

24:7-10 I think these verses were mis-numbered.  Where four verses exist, we ought to have six.  It is too late to change versification now, however.  How does the First Reading influence your reading and interpretation of this Psalm?

24:7 Who is the King of glory? Does God really need open doors in order to enter in?

24:8 Is this a rhetorical question or a form of call and response? What battle might this psalm be referring to?

24:9-10 Redundancy or refrain?

EPHESIANS 1:3-14

1:3 This sounds to me like a liturgical formula.

1:4 This sounds to me like predestination, or am I just reading it as a Presbyterian?

1:5 What is the difference between destined and predestined?

1:6 Who is the “Beloved?”  Is this an allusion to the Song of Songs?

1:7 How does blood redeem? Does this verse suggest any particular theory of the Atonement?

1:8 What do you make of “lavished?” What is the difference between wisdom and insight?

1:9 What is the mystery of God’s will? If we now know it, how is it a mystery?

1:10 Does “all things” suggest a universalism? What and when is the fullness of time?

1:11 Same question as for verse 5. What have we inherited?

1:12 Who are “we” and in what why were “we” first?

1:13 How is the Holy Spirit a seal that marks?

1:14 What is “the pledge of our inheritance?”

Mark 6:14-29

6:14 Herod heard of what?  What does it mean for a name to become known?  I have a hunch it is more than Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame.  Could anyone have been saying that “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead” if there had not been a fertile soil for belief in the resurrection?

6:15 Of all the Prophets, why Elijah?  Who were “the prophets of old?”

6:16 What might have been going on in Herod’s mind?

6:17-19 Is this discourse really necessary for telling the Gospel story?

6:20 Did anyone ever refer to Jesus as a “righteous and holy man?”

6:21-29 More backstory? Does this backstory further the Gospel?

6:29 Whose disciples?  This is not an example of déjà vu but prefiguring and sounds like language used to refer to Jesus after his death. I have a hunch there was more to the interrelationship between John and Jesus and their ministries than the Gospels tell us about.

6:14-29 You be the judge: Is this passage more about John the Baptizer than it is about Jesus? Why would the author of Mark feel compelled to include all these details about John in a Gospel about 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. My various blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and Appalachian Trials.

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time / Proper 11 (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.

GENESIS 28:10-19a

28:10 Is there anything special or significant about these travel plans, about Beer-sheba, or about Haran?

28:11 Why is the “certain place” not named? Stones, sometimes carved, were used as pillows in many ancient cultures. What do you know about “The Stone of Destiny” or “Stone of Scone?”  Could this be an example of “dream incubation?"

28:12 Is there any symbolic relationship between the Tower of Babel and Jacob’s ladder?  Do Angels really need a ladder to travel between earth and heaven? How might a Freudian or Jungian be inclined to interpret this dream? Why am I thinking of Led Zeppelin?

28:13 If Angels were ascending and descending via the ladder, how did the LORD end up standing beside Jacob?  Why are Sarah and Rebekah not mentioned along with Abraham and Isaac?

28:14 Why does this sound familiar? Is “dust of the earth” a play on words or perhaps an allusion to another biblical narrative? Note the four cardinal directions.

28:15 Where have we heard this before?  What if the Lord does not keep this promise? Does this verse suggest that the LORD might leave Jacob after the promise is fulfilled?

28:16 How could Jacob not have known the LORD was in that place? What do you know about Celtic thin places like Iona and Lidesfarne?  Is it not true that God is in every place? Where might God be in our world—and in our lives—yet we do not know it?

28:17 When was the last time you or anyone else walked into the sanctuary or any other part of a church building and exclaimed “How awesome is this place?”  Why do some places and not others suggest transcendence?  How is fear related to awesomeness?

28:18 What is the meaning and significance of this action?  Is this an example of raising an Ebenezer?  What might this story suggest about ancient obelisks, Celtic Crosses, or modern day Peace Poles?

28:19a What is the literal meaning of “Bethel”?

PSALM 139:1-12, 23-24

139:1 It sounds like God is carrying out the function of the TSA.

139:2 I can understand God wanting to know our thoughts, but our sitting and rising?

139:3 How many ways do we have?

139:4 What might this verse teach us about prayer?

139:5 What is the meaning of this verse?  Is it a good thing or a bad thing to be hemmed in?

139:6 From a Socratic perspective, this Psalmist was very wise.

139:1-6 It appears as though God knows us better than we know ourselves.

139:7 Are these rhetorical questions?  What is the expected answer?

