Wednesday of Holy Week

John 13:21-32

Not only is the Johannine Jesus in this text depicted as having the foreknowledge of which of the twelve disciples will “betray” him, the Johannine Jesus is portrayed as in a sense mandating that betrayal by saying to Judas Iscariot, “That which you are going to do, do it soon.” Various interpretations have been given to this saying within Church history. One is that Judas was predestined by God to betray Jesus so that God’s plan of salvation would be accomplished. Personally, I have never felt comfortable theologically with that interpretation. I think that a much better interpretation within the context of the Fourth Gospel is that here as throughout the Fourth Gospel, but not in the Synoptics, Jesus is portrayed as being in charge, in command of the entire situation, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world from the beginning of the Fourth Gospel until he dies on the cross with the words in John 19:30, “All that I have come to do has been done!” The Johannine Jesus directs the orchestra, he is the producer and the director of the play, he is the coach who calls the plays on the field.

Hebrews 12:1-3

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews has a Christology that uses words that differ considerably from the words used by the Johannine writers. Nevertheless, the Christology is similar in many respects to that in John. For the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, as in the Fourth Gospel but not in Mark and Matthew, Jesus is completely in charge of God’s salvation drama. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus himself goes into the most holy place in the Temple and offers his own blood as a sacrifice to God for sin, not for his own sin but for the sins of other people. Here in Hebrews 12:1-3 Jesus is presented as the founder, the pioneer, the one who makes our Christian faith perfect, the one who is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Isaiah 50:4-9a

The ideal prophet to the writers of the Isaiah tradition is given directions each morning by the Lord God. Therefore, the ideal prophet is able to stand up with confidence against those who are evil and to help those who are in need. For those of us who are Christians, Jesus the Risen Christ is like that and even more than that. This does not mean, however, that our interpretation of Isaiah 50:4-9a is the only valid interpretation. Our interpretation was certainly not the original and was not the earliest interpretation, and Jewish interpretations will always remain valid and helpful to us, as well as valid and helpful to Jews.

Psalm 70

For anyone who is suffering distress, whether because of adversaries or because of illness, the cry to God for help at the earliest possible moment expressed by the writer in this psalm is certainly understandable. Since this cry for help contrasts with the situation of the Johannine Jesus more than it complements it, Psalm 70 would be more appropriate in a Christian lectionary when the Gospel reading is from Mark or Matthew rather than from John. Within our message on this Wednesday of Holy Week, we can apply Psalm 70 to us, but hardly to the Johannine Jesus.

“Lord God, mercifully receive the prayers of your people. Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do, and give us grace and power to do them; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

It is in the portions of The Prayer of the Day for this Sunday that are italicized above that we see the unifying factor in the four texts selected for this day. Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Syria, needed help from the Lord God through Naaman’s own servants before he could understand the things that he should do in the cleansing of his body from leprosy in the 2 Kings 5:1-14 Elisha story. The psalmist in Psalm 30, afflicted by a life-threatening illness, needed help that could be given only by the Lord God. The person with leprosy in the Mark 1:40-45 account came to Jesus and was cleansed, but he was not obedient to Jesus’ request that he say nothing about his being healed to anyone. He seemed to lack the grace and power to follow through with Jesus’ request. Finally, Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 urged the followers of Jesus in Corinth to see and to understand the things that they should do, and wrote about the self-control needed in order to have the power to do them. The Prayer of the Day is also our prayer on this day as pastors and as people of God at worship. We too need help to see and to understand the things we ought to do, and we too need the grace and power to do them.

2 Kings 5:1-14

This complete story in the entire chapter of 2 Kings 5 is so rich in symbolism and meaning that the limited use of only a portion of it in a lectionary on a particular occasion is a cause for regret. The story about Naaman was especially significant for Israelites while they were in exile in Babylon after 597 and 586 BCE who wondered whether they could worship the Lord God without having “two mule loads of soil from Israel” on which to build an altar (5:17) and whether the Lord God would pardon them if under their condition of servitude they were forced to bow down in a temple dedicated to Marduk, the Deity as perceived in Babylon (5:18).

For us in our time this 2 Kings 5 text is a reminder that we, like Naaman, should do whatever it is necessary that we do, and should ask God for the grace and power to do it. We should do this at all times, not only when we are ill and full of disease, but at all times.

