Confidence in God

 Isaiah 50:4-9a is the First Reading appointed for Palm Sunday.  It is, in the Book of Isaiah, the third of the Servant Songs.  We will hear the fourth of these songs on Good Friday as the Suffering Servant is no longer merely one who is struck and spit upon, but one who is "wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities."(53:5).  In this servant song we see hints of the suffering to come but a supreme confidence in God as Helper and Ultimate Merciful Judge.  It will be the preacher's task to preach this confidence.

(The following questions have been developed to explore the way the Word functions in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers. These questions are not meant to be exhaustive but are  best used in conjunction with forms of exegesis common to students of scripture. 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 functioning as a witness to God's unfailing faithfulness despite all evidence to the contrary.  It is a statement of faith in God, and as such it is performing a Gospel function. (i.e. God's faithfulness is good news).

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is little hint of the Law here.  Mention is made of the beatings, hardship, insults and spitting that have come to the servant of God, but there is no hint that this servant has been unfaithful.  Condemnations are absent from this text.

3. With whom are you identifying in the text?  While Christians hear Christ being described in this text, it is also fair to say that any of God's people who have suffered for being steadfast in their faith could be described here.  We can then, in this case, identify with the sufferer herein described.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  In a sense, this whole text is a call to obedience.  If we can understand the servant as a disciple of the Teacher, then this disciple is being lifted up as an example for us all.  Have confidence in God, we are told.  Do not shy away from your call!

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The opposite of what this servant is experiencing will give us our couplets:  unbelief/trust in God; doubt/confidence in God; turning back/going forward in faith.

6.  Exegetical work:  Claus Westermann, that brilliant Isaiah scholar, calls this passage "an individual psalm of confidence."  He compares this passage to a lament, noting several similarities, but also noting that this passage is not the lament of one who is suffering for being righteous, but one who is suffering "in consequence of the office of being a mediator."  "Both [Jeremiah and Isaiah here] tell of a commissioning with the Word of God which involves its recipients in loneliness and suffering."  "50:4-9 represent the confession of confidence spoken by a  mediator of the Word."  (The OT Library series, Isaiah 40-66, pp. 226-228).  Abraham Heschel, quoting H.H. Rowley, says that "the servant is at once Israel and an individual... The servant is Israel today and tomorrow; but Israel may be all or a few or one of its members." (The Prophets, p.149n).  Ancient Christian commentators have, in unison, seen Christ in this passage.  Fifth century bishop, Theodoret of Cyr, will suffice for a typical view:  "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." (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scriptures, OT, vol. XI, p. 132).  Interestingly, Luther did not point, in his teachings, so much to Christ, as to the Church.  In his lectures on this text he said, "The rule of the church is not located in pomp and appearance but in the Word, even in the spoken Word, on which we may stand firm against all insults. For 'if God is for us, who is against us?'" (LW, vol. 17, "Lectures on Isaiah:  Chapters 40-66", p. 195).

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  It might be very important to heed the advice of Henry Mitchell and seek places to celebrate in a sermon on this text. After all, this text is mainly a witness to God's faithfulness. If we get bogged down in the insults and spitting of verse 6, we may well end up forgetting the confidence which concludes the text:  "It is God who helps me; who will declare me guilty?"

Blessings on your proclamation!

Children of the Light

 

The theme of light and darkness pervades the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent in the Year of Matthew.  The Second Reading is Ephesians 5:8-14.  In this reading, Paul is tapping into the First century Qumran community's understanding of God's people, who are "children of light."  It will be important for the preacher to distinguish that ancient understanding from any modern misuses of this text that suggest that darkness is, in itself, evil, and lightness (i.e. whiteness) good.  God's people are rightly described as children of light, regardless of race or ethnicity.

(The following questions have been formulated to bring out the function of the Word in the text, a primary concern of Law and Gospel preachers.  Other sets of questions are also helpful and can be used fruitfully in conjunction with these questions.  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 wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  There is an unmistakable Gospel function here as the apostle declares, "Now in the Lord you are light."  This is an established state.  As Paul makes clear earlier in the letter,  we were dead in our trespasses, but now God has "made us alive together with Christ." (2:5).

