Hunger Free

At the end of the gospel lesson for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost, John 6:24-35, Jesus says this:  "I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."  This text follows the story of the feeding of the 5,000, and begs the question, "What does it mean to be hunger-free, or thirst-free?"  We might ponder this as we reflect on the questions this text raises.

(The following questions are a small sample of reflection questions taken from my guide on Law and Gospel preaching.  They are meant to be conversation starters, not an exhaustive list.  I hope that they spur your imagination, and I welcome your comments.)

1. How does the Word function in the text?  Jesus is giving us the whole package today.  First, he is reminding us of our propensity to seek only the food that does not 'endure'.   To the crowd that experienced the feeding of the 5,000 he says, "You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves."  This is a word of Law, showing us how often we seek Jesus - or anyone else, for that matter - merely because they fill our needs temporarily.  There is a word of Gospel here too, however, as Jesus announces that he is the bread of life which gives life to the world, and he announces that is given to all.  Finally, a call to obedience is also present in this text implicitly, as we, who are fed by the bread of life, are invited to tell others where this bread can be found.  These are the three functions of the Word - Law, Gospel, and the call to obedience.

2.  With whom are you identifying in this text? Preachers might be tempted here to identify with Jesus, but we should once again resist this temptation.  We preachers, and our listeners as well, are undoubtedly the crowds - the ones who seek Jesus because we have eaten of the loaves, the ones who demand signs of Jesus, and the ones who resist Jesus' claim to be the One who will satisfy our hunger and thirst for good.

3.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Obviously hungry/filled or thirsty/satisfied are two couplets that come to mind immediately, but we might expand those two by thinking in terms of other sorts of hunger and thirst:  lost/found, lonely/loved, despairing/hopeful.  These couplets and others can broaden our thinking about what this One called Bread of Life gives to us.

4.  Exegetical insights:  In Greek grammar we encounter the construction called "strong future denial."  This is a common form which is often translated, "this will never, by no means happen" or something like that.  In verse 35 we have this construction twice, and it literally means:  "Whoever comes to me will by no means ever be hungry, and whoever believes in me will by no means ever be thirsty."  This is striking and brings to mind the question, "Well then, if I continue to experience hunger and thirst - which I certainly do, in many ways -  does it follow then that I have not ever come to or believed in Jesus?  And furthermore, if hunger and thirst are common to the human condition, is this hunger/thirst-free condition then just as far beyond me as being sin-free?"

An excellent source for insights into John's gospel is Craig Koester's Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel.  Koester points out that the crowd that lifts up the giving of manna in the wilderness as something they'd like to see again has forgotten one obvious fact:  manna only lasted for a day; then it spoiled.  Was this really the kind of miracle they wanted?  Koester's discussion (p. 99f) has a number of important insights into this text.

5. How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  As usual, I would direct your attention to www.crossings.org to learn more about this model, and also read in my book a thorough discussion of how this model can lead you into a full Law and Gospel sermon.  This text is a good one for illustrating this model.  I might suggest:

Diagnosis:  1) We seek to satisfy our hunger and thirst in many unhelpful ways.
                   2)  We trust in that which only appears to satisfy us.
                   3)  We are dying of starvation spiritually.

Prognosis:  4)  God gives us the bread of life to save us from starvation.
                   5)  We trust in Christ who does satisfy our hunger and thirst.
                   6)  We point others to Christ who will satisfy their hunger and thirst.

6.  Insights from the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Fred Craddock would remind us that the listener must experience the text, not just understand it.  It is the task of the preacher here to help our listeners nod in recognition, as we preach about hunger and thirst.  And then it is our joyful task to give them the bread of life.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Five barley loaves

John 6:1-21 is the opening piece of the extended "bread" narrative that will be with us for the next 5 weeks.  In typically Johannine fashion, this story has multiple levels of meaning, which will be important to us as we go deeper and deeper into this story as the weeks progress.