Psalm 30

The questions that the psalmist asks of God in verse 9 are fascinating. Faced by a terminal illness, the psalmist argues with the Lord God that it will actually be to the advantage of God to heal the psalmist. If God permits the psalmist to die, the Lord God will receive no benefits from the psalmist. The psalmist will no longer be able to praise God and no longer be able to tell people about the trustworthiness of the Lord. Under similar circumstances, would the line of argumentation that the psalmist uses be appropriate for us today? What prayer possibilities does this open?

Mark 1:40-45

We notice initially that this account is much less developed than is its antecedent in 2 Kings 5. The cleansing from leprosy account in 2 Kings 5 actually depicts a greater miracle than the one attributed to Jesus here in Mark 1. Elisha as a prophet, a “man of God,” spoke the word that resulted in the restoration of sound flesh not merely to a leper,” but to “Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Syria.” Syria had been the dreaded enemy of Israel at the time depicted in this story, and Elisha spoke the word that led to the cleansing not directly to Naaman but through a messenger. If Elisha performed such great miracles merely through the spoken word as a representative of God, surely Jesus as the Son of God must have performed as great or greater miracles. Such must have been the thinking of many among the early followers of Jesus. As pastors, what are the things that we should see and understand that we ought to do and need the grace and power of God to do? In what areas have we failed to see and to understand what we ought to do, and, not having asked for the grace and power to do them, lost them by default?

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

The verb hypopiazo has been almost consistently poorly translated in 9:27. Paul was using the analogy of a boxer here in a fierce struggle with an opponent in an athletic contest in 9:26b. It is not likely that Paul switched from the analogy of striking the body of his opponent in 9:26b to the idea of striking his own body and subduing it in 9:27. The body that he depicted as “my body” in 9:27 was the body of his opponent in the athletic contest analogy, the body that he said was “my body” to subdue. To “pommel” his own body and to subdue it once a boxing match has begun would not gain for him the crown of victory that he sought. That would have been entirely “missing the mark” that Paul wrote in 9:26b that he did not do.

Consider, therefore, the following translation for 9:24-27, because the literal meaning of the verb hypopiazo is as a prize-fighting term “I strike under the eye,” and because of the way in which Paul used analogies in the other portions of his letters.

(24) Do you not know that those who run in a stadium all run, but that only one receives the trophy for first place in each individual race? This is how I want you to run your lives so that you will receive the trophy. (25) Every competitive athlete trains strenuously, showing self-control in all ways. They train in order to receive a victory crown that soon withers, but we to receive one that does not wither. (26) For this I run, not without my goal in sight. For this I box, not beating the air and missing my mark. (27) I hit the body of my opponent right under the eye and subdue it, so that having proclaimed the gospel to others, I might not fail to receive the crown of victory myself. (as translated in Norman A. Beck, The New Testament: A New Translation and Redaction (Lima, Ohio: Fairway Press, 2001)

The mark that Paul was referring to in 9:26b was almost certainly the place under the eye of his opponent, the place that he wanted to “hit” in order to win the match and with it the “crown of victory,” eternal life with Christ.

Our salvation does not, of course, depend upon our translation of this verb, but our understanding of Paul’s theology is enhanced when we translate hypopiazo more literally and do not produce the ludicrous situation of Paul giving himself a knock-out punch in order to try to defeat his opponent and gain the crown of victory. Paul’s analogy, when translated as it is translated above, provides an illustration that is readily understandable today and helps us to see and to understand the things that we ought to do. It helps to give us the grace and power to do them.

With these texts we return to the Gospel According to Mark. In the Baptism of Jesus account in Mark 1:4-11 we have the core of what has often been called the “Adoptionist Christology” of this First Gospel. We read here that Jesus came along with multitudes of people from the rural areas of Judea and from the city of Jerusalem and was baptized by John with John’s baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. At this point, Jesus was a human being like the others who came.

According to this text, as Jesus was being baptized, Jesus saw the heavens opened and the Spirit of God coming down as a dove upon him, and heard a voice from heaven saying, “You are my Son, my Beloved Son. In you I am pleased!” With these words, the text portrays God as “adopting” Jesus as God’s Son, and Jesus is no longer merely a human being. Because of the embarrassment that Jesus’ having been baptized by John in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins caused followers of Jesus after the time of the writing of the Gospel According to Mark, there can be little doubt about the historicity of Jesus’ having been baptized by John. It is not surprising, therefore, that the biblical and post-biblical accounts that depict Jesus being baptized by John include a great variety of theological interpretations, some of which are apparent already in the Mark 1:9-11 story.