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  Our former state (i.e. "in darkness") is noted, but that is our former state.  Therefore, the Word is not functioning here as Law, showing us our sin.  This is not a text which shows us our need for Christ, but acknowledges that that work has already been done.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the ones who have been gifted by God with this new state, this new status as "children of light."  We are the ones being exhorted here to live in ways that make evident this status.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  There is much in this text which invites us to live the new life in Christ.  First, there is the general call to "live as children of light."  Verse10, beginning with a participle, reminds us that doing so means trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.  We are also exhorted to expose the "unfruitful works of darkness" wherever we find them.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The darkness/light couplet is, of course, the most prominent.  Another couplet appropriate to Ephesians is dead in sin/alive in Christ.

6.  Exegetical work:  Kittel's extensive discussions around the terms skotos (darkness) and phos (light) are most helpful in understanding this text.  What Kittel makes clear is that Paul's use of these terms comes directly out of the Qumran community's dualistic use of the same.  "Two spheres in which we walk (1 QM 11:10), and which have their controlling powers, confront one another and determine the being of man."  "A good work is a priori impossible in darkness, 1 QM 15:9.  But this very principle is a summons to decision."  "From the standpoint of the covenant [the convert] views the whole of his new life as a constant movement away from the 'children of darkness' in the demanding of hatred for them 1 QS 1:9f.  The present battle in the world is a foretaste of the eschatological conflict, 1 QM; darkness will be done away." (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. VII, p.432).  "Darkness characterizes paganism as evil both as a sphere and as a state." "Darkness has its exousia (realm of authority)." (Ibid., p.442).  Ralph Martin, a contemporary theologian, picks up on this tie between the Qumran community and the wider Christian community:  "This title [children of light] is interesting not only for its association with the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls who also used this description to set off their group from the surrounding 'children of darkness', but for the example in verse 14 of a baptismal reminder.  At the commencement of their new life as believers these men and women have been brought in to the full light of Christ."  Addressing directly the quote in verse 14, Martin says, "The life situation of this snatch of early hymnody is evidently baptism, which was frequently known in the church as a person's 'enlightenment' and depicted as the rising of the new convert from the death of sin into union with the living Lord." (Interpretation series, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, p. 63). 

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  The clear outlines between the state of "darkness" and the light of Christ are brought out by the concise analysis of Chris Repp in his 2017 analysis.  He uses a term of "spiritual Alzheimer's" leading to death to describe our state apart from Christ.  The Gospel word that we are children of light hearkens back to the beginning of the epistle where we hear that "Christ loved us and gave himself for us."  See this entire analysis at crossings.org/text-study, archived under its reference.

Blessings on your proclamation!

The Good News of the Cross

 

Romans 5:1-11, the Second Reading for the Third Sunday in Lent in the Year of Matthew, is one of the most complete passages in Scripture regarding the salvific work of God in Christ. The opening announcement that we have "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" is just the start from which Paul builds and builds.  It is therefore, a purely gospel text, and as such, it will be the preacher's joyful duty to announce its good news.

(The following questions have been formulated to help the preacher consider the function of the Word in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers.  These questions are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions which have other concerns, thus adding richness to one's understanding.  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?  One can see quite readily that the subject of almost all the sentences in this text is God, and God is doing marvelous things.  God is justifying, pouring out love, proving love, and reconciling, all gospel actions.  The Word is announcing God's grace to us in Christ.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  While our state apart from Christ is lifted up in different ways:  weak, ungodly, sinners, enemies of God, there is no call to repentance here, no word of Law.  The Word does not function to accuse in this text.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are those described as weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God.  We are also those who have peace with God because God's love has been poured into our hearts in Christ.  We are, in short, those who stand in need of Christ and have received Christ.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  If we can define the call to obedience as the invitation to live in response to God's work in Christ, then we can see that there is no such call here.  This will come later in Paul's letter.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The vocabulary here is filled with couplets that might be useful in forming a sermon:  weak/strong in Christ; ungodly/made righteous; sinners/justified; enemies of God/reconciled to God.

