Open Table

 

The Gospel text appointed for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke is Luke 14:1, 7-14.  It is an interesting text because it can be interpreted in a number of ways.  On one hand, it functions much like the OT reading for this Sunday from Proverbs 25:  "... it is better to be told, 'Come up here,' than to be put lower in the presence of a noble."  On the other hand, Jesus uses the familiar language of a wedding banquet in both of his exhortations to his listeners, so one can't help but here "kingdom of God" language here.  It will be the preacher's task to decide how to proceed.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but have been developed to highlight the way the Word functions in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers. The reason this is important is because the way the Word functions is the way the sermon must, at least in part, function as well.  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 or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  It is curious that Luke tells us Jesus is going to tell his hearers a parable, but then he does nothing of the sort.  He simply instructs them in humility.  Perhaps hidden here is the Word functioning to announce the way God's kingdom operates.  (i.e. God's reign is one where all have seats of honor).  This is certainly good news, a Gospel function.  There is also an element of rebuke here:  "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled."  This is a Law function, calling us to repentance.

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We identify with Jesus' listeners, those who are prone to believe that 1) When it comes to honor, we must take matters into our own hands; 2) Life is transactional - you grease one person's palm and they grease yours, and 3) God's kingdom is like this as well.

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  As pointed out above, this text could be read as simply an exhortation to humility.  Taken as such, this is a call to obedience, the invitation to live in a certain way in response to the good news.  It seems much more likely, however, that Jesus is holding up "kingdom behavior" as something that comes from faith. This text is then more a call to faith than a call to obedience.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  A number of couplets come readily to mind from this text:  having no place/having a place of honor; outsider/insider; dishonored/exalted.

5.  Exegetical work:  In a sermon on this text, Luther understands this text primarily as a call to obedience, saying that humility causes "peace and unity to follow, while strife and discord decrease.  However, such pride can come when we believe that the gifts of God are grown in our own garden." (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. III, p. 297).  In contrast, several contemporary exegetes follow the Law/Gospel format.  Amy-Jill Levine writes, "...in the Gospel of Luke is the theme of status reversal, the idea that the current power structures and values of this world will be turned upside down by the reign of God." (New Cambridge Bible Commentary, The Gospel of Luke, p.395).  Fred Craddock concurs: "...Luke gives ample evidence that the subject here is the kingdom of God."  Craddock goes on, however, seeing the call to obedience as well:  "Since God is host of us all, we as hosts are really behaving as guests, making no claims, setting no conditions, expecting no return." (Interpretation series, Luke, pp.176-77).

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  There are a number of fine examples of exegesis on this text, archived under its reference.  Mark Marius sees the grace in this text, saying "We are those invited to the banquet who cannot pay the host."  That's grace! Go to crossings.org/text-study to see multiple examples.

Blessings on your proclamation!

God Distant or Near?

Jeremiah 23:23-29 is the First Lesson appointed for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke.  As such, it pairs well with the gospel lesson from Luke 12 where Jesus announces that he has not come to bring peace but division.  Both of these texts portray God as One who will not be manipulated or cajoled.  It will be the preacher's task to present this "tough love" in a way that can be heard.

(The following questions have been developed to highlight the function of the Word in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers.  These questions are best used with other fine sets of questions with other concerns.  For more on this particular method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wiptandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  There is no question that this is a Law-based text. The false prophets who are plaguing Israel are particularly lifted up for judgement.  The God portrayed here is a God of fierce judgement who will not tolerate false uses of the divine name.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  The Gospel is really hidden here. A hint of it may be found in verse 27 where God shows concern that God's people will forget God's name.  This is a hint of the eternal love of God, and God's grief over sin.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We identify with those who are being warned in this text. We are often those who, like the false prophets, assume that God is "near" (i.e. just like us, our buddy), when, in fact, God is very, very much "distant" (unlike us, holy, wholly other).

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call here is the call to repentance, not the call to obedience. The call to obedience is God's invitation to live in a certain way in response to the Gospel.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Given that the call to repentance is the function of this text, the classic couplet sin/forgiveness is definitely in order.  More specific to this text, we might add falsity/truth telling.

