Proper 22B (20 Pentecost 2018) Readings & Commentaries

We begin several weeks of reading through the first part of the Letter to the Hebrews.  It reads more like an extended sermon than a letter.  Who wrote it and to whom it was written remain a mystery.  The sermon begins with an exaltation of Jesus, 

1^st Reading (Track 1):  Job 1:1; 2:1-10

The Book of Job is a witness to human suffering and a debate about its causes.  The central questions of Job are whether or not God causes human suffering and what role humans play in bringing it on.  The missing verses from chapter 1 in the reading below first testify to Job’s uprightness.  Then Satan (literally, “the accuser”) is allowed to test Job, and disaster follows including the loss of his home and children.  Then the story picks up again below with a second bad deal between the Lord and Satan for a further test.  This passage ends with the declaration that Job did not sin with his lips.  But the question remains for the rest of the book, can he continue to do so, or will his suffering break him?

^1:1 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ^2:1 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. ² The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ³ The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” ⁴ Then Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. ⁵ But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” ⁶ The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.” ⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ⁸ Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. ⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” ¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Psalm 26 (Track 1)

Psalm 26 is a personal lament, a cry for justice.  It could easily have been on the lips of Job during his suffering (and indeed, the reading above and this psalm both contain the Hebrew word for “integrity”). Verses 6-8 may testify to some liturgical practices in ancient Israel.  The psalm ends with a plaintive cry to be spared the fate of sinners.

1     Give judgment for me, O Lord,

       for I have lived with integrity; *

              I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.

2     Test me, O Lord, and try me; *

              examine my heart and my mind.

3     For your love is before my eyes; *

              I have walked faithfully with you.

4     I have not sat with the worthless, *

              nor do I consort with the deceitful.

5     I have hated the company of evildoers; *

              I will not sit down with the wicked.

6     I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, *

              that I may go in procession round your altar,

7     Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *

              and recounting all your wonderful deeds.

8     Lord, I love the house in which you dwell *

              and the place where your glory abides.

9     Do not sweep me away with sinners, *

              nor my life with those who thirst for blood,

10   Whose hands are full of evil plots, *

              and their right hand full of bribes.

11   As for me, I will live with integrity; *

              redeem me, O Lord, and have pity on me.

12   My foot stands on level ground; *

              in the full assembly I will bless the Lord.

1^st Reading (Track 2):  Genesis 2:18-24

Our first reading is part of the second Creation Story (2:4b-25), focusing on the creation of humanity. The major premise is that the man is alone and needs a true partner. Nothing that has been made will suffice, so a rib of the man is built up into a woman.  This creation can be a partner.  Now the text goes on to give the theological justification for marriage, remembering that its primary purpose is for human beings not to be alone.

^2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” ¹⁹ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” ²⁴ Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Psalm 8 (Track 2)

Psalm 8 is a celebration of God’s glory, particularly as found in the creation and in the dignity of human beings.  Unusually, it is not only a response to the first reading, but is related to the passages below from Hebrews and Mark.

1     O Lord our Governor, *

              how exalted is your Name in all the world!

2     Out of the mouths of infants and children *

              your majesty is praised above the heavens.

3     You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *

              to quell the enemy and the avenger.

4     When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *

              the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

5     What is man that you should be mindful of him? *

              The son of man that you should seek him out?

6     You have made him but little lower than the angels; *

              you adorn him with glory and honor;

7     You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *

              you put all things under his feet:

8     All sheep and oxen, *

              even the wild beasts of the field,

9     The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *

              and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

10   O Lord our Governor, *

              how exalted is your Name in all the world!

2^nd Reading:  Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

We begin several weeks of reading through the first part of the Letter to the Hebrews.  It reads more like an extended sermon than a letter.  Who wrote it and to whom it was written remain a mystery.  The sermon begins with an exaltation of Jesus, to whom all things are subject.  But this one to whom all things are subject is also the one who suffered for all and so is not ashamed to call us “brothers and sisters.”  This theme will continue through the first chapters of the letter.

^1:1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. ^2:5 Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. ⁶ But someone has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? ⁷ You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, ⁸ subjecting all things under their feet.” Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, ⁹ but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. ¹⁰ It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹ For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ¹² saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”

Gospel Reading:  Mark 10:2-16

This account of Jesus’ opposition to divorce is found only in Mark and Matthew.  What is set down here was certainly meant in Mark’s community to be the final word on the matter. Our branch of the Church many years ago decided this law was too rigid to follow and began to allow re-marriage on compassionate grounds.  In doing so, there was no intention to lessen the promise of life-long fidelity, only to recognize the reality that the promise is sometimes broken too much to repair.  The passage ends on a different note, with Jesus using a child as an example in how one should receive the kingdom of God.

^10:2 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” ¹⁰ Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹ He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” ¹³ People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it” ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

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 group study with this attribution.  Bulletin inserts are available by subscription. Go to our website for details.

