Holy Textures

Matthew 5:1-12 (All Saints Day)

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Matthew 5:1-12 is the opening of Sermon on the Mount. This passage is often refered to as "The Beatitudes," based on the original Latin word for "Blessed."

Presumably, this text is assigned for All Saints Day because "saints" are those who have been beatified.

But even if one is not part of a tradition that recognizes Saints, it is still worth pondering what are the attitudes and behaviours in this life that are pleasing to God, that are a cause for blessing.

Matthew 23:1-12

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Just in case you thought Jesus got himself killed for being meek and mild mannered, this week we have a text full of Jesus swearing, cursing and insulting.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

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Matthew 13 is what might be called, "The Sermon on the Lake," a series of parables (short teaching stories) intended to help us learn about God's character / what is pleasing to God / what the Kingdom of Heaven (i.e. God's rule) is like / how to behave now in order to practice how to behave in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Just as the preceding parable of the Sower had an extravagantly generous (or wasteful?) God giving the Good News even to the hardened, the shallow, and the trapped; this parable now talks about the other reality: it is not just the soils that vary, there are also different kinds of "seeds."

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

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Matthew 13 is what might be called, "The Sermon on the Lake."

It begins with what is commonly called, "The Parable of the Sower," though I think it might more properly be called, "The Parable of the Soils."

But let's begin by focusing on the Sower.

For those listening to Jesus, the behaviour of the Sower is either extremely reckless or extremely generous. They would certainly not be so careless as to waste so much good seed.

Matthew 22:34-46

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Once again we have another story of a challenge and confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders and elites. In this case, the Pharisees.

We have skipped over the mocking, sarcastic question of the Sadducees concerning resurrection, Matthew 22:23-33.

Bruce Malina suggests that the two questions in this text parallel the last two of the four questions that are asked at the Passover meal:

1. The first son, the "wise son," asks the "Is it lawful" question. (Matthew 22:17 - Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not?)
2. The second son, the "wicked son," asks the mocking question. (Matthew 22:24-28 - In the resurrection whose wife of the seven [brothers] will she be?)
3. The third son, the "perfect or well-rounded son," asks the question concerning general moral principles. (Matthew 22:36 - What is the greatest commandment?)
4. The fourth son, is a child too young to ask a question, and so the question concerning Israelite history is asked by the presiding father (in this case, Jesus). (Matthew 22:45 - If David thus calls him Lord, how can he [the Messiah] be his son?)
   Malina, pages 112-114.

Jesus gives a short and direct response to the question of "What is the greatest commandment?" by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

The fact that Jesus attaches "Love your neighbour as you love yourself" to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" is a bit sneaky. He actually gives two "greatest" commandments.

The "love" that is being called for is not emotion; it is not "liking," "getting along with," "desiring," or "feeling warm about." The "love" Jesus is talking about here is trust, loyalty, enduring devotion, being attached to. You may actually hate your neighbour, but you will still love them in the Biblical sense if you continue to act for their well-being, don't tell lies about them, and refuse to cut off your relationship with them.

Frankly, I'm not sure what is the Good News in Matthew 22:41-46. Jesus scores the final debating point that silences his critics. Is that Good News? I guess we can take some comfort that our leader is smart, knows his Bible and can think on his feet.

David Ewart,
www.davidewart.ca

Matthew 22:15-22

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Once again we have another story of a challenge and confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders and elites. In this case, the Pharisees and those who supported Herod as King (that is, as vassal King of the real rulers - the Romans).

Their opening remarks to Jesus are pure slime. They set Jesus up with exaggerated praise with the intention he will fall flat on his face from the high pedestal they have just placed him on.

Matthew 22:1-14

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This parable is based on the social protocols practiced among elites.

Note that in verse 3, the slaves go to "those who had been invited." That is, when the King first set the date of his sons wedding banquet, he sent out a notice to all the right people; the A List people he needed to attend in order to make sure his son's wedding was THE social event he needed it to be in order to ensure the King's own social standing, his own honour status.

Sending out a first notice like this, allows the invited guests to check around and see who else has been invited. If the right people have been invited and will be attending, they will also attend. And if the "right" people are not attending?

Matthew 14:13-21

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The real miracle today would be for the feeble scraps of our sermons on the text to truly feed and satisfy the hungry who have gathered.

As I have said before, the key thing with any "miracle" story is to NOT get distracted by the special effects. The text does not explain how these things happen; nor should the sermon. But the text does explain why these things happen and invites us to be open to mystery and wonder, the strange and the impossible possible.

Luke 17:11-19, Thanksgiving Sunday

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The only problem with this passage for most preachers is to not wag our fingers at the ungrateful 90%. The other problem will be to not smugly count ourselves among the righteous 10%.

As usual with Biblical stories, it is important not to get distracted by the special effects. How the 10 are made clean is simply not explained in the text, and should not be explained - or explained away - in the sermon. As usual, the crucial element of the story is the relationships between Jesus and the others in the story. Focus on the interactions between Jesus and the lepers.