The Ever-expanding Identity of Christ

 

The Second Sunday of Easter brings with it well-known texts, some containing insights about the Christ that go well beyond what Jesus claimed for himself during his earthly ministry.  Revelation 1:4-8, the Second Reading appointed for this day in the Year of Luke, is a good example of this.  The text contains multiple titles for Jesus, which continue to proclaim Christ's sovereignty and mercy.  It will be the preacher's joy to proclaim this.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes. These questions highlight the way the Word functions in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers. For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com and amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Primarily this text proclaims the identity of Christ as faithful witness, first-born from the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth, as well as Christ's work as divine lover who freed us from our sins and made us to be a kingdom of priests, serving Almighty God.  This is all a Gospel function.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is almost no hint of Law here, the only place being verse 7 where the writer declares that all the tribes of the earth, especially those "who pierced him," will wail at his appearance.  

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are John's first hearers, needing to be reminded that we have a Lord who loves us, has freed us, and calls us to be priests of the Most High.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  If there is a call to obedience in this text, it is the reminder that we are to be priests in service of God.  In other words, we are not loved and freed only for our own sakes, but for the sake of the world.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Since the only hint of Law is in verse 7, we might start with our couplets there. Some suggestions:  wailing ones/rejoicing ones; fear/trust.

6.  Exegetical work:  Eugene Boring, in his contemporary commentary, reminds us that the identity of Jesus as far as the Church goes, has been transforming since the first Easter.  John's Revelation has typically been thought to have been written late in the first century, so what we have in this text is evidence of some of the growth in Jesus' identity.  Boring writes:  "John ascribes to Jesus a combination of traditional and innovative christological titles: 'Christ' was already traditional, but 'the faithful witness,' 'the first-born of the dead,' and 'the ruler of the kings of the earth' are new. The church continued to develop its understanding of the significance of Jesus after his death and resurrection.  The post-Easter church's increased  christological insight included the attribution of titles to Jesus he had never used of himself." (Interpretation series, Revelation, p.75).  

7.  How does the Crossings community model work with this text?  Michael Hoy, in his 2014 analysis of this text, points to the "tribes of the earth who wail" as the primary evidence of law in this text.  He then points to the names for Christ as the evidence of gospel.  His entire analysis can ben seen at crossings.org/text-study, archived under its reference.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Being Re-Minded of the Words of Jesus

 Luke 24:1-12, the Gospel reading for the Resurrection of Our Lord in the year of a Luke, is a unique take on the resurrection account.  Most obviously, "the women who had come with him from Galilee" (vs. 23:55) and have witnessed both his death and entombment, are front and center. They are even named, giving them further prominence.  They become models of faith for us.  It will be the preacher's task to let them speak on Easter Day.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes.  These questions have been developed to highlight the function of the Word in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers.  See my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, for more information on Law and Gospel preaching and on this method.  It is available at wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The opening verses of this text reveal how much we need a Savior - a Law function. The women have forgotten the words of Jesus, are expecting a dead body, are perplexed when the body is gone, and are terrified when they encounter the 'men' in dazzling clothes.  They are, as the men tell them, looking for the Living One amongst dead ones.  All of this is the Word functioning as Law.  But then comes faith:  "They remembered [Jesus'] words!"  Their eyes are opened and they joyfully return to the apostles and tell the story. This is a Gospel function.

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are those to whom the Word is spoken, in this text that is the women. We are those who easily forget the words of Jesus and need to be reminded by God's witnesses.  We are also those who, upon being reminded, find our way once again to faith and joy.

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  There is no explicit call to obedience here, but the women's example is a call in itself.  We are called to go and tell this joyful, hopeful story to others, so that they too might remember and be given faith.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The before-and-after sequence of this text makes for several easy couplets:  disbelief/faith; despair/hope; dead ones/Living Lord.

