Holy Textures

Matthew 23:1-12

Unfortunately, the scribes and Pharisees - like us - were the ones who studied the Bible, who prayed regularly, and who earnestly sought to live in accordance with Biblical teachings. That is, they are who we are now. Are we like them? Yikes!

Year A
Pentecost 20
October 30, 2011
Sunday Between October 30 and November 5 Inclusive
Proper 26, Ordinary Time 31
All Saints is November 1, or may be celebrated as the first Sunday in November. See Matthew 5:1-12 for All Saints commentary. 

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Matthew 23:1-12, The Message   or   Matthew 23:1-12, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Matthew 23:1-12, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "A Question of Humility."

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

Since we are followers of Jesus, we probably imagine ourselves safely hiding behind his coat tails while he dresses down the scribes and Pharisees for their pride, hypocrisy and onerous demands.

Unfortunately, they were the religious leaders of their day. They - like us - were the ones who studied the Bible, who prayed regularly, and who earnestly sought to live in accordance with Biblical teachings. That is, they are who we are now.

Frankly, I'm not sure where the Good News is in this passage. If we sort out the attacks on the Scribes and Pharisees as being "chaff," then I suppose there is some "wheat," in the teaching about how we are to live:

• Listen to those who are knowledgeable about the Bible and practice what they teach.
• Make sure that we ourselves practice what we preach.
• Don't lay heavy, strict, narrow moral burdens on others.
• Don't make a show of our faith.
• Be humble; don't look for fancy titles or other rewards.
• Treat one another as equals.

This might be a good opportunity to recognize that passages like this have a shameful history of being the fuel for violence against Jews. Check out my note, It's "Judeans," Not "Jews," for more background on this.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com

Historical background information in this post is drawn primarily from Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, see link below, pages 115-117.

* Link to Amazon.com Bibliography for Bruce Malina, et. al., Social Science Commentary on ... The Synoptic Gospels; The Gospel of John; The Book of Acts; The Letters of Paul; The Book of Revelation; and others.

Matthew 23:1-12 (NRSV)

   ¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; ³ therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. ⁶ They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. ⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. ⁹ And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. 

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Matthew 23:1-12 (The Message)

   ¹ Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. ² "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. ³ You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit-and-polish veneer.

 ⁴ "Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. ⁵ Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. ⁶ They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, ⁷ preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.'

 ⁸ "Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. ⁹ Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of 'Father'; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. ¹⁰ And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ.

 ¹¹ "Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. ¹² If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. 

Scripture quotations from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

Matthew 22:34-46

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.

Year A
Pentecost 19
October 23, 2011
Sunday Between October 23 and October 29 Inclusive
Proper 25, Ordinary Time 30 

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Matthew 22:34-46, The Message   or   Matthew 22:34-46, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Matthew 22:34-46, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "."

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.

Matthew 22:15-22

How can a Jew be faithful and observant and also stay alive under Roman rule? Yikes. But it is precisely this position of being caught in a bind of irreconcilable, conflicting obligations and duties that make real life so interesting. The desire to make the tension go away, to solve it, is the enemy of true faithfulness.

Year A
Pentecost 18
October 16, 2011
Sunday Between October 16 and October 22 Inclusive
Proper 24, Ordinary Time 29 

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Matthew 22:15-22, The Message   or   Matthew 22:15-22, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Matthew 22:15-22, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "Two Empires."

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

How is this a parable teaching about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like? What sort of behaviours and attitudes does it call for now? At a minimum it means: expect to have to hang out with non-elites - good and bad all together; take seriously the honour of the invitation and do it right.

Year A
Pentecost 17
October 9, 2011
Sunday Between October 9 and October 15 Inclusive
Proper 23, Ordinary Time 28
Canada Thanksgiving Sunday between October 7 and October 13 inclusive. See Luke 17:11-19 for Thanksgiving commentary. 

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Matthew 22:1-14, The Message   or   Matthew 22:1-14, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Matthew 22:1-14, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "."

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?

Well, the flimsy excuses offered are exactly that, flimsy excuses that the King would easily see through and understand were meant as insults to him, his son, and their social standing.

The result, in Verse 7, is an assertion by the King that he is not to be treated so scandalously.