Proper 21B (19 Pentecost 2018) Readings & Commentaries

 Jesus, like Moses before him (see Numbers 11), does not want the disciples to be jealous of their authority.  “Whoever is not against us is for us.” 

1^st Reading (Track 1):  Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

The Book of Esther tells the story of a Jewish woman and her uncle, Mordecai, who deliver the Jews living in the Persian Empire from genocide. King Ahasuerus chooses Esther as his queen, although she hides her Jewish identity on the advice of her uncle.  Mordecai becomes an enemy of Haman when he refuses to bow down to him. Haman tricks the king into ordering death to all the Jews in the kingdom who will not bow down to the king. Esther is moved to reveal her identity and plead with the king for the life of her people when Haman plans the execution of her uncle.  In our reading today, the tables are turned against Haman and he is executed and the Jews saved.  The final verses establish a yearly feast known as Purim.

^7:1 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. ² On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” ³ Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. ⁴ For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.” ⁵ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?” ⁶ Esther said, “A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. ⁹ Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” ¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated. ^9:20 Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, ²¹ enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, ²² as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.

Psalm 124 (Track 1)

Psalm 124 is one of the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) which were most likely songs for pilgrims on their way to celebrate one of the major festivals in Jerusalem.  It is a song of thanksgiving for protection against enemies, using the images of a flood that does not drown and a snare that is broken and therefore useless.

1     If the Lord had not been on our side, *

              let Israel now say;

2     If the Lord had not been our side, *

              when enemies rose up against us;

3     Then would they have swallowed us up alive *

              in their fierce anger toward us;

4     Then would the waters have overwhelmed us *

              and the torrent gone over us;

5     Then would the raging waters *

              have gone right over us.

6     Blessed be the Lord! *

              he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.

7     We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; *

              the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8     Our help is in the Name of the Lord, *

              the maker of heaven and earth.

1^st Reading (Track 2):  Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

In the wake of the people’s complaints about the food that is being provided for them, Moses himself complains to God about the burden of the people. God’s response to Moses’ histrionics is to give him help. Seventy elders will be given a share of his spirit.  This included two men who had not assembled at the Tent of Meeting but had remained in the camp. Their manifestation of the Spirit causes some controversy, but Moses declares that they are with them.  He is not overprotective of his office.  Would that all the Lord’s people were like him.

^11:4 The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; ⁶ but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” ¹⁰ Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and Moses was displeased. ¹¹ So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child,’ to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴ I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once—if I have found favor in your sight—and do not let me see my misery.” ¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. ²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. ²⁶ Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”

Psalm 19:7-14 (Track 2)

Psalm 19 is a wisdom psalm in two parts. The first (1-6) praises the glory of God in creation. The second (7-14, today’s psalm) is a hymn in praise of the law.  The juxtaposition of creation and law is deliberate:  both have been provided for the well-being of humankind.

              nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

7     The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; *

              the testimony of the Lord is sure

                                          and gives wisdom to the innocents.

8     The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart: *

              the commandment of the Lord is clear

                                          and gives light to the eyes.

9     The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever; *

              the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

10   More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, *

              sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb.

11   By them also is your servant enlightened, *

              and in keeping them there is great reward.

12   Who can tell how often he offends? *

              Cleanse me from my secret faults.

13   Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;

       let them not get dominion over me; *

              then shall I be whole and sound,

              and innocent of a great offense.

14   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my

                                          heart be acceptable in your sight, *

              O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

2^nd Reading:  James 5:13-20

The end of the Letter of James describes some pastoral practices of this ancient community. Some of our own practices have roots in them.  Communal prayer by elders (presbyteroi) with the anointing of the sick with oil developed into the Sacrament of Unction, or the Anointing of the Sick.  Confession of Sin seems to have been tied up with this practice also, as it is in the rite for “Ministration to the Sick” in The Book of Common Prayer (pp. 453-461).

^5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. ¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, ²⁰ you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Gospel Reading:  Mark 9:38-50

Jesus, like Moses before him (see Numbers 11), does not want the disciples to be jealous of their authority.  “Whoever is not against us is for us.”  Jesus then goes on to use some difficult language trying to underscore the seriousness of treating “the little ones” rightly.  He is speaking in hyperbole and figuratively, yet he is speaking very seriously.  Who are “the little ones?” It is often assumed children, but more likely Jesus is referring to the average disciple and this is a special warning to those in leadership not to abuse their power.  Verses 44 and 46 are omitted in the New Revised Standard translation since they are not found in the best ancient sources for this Gospel (they simply repeat verse 48).

^9:38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ Whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. ⁴² If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. ⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. ⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

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 group study use with this attribution. Bulletin inserts using these readings and commentaries are available by subscription.  For more information, go to our website.