The “voice from heaven” implies a very special divine revelation, a divine-human encounter in which Jesus was “anointed” as God’s Son with royal power. The descent of the Spirit of God in a manner comparable to the descent of a dove enhances the divine-human encounter. God simply employs a physical means (a dove) to give more objectivity to the descent of the Spirit in this story. As the tradition continued to develop after the composition of this Mark 1:9-11 story, and as the perceptions of the humanity of the Jesus of history receded in order to give way to increasing emphasis on the deity of the Christ of faith, the accounts about Jesus being baptized by John came to be perceived by many — including many within the congregations in which we serve — not as divine-human encounters but as divine-divine encounters, and the creative adoptionistic Christology of the Gospel According to Mark was obscured.

We should praise God for the life of the Jesus of history. We should praise God that the Jesus of history was baptized by John. We should praise God for the biblical and for the post-biblical accounts that provide revealing insights into the theological interpretations given to the event of Jesus being baptized as a human being with a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. That the Jesus of history was baptized by John is gospel for us. It unites us with the Jesus of history on a human-human level. It places the Jesus of history firmly with us on the human level.

Of course, we are not baptized as Jesus had been with a John the Baptizer baptism. Instead, we are baptized with a Christian Baptism in the name of God as Father, in the name of God as Son, and in the name of God as Holy Spirit. That makes our Christian Baptism a divine-human encounter and not a human-human encounter. The Jesus of history was not and could not have been baptized in a “Christian” Baptism, since at that time there was not yet a Christian Baptism. We cannot be baptized as the Jesus of history was baptized in a John the Baptizer baptism for the forgiveness of our sins, since there is no longer a John the Baptizer baptism. This Mark 1:4-11 account is very important, therefore, to us within our Christian tradition in that it links us to the Jesus of history, and, via our experience of Christian Baptism, we are linked to the Christ of faith in the context of God, who for us is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Let us recapitulate as well as we can the theological process. The Jesus of history was baptized by John. That is a historically verifiable event. During an extensive process of God-inspired theological reflection over this event and its significance, many layers of theological interpretation were given in story form, some of which became sacred Scripture for us. That theological reflection has continued for many centuries and continues today as we consider the significance of all of this to our own lives. Therefore, we perceive the Jesus of history as the Christ of our faith, as our Risen Lord, as our Savior who is one with God perceived as Father and as one with God perceived as Holy Spirit. We ourselves are baptized and we baptize others in Christian Baptism in the name of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Certainly it is important and appropriate to have Christian Baptisms on this day in which we reflect upon THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD. It is also important and appropriate on this occasion to commemorate our Baptism and the Baptisms of all of the members of the congregations in which we serve. Thus we are tied more closely to Jesus and to Jesus as the Christ, the primary founder of our religion.

As we in our own time and in our own way continue the ongoing process of God-inspired theological reflection upon the event of Jesus’ having been baptized by John, the other texts selected for this day provide additional support. Acts 19:1-7 adds the Lukan emphasis on receiving the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and prophesying after being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 19:1-7 also incorporates followers of John the Baptizer into the fellowship of followers of Jesus with a Lukan story about a baptism that supersedes John’s baptism. In a somewhat similar manner, the so-called “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” with its concomitant gifts is a significant experience for some Christians in our time. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit account in Acts 19:1-7 is a fulfillment by the Lukan writer of the expectation expressed in Mark 1:8 and in its Synoptic parallels that Jesus would provide that kind of baptism for his followers.

The voice from heaven in the baptism of Jesus accounts near the beginning of each of the Synoptic Gospels reminds us of the voice of God ordering and arranging the cosmos in the Genesis 1:1–2:4a creation account. Also, the portrayal of the Spirit of God hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:1-5 is connected to the Spirit of God coming down like a dove in Mark 1:10. Another connection between Mark 1:4-11 and Genesis 1:1-5 is that just as it is written in Genesis 1 that God saw what God had done and it was good, God is presented in Mark 1:11 as being well pleased with Jesus, God’s Beloved Son.

In the conclusion of the Psalm 29 hymn to the Lord of the storm, the Lord is said to be enthroned over the flood as king forever. The Lord is then called upon to give strength and power to the people of the Lord. For us as Christians, that strength and that power are perceived as gifts of God received in our Baptism.

We have a responsibility in our ministry to observe and to preserve the festival of the Epiphany in some way each year, not only on the years in which January 6 happens to be a Sunday. The Sundays after the Epiphany will not have much special meaning unless we observe Epiphany itself in some way that will bring it to the attention of the members of the congregation. If we do not have a worship service within our usual setting, perhaps we could gather a group of young people — or people of all ages — and go Epiphany caroling to members of the congregation and community who are older, are shut-in, or otherwise are special in some way. This activity would also be a reminder to us that a substantial portion of the Church, i.e., the Eastern Orthodox tradition, observes January 6 as the Festival of the birth of the Christ. A carol singing would also highlight the beautiful Epiphany hymns on the Day of Epiphany.

