The Day of Pentecost, Cycle B

On this day we enter into the period of each year in which we celebrate the ongoing activity of God in our lives. The activity of God has a special meaning for us as Christians because of the life of Jesus. The texts appointed for this day, however, are a reminder to us that the activity of God and God’s relationships with people did not begin with the life of Jesus. The activity of God and God’s relationships with people take on new meaning for us because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and for that we are grateful.

Analysis of the Hebrew Bible (the Older Testament for us as Christians) indicates that within those documents various hypostases (words used to represent God, anthropomorphic expressions used in attempts to describe activities of God) were developed. Among the most important and frequently used of these are the Word of God, the Glory of God, the Wisdom of God, the Presence of God, and the Spirit or Breath of God. These words became valuable vehicles for communicating effectively that God is indeed actively involved in the world even though we cannot actually see or touch God. These hypostases are helpful as we endeavor to talk about God and to God. We realize that as we attempt to talk about God we must use words, descriptive word drawn from our human experiences.

On this Day of Pentecost, our attention is focused on one of these hypostases used within the Hebrew Bible, namely the Spirit or Breath of God. The Spirit of God is the principal unifying factor in these five texts. Within the development of specifically Christian theology, the Spirit of God became one of our three most basic hypostases for God, most useful in our struggling attempts to talk about God and about the activities of God in our lives. As an hypostasis for God, the Spirit of God concept did not originate during the 1st century of the common era, nor on the day of creation, nor at any point within recorded history. We believe that the Spirit of God is a God-given means by which we are enabled to talk about God.

Within the Day of Pentecost observance in the Christian calendar, the dominating text is obviously the Lukan playwright’s Pentecost story that we have in Acts 2:1-21. We could hardly celebrate this day in the Church Year without using it. The Lukan writer’ Pentecost story brought the Christian observance of Pentecost into existence. Therefore, let us turn to this text.

Acts 2:1-21

Just as in early Christian tradition recorded in the Synoptic Gospels the Last Supper of Jesus was placed within the context of the Israelite-Jewish Passover observance, here in this sequel to the Third Gospel tradition the Lukan writer placed the inception of Christian prophecy within the context of the Israelite-Jewish celebration of Pentecost.

By the time of the 1st century of the common era, the Israelite Feast of Weeks (in the Greek language known as Pentecost) had evolved from an agricultural festival in which groups of Israelites came together to enjoy the first fresh fruits and vegetables of the season and to give portions of these first fruits and vegetables to God by sharing them with those who functioned as priests among them to become for them also a commemoration of the giving of the Torah. Apparently the Lukan writer — or a source utilized by the Lukan writer — took the process of development one step further, taking the Jewish celebration of the giving of the Torah and transforming it for followers of Jesus into the occasion on which Christian prophecy began. This account in Acts 2:1-21, consistent with many others in early Christian traditions, took an Israelite-Jewish custom or ceremony and adapted it for Christian use in a supersessionistic process. By means of this account, early Christianity was able to claim not only to have its own “Torah” in the Synoptic Gospel accounts, but also its own “Prophecy” here in the utterances of these early Christian leaders, all of whom were depicted by the Lukan playwright as gathered together in one place. There are some what we might call “rough edges” in this Acts 2:1-21 account (an indication perhaps of the freshness of the construction). There is a disagreement among those who in the text heard the voices of the disciples as to whether the utterances were incoherent babblings such as might be made by intoxicated persons or whether the utterances were excellent translations of a single message into a variety of languages and dialects such as those provided during sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. Nevertheless, the message intended by the account is clear.

In our Day of Pentecost proclamation, it is the message, not the details of the account that is of primary importance. In the best ways possible for us, we shall certainly want to proclaim that God through the Holy Spirit inspires us also today within the priesthood of all believers, comes over us with mighty power, gives to us the ability to prophesy (that is, to speak forth for God), and fulfills the biblical expectation in our time. Certainly we must claim the Spirit of God as we celebrate our Day of Pentecost. It is not sufficient for us to repeat or to paraphrase this Acts 2:1-21 account only as something that happened in a certain way during the 1st century. We must claim the Spirit of God also for the Church and for us today.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

It is the Spirit of the Lord God that leads Ezekiel in this fascinating account and places him into the valley filled with dry bones. It is the Spirit of the Lord God that commands Ezekiel to speak to the wind (the breath of God) and call it back into the bodies of the Israelites who had been rendered lifeless. Spirit/wind/breath comes from God for the restoration of life. This is also our God-given claim as Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others today.

