The Church hears these words in the context of the Eucharist and they make sense to us. They would not have made sense to his original hearers. For the Gospel writer they are crucial: Jesus is the Word made flesh. This is what he is convinced we must believe.
1st Reading (Track 1): 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11) 22-30,
41-43
Once he became king,
Solomon set about building the Temple in Jerusalem. Chapters 6 and 7 describe
the building of the Temple and the details of its furnishings. Chapter 8 is the Temple’s dedication, led by
Solomon. The first step is to bring the
Ark from the tent in which it had been housed to its new dwelling place. Solomon then prays the dedicatory prayer,
which takes up 8:22-66. He begins by
remembering the covenant sworn to his father David, and then acknowledges that
a house built by human hands cannot contain God. Nevertheless, he asks God to
hear the prayers of his people made from this place, and, then, in an
extraordinary gesture, asks the prayer of foreigners to be heard as well.
[8:1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the
tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King
Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is
Zion. 6 Then the priests brought
the ark of the covenant of the Lord
to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place,
underneath the wings of the cherubim. 10 And
when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so
that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the
glory of the Lord filled the house
of the Lord.]
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and
spread out his hands to heaven. 23 He
said, “O Lord, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant
and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, 24 the covenant that you kept for your servant
my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have
this day fulfilled with your hand. 25 Therefore,
O Lord, God of Israel, keep for
your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, ‘There shall
never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only
your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before
me.’ 26 Therefore, O God of Israel,
let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.
27 But will God indeed dwell on the
earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this
house that I have built! 28 Regard
your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord
my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; 29 that your eyes may be open night and day
toward this house, the place of which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that
you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the plea of your servant and of your
people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling
place; heed and forgive. 41 Likewise
when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land
because of your name 42 —for they
shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when
a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, 43
then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all
that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know
your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know
that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.”
Psalm
84 (Track 1)
Psalm 84 celebrates the
presence of God in the Temple, a presence which guarantees divine protection,
including in the person of the king.
1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and a longing for the courts of the
LORD;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2 The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
3 Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will always be praising you.
4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.
5 Those who go through the desolate valley will find
it a place of springs, *
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
6 They will climb from height to height, *
and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
7 Lord God of hosts,
hear my prayer; *
hearken, O God of
Jacob.
8 Behold our defender, O God; *
and look upon the face of your Anointed.
9 For one day in your courts is better than
a
thousand in my own room, *
and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
10 For the Lord God is
both sun and shield; *
he will give grace and glory;
11 No good thing will the Lord
withhold *
from those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord of hosts, *
happy are they who put their trust in you!
1st Reading (Track 2): Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Israel is finally in possession of the promised land after
forty years in the wilderness. Moses has
been unable to come with them; Joshua has been their leader through the
frequently bloody takeover. His work
done, and now near death, Joshua assembles them at Shechem (a major political
and religious center for Israel prior to Jerusalem) to lay before them the choice
they have to make. “Choose this day whom
you will serve.” In verse 29 of this
chapter, Joshua dies and the bones of Joseph, carried from Egypt are finally
buried. Israel has arrived, but the question of their choice clearly still
hangs in the air.
24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes
of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the
officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2a And Joshua said to all the people, 14 “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in
faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and
in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or
the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my
household, we will serve the LORD.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far
be it from us that we should forsake the Lord
to serve other gods; 17 for it is
the Lord our God who brought us
and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and
who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that
we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the Lord
drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land.
Therefore we also will serve the Lord,
for he is our God.”
Psalm
34:15-22 (Track 2)
This psalm of thanksgiving, portions of which we have
read for the last two weeks, concludes with a promise that God is favorably
disposed to the righteous, and the wicked can expect a life that ends in
disaster. The psalm does not assume that
the righteous live trouble-free lives, but their distress will not go unheeded.
15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, *
and
his ears are open to his cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, *
to root out the remembrance of
them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them *
and delivers them from all their
troubles.
18 The Lord
is near to the brokenhearted *
and will save those whose spirits
are crushed.
19 Many are the troubles of the righteous, *
but the Lord will deliver him out of them all.
20 He will keep sake all his bones; *
not one of them shall be broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked, *
and
those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The Lord
ransoms the life of his servants, *
and none will be punished who
trust in him.
2nd Reading:
Ephesians 6:10-20
The writer of Ephesians exhorts us to a serious
following of Christ. In this passage
near the end of his letter, he uses imagery that following Christ is akin to
waging war. This war is not, however,
with other human beings. It is with “cosmic powers” and “spiritual
forces.” This is apocalyptic imagery
familiar to the writer and his recipients of the struggle between good and
evil. The military imagery may be
difficult for some of us, and yet it is important to note what the armor and
weapons are turned into: truth,
righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the word of God.
6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of his power. 11 Put
on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil. 12 For our struggle
is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able
to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of
truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will
make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16
With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will
be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray
in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep
alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a
message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the
gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador
in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
Gospel Reading: John 6:56-69
Jesus has just dropped a
bombshell (v. 51): “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my
flesh.” He then goes on to speak of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. It
is no wonder that “many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about
with him.” The Church hears these words
in the context of the Eucharist and they make sense to us. They would not have made sense to his
original hearers. For the Gospel writer
they are crucial: Jesus is the Word made
flesh. This is what he is convinced we
must believe.
6:56 Jesus said, “Those who eat my
flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I
live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from
heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who
eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He
said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. 60 When many of his disciples heard it, they
said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples
were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man
ascending to where he was before? 63 It
is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have
spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But
among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who
were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told
you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” 66 Because of this many of his disciples
turned back and no longer went about with him. 67
So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom
can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69
We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
The Scripture readings (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 translation is from The Book of Common Prayer. Commentaries are copyright © 2018
Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843. www.EpiphanyEsources.com. All rights
reserved. Permission is given to copy for study use with this attribution.
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