Note: It is dead wrong, and a total mis-use of this parable, to interpret this as Jesus meaning "Jews" refused the invitation. The invited guests are the elites - the religious leaders and secular rulers - and not all Jews. It is precisely Jesus' non-elite Jewish followers who would understand that it is THEY who now get into the banquet. For more on this, please read my post, It's "Judeans" Not "Jews".

The King now totally disrupts all social protocol and invites street people into the banquet - both good and bad.

And yet the invitation is not a free for all. The King would have supplied the guests with proper wedding attire. And the one found not wearing a wedding robe would be insulting the King by not accepting his hospitality. His fate is the same as the elites.

Let's face it, Verse 14 is a non sequitur that makes no sense whatsoever as a conclusion to the story where many non-elites have been invited and only one has been rejected. Many have been invited and all but one have been chosen, would be a more fitting conclusion.

How is this a parable teaching about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like? What sort of behaviours and attitudes does it call for now? At a minimum it means: expect to have to hang out with non-elites - good and bad all together; take seriously the honour of the invitation and do it right.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com

Historical background information in this post is drawn primarily from Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, see link below, page 111.

* Link to Amazon.com Bibliography for Bruce Malina, et. al., Social Science Commentary on ... The Synoptic Gospels; The Gospel of John; The Book of Acts; The Letters of Paul; The Book of Revelation; and others.

Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)

   ¹ Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ² "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. ⁴ Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' ⁵ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

 ¹¹ "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, ¹² and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen." 

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Matthew 22:1-14 (The Message)

   ¹ Jesus responded by telling still more stories. ² "God's kingdom," he said, "is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn't come!

 ⁴ "He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, 'Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!'

 ⁵ "They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. ⁶ The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and then killed them. ⁷ The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city.

 ⁸ "Then he told his servants, 'We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren't up to it. ⁹ Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.' ¹⁰ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on—every place filled.

 ¹¹ "When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn't properly dressed. ¹² He said to him, 'Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!' The man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king told his servants, 'Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn't get back in.'

 ¹⁴ "That's what I mean when I say, 'Many get invited; only a few make it.' " 

Scripture quotations from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

Matthew 21:33-46

Who, ACTUALLY, is producing the fruit of the Kingdom? It could be the religious leaders. Nay. It SHOULD be the religious leaders. But are they? Are we?

Year A
Pentecost 16
October 2, 2011
Sunday Between October 2 and October 8 Inclusive
Proper 22, Ordinary Time 27
Worldwide Communion Sunday between October 1 and October 7 inclusive.
Canada Thanksgiving Sunday between October 7 and October 13 inclusive. See Luke 17:11-19 for Thanksgiving commentary. 

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Matthew 21:33-46, The Message   or   Matthew 21:33-46, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Matthew 21:33-46, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "."

It beats me why the creators of the Lectionary have us reading events from Holy Week for the months of October and November.

I guess it is to give us ample opportunity to explain that the clash between Jesus and the religious leaders of his time is NOT a clash between Christianity and Judaism; they should NOT be read as Jesus teaching that Christianity replaces Judaism; the Church replaces Israel. The phrase in Verse 43, "Taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruit of the Kingdom," does NOT mean "taken away from you Jews and given to Christians." In my not-so-humble-opinion, Jesus means, "Taken away from you corrupt religious Jewish leaders and given to Jews who will put their trust in God." For more on this read my post, It's “Judeans,” not “Jews.”

Matthew 21:23-32

It is we who are sitting in church who SAY (and sing and pray) many things. But this text puts the focus on what we actually DO. Just exactly what is it that we do after we leave church on Sunday? Ouch.

Year A
Pentecost 15
September 25, 2011
Sunday Between September 25 and Octoberber 1 Inclusive
Proper 21, Ordinary Time 26
Worldwide Communion Sunday between October 1 and October 7 inclusive. 

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Matthew 21:23-32, The Message   or   Matthew 21:23-32, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Matthew 21:23-32, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "."

Today's text ought to make all of us who are in church very nervous.

It would be a misreading to hear this text as Jesus condemning Jews and Judaism. Instead, if we ask, "Who would be the chief priests and elders today," the answer is, "Us!" For we are the religiously observant people today. We are the ones who go to church. We are the ones who read our bibles.

