Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 | Pentecost 16 (Cycle C)

Sunday between September 11 and September 17 inclusive

The most important theme for the texts selected for next weekend is God’s gracious rescue from sin and death of those who are lost. It is shown in these texts that as sinners we do not deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness. Nevertheless, God forgives us because God wants to forgive us. It is always appropriate for us to respond to God with joyful gratitude.

Psalm 51:1-10

This well-known psalm is especially significant to us because of the intense sense of sin expressed in it and because of its emphasis on repentance and contrition rather than on animal sacrifices. The psalmist is fully aware that God would be totally justified in destroying the psalmist. In spite of this, the psalmist asks God to be cleansed from sin and to be filled with God’s joy and gladness.

The feelings expressed in this psalm are our feelings also as individuals and as members of congregations in worship. When God creates a new heart in us and gives to us a spirit that connects with the Spirit of God, our worship experience is complete.

Psalm 14

According to this psalm, in the eyes of God all people are sinful; there is no one who does good things. God, however, delivers those who are poor and oppressed. When God rescues God’s people, they rejoice. They are glad. So, also, do we rejoice. So also are we glad.

Exodus 32:7-14

We may wonder how the early pre-Israelites could so quickly have turned away from the Lord (Adonai) who had brought them out of slavery in Egypt and, instead, gathered in worship around a golden idol in accordance with Egyptian practices. Actually, this text, together with others such as Joshua 24:14, is an indication that while they were slaves in Egypt the people who participated in the Exodus had worshiped other gods according to the custom of the Egyptians. As slaves they had participated in the civil religion of the Egyptian people. When Moses was not among them as their leader, they quickly reverted to the religion that they had known.

In Exodus 32:13, portions of the theological motif of the J source, that God had promised many descendants and the land of Canaan to the patriarchs of Israel, are reiterated by Moses. In this story about a divine-human encounter between Adonai and Moses, it is surprisingly said that Moses had functioned the more nobly! The selfless logic of Moses results in the preservation of the people who would inhabit the land promised by God to the Israelites.

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Judah and Jerusalem are depicted as barren and desolate here as a result of the destruction brought upon the land by the Babylonians, in accordance with the will of the Lord. There is, nevertheless, in verse 27 a glimmer of hope that there will be a remnant that will remain. God will forgive and restore a few of the people. As in the flood stories of Genesis 6-9, God will save a few and make a fresh start in the land.

1 Timothy 1:12-17

In this text the Apostle Paul is portrayed as an example of how the worst sinner can accept Jesus as “Christ our Lord” and receive eternal life. All of this came as a free gift from God. Jesus the Christ is proclaimed as the means of the grace of God. There is only one God, and that one God is praised in the 1 Timothy 1:17 doxology that concludes this selection.

Luke 15:1-10

The inspired Lukan writer suggests in these two parables that the sheep that was lost and found and the coin that was lost and recovered are representations of tax collectors and sinners, people who were surely lost in the opinion of most “religious” people such as we are. In order to pursue the intention of the Lukan writer, we probably should present this text for our time next weekend in a way in which most of those who hear us will be offended by it and, as a result, recognize their own sins and selfishness, repent, and bring joy to God and to themselves.

The recovery of every person — regardless of how odious that person may appear to us — is said in this text to bring great joy to God. Therefore, we should try to motivate those who hear us to participate in the recovery of those who are lost. This “lostness” and this “recovery” can take many forms. For example, we could ask those who hear us to think about what we would describe as “lost” people and about how we can be involved in the “recovery of those whom we consider to be lost.” Perhaps some of us may consider ourselves to be lost. Emphasis should be placed on recovery actions and on recovery attitudes in which the grace and forgiveness of God will be felt and all will have joy, the joy offered by God even to the least of us who are lost.

Sunday between September 18 and September 24 inclusive

Most of the texts selected from the Israelite Scriptures for this occasion praise the Lord for raising the poor, the needy, and the barren from the dust, and condemn those who oppress the poor. The Newer Testament texts urge the followers of Jesus as the Christ to express themselves to God with all types of prayers (1 Timothy 2:1-7) and to use material things prudently (Luke 16:1-13).

