Holy Textures

John 18:33-37

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Reign of Christ Sunday
Proper 29, Ordinary Time 34
Sunday Between November 20 and November 26 Inclusive
Final Sunday of Pentecost Season

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Here we are, already filled with anticipation of celebrating the impossible possibility⁺ of the birth of one who is fully-God-and-fully-human, but before that happens, we are now called to ponder the impossible possibility of a world order that is fully-Sovereign-and-fully-Servant / fully-of-this-world-and-fully-not-of-this-world / fully-already-accomplished-and-fully-not-yet-complete / fully-powerful-and-fully-non-coercive / fully-judging-and-fully-merciful.

Blessed be the preacher who is able to stand fully in this tension and not resolve it.

John 11:32-44

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
All Saints Day
November 1 (or First Sunday in November)

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Bruce Malina once again offers helpful historical background on the customs and behaviours that are described in this passage. (Gospel of John, pages 199-201, and 276-277, see footnote below.)

In the Gospel of John, the story of Lazarus is the final scene that sets the stage for the events of Holy Week. It is a complex story of shame-honour, friendship, trust, public reputation, God's glory, light and life, darkness and death.

Mark 12:38-44

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 27, Ordinary Time 32
Sunday Between November 6 and November 12 Inclusive
23rd Sunday After Pentecost 2009

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Having successfully bested all challengers from the Jerusalem elites, Jesus now honourably moves to the offensive. However, as we move into the denunciation of these elites and the Temple, it is good to remember the Scribe we met last week whom Jesus praised with the high honour of being "not far from the Kingdom of God." Which is another way of remembering that what is being condemned is behaviour, and not a whole class of people.

Mark 12:28-34

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 26, Ordinary Time 31
Sunday Between October 30 and November 5 Inclusive
22nd Sunday After Pentecost 2009

Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

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This week's text is the climax of a day of confrontation between Jesus and the religious authorities in Jerusalem. (See my comment, Jesus' Last Week - Tuesday.)

However, just in case we were writing off all religious elites as hard-hearted, unseeing opponents of Jesus, Mark ends the series of hostile questions with a scribe asking a genuine one.

It is the narrator, Mark, who tells us that the scribe had been positively impressed by Jesus - "seeing that (Jesus) answered them well." We, the readers, should not gloss over this remarkable assessment of Jesus' honour by one of his opponents.

Mark 10:46-52

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 25, Ordinary Time 30
Sunday Between October 23 and October 29 Inclusive
21st Sunday After Pentecost 2009

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In the Gospel of Mark, today's reading is the culmination of Jesus' ministry before the events of Holy Week begin.

Perhaps I am reading too much into the story, but I believe Mark is asking us, the readers, to ponder 4 questions:

• Who have you seen in what has been told so far? (Are you still blind? Are you willing to see now?)
• Will you seize the opportunity when hope walks by?
• What do you need Jesus to free you to do/be?
• How will you respond when what has been holding you back is finally removed? 

Mark 13:1-8

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 28, Ordinary Time 33
Sunday Between November 13 and November 19 Inclusive
24th Sunday After Pentecost 2009

Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

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Zowie, Christmas music has already been playing in the malls for weeks now, and the Lectionary gives us a dire warning about not being led astray - not being deceived by the many who will say, "Here is your salvation."

Matthew 6:25-33

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Thanksgiving Sunday

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It might be helpful to pause on the word, "Therefore," which begins verse 6:25 and review the "whereas's" that begin in Chapter 5:

• The Beatitudes
• Being salt of the earth and light of the world
• Obeying and fulfilling the law
• Anger and reconciliation
• Adultery in our hearts
• Divorce
• Let your Yes be Yes or your No be No
• Do not retaliate, instead publically expose the unjust authority
• Love your enemies
• Give alms, but don't make a show of it
• Pray, but don't make a show of it
• Fast, but don't make a show of it
• Store up treasures in heaven not on earth
• Make sure your inner light is healthy
• Don't think you can serve two masters: God and wealth

These teachings are the basis for the "Therefore, do not worry" in Verse 25.

It might be helpful to pause on the word, "Therefore," which begins verse 6:25 and review the "whereas's" that begin in Chapter 5:

• The Beatitudes
• Being salt of the earth and light of the world
• Obeying and fulfilling the law
• Anger and reconciliation
• Adultery in our hearts
• Divorce
• Let your Yes be Yes or your No be No
• Do not retaliate, instead publically expose the unjust authority
• Love your enemies
• Give alms, but don't make a show of it
• Pray, but don't make a show of it
• Fast, but don't make a show of it
• Store up treasures in heaven not on earth
• Make sure your inner light is healthy
• Don't think you can serve two masters: God and wealth

These teachings are the basis for the "Therefore, do not worry" in Verse 25.

Mark 10:35-45

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 24, Ordinary Time 29
Sunday Between October 16 and October 22 Inclusive
20th Sunday After Pentecost 2009

Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

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Perhaps the authors of the Lectionary have gotten tired of hearing Jesus lecture us on the topic of his impending betrayal, arrest, degradation, brutal execution and rising again, but omitting Verses 32-34  completely removes the context for appreciating the shocking display of stupidity and arrogance by James and John. Jesus has just said, "The Romans are going to kill me in a way that they have perfected through practice to cause the maximum possible amount of shame and pain for the longest possible time." And James and John then ask, "Well, after that's all done with, could you give us the best seats in Paradise?"

Mark 10:17-31

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 23, Ordinary Time 28
Sunday Between October 9 and October 15 Inclusive
19th Sunday After Pentecost 2009

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Whereas last week I had to confess my conflict of interest in discerning the text was that I am divorced and re-married, this week I have to confess that I grew up relatively poor. Which of course means I am a completely neutral and impartial interpreter of Jesus' teachings about money (just kidding).

The text begins with a young man running up to Jesus, kneeling before him, and addressing him as "Good teacher." All 3 of these actions are done only by an inferior to a superior. And though they may not be meant as such, they are a challenge to Jesus' honour! How so?

Mark 10:2-16

Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
Listed on The Text This Week, www.textweek.com.

Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 22, Ordinary Time 27
Sunday Between October 2 and October 8 Inclusive 
18th Sunday After Pentecost 2009

Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

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In the interests of full-disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, I will say right at the start that I am divorced and re-married. So I am not a disinterested discerner of this text.

Back in Chapter 8, Jesus began to lead his disciples south; away from their rural, country-bumpkin origins to the big leagues of the capital city Jerusalem. Today's text is the first of several challenges to Jesus by the elites from the city, in this case the Pharisees.

The public fame and honour that Jesus has been gaining is a major threat to the status quo. And the first line of defence against someone who was getting out of place was to put them back in place by successfully shaming them in public. And the preferred way to honourably shame someone was through trick questions. Catching an opponent out this way proved one's superior cleverness and deflated the upstart's standing in the eyes and ears of the watching crowd.