(The following sample questions are examples from my guide to Law and Gospel preaching which can be purchased simply by clicking on the image on this page.  These questions are meant to stimulate thought into how the Word performs both the function of Law (You need Jesus) and Gospel (Here is Jesus) in each of the pericopes assigned.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?   Both Law and Gospel are evident in this text.  The Law is evident in the doubts and fears of the disciples, illustrated so clearly in their skepticism regarding the feeding of the crowd, and then again in their terror on the rough seas.  In each of these scenes, we can see clearly persons who need Jesus.  The Gospel is also evident as Jesus, in each case, comes to the aid of these needy persons - providing them with bread for the hungry, and calm to the storm.

2.  How is the Word not functioning?  The third function of the Word is what is sometimes termed "the call to obedience." This is the word which invites us to live in a certain way in response to the Gospel. There is no such word here.  We will need to look at other texts to fill this out in our sermon.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We have two choices:  The disciples or the hungry crowd.  Since the church is often identified as the disciples in John's writing, I choose to identify with the disciples.  That means I will assume their position of skepticism and fear.  If I were to choose to identify with the crowd, I would assume the position of hunger.

4. What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Our imagination is our only limiting factor here.  Couplets that come to mind are Doubtful/Faithful; Scared/Reassured; Hungry/Fed.

5. Exegetical insights:  I often find interesting Sakae Kubo's analysis in A Reader's Greek-English Lexicon of the NT.  Kubo has compiled the number of times each word is used in the Greek NT and assembled them by biblical verse in his book.  Through his work we can see that, even though this story of the feeding of the five thousand is present in every gospel, only in John do we have the detail "barley loaves."  This little detail gives us a hint of John's agenda.  Barley was the grain used in bread-making by the poorest of the poor.  What John seems to emphasize by using this term is that even tiny amounts (mustard seed amounts) of the poorest bread can be blessed by our Lord and used to provide abundant blessing to a hungry world.

6. How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  If you go to crossings.org/text study you can see several fine examples of the crossings community's analysis of John 6:1-21.  Archived under 2009 Year B Gospel, 8th Sunday after Pentecost, Marcus Felde offers one example. Then under 2012 Year B Gospel, 9th Sunday after Pentecost, Paul Jaster offers another.  It is interesting to compare two very different takes on this text.

Getting away from it all

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 is a great text for northerners like me who have a longing to "get away from it all" every summer and head up north to the lakes and forests.  The disciples have returned from their first adventures as apostles (see 6:6b-13) and Jesus, sensing their fatigue, says, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."  This is a word that comes to us as well - a Gospel word.

(The following questions are from the method in my new book on Law and Gospel preaching which can be ordered by clicking the book image on this screen.  These questions are not meant to be exhaustive.  The method is fully outlined in the book.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Jesus, the Word in this text, is the wise, compassionate, powerful healer and teacher.  He is teaching, guiding, and healing those around him, revealing himself as a merciful Lord.  This is a Gospel word.  The word of Law is implied as well as we see the crowds running about "like sheep without a shepherd," and the disciples, so set upon by those seeking healing that they have no leisure even to eat.   These scenes show our need for Christ.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no call to obedience in this text - no word which instructs us how to live in response to the Gospel word.  This call to obedience will need to come from other texts, as we ponder how those who have experienced Christ's peace are called to live.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We have several choices here - the disciples or the crowd.  Or, we could choose to identify with both - we are the weary ones, but we are also those who run around in a panic, needing healing.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by the text?  Several come to mind:  Exhausted/rested; Depleted/supplied; Anxious/at peace.

5. Exegetical work:  I find interesting the description of "eremos", translated "deserted place" (vs. 31) in Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.  Kittel calls this deserted place "a place without inhabitants" and he says that "for Jesus the place without inhabitants is one where nothing separates him from God and which he therefore seeks when he wants to escape the crowds." (p. 658) This suggests that, while we might shy away from such deserted places, Jesus seeks them out, and they might be the very place we too need to go for R&R, and Resurrection!

6.  Insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Eugene Lowry's notion that a listener must be brought into disequilibrium and then back into equilibrium is helpful here.  Our task might be take people into the wilderness -the deserted place - and back out again, announcing that Jesus is there with us.

