Who's the Prince? Who's the Pauper?

If you are familiar with Mark Twain's novel, The Prince and the Pauper, you know that for a time the main characters in that story exchange identities.  Unforeseen by them, this results in each of them encountering scenarios they hadn't envisioned.  In John 18:33-37, the gospel lesson for Christ the King Sunday in the Year of Mark, we also have a drama in which the main characters exchange identities.  In this case, however, the exchange is done through the skillful writing of John who shows Pilate to be much less than the 'prince' he claims to be, while Jesus is much more than the 'pauper' he appears to be.  Appearances can be deceiving. We too, must be on guard, lest we heed the voice of a counterfeit sovereign.

(The following questions have been developed to get at some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers, i.e. how does the Word function in the text?  These questions work well when used in conjunction with other fine sets of exegetical questions.  For more on this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word in the words of Jesus functions very much as Law here. The difference in this text is that it is all done using irony.  Pilate asks Jesus, "What have you done?" and later, "So you are a king?"  In each case, Jesus turns the table on Pilate and you can almost hear the questions returning to Pilate:  "You have done what, Pilate?  You, Pilate, are a king?"  Pilate thinks he is interrogating Jesus, but it turns out to be the opposite; Jesus is the one asking the questions. This is how the Law works.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  It is difficult to hear a word of Gospel here.  Again, if we listen closely with an ironic ear, we might catch some good news. At the end of the dialogue Jesus says, "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."  While truth seems to be a threat to Pilate and for any of us when we are claiming an authority not our own, it is good news to hear that we can belong to the Truth - that Truth claims us.  As St. Paul said, "While we were yet sinners - while we yet were in the clutches of our own self-deception - Christ died for us."

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  It is always important to identify with the people whom the Word addresses, and in this case that can mean only one thing: we must identify with Pilate.  While we may wish to avoid this, this identification will help us understand our own unwillingness to live under the authority of the Word and of the Christ.  We naturally wish to be the ones who do the questioning, not the ones in the dock!

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Perhaps like few other texts the classic couplet of guilt/justification fits here.  Other similar couplets could be imprisoned/free; sinner/forgiven.

5.  Exegetical work:  Kittel's extended discussion of the term 'kosmos' is of great help in understanding John's use of the term we translate "the world."  According to Kittel, "the kosmos is the setting of the drama of redemption which is recounted in the Gospel.  All the meanings of kosmos come together in the usage of the Fourth Gospel."  "When Jn. says of the kosmos that it does not know the Son of God, that it does not know God, that it does not believe, that it hates, the kosmos is in some sense personified as the great opponent of the Redeemer of salvation history." (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. III, p. 894)  This is shown clearly in this text in the utter inability of Pilate to understand who Jesus is.  One other term which Kittel discusses extensively is "alethiea," often translated "truth": "In John alethiea denotes 'divine reality' with reference to the fact 1.) that this is different from the reality in which man first finds himself, and by which he is controlled, and 2.) that it discloses itself and is thus revelation."  (TDNT, I, 244).  A translation of this brief text is also helpful, especially as we note emphatic word order.  In the opening verse the word translated 'summoned' suggests Pilate was speaking very loudly, saying, "YOU are the king of the Jews?!"  You can almost hear the sneer and see the curl of his lip as he looks down on this ''pauper."

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  If you go to crossings.org/text-study you will see my diagnosis and prognosis around our "belonging." We so badly want to belong.  This longing to belong gets us in trouble.  It is only because of God's overpowering desire that we belong to God that we are saved.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Inexhaustible gifts

The First Reading appointed for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Mark is the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, I Kings 17:8-16.  This is a marvelous story to be matched with the gospel story of the widow's mite from Mark 12:38-44.  Both stories share examples of women of faith, risking all, believing the promises of God.  Give us such boldness, Lord!