Psalm 113

This beautiful Israelite Hallelujah psalm is sung or said together with Psalm 114 at the beginning of the Seder by many Jews as a reminder that the name of the Lord is always to be praised and blessed. In this psalm the Lord is acclaimed for divine majesty and for divine concern for the poor and for the woman who is childless. From our Christian perspective, we attribute these qualities also to Jesus, who is Lord for us, our Risen Lord and Savior, the Christ.

Amos 8:4-7

There is no more incisive prophetic word of judgment than this in any of the world’s great religious literature, or any mutatis mutandis more applicable to our own or to any other human situation. The specific setting within eighth century Israelite religion is apparent in this text, but the prophetic word of judgment should be applied boldly to our own situation. This firm demand for justice and for concern for the poor among the people of the Lord is closely linked to the acclamation of the Lord as the God of justice and of concern in Psalm 113.

Psalm 79:1-9

In this first portion of this psalm the Lord is implored to remove God’s anger and wrath from the desolate people of Jerusalem and to punish instead those who have devoured the people of Jerusalem and destroyed the city and its temple.

Jeremiah 8:18–9:1

Jeremiah is represented here as in deep anguish over the pain and illness of the people of Jerusalem when the Lord is no longer in Zion. The Lord is presented in 8:19c as explaining that the Lord God is not with the people of Jerusalem because the people of Jerusalem have provoked the anger of the Lord with their worship of the images of other lords and gods. Jeremiah wishes that he would have enough tears to weep day and night for the slain people of Jerusalem.

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Within the liturgical prayers of the Church we try to comply with the urgings of this fine Pauline admonition and of its standard, orthodox Christian theology. On the other hand, we should not be bound by the directions of the verses that follow in 1 Timothy 2:9-15 regarding the clothing, hairstyles, jewelry, and the subordinate position of women. We must reject the theological demands of the writer of 1 Timothy 2:15 — so different from the theological position of Paul himself — that women will be saved not by the grace of God but by bearing children. It is tragic that the leaders of the developing Church during the second century did not delete 1 Timothy 2:11-15 when they through usage canonized this document along with others written by or attributed to the Apostle Paul. They could have spared most women and most men since that time and especially during recent decades and today many problems and anguish about the authority of our Scriptures. We can only conclude that leaders in the developing Church during the second century were in agreement with the sentiments expressed in 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and that they with their majority power overrode the objections of the minorities of men and of women who opposed them.

The inclusion of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 into the canon is a strong indication that God permitted majority powers in the developing Church to put into canonical status whatever they wished. This leaves us with the sober responsibility of repudiating the directives and theology of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 today. Our concern for people and for the authority of other far more important portions of Scripture demands that we repudiate elements from the texts that should have been repudiated and deleted by our spiritual fathers. If God permitted them to put 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in this document and to leave it in this document, then God will certainly permit us to repudiate it by printing it in small print status or eventually even into footnote status as a testimony to future generations that we care about our sacred Scriptures and about them.

Luke 16:1-13

This is perhaps the most problematic of all of the parables in our Four Gospels. The last four verses of the text selected here (vv. 10-13) provide a secondary application of the parable that is different from what we have in 16:1-9. For this reason, many pericopes do not include 16:10-13 with the reading of the parable itself in 16:1-9.

We may find helpful the conjecture of J.D.M. Derrett in “The Parable of the Unjust Steward, New Testament Studies 7 (1961, pp. 198-219), and in ” ‘Take thy Bond? and write Fifty’ (Luke xvi.6) The Nature of the Bond,” New Testament Studies new series 23 (1972, pp. 438-440), summarized in I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978, pp. 614-617), that the steward had previously included the accumulated interest due, but now, facing the termination of his employment, reduced the debtors’ account balances to the amount of the principal of the loans, thereby pleasing the debtors and making many new friends while obeying the requirement within Israelite religion that the rich should charge no interest on loans to the poor. The problem with this conjecture is that we still have the judgment in 16:8 that the steward was dishonest. Perhaps he was dishonest in the parable in terms of his agreement to handle his employer’s business matters in accordance with the wishes of his employer, but faithful to the requirements of his religion. Possibly the “sons of this age” was used by the Lukan writer to refer to the Jews, while the “sons of light” was intended to be a reference to the followers of Jesus. That would be consistent with the techniques of the Lukan writer within Lukan parables elsewhere in the Third Gospel.