6.  Exegetical work: The opening verse in this text presents a puzzle.  Since there is no indication in the Hebrew that the sentence is in interrogative form, the opening verse may read "I am a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off," or it may read (as in the NRSV), "Am I a God nearby, says the Lord, and not a God far off."  Or, alternatively, (as in the NIV), "Am I only a God nearby, declares the Lord, and not a God far away?"  Robert Carroll, in his excellent commentary on this passage, lifts up what is at stake here.  He notes that both God's transcendence and God's immanence are in play here, curiously leading us to the same place.  If Yahweh is distant, then God sees everything because of God's transcendence.  If Yahweh is near, God's nearness allows God to see everything clearly becaue God is immanent.  In both cases, God sees everything.  But these characteristics also speak of God's accessibility.  Carroll writes:  "The interrogative form may then reflect the theology of the prophets who believe in a near god to whom they have access (i.e. the god of the national shrine, cult, palace.)  On the contrary, asserts v. 23:  Yahweh is a distant god, beyond reach and control.  The distant god is one which cannot be manipulated or with which one cannot horse-trade." "[God's] accessibility is strictly limited: an important point in the debate with the prophets and one which prophetic manipulation and confidence appear to have forgotten. The fragments therefore represent an extract from a theological perspective diametrically opposed to the prophetic behaviour which can manipulate the diety or is at ease in the divine presence." (The OT Library series, Jeremiah, pp.464-468).

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Charles Rice always urged the preacher to help listeners recognize their shared story in a text. Here, in order to do that, the preacher will have to be willing to let the listeners be uncomfortable for a while. Their shared story will be them coming to the conclusion that they too have presumed upon "a God who is near."

Blessings on your proclamation!

Faith Celebrated

 

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 is the Second Lesson appointed for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke.  It matches well with the Gospel reading from Luke 12 where we hear Jesus say, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."  The Hebrew passage contains the beginning of the "honor roll of faith", but unfortunately, Sarah is barely mentioned in some translations even though she is the one conceiving and bearing a child in her old age. This passage declares the miracle of faith, something to celebrate.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but have been developed to help exegetes uncover the function of the Word in the text.  This is a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers since the way the Word functions is the way the sermon must function, at least in part. 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 or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word is celebrating what faith is, "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen."  We are given examples of how faith has been lived out in people of faith, all because they "consider him faithful who had promised."  This is a Gospel function.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no explicit word of Law in this text, no word that calls one to repentance or announces one's need of a Savior.  A hint of Law is found in verse 13 where we are reminded that people of faith are "strangers and foreigners on earth," a hint to our vulnerabilty.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  This text addresses no one, but declares the "honor roll of faith."  We are bold to identify with Sarah and Abraham, recognizing also their foibles, revealed in other passages.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  There is a call to faith, but not a call to obedience, the Word functioning to invite us into a certain lifestyle in response to God's gifts.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Perhaps by borrowing some of the language in the passage we might come up with some appropriate couplets.  For example, strangers/friends; foreigners/citizens, or perhaps better, as good as dead/alive through faith.

6.  Exegetical work: A translation of the text reveals the importance of Sarah to this passage, though neither the NRSV nor the NIV acknowledge her.  An example of a translation that does is the classic KJV: "Through faith Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised."   One of the most interesting discussions surrounds the meaning of the Greek word hypostasis, here in 11:1 translated "substance."  According to Bauer, Gingrich, and Danker, "Among the meanings that can be authenticated, the one that seems to fit best here is realization; ... in faith things hoped for become realized or things hoped for become reality."  (A Greek-English Lexicon of the NT and other Early Christian Literature, p.847). William Perkins, the English reformer, seems to agree: "...faith gives to those things which yet are not (after a sort) a substance or subsistence in the heart of the believer, so that that thing which never had nor yet had a being in itself, by this faith it has a being in the heart of the believer." (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. XIII, p.157).  The modern exegete, Tom Long, gives an even clearer understanding of this term:  "The word translated 'assurance' in this verse, hypostasis, was used earlier to describe how the Son is the expression of God's hypostasis, God's 'very being' (1:3).  In other words, faith is the 'very being' of God's promises.  It is more than the inner confidence that the powers of this world ... will eventually yield..., it is the reality of those promises moving as an advance force and operating behind enemy lines."  "Faith as an inward reality sings 'We Shall Overcome.'  Faith as an outward reality marches at Selma." (Interpretation series, Hebrews, p.113).

Blessings on your proclamation!