139:8 How might one “ascend” to heaven or “descend” to Sheol? What and where is “Sheol”?

139:9 What are the wings of the morning?

139:10 Proof positive that God is right handed and therefore all right handed people are created in the image of God and all left-handed people are evil – or maybe not.

139:11-12 So whether it is day or night makes no difference to God? How might these verses inform our understanding of Psalm 23?

139:23 Are you ready and willing to invite God to search you and know you in this way?

139:24 If God has searched us and already knows our sin better than we do, then why do we still confess our sin? 

ROMANS 8:12-25

8:12 If we are debtors, but not debtors to the flesh, what are we debtors to?

8:13 What does it mean to put to death the deeds of the body? What are the deeds of the body?

8:14 How does the Spirit of God lead us? Is being led by the Spirit of God the meaning of adoption?

8:15 What fear is Paul taking about?

8:16 What is the relation of the Spirit of God and our spirits?

8:17 Are we joint heirs only if we suffer with Christ? How might we suffer with Christ?

8:14-17 What is Paul contrasting when he contrasts “a spirit of slavery” with “a spirit of adoption”?  Do Americans read and hear this differently due of our own nation’s sordid history of involuntary servitude?  When do we cry “Abba! Father!?”  Considering Paul’s previous use of “debts” and his use here of “inheritance” he seems to be focused on financial terminology, images, and metaphors.

8:18 But the sufferings of the present time are still sufferings. What sufferings was Paul referring to?  What is the meaning of “this present time”? What would Marx say about this passage?

8:19 What does Paul mean by creation?

8:20 The creation has a will?

8:21 Without decay, ecological cycles will cease.

8:19-21 The creation, not just humans, BUT THE CREATION, waits. From a theological and ecological perspective, can Global Climate Change be viewed not only as a result of sin, but a symptom of sin?  If so, would there be a temptation to throw up our hands and say “There is nothing we can do about Global Climate Change?  It is up to God to redeem the situation?”

8:22 How might this passage inform our understanding of “mother earth” and Gaia?

8:23 What are the first fruits of the Spirit? If we are waiting for adoption then we are not yet adopted.

8:24 I hope for many things I can see.  I can see them, but they are realistically out of my reach.

8:25 I also hope for things I do not see. What “seen” and “unseen” things might Paul have had in mind?

MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-43

13:24 It seems we have another kingdom parable involving seeds, this time good seeds.

13:25 Weeds, salt, or Agent Orange—what does it matter?  What does Just War theory say about such a practice?

13:26 Now you know how all those weeds ended up in your garden!  It is no coincidence that species of plants that are not native to an area are referred to as “invasive species?”

13:27 Not more slavery language—gag me! Do weeds not occur naturally?

13:28 How did the householder know that the weeds had been sown by an enemy?

13:29 The workers are presented with an agricultural, or rather an ethical, dilemma.

13:30 I am hearing overtones of the hymn “Harvest Home” and we are still months away from Thanksgiving. Why would it be easier to separate the weeds from the wheat at the harvest rather than doing so earlier?

13:36 Who left the crowds and went into a house? What house?  Whose house? Once parables are explained, are they still parables? Must parable have an explanation or only one explanation?

13:37 Who is the Son of Man?

13:38 The field is the world, not the church.  Does that mean there are no weeds growing in any churches?  Are you reading this in light of Romans 8:12-25? Who is the evil one? With all this talk about weeds, is anyone getting the munchies? How did marijuana become known as “weed?”

13:39 Is the Devil the same as the evil one? Shall we make any connection to the angels of this parable with the angels of Jacob’s dream?  Why do Presbyterians not talk much about angels?

13:40 Why are weeds burned?

13:41 Are evildoers the same as weeds?

13:42 Why throw them into the furnace of fire?

13:37-42 How do these apocalyptic verses inform the popular image of hell?

13:43 This is a truly Semitic rather than a classical Greek metaphor.  Would it make a difference if Jesus said “Let everyone with eyes see”?

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 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time / Proper 10 (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.

GENESIS 25:19-34

25:19-20 Last Sunday, Isaac and Rebekah got hitched.  This week, we learn about their offspring.  First, however, we are reminded of Isaac and Rebekah’s ancestry.  Why such an emphasis on lineage?

25:21 Where have we read about something like this before? I wonder how long the couple was not able to conceive.

25:22 Children (plural)? Is this an example of pre-natal care or pre-natal prayer?

25:23 Is this an example of prophecy or foreshadowing? How many “nations” can we now trace to Abraham?