If an Epiphany carol singing event is not chosen, some other unusual worship setting produced by the Worship Committee of the congregation could be most meaningful for those who plan it and participate in it. For example, worship could be in a public place to illustrate that this is the festival of revealing Christ to the “nations.” It could be held in a circle on the floor or within a circle of chairs. The setting should be appropriate for a relatively small number of participants, and the setting as well as the message should be memorable. With a little imagination and some preparation, a group of youth or adults could act out each of the four texts in simple drama form, not necessarily with a narrator and following the dialogue verbatim, but with a measure of creative inspired imagination not unlike that displayed by the writer of the Matthaen tradition that became Matthew 2:1-12. The accounts could also be memorized by four different persons and presented in the form of biblical storytelling.

Isaiah 60:1-6

This is a truly beautiful text, especially when we consider its original “life situation.” Certainly the people who first shared this message had vivid memories of the darkness that they and their parents and grandparents had experienced through defeat, the destruction of Jerusalem, and decades of exile in Babylon. Now they dared to hope and to dream of a glorious future when the glory of the Lord God would shine again on them and when people from all nations would come to that light. In their minds they pictured the return of parents with young children coming to Jerusalem from every direction. They visualized also pilgrims and foreigners bearing gifts that — in contrast with the total losses suffered during deportation and the flight of refugees — would restore the economy of their city. They expressed this in terms of camels laden with precious metals and perfumes, a picture of the greatest imaginable value brought on the largest “trucks, trains, cargo planes, and ships” known to them at that time. We can be joyful with them within our imaginations without at this point trying to make any New Testament application of this text. The New Testament application can come in our use of the Matthew 2:1-12 account.

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

This is obviously a Royal Psalm intended for use at the coronation of a new king or at some commemoration in honor of a king. We notice the high expectations of the songwriter and of the people with respect to their king. They were especially concerned about justice for all and about righteousness in all relationships within the realm. Most of all, they were concerned about justice for the poor.

Within our own experience the theme of justice for the poor becomes extremely significant when national, state, and local governments directly or indirectly withdraw sustenance from those who have the greatest need among us. As members of communities of faith, we have the responsibility to hold our government units accountable through our direct actions and participation in government, advocacy, voting, etc. In addition, we can and should do everything that we can to employ those who are poor, provide skills training opportunities, and to provide immediate assistance in terms of food, rent, mortgage payments, and utility payments. The Day of Epiphany can become a time when we recover some of this kind of service, a service that the Judaisms of the time of Jesus’ public ministry, the early Church, and traditionally people within the Islamic tradition have provided. Our efforts locally and through regional and national church bodies have sometimes been very significant. Certainly much more can and should be done.

The mention in Psalm 72:10 of kings from Sheba and Seba in Arabia bearing gifts of great value and falling down in front of the Israelite king — something that was very rare within Israel’s history — is apparently the reason for the selection of this psalm in connection with Matthew 2:1-12 on this occasion within our lectionary. The writers of the Matthean tradition probably used both Isaiah 60:1-6 and Psalm 72 when, inspired by the Spirit of God, they prepared the Matthew 2:1-12 account.

Ephesians 3:1-12

This text was most likely chosen for use on the Day of Epiphany because of the mention in Ephesians 3:6 and 8 of participation by Gentiles, along with those who were of Jewish background, in the one Church with its one faith and one Lord. These are very important Epiphany themes.

Matthew 2:1-12

This story is so well known that we may hardly notice how it was constructed. The inspired writers made good use of their Older Testament resources and in the process produced some quite remarkable subtle polemic against the Persian Zoroastrian magi religion that was still a significant factor in the East at the time of the development of this text. According to the subtle polemic in this text, Zoroastrians who are truly wise will bring their most precious gifts and fall down to worship the baby Jesus. The story is told so simply and beautifully that, accustomed to it as we have been from our childhood, we hardly stop to think about it. With some mature reflection we might ask whether the Herod of history would be so careless that he would not send spies to follow the magi to the home of any newly born “king of the Jews” who would be a threat to his own plans to be followed in power by one or more of his favorite sons. Also, with mature reflection we might be interested in how differently the Matthean and Lukan redactors developed their infancy narratives. The Matthaen writers moved the action from Bethlehem to Egypt, back to Bethlehem, and then north to Nazareth. Luke started in Nazareth, moved the action to Bethlehem, and then returned to Nazareth. If we try to understand the story genre used in both of these infancy accounts, we shall not be unduly troubled by these very different geographical scenarios. Each writer used research, inspiration, and creativity. Their purpose was primarily theological and only secondarily historical. Should our purpose not be the same today, since we believe that we are inspired and led by the same God who inspired and led them?

