Holy Textures

Mark 11:1-11

The Bible doesn't tell us about Pilate parading in the main gate of Jerusalem, or what the crowd shouted, but you can bet it wasn't, "Blessed is the coming of the Kingdom of our ancestor David." That would be treason. And treason was punishable by? You guessed it, by execution on a cross.

Year B
Lent 6
Liturgy of the Palms
Alternate Reading A
April 1, 2012

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Mark 11:1-11, The Message   or   Mark 11:1-11, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "Parades and Crosses."

On this day in the life of Jesus, it is the beginning of the week in which Passover will be celebrated in Jerusalem.

Passover is still celebrated by Jews to this day. Celebrated in synagogues, and most particularly in homes, where their salvation from slavery in Egypt is remembered and re-told: The hardship of our oppression. The calling of Moses to lead us to freedom and to a promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. The repeated agreement - and then reneging - of the Pharaoh, until the tenth and final and most deadly of the plagues - the angel of death that killed all first born males - except for our homes where we had used the blood of a lamb to mark our door posts - those homes were passed over. The hurried preparations to be ready to flee - no time for leavened bread. The flight from Egypt pursued by the Egyptian soldiers. The miraculous parting of the Red Sea to allow us to pass through, but drowning the pursuing soldiers. The hardship of the 40 years wandering in the wilderness. The giving of the 10 Commandments - now that we are free, how shall live? What does the Lord require of us?

John 12:20-33

There is a deliberate pun in John about the "raising" of Jesus - on the cross, and from the grave. In the first, the rulers of this world are shown to powerless; in the second, death is shown to be powerless.

Year B
Lent 5
March 25, 2012

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: John 12:20-33, The Message   or   John 12:20-33, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "Written On Our Hearts."

Personal aside to begin.
Inserting readings from John along with those from MM&L (Matthew, Mark and Luke), without any explanatory comment, seems to suggest that MM&L and John are both telling the same story about Jesus. This is a mistake. Don't get me wrong. I love John's Gospel. But John has - literally - a very different vision of Jesus - wants us to "see" Jesus - in a way that is very different than MM&L. We do need to preach John's vision - raise it up, if I may borrow a phrase. But we should NOT harmonize it with MM&L. Instead, we need to have two good eyes/ears, and use both of them to see John's vision, and to hear MM&L's proclamation as they contrast and complement one another in a way that holds us in irresolvable tension - "irresolvable tension," also known as "mystery."

Malina and Rorhbaugh (See footnote below.) understand "some Greeks" to be Hellenistic Israelites, that is, Jews who were living outside of Judah, but would make the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover.

Note the implied "pecking order:" they first talk to Philip, who then goes to Andrew, and then the two of them go to see Jesus. Recall that back in Chapter 1, verses 35 to 40 that Andrew was one of the first two disciples to follow Jesus. The next day in Galilee, Jesus calls Philip. Thus Andrew has precedence over Philip.

John 3:14-21

No one is saved by intellectual agreement with a belief. Salvation is all about the restoration of broken relationships. Being saved means being restored to the proper bond and trust of true kinship with God.

Year B
Lent 4
March 18, 2012

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: John 3:14-21, The Message   or   John 3:14-21, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "The Light Shines In The Darkness."

This text really begins back in Verse 3:1 with the visit of Nicodemus in the middle of the night. Verses 3:1-21 contain 3 questions / statements by Nicodemus, and 3 responses by Jesus - each beginning with Jesus  giving his word of honour to his response, "Very truly, I tell you:"

• 3:3, no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born from above;
• 3:5, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit; and,
• 3:11, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.

These passages are thick with words that have double - or triple - meanings, and images that are presented as sharp contrasts:

• born 'from above" can equally be translated as born "anew."
• Spirit, wind, breath are all translations of the same word.
• Earth is contrasted with heaven; flesh with spirit; darkness with light;  evil with truth; hate with love; condemnation with salvation; death with eternal life - and by implication, heaven, Spirit, light, truth, love, salvation and eternal life belong together.

Whereas in Matthew, Mark and Luke, the Spirit descends from heaven onto Jesus; in John, it is Jesus, the Son of Man, who has ascended into and descended from heaven. (Verse 3:13) Thus, the testimony of Jesus here is meant to be understood as his first-hand, eye-witness, family-insider testimony.

Verse 14. In John, the Son of Man is "lifted up" (on a cross), whereas in Matthew, Mark and Luke the Son of Man is killed. Indeed, in John, Jesus is not said to die, but rather he gives up his Spirit. (Verse 19:30) Instead of this being a shameful, brutal death, "being lifted up" reveals God's glory, for it is from on high - where God resides - that God sees the world, and so loves the world as to send his Son. Instead of simply dying, Jesus breathes his Spirit into his followers.

In John, the action of saving the world is not to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Unlike Matthew, Mark and Luke, John is not proposing the coming of a new political structure on earth. Rather he is proposing the formation of an alternative society "from above."

