Pentecost 20, 2017: Proper 24A

1^st Reading (Track 1): Exodus 33:12-23

After many events around Mt. Sinai, at chapter 33, verse one, God says, “Go, leave this place…and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham…” Moses, however, has had a difficult time with the people, and he wants assurances that God will remain present with them. Perhaps he remembers the years of silence in Eqypt before God heard the cry of his people.  At first Moses asks for help, but the conversation soon turns to Moses’ own need to feel God’s presence, and, even further, to see God’s glory. God acquiesces but maintains some control:  Moses will not see his face.

^33:12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ ¹³ Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” ¹⁴ He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. ¹⁶ For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.” ¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.” ¹⁹ And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” ²¹ And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; ²² and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; ²³ then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

Psalm 99 (Track 1)

Psalm 99 is an enthronement hymn, complete with a refrain at verse 3b, 5b and 9b. This particular hymn emphasizes God’s justice, which is born in God’s mercy. This psalm comes near the end of a section of psalms proclaiming God’s rule over the whole creation (Pss. 95-100; Psalm 47 is one also). It is conjectured that these psalms were used as part of an annual enthronement liturgy in the Temple, celebrating God as true King of Israel.

1     The Lord is King;

       let the people tremble; *

                  he is enthroned upon the cherubim;

                  let the earth shake.

2     The Lord is great in Zion; *

                  he is high above all peoples.

3     Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *

                  he is the Holy One.

4     “O mighty King, lover of justice,

       you have established equity; *

                  you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”

5     Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God

       and fall down before his footstool; *

                  he is the Holy One.

6     Moses and Aaron among his priests,

       and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *

                  they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.

7     He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *

                  they kept his testimonies

                                          and the decree that he gave them.

8     “O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *

                  you were a God who forgave them,

                  yet punished them for their evil deeds.”

9     Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God

       and worship him upon his holy hill; *

                  for the Lord our God is the Holy One.

1^st Reading (Track 2):  Isaiah 45:1-7

In this remarkable passage, God calls Cyrus, king of Persia, his “anointed.” The Hebrew word is Moshiach, “Messiah.” Cyrus is being appointed by God to defeat (with God’s aid) the Babylonians, who had destroyed Jerusalem and taken a large number of Jews to exile in Babylon. The stunning announcement is that Israel will be saved by a Gentile king, who is being led by Israel’s God.

^45:1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him—and the gates shall not be closed:  ² I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, ³ I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. ⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me. ⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, ⁶ so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. ⁷ I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things. ⁸ Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it.

The Word of the Lord.                     Thanks be to God.

Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13) (Track 2)

Psalm 96 is an enthronement hymn, proclaiming God’s sovereignty over the whole creation. This psalm is part of a section of enthronement psalms (Pss. 95-100; Psalm 47 is one also). It is conjectured that these psalms were used as part of an annual enthronement liturgy in the Temple, celebrating God as true King of Israel.

1   Sing to the Lord a new song; *

     sing to the Lord, all the whole earth.

2   Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; *

              proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.

3   Declare his glory among the nations *

              and his wonders among all peoples.

4   For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; *

              he is more to be feared than all gods.

5   As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; *

              but it is the Lord who made the heavens.

6   Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence! *

              Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!

7   Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; *

              ascribe to the Lord honor and power.

8   Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his Name; *

              bring offerings and come into his courts.

9   Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; *

              let the whole earth tremble before him.

[10 Tell it out among the nations: “The Lord is King! *

              he has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved;

              he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

     let the sea thunder and all that is in it; *

              let the field be joyful and all that is therein.

12 Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy

     before the Lord when he comes, *

              when he comes to judge the earth.

13 He will judge the world with righteousness *

              and the peoples with his truth.]

2^nd Reading:  1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

If scholars are correct, this letter is the earliest writing in all the New Testament. It dates from the mid to late 40’s c.e., some twenty years before the date of the first gospel. Earlier in the decade, Paul had founded the Christian community is Thessalonica, a city in Macedonia on the road to Corinth and Athens. It is, by and large, a friendly letter to a community with which Paul is pleased. In the opening thanksgiving below, Paul praises them for how their experience of the gospel has encouraged others beyond themselves.

^1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. ² We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly ³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. ⁹ For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 22:15-22

Jesus has just told a series of parables which the religious leaders took as being aimed at them (they were right!). What is the easiest way to get rid of him? Get him to say something seditious and have the Romans take care of him. So they set this little trap. Jesus deftly avoids the trap and the authorities go away unhappy (although they are not yet finished with this tactic). This story is sometimes used as proof that Jesus wanted his followers to stay out of politics. It is nothing of the sort. Jesus is not teaching here. He is demonstrating what he mean t when he told his followers to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

^22:15 The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶ So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” ²¹ They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

The Scripture quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.  The Psalm translationa are from The Book of Common Prayer.  Commentaries are copyright © 2017 Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843. www.EpiphanyEsources.com. All rights reserved. Permission is given to copy for congregational use with this attribution.