The wages of sin

The account of the beheading of John the Baptist in Mark 6:14-29 has been captured many times in art, the one pictured here by Caravaggio (1573-1610) as an altar piece for St. John's Cathedral in Valletta, Malta.  This story is strikingly detailed for the book of Mark, which usually moves along very quickly, leaving out many details which other Gospel writers have found important.  Mark is clearly very intentional here, most likely identifying John with Elijah, the OT prophet who also endured the wrath of a queen, and the cowardice of her mate. (I Kings 19, 21).

(The following questions are found in the appendix to my newly-published guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted.  It may be purchased by clicking the image on this page and ordering either a paper or electronic copy.)

1. How does the Word function in the text?  The Word in this case is simply the storyteller, Mark. This pericope is unusual in that Jesus is not present, nor is Jesus speaking.  Mark is painting a picture of King Herod as a man in bondage.  We are told of Herod's regrets, fears, good intentions, and finally his failures.  Also, we gain an understanding of the extent to which wickedness can go in its attempt to snuff out truth.  This account is certainly a foreshadowing of the death of another innocent man in the custody of a cowardly Roman official. (see Mark 15:15)  The whole story shows the world's need for Christ, and hints at God's plan for salvation in the death of Christ.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  This text is not proclaiming Gospel.  There is no word here of what God has done in Christ, nor is there a word which invites us to live in response to God's mercy. This text only shows us the world's need for Christ.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  There are three main characters here:  Herod, John, and Herodias.  It is tempting to identify with John, the innocent victim in this story, but that would not be helpful.  Identifying with Herodias might be difficult since she is so thoroughly wicked, so Herod, a troubled and foolish man, would be our best choice.  His bondage to sin is evident.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  Since the Gospel is not present, the call to obedience is absent as well.  The call to obedience is something that invites us to live in response to God's mercy.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  If one is relating to Herod, any number of couplets might be imagined:  Arrogant/Humbled, Fearful/Freed, Deeply Grieved/Totally Forgiven.

6.  Exegetical Work:  There are a number of fine commentaries on Mark, and several I have found helpful are The Gospel of Mark (Sacra Pagina series) by Donahue and Harrington, and Mark (The NT Library series ) by Eugene Boring.  Donahue and Harrington open up the idea that Mark's intent in this detailed story was to do two things: link John with the prophet Elijah, and link John's death with Jesus' death.  We know the Jews believed that prior to the coming of the Messiah, Elijah would return, so what Mark is telling his listeners is that Elijah is here, therefore the Messiah is near.  This goes along very well with other hints in Mark's gospel where John is revealed as Elijah, (1:6) Boring also takes up this argument, saying that "in general, the Markan version [of John's death] belongs to the tradition of the rejection and persecution of true prophets who speak against the king."

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  This text would be a great opportunity to do as Steven Albertin does in the archived 2012 Gospel B, Pentecost 7 analysis and identify with Herod as a bound sinner for whom Christ died.  Check it out at crossings.org/text study.

8.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Charles Rice and his colleagues were certain that helping listeners recognize themselves in a text was key.  Here, the challenge of the preacher will be to get listeners to recognize Herod's bondage as their own.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Us? Offended?

The title in my NRSV Bible for the opening verses of Mark 6 is "The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth." Nothing could be clearer.  Mark 6:1-6a is an opportunity to ponder our own propensity to be offended by Jesus.  Mark 6:6b-13 is an opportunity to move beyond such a posture to one of service.

(The following sample of questions is from my new book, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted:  A Guide to Law and Gospel Preaching.  You may click on the image on this page to purchase this book in either paper or electronic form.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Here the power of Jesus (the Word) is being limited by the unbelief of its listeners.  This is a unique text in that Mark tells us the astounding news that Jesus "could do no deed of power" in Nazareth and he was "amazed by their unbelief."  In the second half of the text, the Word functions to call the disciples to service, gives them authority over the unclean spirits, and calls them to proclaim repentance to all.  This text, then, is not Gospel, but primarily Law:  "You need Jesus!"