(The following questions have been developed as a way of getting at some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers.  To learn more about this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  This story lifts up an example of faith, the unnamed widow of Zarephath.  More than that the story announces the provision of God, the utter reliability of God, even in the face of scarcity.  The story makes clear that God preserves and provides for God's servants.  This is a gospel function.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no "hammer breaking in pieces" the human heart in this story (i.e. the Law).  No one is condemned here,  and yet deliverance is needed - deliverance from starvation.  The woman says that she will prepare food for herself and her son, and then die.  In this way, though the text is not functioning to show guilt, it is showing us our utter impoverishment, aside from God's provision.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are undoubtedly the woman and her son, starving apart from God's provision.  We are the ones to whom Elijah says, "Do not be afraid."  We are the ones who receive the call to trust God and give out of our poverty, trusting God.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to faith is not the call to obedience, therefore the first imperative in this story - "Do not be afraid" - is not a call to obedience.  The call to obedience is always the invitation to live in response to God's work.  The untold rest of this story is how this woman and her son responded to God's provision for their life.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  As I alluded to above, the Law could be understood here as the starvation which was imminent.  If that is the case, then some likely couplets could be despair/hope, lack/provision, and death/new life.

6.  Exegetical work:  The first thing to notice is that this unnamed widow is a foreigner, from Zarephath, "which belongs to Sidon." Sidon is where wicked queen Jezebel is from.  Sidonians worshipped Baal and Ashforeth.  If God was going to use someone to provide for the needs of one of God's prophets, this would seem to be a most unlikely candidate.  Jesus will later allude to this faithful widow in his first sermon in Nazareth. (Luke 4:25-26).  Augustine, in commenting on this passage, suggests that "Elijah came to the widow because Christ was to come to the Church." (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scriptures, OT, Vol. V, p. 103)  The Church, Augustine suggests, is also an unlikely recipient of God's grace, but similarly is dying apart from God's provision.  Again, Augustine says, "Why was it that no Jewish widow merited to offer food to blessed Elijah...? That widow...typifies the Church." (Ibid.)  Matthew Henry, in his commentary, notes God's sneaky provision by noting that "Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her the impotency of her malice, God will find a hiding place for him even in her own country." (textweek.com)

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Fred Craddock was always insistent that the preacher must bring the experience of the text to the listener.  Perhaps our task here will be to help our listeners experience their own desperate hunger and then rejoice in God's abundant provision.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Bon Appetit!

Isaiah 25:6-9, the First Reading appointed for the Festival of All Saints in the Year of Mark, is a marvelous text of comfort.  Not only does it promise us that death will be swallowed up forever, but it also gives us a picture of a compassionate God who wipes tears from all faces.  This is the picture we have:  a God who is able to defeat death, and yet also able to stoop down and wipe the tears from our eyes.  What a marvelous God we have!

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but only to open up some of the questions which are important for Law and Gospel preachers; specifically we ask, "How is the Word at work?"  To learn more about this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word of the prophet is pure gospel.  God will provide a feast, destroy death, and wipe the tears from our eyes.  The only thing we can do in the face of this amazing God is rejoice.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is really no word of Law here, except, of course, the mention of "the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations", (i.e. death).  If the Law always functions to show us our need for Christ, then the mere mention of death shows us our need for Christ, and thus is a word of Law.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the people of Israel, God's people, to whom this good word is addressed. We are the ones who experience the shroud and the sheet which is spread over the nations.  We are the ones who rejoice in the salvation of our God.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The last phrase is our call:  "Let us rejoice and be glad in [God's] deliverance."  We are called to point to the deliverance of our God and give God all praise and thanks.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Some of the most classic couplets are appropriate for this text:  defeat/victory; death/life; mourning/rejoicing.  They are all here.

6.  Exegetical work:  The Lutheran Study Bible does a nice job of pointing out how Isaiah 24:1-27:13 contain a combination of prophecy and apocalyptic literature.  While Biblical prophecy is "generally linked with historical times and places," apocalyptic literature "moves to cosmic themes and often refers to things seemingly impossible in history as we know it."  Such are the verses we encounter in this text.  Clearly announcing the annihilation of death is beyond history as we know it.  So what we have is an apocalyptic text revealing an end to the world as it stands.  A translation of this brief text reveals an ongoing use of the Piel and Pual forms of verbs. These forms are intensifiers.  So a word which could be translated "swallow" could more aptly be translated "devour". And a word which is translated "waiting" could more accurately be translated "looked eagerly."  These verbs reveal the intensity of this passage.