Luke 18:9-14

"The bumper sticker we all should have on our cars is: "God loves you, so start living this love (and stop being a jerk)" This is the transformation the tax collector experiences in this parable."

Year C
Season of Pentecost
Sunday Between October 23 and October 29 Inclusive
Proper 25, Ordinary Time 30
October 24, 2010, 22nd Sunday After Pentecost

Read the lesson: Luke 18:9-14, The Message;   or   Luke 18:9-14, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Luke 18:9-14, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Listen to or download an MP3 of this post:

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "A Modest Faith - A Subtle Shift In Grammar." 

Last week, Jesus told us a parable to show our "need to pray always and never lose heart," Luke 18:1 (the parable of the widow who persisted in seeking justice. Click here to read my comments on that passage.)

And now, Jesus tells us a parable to show our need to avoid pride, hubris, smugness, self-righteousness, etc. should we happen, in fact, to actually "pray always."

I suppose a good place to begin avoiding smugness ourselves is to NOT thank God that I/we are not like the Pharisee in the parable.

Luke 18:1-8

"while God's response is always immediate that justice be done, the actual realization of God's response is not necessarily immediate because justice has to be done justly, and with the willing cooperation of all concerned."

Year C
Season of Pentecost
Sunday Between October 16 and October 22 Inclusive
Proper 24, Ordinary Time 29
October 17, 2010, 21st Sunday After Pentecost

Read the lesson: Luke 18:1-8, The Message;   or   Luke 18:1-8, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Luke 18:1-8, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Listen to or download an MP3 of this post:

Luke 18-1-8

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "Persistence." 

This passage echoes themes found at the beginning of Chapter 11: A neighbour asking for bread in the middle of the night; ask, seek, knock; and sinful human fathers who know to give their children what they need when they ask.

The remarks that frame the actual parable of the persistent widow make 2 points and raise 1 question:

• We need to pray at all times and never give up, never lose heart
• It is in God's nature to respond urgently to our prayers for justice
• But if the Son of Man were to suddenly appear would he find us praying and trusting that God is responding urgently to our prayers for justice?

The caricature of the judge as neither fearing God nor caring about what people thought sets a sharp contrast for the later description of God's character: caring and just.

John 6:25-35

"The challenge for us is to SEE which things perish and which things endure, and to embed ourselves - to abide in, to focus our living on - the things that endure. Because only the things that endure truly satisfy, and only the things that endure bring true life."

Year C
Thanksgiving Day
USA: 4th Thursday in November (22nd to 28th Inclusive)
Canada: 2nd Monday in October (8th to 14th Inclusive)

Read the lesson: John 6:25-35, The Message;   or   John 6:25-35, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, John 6:25-35, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "Hungry Heart To Thankful Heart." 

As always with John, it is important to remember that John is not writing a daily diary - "What I did with Jesus today" - nor a historical biography - "Jesus: The Man, His Times, His Achievements."

John is writing at the end of his life, at the end of the first century (nearly 70 years after Jesus' execution and resurrection), at a time when the early Christian communities are under severe persecution from the Romans, and have lost all connections with their original Jewish roots. He is NOT writing to "the general public." He is writing to a threatened, small, inner group, who have no first-hand memory or experience of Jesus or of being Jewish. Their physical - and more importantly - their eternal lives are at stake. They need to SEE Jesus. They need to be embedded in Jesus, abiding in Jesus, so that they can withstand the fear and pain of Roman arrest, torture, and bloody executions.

Luke 17:11-19

The 9 who do not return are the ones who do what is expected of a leper who has been cured. But they do what is expected because they CAN do what is expected - they are Galileans, they can go and see a priest. The Samaritan cannot.

Year C
Pentecost 20
October 10, 2010
Sunday Between October 9 and October 15 Inclusive
Proper 23, Ordinary Time 28

And

Year A
Thanksgiving
USA Thanksgiving is fourth Thursday, November 22 - 28. May be celebrated Sunday between November 18 and November 24 inclusive.
Canada Thanksgiving is second Monday, October 8 - 14. May be celebrated Sunday between October 7 and October 13 inclusive. 

Read the lesson: Luke 17:11-19, The Message;   or   Luke 17:11-19, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here, Luke 17:11-19, for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "When Yes Includes A No." 

The biggest 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.