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

In this delightful poetic expression of God’s initial and continuing creative activity, it is said that, as in Genesis 1:2, when the Spirit of God is sent forth, all creatures, even the sportive Leviathan, are brought into existence and sustained. We are called to share this message about the power of God today, especially as we continue to be reminded of the destructive powers being marshaled not only by large nations in the world, but also by smaller nations and by terrorist groups.

Romans 8:22-27

According to the Apostle Paul in this account, the entire creation has been groaning and in agony like a woman who is suffering with labor pains that never end. Paul wrote that within all of creation, all people have been struggling in agony under the bondage of sin until the time of the death and resurrection of Jesus as the Christ. For Paul, the Spirit of God is now with us at all times to provide the support that we need, because by ourselves, Paul wrote, we do not even know how to pray. The Spirit of God, therefore, intercedes for us with prayers that are so profound that we can neither imagine nor describe them.

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

In these texts the Spirit is described as the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father and is to be sent by the Johannine Jesus after he leaves the Johannine community. The Paraclete will glorify Jesus, will take from the things that belong to Jesus and declare them to the Johannine community, will condemn the sinful world and convince the members of the Johannine community that the righteousness of God is fully known within the Johannine Jesus. The Paraclete is described as in some sense the surrogate for Jesus who cannot come unless the Johannine Jesus will go. The Paraclete is a guarantee that there will be more of the grace and truth of God to come, that the revelation will continue for the Johannine community.

In our use of this text, particularly on the Day of Pentecost, it is important that we claim participation in the ongoing revelation of God, that we as pastors, leaders in worship, and congregations as a whole affirm that we are expressions of the work of the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, in our time and place. The work of the Johannine Jesus, of the Paraclete, of the Spirit of Truth, did not in any way end during the first few decades in the development of Christianity. The work of the Spirit of Truth continues among us where we are, and among others, even among those who are very different from us.

THEME OF THE DAY:  An eternally loving Triune God!
Reflections on the Trinity or God’s awesomeness emerging from these texts can also lead preachers to relate these themes to God’s love (Providence and Justification By Grace).

Psalm 29
This is a hymn attributed to David, though it is unlikely that he wrote it.  The text sings of Yahweh’s control of all nature (vv.3,5-6,8-10), even of storms, and yet we are assured that Yahweh blesses us with peace in the midst of storms (v.11).   The Psalm begins with a call to worship, where there is a reference to “heavenly beings,” which is a bad translation for what should be rendered in English “sons of mighty ones.”  This insight suggests that in The Temple era and perhaps in earlier periods Hebrews believed that there was a heavenly court of lower gods or semi-divine beings who acknowledged Yahweh as supreme Ruler (Psalm 82:1,6; Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 32:8).

The Lord seems to rule earth and waters with His Word.   The reference to “mighty waters” could be the Mediterranean Ocean or to the primordial waters Yahweh vanquished in creating (see Genesis 1:9-10).  Of course the reference to His voice [gol] (vv.2,3,4,5,7) could refer to His manifestation through thunder in thunderstorms (v.7).  The cedars of Lebanon noted in v.5 refer to the principal mountains in Syria.  Sirion noted in v.6 is the Phoenicain name for Mt. Hermon on the eastern border of Israel, and the wilderness of Kadesh in v.8 is a reference to a desert in Syria.  The Lord’s voice in this storm is not just powerful, but hadar in Hebrew (majestic, even beautiful) (v.4).  God’s rule over nature and over waters (vv.9-10) could be indebted to Canaanite mythology’s affirmation that Baal was enthroned over the conquered flood.  Christians might interpret this reference as a Prophetic reminder of His use of water in Baptism to proclaim His Word and Will.  The Psalm concludes with petitions that the Lord may give strength to and bless His people (v.11).

Application: The Psalm invites several distinct sermon directions.  The awesomeness of God, His control over the Creation is one possibility.  The plurality of gods with whom Elohim engages could foreshadow the Trinity doctrine.  And the reference to God’s rule over water could also open the way to sermons on how God uses water (in Baptism) to give life and blessing (Justification By Grace).     

Isaiah 6:1–8
It is well known that this Book is actually the product of two or three distinct literary traditions.  The first 39 chapters are the work of the historical Prophet who proclaimed a message to Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 742 BC to 701 BC, a period during which the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been annexed by the Assyrian Empire.  Chapters 40-66 emerged in a later period, around the time of the fall of Babylon (in 539 BC).   Our Lesson is a work of the historical Prophet, the account of his call.