25:24 Did we not see this coming based on 25:22?

25:25 What does “Esau” mean?

25:26 What does “Jacob” mean? Based on this verse and 25:20, it seems that Isaac and Rebekah were married for twenty years before they became parents.

25:27 What two ways of life do these two brothers represent?

25:28 There are some interesting family dynamics at work here. How might Edwin Friedman and Bowen theory help interpret this passage? What greater conflict might be represented by the personal conflict between Esau and Jacob?

25:29 Jcob must have been quite domestic.

25:30 The red boy wants some red stuff!

25:31 What is a “birthright” and what does it mean to sell it?  How can such a thing be sold?

25:32 Was Esau prone to hyperbole and impulsiveness?

25:33 What about the commandment that prohibits swearing?

25:34 If Esau despised his birthright, did Jacob despise his bother?

25:29-34 Is Jacob’s behavior an example of unbridled capitalism or exploitation?

PSALM 119:105-112

How does this Psalm serve as a commentary on or contrast to the Genesis 25:19-34 Reading?  Does it make any difference that these verses are only part of a larger acrostic work?

119:105 This is a rather well known verse, thanks to its use in the liturgy.  Does such familiarity make it more difficult to read and hear it in new ways?  What “word” is being referred to? Note that it is “my” path!

119:106 What does it mean to “confirm” an oath? What are God’s righteous ordinances?

119:107 I wonder how the psalmist was afflicted.

119:108 Do most people in the pews have any sense or awareness that their praise of God is an offering?

119:109 What is being contrasted with “but?” Does law refer to the Decalogue, the Torah, or the Levitical code?

119:110 What might be the nature of this “snare?” Who are the wicked attempting to snare you?

110:111 What is a heritage?

110:112 What does it mean to incline one’s heart?

110:105-112 Are “word”, “ordinances”, “law”, “precepts”, “decrees”, and “statutes” mere synonyms used for poetic reasons, or are there nuanced differences being suggested?

ROMANS 8:1-11

8:1 Once again I must say that I detest it when readings begin with a “therefore” because I always wonder what came before. Who would condemn those who are in Christ Jesus?

8:2 What is the “law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus”?  Note how law/Spirit/life is contrasted with law/sin/death.

8:3 How was the law weakened by the flesh? What is the meaning of “likeness”?  Does “likeness” suggest anything less than full humanity?

8:3-11 In our day and age, how do we deal with all this “flesh” and “spirit” language?

8:4 What is the “just requirement of the Law”?

8:5 What are the things of the flesh? What are the things of the spirit?

8:6 Note the construction flesh/death vs. Spirit/life/peace. Must it be either – or?

8:7 Why can’t it?

8:8 Why not?

8:9 How does the Spirit dell in us? Is the Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ the one in the same Spirit?

8:10 Now we have dead bodies and living spirits.

8:11 This sounds like life now, not everlasting life later.  Is it also true that those whom the Spirit does not dwell in are already dead?

MATTHEW 13:1-9, 18-23

13:1 What day? Same day as what? Whose house did Jesus leave? What sea did he sit beside?

13:2 Why did Jesus get into a boat?

13:3 If Jesus told the crowds many things, why is this parable and not some other parable or parables included in the Gospel? Did Jesus tell parables that were not included in the Gospels?  Is this parable about a sower, about the seeds, or about something else altogether?

13:4 What might the seed represent? What might the path represent?

13:5 What might the rocky ground represent?

13:6 How are your roots?

13:7 What might thorns represent?

13:8  What might good soil represent? Must the seed, path, rocky ground, thorns, and good soil represent anything?

13:9 Maybe the sower was sowing seed corn! Really, who does not have ears?

13:18 Does the fact that we have this verse mean that Jesus or the Gospel writer knew or assumed we do not have ears? Must parables be explained?

13:19 What is understanding? What is the relationship between understanding and heart?

13:20-21 What do roots look like and how does one establish them? Is this talking about about new fair weather Christians?

13:22 Are “cares of the world” the same as Paul’s “flesh” in the Romans 8:1-11 Reading?

13:23 So not all seed, even if it falls on good soil, bears the same quantity?  What about quality?

In retrospect, was this parable about a sower, about the seed that was sown, or about the soil where the seed was sown, or about something else altogether?  Why did Jesus tell this particular parable?  What was Jesus trying to tell the crowd that he could tell them only through this parable? What is a parable? Is there any relation, other than etymology, between “parable” and “parabola?”

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.