1st Reading
(Track 1): Amos 8:1-12
Today’s reading from
near the end of the book of Amos, is the fourth vision/image given to the
prophet regarding Israel’s end. Ripe summer fruit (which will quickly spoil)
speaks to the immediacy of Israel’s situation. As in last week’s reading from
Amos, God’s judgment is that in a time of “prosperity,” fraudulent business
practices oppress the poor. Amos announces that it is too late. When the crisis comes (the invasion of the
Assyrians), people will seek a word from God and there will be none.
8:1
This is
what the Lord God showed me—a
basket of summer fruit. 2 He said,
“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come upon
my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. 3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that
day,” says the Lord God; “the dead
bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!” 4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land, 5 saying,
“When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so
that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel
great, and practice deceit with false balances, 6
buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” 7 The
Lord has sworn by the pride of
Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 8 Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be
tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? 9 On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at
noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10
I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into
lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I
will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter
day. 11 The time is surely coming,
says the Lord God, when I will
send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of
hearing the words of the Lord. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from
north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
Psalm 52 (Track 1)
Psalm 52 is testimony against wickedness. The Hebrew word
translated “tyrant” is literally “Mighty One.” There is sarcasm at use
here. The introduction to the psalm put
in in the context of “When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him,
“David has come to the house of Ahimelech” (1 Samuel 21 & 22). If that is
the case than the object of scorn here is the treacherous Doeg, whose tongue
has indeed “plotted ruin” and caused many deaths.
1 You tyrant, why do you boast of wickedness *
against
the godly all day long?
2 You plot ruin; your tongue is like a sharpened
razor, *
O
worker of deception.
3 You love evil more than good *
and
lying more than speaking the truth.
4 You love all words that hurt, *
O
you deceitful tongue.
5 Oh, that God would demolish you utterly, *
topple
you, and snatch you from your dwelling,
and
root you out of the land of the living!
6 The righteous shall see and tremble, *
and they shall laugh at him, saying,
7 “This is the one who did not take God for a refuge,
*
but
trusted in great wealth and relied upon wickedness.”
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of
God; *
I
trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will give you thanks for what you have done *
and
declare the goodness of your Name
in
the presence of the godly.
1st Reading
(Track 2): Genesis 18:1-10a
God promised Abraham and
Sarah a son (and that his heirs would become a great nation) in Genesis 12:1-4.
Much has happened since that promise. The two have journeyed from their
homeland to the land of Canaan, taken a side trip to Egypt, divided the land
between themselves and their nephew Lot, defeated several kings, received a
second iteration of the promise (ch. 15), tried having a surrogate son through
Sarah’s slave-girl Hagar, and received a third iteration of the promise (ch.
17) during which they received a change to their names and received the
commandment of male circumcision. Now
comes the promise again—a fourth time.
This story is a fine example of Middle Eastern hospitality. It will be
chapter 21 before Sarah bears a child. There are many odd things about this
reading. Are the three indeed “men” or are they angels? Why are they referred
to sometimes as “they” and sometimes as “he”? Because of this inconsistency,
Christians have tended to read back into the story an appearance of the
Trinity.
18:1
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of
Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near
him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed
down to the ground. 3 He said, “My
lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your
feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let
me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you
may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have
said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into
the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice
flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 Abraham
ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant,
who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then
he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before
them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is your wife
Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then
one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall
have a son.”
Psalm 15 (Track 2)
Psalm 15 sets forth the characteristics of a righteous
person, especially as he approaches worship in the Temple. In the time of the psalm’s writing, access to
the Temple was restricted. Certain
people were not admitted (see, for example, Deuteronomy 23:1-8). The Babylonian Talmud claims that David
summarized the 613 laws of the Torah into the ten found here in verses 2—5. The
structure of ten is certainly meant to tie directly to the Decalogue (Ten
Commandments) tradition.
1 Lord,
who may dwell in your tabernacle? *
who may abide upon your
holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is
right, *
who speaks truth from his
heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongues;
he does no evil to his friend; *
he does not heap contempt
upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, *
but he honors those who
fear the Lord.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong *
and does not take back his
word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, *
nor does he take a bribe
against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things *
shall never be overthrown.
2nd Reading: Colossians 1:15-28
The first portion of today’s reading is most likely an early hymn to
Christ as “firstborn of all creation.” The reading then continues to speak of
the effect of this “cosmic” Christ on the ministry of the Colossians and of
Paul himself. The Christ who holds all things together, has done so with the
Colossians. They are reconciled in him. Paul understands himself to be
continuing Christ’s work, offering himself for the sake of the church,
revealing the mystery: Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
1:15 Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
all creation; 16 for in him all
things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created
through him and for him. 17 He
himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he
is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have
first place in everything. 19 For
in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to
reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace
through the blood of his cross. 21 And
you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body
through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable
before him—23 provided that you
continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from
the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to
every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. 24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for
your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s
afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25 I became its servant according to God’s
commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout
the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great
among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ
in you, the hope of glory. 28 It is
he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so
that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Gospel Reading: Luke 10:38-42
This well-known story
is only told by Luke. The Gospel of John knows Mary and Martha of Bethany (and
their brother Lazarus), and there is a meal scene with them in that Gospel
(12:1-3), but it is lacking the details in this story. This story highlights
Jesus’ willingness to push the social and religious boundaries between men and
women (particularly for a rabbi). It is easy to be critical of Martha and her
busy-ness, but that is not necessarily Jesus’ point. He has just said to the lawyer in the Good
Samaritan story, “Go and do likewise.” Here he commends Mary’s passivity. The
point is, perhaps, that in the life of Jesus’ followers there is a time for
both ways of being. Perhaps another point centers around the words
“distraction” and “worry.” It is not so much that Martha should not be about
her tasks, but distracted and worried living are not helpful among Jesus’
disciples, partially because they typically lead to resentment, as they do
here.
10:38
Now as
Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he entered a certain village, where
a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39
She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and
listened to what he was saying. 40 But
Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord,
do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell
her then to help me.” 41 But the
Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many
things; 42 there is need of only
one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from
her.”
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 translation is
from The Book of Common Prayer. Commentaries are copyright © 2019 Epiphany
ESources, 67. E. Main St., Hornell, NY
14843, www.EpiphanyEsources.com.
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