5.  Exegetical work:  Kurt Aland's Synopsis of the Four Gospels is always an important tool in NT exegesis, but in this text it is particularly helpful. With his side-by-side approach in both Greek and English, Aland helps us see clearly the difference between Luke's account of the resurrection and those of other gospel writers.  The most telling difference is in how the women are portrayed.  Upon hearing the message from the men in dazzling clothes, Luke tells us "they remembered his words." This indicates that they are part of the inner circle of Jesus.  Also, unlike Matthew and Mark's account, in Luke the messengers do not tell them to go and tell the disciples, but rather they take this initiative themselves, telling "the apostles."  Once again, it seems Luke is careful to show them to be disciples themselves. One insight that Amy-Jill Levine brings in her commentary is that the apostles did not disbelieve the women because they are women, but because the story is so unbelievable.  She points out that Josephus's report that the testimony of women was not trusted in antiquity is simply not the case.  "No Torah statement and no rabbinic majority policy forbids women witnesses or the witnesses of servants in general." (New Cambridge Bible Commentary, The Gospel of Luke, p. 654).

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Chris Neumann's latest post regarding this text is a great example of the Diagnosis/Prognosis movement through the text. The Law is shown in all of its glory as the women arrive at the tomb only to find that everything regarding Jesus is going from bad to worse.  Of course, God's great reversal, that Jesus has been raised, reverses this trajectory.  Go to crossings.org/text-study for this analysis and others archived under the reference.

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Eugene Lowry, in his wonderful book, The Homiletical Plot, shows how important it is to take the listeners from disequilibrium to equilibrium. This text will be a great text in which to make this happen.

Blessings on your proclamation!

A Discipleship with Pageantry

 The Processional Gospel for Palm Sunday in the Year of Luke is Luke 19:28-40.  It is a familiar story, almost too familiar, as we are likely to miss the distinctive ways that Luke tells this story.  It is a story about the disciples of Jesus (us?) accompanying Jesus on his way into Jerusalem.  It will be the preacher's task to take us on this journey and discover the ways Jesus' destiny is hidden from us.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available in different methods. These questions have been developed to lift up the function of the Word in the text, a central concern of Law and Gospel preachers. For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com and amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  This is an unusual text in that the context must be taken into account to understand the function of the Word.  The last conversation Jesus had with his disciples is recorded in 18:31-34.  Jesus clearly says that he is going up to Jerusalem and everything written about him would be accomplished, including his suffering, death and resurrection.  After telling them this, Luke says, "But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said." (vs. 34).  Knowing this, when we hear, in this passage, Jesus say, "I tell you, if these [my disciples] were silent, the stones would shout out," Jesus is bearing witness to the insatiable desire on the part of his disciples for glory.  The Word, then is functioning here as Law.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  Aside from the fact that we know that this procession leads to the Cross and Good Friday, there is no gospel here. The Word is not functioning here to proclaim the Gospel, except as we know where this leads.

3. With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are clearly the disciples, those who set Jesus on the colt, toss our cloaks in the road, and proclaim him king, all because of "the deeds of power" we have seen.  Our faith is shaky, based only on "what you've done for me lately, Jesus."  In not too many days, we will be nowhere to be found.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The Word is not functioning here to invite us to live in a certain way in response to the Gospel.  That will come later. This text is warning us of a faith based in what we have seen.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  We might imagine several couplets based on the actions in the text:  blinded/shown the light; hidden/revealed.

6.  Exegetical work:  The 16th century Anglican bishop, Edwin Sandys, had it right. He said, "In times of prosperity, the gospel has many supposed friends and flatterers, but when it is persecuted by the wise and mighty of the world, then these counterfeit friends show themselves in their true colors, and the hollowness of their hearts becomes apparent." (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. III, p. 378).  Philipp Melanchthon, Lutheran reformer, saw things a bit differently:  "Surely the counsel and purpose of God is wonderful in that he uses rude, simple, and abject sort of people, not the great citizens of Jerusalem, the scribes, Pharisees, and high priests, to receive his Son and to set forth the beginning of his kingdom." (Ibid.)  Fred Craddock, in his contemporary commentary, urges us to see the distinctiveness of Luke's account of this scene.  He emphasizes that there are not Hosannas or palms, and no evidence of a large crowd of random onlookers. Rather the ones who proclaim Jesus king and sing his praises are his disciples.  (Interpretation series, Luke, pp. 226=227).  It is therefore entirely likely that these are not the ones who will cry for his crucifixion in the week ahead, but rather the ones who will hide behind locked doors, hoping against hope that they are not found to be followers of this 'king.'   

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  In this text it might be particularly important to heed Charles Rice's advice to always attempt to help listeners  recognize their shared story in the text? Here we might ask, where is my discipleship anchored?  How has God chosen me to bear witness to the Christ in this time and place?

Blessings on your proclamation!