And so, salvation lies in being born anew; in being born from above - in re-defining one's "family of origin." John really means that we become God's off-spring, children of God, and in that way we receive from God the same honour and character that God has; and owe God the same loyalty that blood relations show one another (or ought to).

In Verses 16 to18, "belief" needs to be read as "trust and bond with:"

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who trusts and bonds with him may not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁷ Indeed, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Those who trust and bond with him are not condemned; but those who hesitate and are disloyal to him are condemned already, because they have not become one of the family of the only Son of God.

That is, no one is saved by intellectual agreement with a "belief." Salvation is all about the restoration of broken relationships. Being "saved" means being restored to the proper bond and trust of true kinship with God.

It is important to note, the organic "logical consequences," of these words. That is:

1. The action starts with God so loving the world - the whole world - without any qualifications, hesitations, exceptions or prior demands.
2. Then the Son comes.
3. Those who trust and bond with the Son, become part of the Son's family (being born anew from above), and thereby 
4. become heirs to the family estate: heaven, Spirit, light, truth, love, salvation and eternal life.
5. Those who hesitate and don't bond with the Son, don't become part of the family, and don't becomes heirs.

To be more clear. The logic of John is NOT: If you believe, then God will love you and save you. God's salvation is not a reward for belief. Nor does God withhold God's love, forgiveness and salvation until we believe.

On the other hand, since love is not coercive, we do have to accept the invitation in order to actually be part of the family. And this decision will have natural consequences. However, this does NOT mean that God's offer of love and kinship is withdrawn. God does not make one-time, take it or leave it, time limited offers.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com

Historical background information in this post is drawn primarily from Social-Science Commentary on the Gospel of John, see link below, pages 80-89.

* Link to Amazon.com Bibliography for Bruce J. Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh, 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.

John 3:14-21 (NRSV)

   ¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

   ¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

   ¹⁷ "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

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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John 3:14-21 (The Message)

   ¹⁴ In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—¹⁵ and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

   ¹⁶ "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. ¹⁷ God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. ¹⁸ Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

   ¹⁹ "This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. ²⁰ Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. ²¹ But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."

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."

John 2:13-22

Just as Jews continue to read the Passover in the first person plural, present tense; I wonder how this passage would sound to us if we read this as Jesus' cleansing our places of worship today? Are there any habits we might have fallen into which are insulting God?

Year B
Lent 3
March 11, 2012

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: John 2:13-22, The Message   or   John 2:13-22, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

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

I'm somewhat confused as to why the designers of the Lectionary chose this passage from John when there is a perfectly good parallel in Mark, and Mark is the prime Gospel for Year B.

In any case, this text is a good time to once again warn against the tragic antagonism toward "the Jews" that is in our Holy Text, and in our blood stained history.

Malina and Rohrbaugh (See footnote below.) provide a crucial correction to the mistranslation of the Greek text which refers to "Judeans" not "Jews."

At the time of Jesus, the people we today call "Jews" referred to themselves as "Israel." "Judeans" were the people of Israel who lived in the region of Judea. "Galileans" were the people of Israel who lived in the region of Galilee.

But since the capital city, Jerusalem was in Judea, and the Romans primarily dealt with the elite living in the capital, they referred to everyone as Judeans regardless of which region they were from.

But Judeans regarded Galileans as hillbillies. We see this in the comment, "Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?" (John 7:14)

The Gospels are filled with antagonism between Jesus of Nazareth - the Galilean - and the Judeans - NOT "the Jews."

Mark 8:31-38

Just exactly how do we lose our life so that we get it back? The key is to not skip over the crucial qualification: "for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel."

Year B
Lent 2,
Alternate Reading A
March 4, 2012

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Mark 8:31-38, The Message   or   Mark 8:31-38, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. George Hermanson, "Take Up Your Cross."

When a passage begins with "Then," it is usually a good idea to check back and see what the time / space reference is. In this case, the "then" refers to 8:27-30, where Jesus seeks confirmation from his inner group of disciples of what the gossip is about him - "Who do people say that I am?" And then of their assessment - "Who do you say that I am?"

When Peter says, "You are the Messiah," he confirms the authority of Jesus - as seen by others - to now take his show on the road to Jerusalem. In a very real sense, up to now Jesus has been working the small town stages to build up his street cred's. And having made a name for himself, he is now ready to tackle the big leagues - Jerusalem and the Roman authorities.

The rest of Chapter 8 and all of Chapters 9 and 10 are the road trip to the big city - and Jesus' teachings and actions are now all focused on preparing his followers for the actions that will happen there as Jesus brings his proclamation of the Kingdom of God into direct, face-to-face, confrontation with the Empire of Rome.

Poor old Peter. In verse 30, he calls Jesus, the Messiah. Three short verses later, Jesus is calling Peter, "Satan."