Proper 20B (18 Pentecost 2018) Readings & Commentaries

Our Gospel reading today contains Jesus’ second prediction of his passion and death (the first was in last week’s reading).  As before, the disciples are stunned at the disclosure—they are uncomprehending.

1^st Reading (Track 1):  Proverbs 31:10-31

Proverbs ends with an acrostic poem—each line in the Hebrew text begins with a subsequent letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  The poem parallels the poems praising Wisdom in chapters 1—9, although here the figure of Wisdom is transformed into an earthly wife.  It is, of course, a highly idealistic vision; no woman could meet all these expectations.  Nevertheless, the poem provides a sense of what it means to live in the way of Wisdom.

^31:10 A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. ¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. ¹² She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. ¹³ She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. ¹⁴ She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from far away. ¹⁵ She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant-girls. ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. ¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. ¹⁹ She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. ²⁰ She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy. ²¹ She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson. ²² She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. ²³ Her husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land. ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes. ²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. ²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. ²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸ Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her: ²⁹ “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” ³⁰ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. ³¹ Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

Psalm 1 (Track 1)

The Book of Psalms begins with a poem from the wisdom tradition, which typically portrays a simple division between the way of the righteous/wise with the way of the unrighteous/sinners.  The former are under the protection of God, the latter like useless chaff that the wind blows away.

1     Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of

                                          the wicked, *

              nor lingered in the way of sinners,

              nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

2     Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *

              and they meditate on his law day and night.

3     They are like trees planted by streams of water,

       bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *

              everything they do shall prosper.

4     It is not so with the wicked; *

              they are like chaff which the wind blows away.

5     Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when

                                          judgment comes, *

              nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.

6     For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *

              but the way of the wicked is doomed.

1^st Reading (Track 2): Jeremiah 11:18-20

These three verses begin a longer passage (through 12:6) in which the prophet laments his discovery that there is an assassination plot against him.  As the passage goes on we learn that the plotters have been identified by Jeremiah as false prophets and/or priests.

^11:18 It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds. ¹⁹ But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. And I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered!” ²⁰ But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the mind, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

Or this

1^st Reading (Track 2): Wisdom 1:16—2:1, 12-22

The Wisdom of Solomon is a book of the Apocrypha, that collection of books that we do not consider Scripture, but have set aside as edifying. Wisdom was probably written a century before Jesus’ birth.  Our reading this morning is part of a larger reflection on the reward of the just and the punishment of the wicked, states determined by reliance upon wisdom or the spurning of it.  The “ungodly” here believe death will save them from judgment and that the efforts of the righteous are futile.

^1:16 The ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a friend, they pined away and made a covenant with him, because they are fit to belong to his company. ^2:1 For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, “Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known to return from Hades. ¹² Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. ¹³ He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord. ¹⁴ He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; ¹⁵ the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. ¹⁶ We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father. ¹⁷ Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; ¹⁸ for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. ¹⁹ Let us test him with insult and torture, so that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance. ²⁰ Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected.” ²¹ Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them, ²² and they did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hoped for the wages of holiness, nor discerned the prize for blameless souls.

Psalm 54 (Track 2)

Psalm 54 begins as a lament of one feeling threatened by enemies of some kind.  Like most psalms that begin in lament, it resolves into trust in the God of the covenant who is always faithful.

1     Save me, O God, by your Name; *

              in your might defend my cause.

2     Hear my prayer, O God; *

              give ear to the words of my mouth.

3     For the arrogant rise up against me,

       and the ruthless have sought my life, *

              those who have no regard for God.

4     Behold, God is my helper; *

              it is the Lord who sustains my life.

5     Render evil to those who spy on me; *

              in your faithfulness, destroy them.

6     I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *

              and praise your Name, O Lord, for it is good.

7     For you have rescued me from every trouble, *

              and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.

2^nd Reading:  James 3:13—4:3, 7-8a

The Letter of James is sometimes referred to as the book of Wisdom of the New Testament, akin to Proverbs in the Old Testament or the Book of Wisdom in the Apocrypha.  Here wisdom is exalted as the way that leads to justice, peace, and all virtue.  Opposed to wisdom are “cravings,” frustrated desires that lead to discord and even murder.  Wisdom is submission to God, but not as a slave to a master, for “draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

^3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. ^4:1 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? ² You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ^8a Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Gospel Reading:  Mark 9:30-37

Our Gospel reading today contains Jesus’ second prediction of his passion and death (the first was in last week’s reading).  As before, the disciples are stunned at the disclosure—they are uncomprehending.  They are comprehending of their social status, however, and argue about it with one another.  Jesus rebukes them by placing a child among them.  This is who to emulate.

^9:30 Jesus and the disciples passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” ³² But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. ³³ Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” ³⁴ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. ³⁵ He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

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 group study with this attribution.  Bulletin inserts with these readings and commentaries are available by subscription. Visit our website for more information.