2. How is the Word not functioning in the text?  I don't hear a word of Gospel here, a word that says, "Here is Jesus for you!"  Perhaps one could hear a word of Gospel in that the unbelief in Nazareth does not dissuade Jesus from continuing to send his disciples out to proclaim and heal. This is certainly evidence of God's persistent will to save.  Yet, the Gospel word is not explicit here.

3.  With whom are you identifying in this text?  Since there are two scenes in this pericope, it is possible to chose either to identify with those who are offended by Jesus' teachings, or with those who are willingly sent out in Jesus' name.  We might ponder the question, what leads some to be mistrustful of Jesus, and others to be willing to follow him completely?  Are we at times both?

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call of the disciples could be taken as a call to follow, of course, but a call to live in a certain way in response to God's mercy is not obvious. We might ponder the disciples' call to "take nothing for their journey except a staff"as a challenge to live life with an open hand.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  I can think of several:  Offended/In awe, Unrepentant/Convicted.  Thinking of couplets often helps me ponder my place as I stand before the Law and then my place after hearing the Gospel - a worthy exercise.

6.  Exegetical Work:  One of the great treasures for any exegete is the scholarly work of Gerhard Kittel, whose monumental work, Dictionary of the New Testament, remains one of the great sources of insight to anyone who translates a Greek text.  A prime example of this is Kittel's discussion of the Greek word, "scandalon" from verse 3 which is translated as "they took offense."  Several points Kittel makes are noteworthy:  "Unbelief becomes moral hatred...  A primary meaning [of this word] is "deep religious offence"...  "Offence at his message also becomes offence at Jesus Himself and a turning from him in unbelief." (TDNT, VII, 350-51).  This notion that offence at Jesus' message turns into offence at Jesus himself, brings to mind St. Paul's words in II Corinthians 2:15-16 where he says, "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance form death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life."

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  I really like Ronald Neustadt's analysis of this text archived under 2012 Gospel B, Pentecost 6.  Neustadt lifts up the fact that it is easy for us to be offended by the message of a messenger we don't hold in high esteem.  He goes on to point out that Jesus took the place of low esteem to save.  Check it out at crossings.org/text study.

8. Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Eugene Lowry always reminded us that our job as preachers was to bring our listeners through an experience of disequilibrium to equilibrium.  In this text the disequilibrium will be easy; the challenge will be to bring each listener out of this place to a place of solid ground, having heard Christ's forgiveness.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Us? Healed? Or made whole?

Mark 5:21-43 is a double healing story, involving one who seeks healing on behalf of another, one who seeks healing for herself, and one who is raised from the dead without doing anything herself. Which character in this story do you identify with?  That is an interesting question.

(The following questions follow the format set out in my newly-published guide to Law and Gospel preaching entitled, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted.  Purchase it by clicking on the picture of the front cover on this page.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word, Jesus, is doing many things:  responding to the request to heal, seeking out the face of one who has been healed by him inadvertently, commending the one healed for her faith, and finally raising the dead.  This is Jesus at his Gospel best - bringing life and healing and salvation to all.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  The Law is not prominent in this text.  At one point, when Jesus hears of the death of the child he exhorts people to stop being afraid and believe, but even this is not accusatory.  Also, there is no call to obedience, (i.e. how do we respond since we have been given new life by Christ.)

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We have a choice here.  If we choose to be Jairus, we are those who come to Jesus on behalf of others, seeking healing.  If we choose to be the bleeding woman, we are those who come to Jesus, desperate to be healed, having tried everything and everyone else.  If we choose the dead child, we are those raised from death, saved, brought to the fulness of life through the call of Jesus.

4.  What, if any call to obedience is there in this text?  Any invitation to live in response to Jesus' healing and saving power, will have to be found outside this text.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Dead/Alive, Broken/Whole, Ill/Restored are just a few couplets that might work well.