Because of our uncertainty regarding the interpretation intended for this parable, this may be one of those occasions in which the readings from the Israelite Scriptures are more usable for us than are the selections from the Newer Testament. Therefore, we may be wise to use the Older Testament readings, especially Psalm 113 and Amos 8:4-7, as our basic texts for our message this coming weekend.

Sunday between September 25 and October 1 inclusive

It is made abundantly clear in most of the texts selected for next Sunday that rich people who indulge themselves in luxury with no regard for the poor and needy will suffer in the future. The Lord will provide wonderful things for the poor and needy who turn to the Lord for help. Those who are rich and selfish can avoid future suffering if they will be generous to the poor now in the name of the Lord.

Amos 6:1a, 4-7

The rich are warned in these Amos tradition “Woe” sayings that those who selfishly and idly indulge themselves with unneeded luxury with no concern for the poor will be the first to go into exile where they will have none of these things.

What is the Word of the Lord for us in this text? What shall we do with this text in our situation? What is God saying to us through it? What implications does this text have for us in the USA on issues such as health care, adequate wages, educational opportunities, and so on? What actions does this text suggest that we should be taking as individuals, as the Church, and as citizens in the United States?

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

In the face of the impending surrender of the Israelites in Jerusalem to the attacking Babylonian army, Jeremiah purchases a field in Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel. A secure record of the transaction is made, so that during the restoration Jeremiah or his heirs will be able to claim the property. This action suggests in vivid detail the belief that at some time in the future the people of the land will again be able to own property and live in freedom in Judea. It is implied that the people who will be able to return in peace to the area will have learned that only within their relationship with the Lord God will they be sustained.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

Assurance is given by the Lord God that those who trust in the Lord will be protected by the Lord from all harm and danger. The Lord God is portrayed as an eagle sheltering its offspring. Our beautiful hymn “On Eagle’s Wings” depicts this message dramatically and should be used along with this text.

Psalm 146

In so many ways the Lord God provides love and care for those who are suffering and oppressed. The assurance given and expressed here is similar to what is written in Psalm 91. Even if the benefits promised in these psalms are not received immediately or even over long periods of time, we must maintain our faith in God and in the unmerited grace of God. That is expected of us.

1 Timothy 6:6-19

It is in verses 17-19 that we have the closest connection to the other texts selected for this occasion. Instead of merely condemning the rich and providing no guidance for them, these verses spell out quite clearly the course that should be taken by “the rich of this world.” They should set their hopes on God. They should be rich in doing good things. They should be liberal and generous, for they have the means to do this. In this way they will lay up for themselves a good foundation for the future, for life that is life indeed.

Since we have relatively few texts in our Newer Testament that express positive and constructive guidance for people who are rich, it is especially important that we use 1 Timothy 6:6-19 in a significant way next Sunday. People who are wealthy receive considerable positive guidance and reinforcement in Islam and in Hindu religions and to some extent in the Jewish tradition. Rarely do they receive positive consideration and guidance within the Newer Testament of Christianity. How are wealthy people in the congregations guided and assisted in our congregations? What is their role in the “Body of Christ”? How can we from our Newer Testament texts guide them without departing from the texts into the fallacy of a “Prosperity Gospel”? For useful suggestions here, see Karl N. Jacobson, “Unhappy business: Why the prosperity gospel doesn’t add up — in good times or bad,” The Lutheran (August 2009, pp. 34-35), or www.thelutheran.org.

Luke 16:19-31

This graphic Lukan parable, which probably draws upon the Egyptian folk tale of the journey of Si-Osiris to the underworld and upon the Jewish story about the condition after death of the poor scholar and of the rich publican Bar Ma’jan, has anti-Jewish overtones, even though anti-Jewish polemic may not be its only or its most important function. The rich man in it — mentioned first, along with his five brothers who remain in his father’s house — seems to represent the Jewish religious establishment. As such, he is buried, and in the Lukan viewpoint consigned to Hades, where he will soon be joined by his five brothers. He calls across the chasm to Abraham, whom he claims as his father. Abraham answers, but will offer no special favors at this point. The brothers are to be referred to their own Scriptures, but there is little likelihood that they will repent either on the basis of their own Scriptures or if someone raised from the dead (Jesus!) would come to them. Lazarus, mentioned second (generally the “Christian” position in Lukan pairing of contrasts in Lukan parables) had been poor and oppressed, but now enjoys the favored position in Abraham’s bosom.