The vision of Yahweh transpires in The Temple where He appears along with seraphs (winged creatures who protect royalty) (vv.1-2).  These seraphs praise the Lord’s holiness [qadosh], but must also protect themselves from God’s awesomeness (v.3).  Isaiah laments his own and the people of Israel’s uncleanness [tame] (v.5).  To see God would kill him and them.    A seraph cleanses the Prophet’s mouth with a burning coal (vv.6-7).  Before God’s holiness the sinner cannot stand (Exodus 33:1-8).  This cleansing is a forgiving act of God.  This is followed by Yahweh’s call for someone to be sent for Him (the plural form is used here in God’s self-reference).  Isaiah responds in the affirmative (v.8).

Application: Sermons on this text will proclaim that Ministry depends on forgiveness (Justification By Grace), for we are unworthy (Sin) in face of the awesome Triune God. 

Romans 8:12-17
Again we consider this authentically Pauline Epistle probably written between 54 AD and 58 AD as a letter of introduction which may have been comprised of largely Jewish Christians.   This Lesson continues Paul’s discussion of life in the Spirit in view of the realities of sin.  He urges the faithful not to live according to the flesh, for that leads to death.  (The Greek word sarx employed here refers not to the physical body, but to sinful flesh, to the sin which has corrupted  our bodies and lives in their entirety.)  But the Spirit [pneuma] gives life [zao] (vv.12-13).   All led by the Spirit are said to be God’s children/sons [huios], Paul adds (v.14).  When the Spirit leads us to bear witness with our spirit to cry [krazo] that God is our Father (presumably in ecstatic ways [see Galatians 4:6-7]), we are not made slaves, but children [teknon] of God, and so heirs [klaronomos].  The Spirit is said to bring about our adoption [huiothesia] (vv.15-16).  As children we are heirs with Christ if we so suffer with Him so that we are also glorified [doxazo] with Him (v.17).  

Application: This text leads to sermons offering the comfort of knowing that we are not able to believe or do good works on our own (Sin), but that the Holy Spirit (and so the Triune God) is active in our lives in bringing about these good things (Justification By Grace). 

John 3:1-17
Again we receive a Lesson from the last Gospel to be written (probably in the last decade of the first century), and so not written by John the son of Zebedee, but perhaps by a disciple of his in order to address a community of Jewish Christians who had been expelled from Jewish society.  This Lesson, unique to this Gospel, is a story of Jesus’ interactions with official Judaism (esp. one of its leaders, a Pharisee named Nicodemus).  The focus is on Jesus as the object of faith.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night, noting that Jesus must be of God for none could do the signs He has done apart from God’s Presence (vv.1-2).  Jesus responds, noting no one can see the Kingdom if not born from above (v.3).  The ancient Greek word anothen, translated “from above” can also mean “born again.”  Nicodemus asks how one can be born again when already old (v.4).  Jesus responds that no one can enter God’s Kingdom without being born of water and of the Spirit, that is, born from above [or born again] (vv.5-7).  Just as the wind blows where it will, so it is with the Spirit [pneuma; the term may also refer to the life force] (v.8).  Jesus chides Nicodemus for not understanding such things (vv.9-10).  Jesus proceeds to contend that He speaks of things He has seen, yet the testimony [martureo] is not received.  If hearers have not believed what He teaches about earthly things, how will they believe His testimony on heavenly matters (vv.11-12)?  Jesus then notes that no one has ascended to heaven except the Son of Man  (huios to anthropou) Who has ascended to the Father (v.13).  The use of this title here by John suggests that the title is employed in this case here and in the Synoptic Gospels as a way to describe Jesus’ present Ministry on earth.  Jesus proceeds to note that as Moses lifted up a serpent [ophis] in the desert (reported in the First Lesson, Numbers 21:9) in order to provide a remedy to those made ill by the bites of poisonous snakes, which were sent to punish the Hebrews for their sin, so the Son of Man will be lifted up that whoever believe in Him will have eternal life (vv.14-15).  The Cross is here foretold.  In view of this Gospel’s concern to identify Jesus as Son of God (20:31) it seems that a continuity between Jesus’ earthly Ministry and His Messiahship is posited by the author.   

God’s love [agape] for the world [kosmos] in giving His only Son that all who believe may have eternal life is proclaimed (v.16).  This theme echoes elsewhere in the Gospel (5:24; 6:40,47; 11:25-26).  God did not send His Son to judge [krpinai] the world, but those not believing are already condemned because they have not believed (vv.17-18).

Application: The text invites sermons on being born again (Regeneration and Justification By Grace).  We can focus on the Spirit’s Work or on  all the Persons of the Trinity in bringing about God’s forgiving love.     

THEME OF THE DAY:  We never get it right ‘til we’re right with God.   The texts press us to proclaim Justification By Grace and God’s loving Providential activities, along with attention to their implications for Christian life (Sanctification) and Social Ethics, as well as contrasting God’s ways to our Sinful activity.