Mark 1:9-15

"Believe in the good news" is better translated as "Trust into the good news," since the whole point is not, "Have an opinion about the good news." Rather, Jesus is calling for a radical, total, unqualified basing of one's life on his good news.

Year B
Lent 1
February 26, 2012

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Mark 1:9-15, The Message   or   Mark 1:9-15, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

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

Verse 9. "In those days," that is, in those days of John's ministry of:

• proclaiming, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight;"
• proclaiming a baptism for the forgiveness of sins (instead of making the Biblically mandated sacrifices at the temple for the forgiveness of sins);
• proclaiming, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; ... he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (and who has ever done that before?)

That is, "in those days" of raised expectations that the long-desired Messiah who would save Israel from the Roman oppressor was on his way.

In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth. Say again! Nazareth! You gotta be kidding. Nothing and no one good has ever come from Nazareth!

But it is precisely in those days, from that Nazareth, that that Jesus came and was baptized by that John in that river Jordan.

Mark 9:2-9

The Transfiguration is an apt Preface to Lent and Jesus' journey to Jerusalem because what lies ahead is both a confrontation between the non-violent justice of the Kingdom of God and the violent injustice of the Roman Empire; as well as the non-violent way of the Beloved versus the hoped-for victory by the Messiah.

Year B
Transfiguration Sunday
February 19, 2012
Sunday Before Ash Wednesday
Last Sunday of the Season of Epiphany 
May be as early as February 1 or as late as March 7.

Or

Year B
Lent 2,
Alternate Reading B
March 4, 2012

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Mark 9:2-9, The Message   or   Mark 9:2-9, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

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

This passage requires reading the First Testament passages about the prophet Elijah, 2 Kings 2:1-12: The Message or The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). 

Just as he later does when he goes to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33), Jesus selects Peter, James, and John to accompany him. He leads them up a high mountain. Although unnamed and unstated, a "high mountain" is a "thin place," a place that is close to the spiritual realm, a place for sacred encounters.

Elijah and Moses represent the Prophets and the Law. Their talking with Jesus would signify the high spiritual status of Jesus.

Mark 2:23 -- 3:6

So what are we religious people to do with this lesson? On the one hand, like the Pharisees, we want to live our lives in accord with the Bible. But on the other hand, we find Jesus using the Bible to challenge understandings of what the Bible tells us to do!

Year B
Epiphany 9
Not Used in 2012
Sunday Between March 4 and March 7 Inclusive OR March 3 and March 7 in Leap Years

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Mark 2:23--3:6, The Message   or   Mark 2:23--3:6, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

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

In the previous passage, Mark 2:13-22, Jesus was being challenged because of who he ate with, and then because he was eating and not fasting.

Today's passage ups the ante because now Jesus is being challenged for not observing the Sabbath properly. And now it is the Pharisees themselves who show up for the first time.

Pharisees are religious leaders who had personally committed to leading lives that exemplified living according to God's commands as found in the Bible - the Torah. They are not bad guys. But they are among the religious elite. They are relatively wealthy. And they act as sort of religious watch dogs to make sure that other members of the house of Israel also observe God's commands.

Mark 2:13-22

Jesus' response successfully rebuts the Scribe's challenge by quoting an ancient proverb. This is a double victory because it demonstrates Jesus' knowledge of wisdom lore, and his ability to think on his feet - to use popular knowledge to come up with a witty, punchy reply. Score 2 for Jesus; 0 for the Scribes.

Year B
Epiphany 8
Not Used in 2012
Sunday Between February 25 and March 3 Inclusive OR February 25 and March 2 in Leap Years

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Mark 2:13-22, The Message   or   Mark 2:13-22, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

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

In Chapter 1 of Mark, we learned that Jesus' reputation began to spread throughout the region of Galilee because he taught as one with authority - unlike the Scribes - and because of his ability to heal.

In Chapter 2, the Scribes and others begin to challenge Jesus - to try and put him back in his place as a backwoods peasant. And we learn more of Jesus' teachings as he responds to these challenges.

Today's lesson has two challenges: one from the Scribes; and one from the disciples of John the Baptist.

Mark 2:1-12

When Jesus calls the man, "Son," he breaks the social barriers that normally isolate disabled persons. This is actually the real miracle in this story. While the man is still paralyzed; while his sins are still unforgiven; Jesus draws the man back into a full, honoured, place in the village social circle.

Year B
Epiphany 7
February 19, 2012
Sunday Between February 18 and February 24 Inclusive

Read the passage at the bottom of this post: Mark 2:1-12, The Message   or   Mark 2:1-12, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Click here for an easy to print or email Adobe PDF version of this note.

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

This story always fascinated me as a young boy: They removed the roof! Wow. How did they do that? Forgiving sins, and causing people to walk was nothing compared to removing a roof.

With all "miracle" stories in the Bible it is important NOT to get distracted by the special effects. The most important questions to ask are not: How did they do that? How was the physical situation changed?

The most important questions to ask are:

How did they do that? How were the social relationships changed?