6.  Exegetical work:  Commentators galore have explored this central text of the Christian faith, lifting up the many marvelous ways God is active on behalf of the world God loves.  Pelagius, a 4th century British monk, marveled in the love of God shown in the Cross:  "Why did Christ die for us when he had no obligation to do so, if it was not to manifest his love at a time when we were still weighed down with the burden of sin and vice?"  And again, Pelagius marvels in the result of this love made manifest:  "God becomes the object of love when he conveys how much he loves us.  For when someone does something without obligation, one demonstrates love in a special way."  (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. VI, pp. 131-132).  R.C.H. Lenski, in his classic commentary, notes the figure of "pouring out" that Paul uses in describing God's action:  "The figure used in 'pour out' is that of water.  Our dry, arid, lifeless hearts have poured out into them the love of God for us.  This may come upon us like a stream or like a rain of living water and change our hearts into fruitful, delightful soil. Again the means is the Word."  Lenski also suggests that our receptiveness to God's love is dependent on the Holy Spirit:  "How much of his love embodied in his gifts is poured out in our hearts depends on the receptivity which the Spirit is able to produce in us.  Let your heart not remain a thimble or a tin cup; let it be a vast lake."  (Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, p. 341).  Anders Nygren talks about our state as the justified: "When we believe in Christ, we thereby have, in a purely objective sense, a new status before God." (Commentary on Romans, p. 205).  Ernest Kasemann concurs:  "When God's love has seized us so totally and centrally, we no longer belong to ourselves; a change in existence has taken place." (Commentary on Romans, p.135).  And again: "The new creature stands, not on our morality, but on 'God for us and with us'." (Ibid., p.136).

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Lori Cornell, in her 2017 analysis, picks up on the theme of weakness in verse 6 of the text.  She uses this theme to illustrate our tendency to trust in our own strength, pitiful as it is, instead of the strength of Christ Crucified.  See the entire analysis at crossings.org/text-study, archived under its reference.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Unbelief, Pride, Desire - the Unholy Package

 One of the most ancient stories in the Hebrew Bible is our First Reading for the First Sunday in Lent in the Year of Matthew: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7, the story of the Fall.  We have heard this story so often we are prone to overlook many of its subtleties.  How we will preach this story of temptation, sin, and the Law is a great challenge.  The preacher best begin by identifying with those tempted.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available to Biblical exegetes.  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, 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 clearly as Law, no more simply than in 2:17 when God says, "For in the day that you eat of it you shall die."  The evidence of the Law also comes clear in 3:7 as the man and woman both experience fear and shame, a direct result of their disobedience.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  The Word functioning as Gospel is hard to find here.  Verse 2:15 reminds us that God is the One who put the man in the garden and gave him a vocation, but that alone is not Gospel.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  It is important to identify here with those who are tempted.  If, as preachers, we give any hint that temptation is something we are not prone to, we are most to be pitied.  As Augustine said, humility is the way to God for those who have fallen through pride.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The Word functioning as a call to obedience is as an invitation to live in response to the Gospel.  While obedience and disobedience are certainly at the heart of this passage, the call is really to faith in God, not to obedience, per se.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  There are some obvious couplets here:  unbelief/faith; death/life, but perhaps Stuempfle's classic couplet, alienation/reconciliation, or Lischer's guilt/justification is a strategy to employ.

6. Exegetical work:  I love Luther's translation of 3:1 because it captures the subtlety in the Hebrew and expresses the seed of doubt that is so important to this text:  "Did God really command you not to eat from every tree of Paradise?"  (LW, "Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 1-5, p. 146). You can hear in that word "really" the doubt that the serpent is sowing in the heart of the woman.  Luther goes on:  "Truly, therefore, this temptation is the sum of all temptations; it brings with it the overthrow or the violation of the entire Decalog.  Unbelief is the source of all sins; when Satan brought about this unbelief by driving out or corrupting the Word, the rest was easy for him." (Ibid., p.147).  Johannes Oecolampadius, a contemporary of Luther's, supports Luther's view and adds his own insight:  "First [Satan] wants to create in us the suspicion that God does not want the best for us. He suggests that God is somehow jealous of us, [he tries] at least to make us less certain of those things that have been said by him... Thus Satan wants to persuade by saying, 'Those things aren't as sure as you say.'" (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, OT, vol. I, p. 119).  Augustine, in his early analysis, thinks that Satan, signified by the serpent, is appealing to our pride:  "For the serpent, seeking a way to enter, clearly sought the door of pride, when he declared, 'You shall be as gods,' that is why it is written, 'Pride is the beginning of all sins,' and 'the beginning of the pride of man is to fall away from God.'" (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, OT, vol. 1, p.77).  Augustine's teacher, Ambrose, has another suggestion.  He thinks that Satan is appealing to our desire for pleasure, even suggesting that the serpent represents pleasure in the story:  "Moses was quite right in representing pleasure in the likeness of a serpent.  Pleasure is prone on its belly like a serpent... It glides along, so to speak, with the slippery folded curves of its whole body... It feeds on things of the body, and it is changed into many sorts of pleasures and bends to and fro in twisting wreaths." (ACCS, OT, vol. 1, p. 76).