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Paul Jaster uses the language of this text well in offering his analysis.  He works off of the "swallowing" of death by the death of Christ.  He follows that with more swallowing as he witnesses to the great feast "of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines" which is to come.  Bon Appetit!  See crossings.org/text-study for the entire analysis.

Blessings on your proclamation!

New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34 is the Old Testament text appointed for Reformation Sunday every year.  It is a gospel text if there ever was one!  God is announcing all sorts of wonderful things on our behalf.  Perhaps our greatest challenge as preachers will be to discover how to adequately celebrate the amazing grace that this text announces.

(The following questions have been developed as a way of getting at some of the fundamental questions for Law and Gospel preachers.  These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but work well when combined with other sets of questions that come from a different perspective.  In order to learn more about the genre of Law and Gospel preaching, 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 opening verse says it all:  "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel."  This promise is then fleshed out in the subsequent verses. In all cases God is the actor, putting the Torah in our hearts, forgiving sins, and remembering our sin no more.  This word  is pure Gospel.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is hardly a suggestion of Law in this text, i.e. any word which shows us our need for Christ.  There is a reference to the former covenant, which God's people broke, but there is no accusation here.  If we are going to preach Law from this text, we shall need to use other resources to accomplish this.  One might readily turn to the Second Reading from Romans 3:19-28 where we hear that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We will want to identify with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, those with whom God is making a new covenant.  We too have broken covenant with God through our sin and long to be restored to God.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  A call to obedience is not present here.  We are not called here, albeit in plenty of other places in the writings of the prophet, to live faithfully in response to God's amazing grace.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The language in this text gives us plenty of ideas for couplets:  old covenant/new covenant; no knowledge of God/sure knowledge of God; guilty/sin remembered no more; forgiven.

6.  Exegetical work:  Scholars have named Jeremiah 30:1-31:40 The Book of Comfort or, in some cases, the The Book of Consolation.  Scholars differ as to whether someone other than Jeremiah wrote this section using Jeremiah's name, perhaps to balance the prophet's many sermons of doom.  In the 31st chapter there is much talk of a homecoming, God assembling the exiles back in their homeland:  "There is  hope for your future, says the Lord: your children shall come back to their own country." (31:17)  Finally in 31:31 Yahweh speaks of establishing a new covenant (b'reeth).  This term refers to a "binding settlement". (Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. Booterweck and Ringgren, vol. II, p. 255)  There are different kinds of covenants:  "In contradiction to the Mosaic covenants, which are of an obligatory type, the covenants with Abraham and David belong to the promissory type." (Ibid, p. 270)  Jeremiah's covenant seems to fall into the promissory type. "The covenant idea is first given greater importance in Jeremiah.  He rebukes the people who have broken the old covenant, but tells of a new covenant which Yahweh will make." (Ibid, p. 277).  Such covenants were apparently a special feature of Israelite religion, which was the only religion "to demand exclusive loyalty" akin to husband and wife.  No double or multiple loyalties were possible as in other religions. (Ibid., p. 278)

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  There is no better time than when dealing with this text to follow Henry Mitchell's advice and pursue a celebration in this sermon.  Mitchell said that the preacher should be the first one to experience the ecstasy of the gospel, and then should pass that on to the listeners. 

Blessings on our proclamation!

Irony Personified

Mark 9:30-37, the gospel lesson appointed for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, contains the second foretelling by Jesus of his betrayal, death and resurrection.  The account ends with these words regarding the disciples:  "But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him."  So it could be said of us.  We, like the disciples, continue to argue about who is the greatest, but have a hard time understanding the death we are called to die in Christ.