In all of this, we see how creatively the Lukan writer developed the Lazarus figure as a Christian symbol of the resurrection, a symbol developed also in a somewhat different way in the Fourth Gospel in which it is denied that the Jews are any longer sons of Abraham. We are increasingly cognizant of the creativity of the Lukan writer and of the Johannine traditions. Furthermore, the Lukan context for this parable suggests that the parable was directed against the Pharisees. There are other indications as well that among the parables of Jesus peculiar to the Third Gospel this is one of the most likely to have been largely a Lukan composition, a skillful expression of the Lukan writer’s evaluation of the Jews who would not “repent” and join the associates of Lazarus who, although they may be poor in this life, will be secure with Abraham after their death. Because this parable is so well-known to us, we can easily fail to notice how uncharacteristic it is of the parables of the Jesus of history. Most of the action in it is not drawn from everyday life in Galilee, but from the life to come.

Having emphasized the importance of faith, of hearing the Scriptures, and of how one’s position in this present life determines one’s eternal destiny, the parable ends on a note that is almost completely pessimistic regarding the fate of the Jews who do not associate with Lazarus-type people during this life. How, therefore, shall we today respond to this text? What is the basic theological message of this text, and how shall we state that message in terms that will be relevant at our particular time and place?

The text is a beautiful example of religious language, the language of faith, in which words that are symbols of faith are combined into stories that describe divine-human encounters, as Paul Tillich described it. In the telling of this story there is much use of descriptive detail, which many generations of Christians have used in their efforts to picture as well as they can what it shall be like after their own death. We can, along with millions of our fellow Christians, merely live in that seemingly secure world of unbroken mythological consciousness (again Paul Tillich’s terminology) and do no more than repeat the vivid descriptive detail and even elaborate on it from our own rich imaginations. Should we not, however, undertake the alternative to this of seeking to determine the theological message of the text and then of stating that message in terms that will be meaningful to our own situation this coming Sunday? In this instance, the task is arduous because this parable is designed to fit a particular situation of Christian animosity against Jews in the first century.

It appears that there are two messages in the parable. One is that we may anticipate a reversal of roles and of positions in the life that is to come. The other is that most people will continue to live a life of wantonness and ease in spite of repeated warnings within their religious traditions. Here again, therefore, the “gospel” for this occasion is heard more clearly in the other texts selected than it is in Luke. It is heard in the 1 Timothy call for conduct that will result in our access to eternal life and in the psalm readings in which there is a great joy for those whose hope is in the Lord God who is Creator, Savior, and Eternal King.

Sunday between October 2 and October 8 inclusive

The unifying factor in most of the texts selected for us for next Sunday appears to be the call to “patient faithfulness.” It is a message first of all for those of us who are ministers of the word and Sacraments. If we are willing to accept this message and to apply it in our lives, we may then with integrity and enthusiasm share it with other people.

Psalm 37:1-9

Those who are wicked and oppressive may gain a temporary economic advantage, but their advantage will soon be lost. Soon the wicked will be cut off and destroyed. It would be foolish to be envious of them. The Lord will show mercy to those who are righteous; they will dwell securely in the land long after the wicked are gone. Those who are wise will trust in the Lord and wait patiently.

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

After the introduction provided in Habakkuk 1:1, verses 2-3 are a lament by the prophet. Habakkuk 2:1 is an indication of the prophet’s readiness to hear and of the expectation that the Lord God will no longer be silent. The response from the Lord begins in 2:2. The response marks a transition to apocalyptic, for the message is to be written. It calls for patient faithfulness until the time when the Lord will act decisively, another important characteristic of apocalyptic.