As we prepare for this occasion, we realize that in our contemporary culture the first Sunday after Christmas has become for many people a quiet time within a vacation period, a time often characterized by family gatherings, enjoyment of Christmas gifts, dried-out Christmas trees with drooping ornaments, pro-football, low church attendance, and perhaps Student Recognition Sunday. The texts selected for this day, however, are full of vibrancy and creativity, worthy of putting life and vitality into this ecclesiastically quiet time. May the Spirit of God come to us through these texts so that we too may speak creatively and vibrantly to others on this day!

Isaiah 61:10–62:3

Every word of this portion of the Isaiah tradition is Good News. Even though never in the history of Jerusalem have conditions been as favorable or the status of its people as glorious as depicted here, we can understand how important it was for those who were inspired to develop the Isaiah traditions to use exaggeration in their attempts to provide encouragement for the people. The people in Jerusalem at that time needed salvation and peace, and we need salvation and peace. We, like they, need “Good News.” Perhaps we have been too restrained, to lacking in exuberance in our proclamation of salvation on this Sunday after Christmas. Since we believe that God was active in the life of Jesus in a decisive way, let us proclaim that joyously and eloquently, as salvation is proclaimed to us in this text.

Psalm 148

All people, all creatures, even all components and elements of nature are called upon here to praise the Lord. This praise is to be joined with the praise of the Lord and of the name of the Lord by all of God’s angels and heavenly host. Certainly this psalm must be read and sung with great feeling and joy.

Galatians 4:4-7

Within the many letters of Paul included in our Newer Testament this text is most distinctively a Christmas message. The “Good News” in this text is that God has provided salvation both for those who live in accordance with the guidance compiled in the Torah and for those who are not Jews but have been adopted as also God’s people, so that they, along with the Jews, can call God their God, and so that, like Jesus, they can call God “Abba.” In this text Paul proclaims that those of us who are Gentiles are also, in Christ Jesus, by God’s grace heirs of the good things that God has prepared. We are heirs of God’s grace alongside of the Jews, not better than they are, but by God’s grace equal to them. This is Paul’s “Good News” here and in Romans 11, and it should be proclaimed as such to Christians and to Jews today. Unfortunately, this Good News” of Paul’s Christmas message has been largely obscured throughout most of the history of the Church by a different message, a message of Christian exclusivism and claims of Christian superiority.

Luke 2:22-40

Within these two brief scenes depicting the aged Simeon in 2:25-35 and the aged Anna in 2:36-38 the Lukan writer with inspired creativity showed the baby Jesus as the one through whom salvation would come to all people to be a light to be revealed to the nations and glory to God’s people Israel. In this way the Lukan writer demonstrated that now that Jesus had come, “aged” Israel should recognize its Messiah and as a form of spirituality “aged” Israel should “depart in peace.” By means of these little scenes the Lukan writer predicted ex eventu that Jesus would face opposition and that his violent death would cause indescribable grief to his mother. As elsewhere in Luke-Acts, the literary models here were the Scriptures of the Israelite people. Even Jesus is presented in 2:40 through use of the wisdom models readily available in the Joseph Story in Genesis 37-50 and in the Daniel document. As a result, we see literary drama at its best. We are able to visualize every detail, even without the benefit of actors and stage. Apart from the subtle polemic here against Judaism — which we do not need nor should we employ –these verses beautifully portray elements that are most helpful to our Christian piety, especially during this Christmas season. We can, of course, merely perceive these stories about Simeon and Anna as documentary reports provided to the Lukan write by Jesus’ mother late in her life. Or we can note that by means of these vivid scenes the Lukan writer creatively supplied some “movies” from Jesus’ childhood that would otherwise not be available to followers of Jesus late during the first century when many of them were beginning to wonder what had happened during Jesus’ infancy and childhood.

Certainly we will want to lead all who hear our words on this day to thank and praise God joyfully and creatively. May the Spirit of God give to us the same kind of revelation and inspiration provided to those who wrote and compiled these biblical texts!