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Bill White, in his analysis, correctly sees that the Gospel is not present in this text, but it is proclaimed magnificently in the Second Reading for this Sunday, Romans 5:12-19.  There we hear that "by one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."  White's analysis reminds us that the Gospel must be proclaimed even when it is not present in the text.  See his entire analysis at crossings.org/text-study, archived under its reference.

Blessings on your proclamation!

A Warning to Believers

 

The Festival of the Transfiguration of our Lord dictates that we leave behind the assigned readings for the season of Epiphany and concentrate, instead, on the event itself. In the Year of Matthew, the Second Reading appointed for this day is II Peter 1:16-21, where we hear from the author regarding his witness of the Transfiguration.  Clearly this text functions as a warning to believers to be on the watch for false teachers.  It will be the preacher's task to do the same.

(The following questions are part of a method which has been developed to explore the function of the Word in the text.   This is a central concern of Law and Gospel preachers because the way the Word works is the way the sermon must work.  For more on this method 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 to warn believers about two ever-present dangers:  "cleverly devised myths" and scriptural interpretation that is merely "a matter of one's own interpretation."  This warning is the Word functioning as Law, warning us of the dangers of falling away from the faith.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  A Gospel function is hard to discern here.  The most that can be said is that we are told of the voice from heaven declaring Jesus God's beloved Son and the promise of the Holy Spirit speaking from God.  These are certainly pieces of good news.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the ones being warned here.  Certainly false teachers who form fanciful tales and false interpretations are not confined to the first century; they have been present in all ages.  We do well to heed this warning.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience (i.e. to faithful living in the light of the Gospel) is not present here.  If anything this is a call to faith.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The language  in this brief text suggests several couplets that may be helpful in forming a sermon.  Some ideas:  led astray/led to Christ; malignant tales/gospel testimony; ignorance/knowledge; darkness/light.

6.  Exegetical work:  Pheme Perkins does a  nice job in laying out the primary issues in this passage.  She writes: "Although 2 Peter has begun to speak of the charges against Christian teachings made by others, the focus of the entire first chapter remains the faith of those who believe. The small lamp that shines in the darkness will eventually bring them to their own vision of the majesty and glory of the Lord.  Second Peter has distinguished the divine revelation found in scripture, both the prophets and the gospel, from competing forms of religious and philosophical propaganda.  As long as believers hold fast to the apostolic tradition, the gospel, and the prophets, they can anticipate a vision of the divine glory that carries with it participation in God."  (Interpretation series, First and Second Peter, James, and Jude, p.177).  

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Henry Mitchell was the first to emphasize the need for celebration in a sermon. While this text is strictly a warning, the promise of the Holy Spirit, the guidance of the prophetic word, and the eye witness accounts of the apostles are certainly worth celebrating.  After all, this is how the faith has come down to us.

Blessings on your proclamation!

True Spirituality

 

Our second readings for this season of Epiphany continue in I Corinthians 3:1-9, as the appointed reading for the 6th Sunday after Epiphany in the Year of Matthew.  Here Paul is building on the previous two chapters as he reveals, once again, the primary reason for his writing:  the divisions within the Church.  This is undoubtedly a law-based text, which will require considerable skill and tact as the preacher attempts to bring to bear the message of the Word here.