The good news in the latter portion of 2:4, that “the tsaddik (righteous person) who remains consistently in emunah (faithfulness to the Lord) shall live,” was a favorite for the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, was very important for Martin Luther during his theological crisis, is significant for all of us as Christians, and certainly has been a basic guide for Israelites and Jews down through the centuries. The tsaddik, who within the outer limits set by the commandments in the Torah makes the necessary decisions in life, assigning priorities among the many demanding relationships of the righteous person, shall live in security, in firmness, in a covenant relationship with the Lord, with all responsible people, and with the material things of this world. It is the same for us.

Lamentations 1:1-6
Lamentations 3:19-26
Psalm 137

Among these three texts, only Lamentations 3:19-26 offers hope that because of the steadfast, enduring love of the Lord the desolation of Jerusalem will some day end. Only Lamentations 3:19-26 suggests that the Lord will not reject forever, that it is good for a person to wait patiently for the salvation that the Lord will provide.

Although it is understandable that there are biblical texts that depict conditions and people to whom all hope seems to be in vain, we may wonder why texts such as Lamentations 1:1-6 and Psalm 137 should be included in our Lectionary and read during our worship services. We want to encourage people to have hope in the Lord God and to wait patiently for the Lord to help them. Why should we offer to them biblical texts depicting situations of total despair, in which there are no vestiges of hope?

2 Timothy 1:1-14

This portion of the most personal of the Pauline Pastoral Epistles is perhaps based on correspondence of Paul to Timothy, but reworked and rewritten by a later writer-redactor during what that writer considered to be “the last days.” This admonition to remain faithful until the “Day of the Lord” is closely linked to the Habakkuk 2:4 text, though modified by the thought and practices that developed within later Pauline Christianity.

Luke 17:5-10

A variety of teachings are juxtaposed in these verses, including a redaction by the Lukan writer of a warning in Mark 9:42 about putting any skandala in front of these “little ones,” a call for repeated forgiveness included in various ways in Matthew and in Luke, a saying regarding the potential power available in faith, and a parable peculiar to Luke about a slave who was expected to labor unflinchingly for his master.

Comments here will be limited to the Luke 17:7-10 parable, because it is the most interesting portion of the text and because it includes the unifying theme for this occasion of “patient faithfulness.” The situation described in the parable is that of a farmer who has one slave to do his plowing, tend his cattle, and prepare his meals. The message of the parable appears to be that even with all of the diligent service that we might muster we cannot obligate God to do anything for us. Any attitude that causes us to seek rewards from God, to think that because we have done so much God must certainly respond with the things that will please us, is misguided. We are slaves to God. God does not owe us anything. Whatever God may give to us is given because of God’s grace; our only proper response is thanksgiving to God. We see this also in the parable about the ten lepers, which is placed immediately after this text.

Therefore, we are not to seek thanks from God, but are always to give thanks to God. Some of the most respected Jewish fathers wrote basically the same thing as this, as is indicated in Pirke Aboth 1:3 in the Rabbinic Literature, “Do not be like slaves who serve their master in order to try to receive a reward,” and Pirke Aboth 2:8, “No matter how diligently you have studied the Torah, do not claim merit for yourself, for that is simply what you were created to do.” We are to serve God with patient faithfulness, “in sickness and in health,” much as we indicate that we will do for our partner in marriage when we express our marriage vows.

Sunday between October 9 and October 15 inclusive

The emphasis in most of the texts selected for us for next Sunday is on obedient, faithful response to God for all that God has done. Therefore, the service and the message for the service should also be a faithful, thankful response to God by all who participate in the worship events.

Psalm 111

This important Individual Hymn of Praise includes in brief form the traditional Israelite description of the Lord God as gracious and merciful, the faithful provider, the God of power and of justice, the one who gave the heritage of the Canaanite “nations” to Israel. The psalm reiterates the hope that the covenant of the Lord with David will continue forever and includes the wisdom theme that the fear of the Lord is the beginning or heart of wisdom.

Psalm 66:1-12

As in many other texts within the Israelite Scriptures, here also God is praised for delivering the Israelites from the Egyptian oppressors by parting the sea so that the Israelites could pass over on dry land. The Exodus is remembered as one among many instances in which God used God’s power to keep the enemies of the Israelites away from Israel’s borders and to prevent other nations from oppressing them.