(The following questions have been developed as a way of unearthing some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers.  For more on this method and this whole unique genre of preaching 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 functioning in both law and gospel ways in this text.  The word of gospel is clear as we hear of the betrayal, death and resurrection of Jesus.  This will happen to the Son of Man.  This must happen for the sake of the world.  The word of law is present as well, as the disciples reveal their utter inability to understand either Christ's sacrifice or their own call to sacrifice. Their ambition and selfishness is clear for all to see.

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the disciples.  We are those who do not understand and are afraid to ask.  We are the ones who incessantly argue about who is the greatest, if not aloud, surely in the quiet of our own minds.  We are the ones who are silent when confronted with our secret sins.  We are the ones who need to be taught again about true greatness.

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The final scene is a classic call to obedience.  In essence Jesus says, "As my followers, welcome the little ones.  When you do that you welcome me."

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Taking the evident split between the example of Christ and the behavior of the disciples we can imagine a number of couplets:  living for gain/dying for love; claiming to be first/embracing being last.

5.  Exegetical work:  As pointed out by the Lutheran Study Bible Luther's theology of the cross and theology of glory are on full display in this text.  To quote the Heidelberg Disputation, where we find Luther's most succinct statement regarding these theologies:  "19. That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened. [Rom.1:20].  20.  He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross.  21.  A theology of glory calls evil good and good evil.  A  theology of the cross calls the thing what it actually is." (Luther's Works, Vol. 31, pg. 40)  In the text before us the disciples fail to see the "visible and manifest things of God" in the cross.  They instead  call "evil good and good evil" by pursuing their futile argument about who is the greatest among them.  As Eugene Boring points out in his commentary, "The supreme irony is that their argument about hierarchical order within the group of Jesus' followers had taken place 'on the way' - Mark repeats for emphasis - the self-denying way of the cross which Jesus has chosen and to which he calls his disciples. (8:34)" (The NT Library, Mark, A Commentary, p. 280)

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Peter Keyel, in the most recent analysis of this text by the Crossings Community, picks up on the silence of the disciples as a clue to their own brokenness.  He points out how we so often claim not to understand something, when the truth is we are trying to ignore it. Keyel goes on to point out a similar silence when Jesus asks about their conversation on the way. This analysis can be seen in its entirety by going to crossings.org/text-study.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Christ the Disciple

Isaiah 50:4-9a, the First Reading for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Mark, is often referred to as the Third Servant Song.  This is understandable since it bears resemblance to the first two songs in 42:1-4 and 49:1-6, yet in this passage the writer does not refer to self as servant, but rather as one who is taught.  Another way to think of this term is 'disciple'.  This song, in other words, is the song of one who is being taught, one who is listening and following and learning.  I wonder how many times we have thought about Christ as one who is himself a disciple, one being taught.  I wonder how important that might be for the church, if we identified ourselves as ones who are perpetually listening, being taught, and learning.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive.  They are part of a method to help Law and Gospel preachers discern some of the ways the Word functions in the text.  For more on Law and Gospel preaching 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 functions as testimony and witness to God's faithfulness.  As such it is a Gospel word.  This can be seen clearly in the latter verses where the disciple declares "I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near."  This resembles very much the psalms of trust with which we are familiar.  (e.g. Psa. 27:1-6)

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no word of rebuke here, or any word which exposes our need for Christ.  There is allusion to the temptations we face, such as refusing to have open ears to God's leading, being rebellious, or turning back from following Christ, but a rebuke is not present.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  There is only one voice in this text, and it is one with whom it is difficult to identify.  Can I be confident that I will be open to God's call, never rebellious, never allowing myself to abandon the task set before me?  I can aspire to this and hope for God's help, but I dare not presume that I shall be the one who sets"my face like flint."

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience is always the Word functioning to invite us to live in a certain way in response to God's work.  One way of looking at this text could be to regard it wholly as a call to obedience.  In other words, the speaker here is an example for us to follow.  We are to be those who have a call to speak a word to the weary and we must not veer from that,  no matter the hardship.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The language in the text is helpful in constructing couplets here:  deaf to God's leading/open to God's leading; rebellious/obedient; turning back/following faithfully.  These, of course, are not so much Law/Gospel couplets as disobedience/obedience couplets.