(The following questions have been developed to unearth the way the Word functions in the text. This is of utmost concern to Law and Gospel preachers since the way the Word functions in the text is the way the Word needs to function in the sermon. 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?  Undoubtedly the Word is functioning as Law here, calling the hearers to repentance.  The divisions Paul referred to in chapter 1 are a great concern of his, and he takes the Corinthians to task here.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is little evidence of Gospel here.  Having said that, Paul does mention that God is the One giving growth, and we are God's field and God's building, all hopeful words.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  It is always good to identify with those to whom the Word is addressed, so in this case, we must consider how we too are party to divisions in Christ's Church.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  There is an implicit call to obedience throughout this text:  strive for unity.  This call will become explicit later in the letter.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Using the theme of this text, we might imagine a number of couplets:  division/unity; jealousy/contentment; of the flesh/of the Spirit.

6.  Exegetical work: Ambrosiaster, the 4th century exegete, states the problem in Corinth simply: "Although they had received the faith which is the seed of the Spirit, they had produced no fruit worthy of God." (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. VII, p. 28).  Indeed this is so.  The Corinthians have declared themselves "spiritual" or even "spiritually mature," but Paul sees their quarreling and reminds them that this is the way of mortals, not the way of God.  Richard Hays says it this way:  "Being 'of the flesh' does not mean, as the Corinthian wisdom-enthusiasts supposed, lacking refined spiritual knowledge and experience.  Nor does being 'of the flesh' mean, as much of the subsequent Christian tradition has supposed, living in lust and sexual sin.  No, for Paul, being 'in the flesh' means living in rivalry and disunity within the church.  This breathtaking assertion shatters and reshapes the whole scale of values on which the Corinthians are asked to measure themselves." (Interpretation series, First Corinthians, pp.48-49).  

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Charles Rice reminded us that it is essential to help listeners recognize their shared story in a text.  In this case that would mean helping listeners find themselves in this scenario of jealousy and strife.  It will be the goal of the preacher to help listeners say to themselves, "That's me.  I've done that," rather than them hearing the preacher say, "That's you. You have done this."

Blessings on your proclamation!

The Spirit's Wisdom

 I Corinthians 2:1-12, the Second Reading for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany in the Year of Mark, is a continuation of last week's reading when St. Paul lays out his argument that true wisdom comes through knowing the crucified Christ.  This week that theme continues, but with the inclusion of the Spirit.  This theological text will be a challenge for the preacher, but with the Spirit's help, the good news can be heard.

(The following questions have been developed to lift up the function of the Word in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers.  These questions are best used with other sets of questions available to exegetes which have other concerns.  For more on this particular method or 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?  We notice immediately that the Apostle Paul is telling about his practice of proclamation.  By the middle of the text, however, the subject is God, and we learn of God's intent to reveal to God's people "secret and hidden" wisdom by means of the Spirit. This is the Word functioning as Gospel, assuring us of God's good work on our behalf.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  The Word does not function in this text directly as Law. That is to say, there is no call to repentance, or a  lifting up of the hearers' need for a Savior.  What is lifted up is the utter ignorance of the "rulers of this age" who crucified the Lord of glory.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We rightly identify with those to whom the Word is spoken, in this case, those who have received the Spirit of God.  It might be prudent, however, to also consider how like the "rulers of this age" we are prone to be.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  There is not an explicit call to obedience here but an implied one:  in your proclamation, do not depend on human wisdom, but on the power of God.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  We can take a number of terms from this text and construct couplets that might prove helpful in our sermon strategy.  Some suggestions:  perishable wisdom/lasting wisdom; hidden/revealed; spirit of the world/Spirit of God.

6.  Exegetical work:  Richard Hays, in his fine commentary, lifts up the irony that Paul begins by talking about how human wisdom is of no help in knowing the ways of God, and then in verse 6 says that "among the mature we do speak wisdom."  Hays argues that Paul is writing this way in response to criticism that he was "not much of a teacher, because he did not instruct them in the niceties of wisdom.  He responds  that, as a matter of fact, he actually does teach wisdom among the mature.  The Corinthians can draw their own conclusions."  This is a rhetorical trap, says Hays. (Interpretation series, First Corinthians, pp. 41-47).

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Michael Hoy, in his analysis, lifts up the trap of following worldly wisdom, in contrast to the life-giving nature of following the Crucified Christ.  Worldly wisdom and Spirit-led wisdom form the Law/Gospel couplet.  See the entire analysis at crossings.org/text-study.

Blessings on your proclamation!