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

Naaman, the Syrian general who has just been cured of his leprosy, stands in front of Elisha and expresses his belief that there is no God in all of the earth except the God of Israel who rules in Israel. Therefore, in the verses that follow this text Naaman requests permission from Elisha to take back with him to Syria two mule loads of Israelite soil on which Naaman will construct an altar at which to worship the Lord God of Israel, for now Naaman will worship no other God.

Israelites in exile in Babylon where this story was told and perhaps originated faced the same situation as that of Naaman. How could they worship the Lord, God as perceived in Israel, in a foreign land? Would the Lord forgive them if they, like Naaman in the portion of 2 Kings 5 that follows our text, ask that the Lord pardon them if they would be compelled to worship a different god (Marduk) in a different land (Babylon)? The answer that this Naaman story provides is simply, “Go in peace.” They would have to answer those questions themselves. However, they could perhaps worship the Lord (Adonai), God as perceived in Israel, in a foreign land, and the Lord perhaps would forgive them if they asked the Lord to pardon them.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

In the letter that Jeremiah is said to have sent to the leaders among the Israelite exiles in Babylon, Jeremiah, in the name of the Lord, told them to settle down, marry and have children. They should even pray to the Lord God of Israel for the welfare of the Babylonian cities in which they would live. It is implied that they should be faithful in response to their Lord God while they were to do whatever was necessary in order for them to survive. How shall we express this idea next Sunday?

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Regardless of whether these words were composed by the Apostle Paul or by an admirer of Paul later to express what was thought that Paul would have said under these circumstances, this text is an eloquent call for faithfulness to Jesus as the Christ. The hymn (vv. 11-13) defines the mainline Christian position over against Gnosticizing Christians by maintaining against them in 2:11 that we should live with Christ and that our resurrection has not yet occurred. It provides encouragement to followers of Jesus to endure. It affirms that even if we do not believe in what Jesus is acclaimed to be, Jesus as the Christ remains faithful (as God remains faithful), for he cannot deny what he is. We, therefore, also are to be obedient, faithful, and thankful in our response to God.

Luke 17:11-19

Here again the inspired Lukan writer provided a story that is so vividly told that we can practically “see” every detail in it. The Lukan Jesus is near the end of his theological journey toward Jerusalem. He is passing theologically between the Galilean Jews and the Samaritans. All of them (perhaps symbolically represented by the number 10) are unclean. They stand at a distance, acclaim Jesus as their Master, and ask for his mercy. When they are obedient to Jesus, they are cleansed. Only one of them, however, when he sees that he has been cleansed, abandons the traditional way of going to show himself to the priests for certification of his cleanliness, and returns to Jesus, giving glory to God and falling at the feet of Jesus in thankfulness. The nine who go the Jewish way, even though they have been cleansed by Jesus, are compared unfavorably with the single Samaritan who returned immediately to thank Jesus and to praise God.

The extent to which this account can be traced back to the Jesus of history is uncertain. It is probable, as Hans-Dieter Betz suggests in “The Cleansing of the Ten Lepers” (Luke 17:11-19), Journal of Biblical Literature 90 (1971, pp. 314-328), that the identity as a Samaritan of the one who returned to Jesus to praise God was given at the point in the transmission of the account when the mission of the followers of Jesus to the Samaritans became prominent, and that the resulting anti-Jewish polemic is an additive that stems from the period of 80-90 CE when the breach between the developing Church and the Synagogue became irreparable. As G.B. Caird notes in The Gospel of St. Luke (Baltimore: Penguin, 1963, p. 195), for the Lukan writer the most attractive portion of the story was that the appreciative Samaritan showed up his Jewish fellow sufferers. As also typically in the parables peculiar to Luke, the characters mentioned first are observant Jews who are discredited, while the ones mentioned last (the tenth here) are types of those who follow Jesus and are acclaimed. We see that both Luke and the Fourth Gospel praise the Samaritans and renounce the Jews, but in different ways. The positive emphasis in this Lukan text and in all of the texts selected for this occasion is the obedient, faithful, thankful response to God for forgiveness, life, healing, and salvation. That is what we are called to proclaim.