6.  Exegetical Work:  Translation of this text immediately bears fruit when we see that the word translated as "made well" is also the word commonly translated as "saved" in the NT.  Particularly in the story of the bleeding woman we see the juxtaposition of several terms related to healing. For example, in verse 29 we hear the woman say that she feels in her body that she has been "healed."  This is not the "made well" term (saved), but another.  When she finally admits to Jesus that he has healed her, however, we hear him say not "your faith has healed you," but "your faith has made you well"  (i.e. saved you.)  This juxtapositon of two different terms regarding healing suggests that Jesus is about much more profound wholeness than mere physical restoration.

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Joseph Justus van der Sabb has an interesting analysis of this text revolving around our unbelief at the power of Jesus to heal.  It is worth visiting crossings.org/text study under 2012 Year B Gospel to read this.

8.  Insights of pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Henry Mitchell always exhorts us to be the first to experience the ecstasy of the Gospel.  We might seek to share the excitement of being made whole by Jesus as we build to the Gospel climax of this text.

Blessings on your proclamation!

A Night to Remember

The story of the stilling of the storm in Mark 4:35-41 is a logical working out of Mark's continuing disclosure of Jesus' authority.  The words of the disciples at the end of the story make obvious Mark's intent:  "And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

(The following questions are from the method I developed and explain in my book Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted: A Guide to Law and Gospel Preaching.  Purchase it from wipfandstock.com or amazon.com)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word, in this case Jesus, functions in two ways in this story, although paradoxically, both are a rebuke.  First he rebukes the wind.  I like Rienecker's translation of Jesus' words to the wind:  "Put a muzzle on and keep it on!"  Then he rebukes the disciples: "Why are you afraid?  Have you no faith?"  In terms of Law and Gospel, Jesus' rebuke of the sea is pure Gospel - showing Jesus' authority over the chaos in our lives, and his rebuke of the disciples is pure Law, showing them clearly their need of Him.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no call to obedience in the text, no word which says "Follow Christ."  That word, we assume, comes after the disciples have gained confidence in Jesus' authority and power.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  Undoubtedly we are the disciples, prone to cry out whenever we feel that Jesus is "asleep in the stern" and we are afraid that he is unconcerned about us.

4.  What, if any call to obedience is there in this text?  See above.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Only our imaginations limit us in this story.  Several I can think of are:  Afraid/At Peace; Perishing/Being Saved; In the Storm/In Awe.

6.  Exegetical Work:  I often like to look at Kurt Aland's Synopsis of the Four Gospels to see what the parallels are between one gospel's version of a story and another's.  When we look at the parallels in Matthew 8:23-27, and Luke 8:22-25, we see that the words Mark puts into the mouths of the disciples are notably different from the other synoptics.  Mark's version has the disciples saying, "Teacher do you not care that we are perishing?"  This question about "caring" is notably absent in the other versions.  It reminds me of the Israelites' common lament as they wandered in the wilderness:  "Did you bring us out into this wilderness to kill us with hunger?  (i.e. Don't you care?)  Also Mark's version gives us Jesus' words of rebuke of the sea:  "Peace!  Be still!"  Finally, only Mark has Jesus asking his disciples, "Why are you afraid?" All of these are hints of Mark's intent which is to show that the disciples genuinely doubt their Lord's care for them.  It is also worth noting that in all three gospels the word for the disciples' plight is "perishing."  (i.e.  They are being lost/ being destroyed/ not being saved).  Ironically, it is precisely the reason Jesus came - to save - that they are doubting.

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  As always you can go to crossings.org/text study and look under Year B, Pentecost 4 and find any number of models for this text.  One model I have played with is as follows:

D1:  Life is sinking into chaos.  D2:  Depending on self shown as an illusion.  D3:  We are wholly lost.  P4:  We are wholly saved in Christ.  P5:  Depending on Christ is no illusion.  P6: A great calm.

8.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Rice's insistence that we help our listeners recognize their shared story in the text is an excellent way to go here.  Certainly all listeners will share the experience of being in "a storm" and wondering if Christ cares about us.