6.  Exegetical work:  Long before George F. Handel wrote his magnificent Messiah oratorio, the words of this text were assumed to be the words of Christ.  "I gave my back to the smiters" was assumed to be spoken by Christ by writers from Athanasius to St. Jerome to Cyril of Alexandria.  Theodoret, Bishop of Cyr, brings to mind the Passion of Christ most directly:  "This whole recital is taught by the holy Gospels.  For the servant of the high priest gave [Christ] a blow on the cheek; some struck his face, saying, 'Prophecy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck you?' Others spat in his face; as for Pilate, he had him scourged and delivered him to be crucified.  so, all this he predicts in the prophecy to teach of his own patience." (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, OT, Vol. XI, p. 132)  It goes without saying that in the modern era scholars have recognized more and more the identity of the servants as speaking corporately of the nation of Israel.  Yet, as the Lutheran Study Bible points out, "in the traditional four servant songs, the servant is given a particular commission or task that sometimes sounds quite individual... Certainly the servant is Israel, but it may also be true that sometimes a particular member of Israel represents the whole people."

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Henry Mitchell was well-known as a preacher who celebrated God's grace in a big way in every preaching event.  Since this text is a witness to God's faithfulness, what better way to preach it than to celebrate God's faithfulness throughout.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Good News in Abundance

There are few passages of scripture that are as full of good news as the First Lesson appointed for the 16th Sunday of Pentecost in the Year of Mark, Isaiah 35:4-7a.  Throughout this passage we hear how circumstances that were hopeless have become hopeful, how places of despair have become places of rejoicing, and how what was thought to be dead has now come alive.  Paired with the gospel reading for this Sunday, Mark 7:24-37, a reader can see where the Syrophoenician woman received her faith: she believed these promises!  It will be our  task as preachers to proclaim these promises to our hearers who need to hear this good news.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but work well when paired with other sets of questions which unearth the treasures of a text.  These questions get at some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers, who are particularly interested in how the Word functions.  For more on this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  There is no doubt that this is a Gospel text.  Over and over God is promising to bring life from death.  Nothing could be clearer.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is also no doubt that there is no word of Law here; there is no word which exposes our need for Christ.  We could identify our need for Christ by understanding ourselves as blind, deaf, lame, thirsty, deserted, but the Word does not function to lift this up.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are those who need to hear this good news.  We are "those who are of fearful heart."  We are those who have wondered if God has forgotten us in our exile.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience is the call to live in response to God's work on our behalf.  This call is not present here, but the call to rejoice in God's goodness comes later in this passage.

5.   What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The couplets within the text are our best vehicles.  They are:  fearful/fearless; enslaved/rescued; blind/seeing; deaf/hearing; lame/leaping; speechless/singing.  These couplets will serve well to help us construct a coherent Law/Gospel sermon.

6.  Exegetical work:  The Lutheran Study Bible does a nice job of setting the context of this passage, noting that these chapters are from exilic or post-exilic periods. "They are placed here to begin a transition to the second part of the book of Isaiah.  God's transformation will involve both total judgment of the wicked (Chapter 34) and final redemption for the redeemed (Chapter 35)."  David Payne, in his commentary, notes similar themes and says that "this passage links with later chapters, and its earliest, partial fulfillment will have been the return from Babylonian exile which is the major theme of chapters 40-55). (The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 795).  It is interesting to think of this passage as part of the transition from the themes of judgement in First Isaiah to the themes of redemption in Second Isaiah.

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  In Chris Repp's insightful analysis we see the couplets in this text brought to life in a Law/Gospel way.  In his diagnosis of our condition he identifies our blindness, deafness, etc.  In his prognosis he celebrates the rescue of the fearful, by our fearless God.  Go to crossings.org/text-study to see the entire analysis.

8.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Eugene Lowry thought it important to always move listeners from disequilibrium to equilibrium.  We shall have to call on the couplets in this passage to do this well here.

Blessings on your proclamation!