Psalm 138
A thanksgiving for deliverance from trouble attributed to David.  It seems useful to reiterate the conclusion of many scholars that references to David in the Psalms like this one may have been a way of using him to represent the inner life of all his subjects and so of all the faithful (Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, p.521).  In that sense this song is about how all the faithful are to give thanks for God delivering them.  The thanks are given in the Temple court (v.2).  Reference to giving thanks for the gods [elohim] (v.1) likely refers to Yahweh’s supremacy over all the gods of the other nations.  The hymn includes a prophecy that all the kings of the world will praise [yadah, literally stretching out one’s hands in praise] God (vv.4-5).  This seems to be fulfilled in Christianity.

God is said to be high [rum] though He regards the lowly [shaphal, or humble], is One Who preserves us, and is a God of steadfast love [chesed, literally lovingkindness or mercy], Who preserves the Psalmist even when walking in the midst of trouble.  The phrase “work of God’s hands” is a reference to all of God’s works (vv.6-8).  A preferential option for the poor is suggested here.

Application: Sermons on this text will stress God’s mercy and the praise He warrants as a result (Justification By Grace and Sanctification).  It might also be possible to highlight how this love is especially for the poor (Social Ethics) or to explore the other gods (the modern idols which we pursue like wealth, good times, etc.), how such pursuits land us in trouble (Sin), noting that God is still greater.

or

Psalm 130
A lament prayer for deliverance from personal trouble.  This is one of the Songs of Ascent (or Pilgrim Psalms).   Recall that such Psalms are so-named for referring to the ascent of pilgrims to Jerusalem on the way to the Temple, which required of them ascent up a mountain.  (Some instead claim that these Psalms are so named because they have an ascending style of poetic form.)

The Psalmist cries out for help out of the depths [maamaqqim] (vv.1-2).  He notes that though none are worthy to stand before God, yet His is forgiving [selchah, a sending away], not marking [shamar, literally observing] iniquities (vv.3-4).  God is portrayed as a God of steadfast love [the Hebrew term chesed is used here; see exposition of Psalm 138, above].  The Psalmist assures that He will redeem [padah, also meaning “free”] Israel, presumably from all its national difficulties (vv.7-8).

Application: This Psalm invites sermons on God’s love, how He overlooks our Sin, even as we wallow in them and the despair we often experience (Justification By Grace), or how He sets our nation free from destructive patterns — the growing poverty and racial injustice (Social Ethics).

1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15), 16-20 (11:14-15)
The origin of this Book as a distinct text derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint), which divided the story of Israel’s monarchy into four sections (1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings).  This Book is probably the result of two or three sources: (1) Early traditions about Samuel and Saul; (2) Editor-molded materials brought together into a connected history, implying a critique of the events, deeming kingship as problematic, and so must be set under the rule of God and Samuel His Prophet; (3) Incorporating the previous strand into the more Deuteronomistic (D) history (the result of sweeping religious reforms under King Josiah in 621 BC).  The role of this last source not surprisingly entails that a central theme in the Book is the struggle to remain obedient to Torah, to be God’s covenant people, and to inherit divine blessings. This is the story of the development of kingship in Israel, over Samuel’s objections.

The account begins with Samuel being approached in Ramah (a town about 25 miles north of Jerusalem) by the elders of Israel.  They tell him his sons are not faithful as he has been, and they urge him to appoint a king [melek] like other nations had (8:4-5).  This displeased Samuel (8:6).  Yahweh tells him to proceed with the request, interpreting it as a rejection of Him, for He is their true King (8:7).  The Lord proceeds to recount how the people have repeatedly forsaken Him (a theme consistent with the Book’s Deuteronomistic strand) (8:8).  He has Samuel warn them what kings will do to them (8:9).  Samuel complies, issuing the warning that the king will take the sons of the elders to administer his chariots, command the people, and reap his harvest (8:10-12).  Their daughters will be made his cooks (8:13).  The king will take over their fields and commandeer one tenth of their grain (8:14-15).  He will take the elders’ possessions, effectively rendering them slaves (8:16-17).  Then they will cry out, but the Lord will not answer (8:18).  The people of Israel refuse to listen, wanting a king like other nations (8:19-20).  After a long narrative on how Saul was chosen to be king (chs. 9-11), the Lesson may end with Samuel’s direction to go to Gilgal (a town about 18 miles northeast of Jerusalem) to make Saul King (11:14-15).

Application: The Lesson provides opportunities to proclaim our Sin in the exercise of power
(Social Ethics and Ministry) and how power ultimately belongs to God (Providence), so that it is only rightly used when surrendered to Him.

or

Genesis 3:8-15
We have previously noted that like all five Book of the Pentateuch, this Book of Origins is probably the product of several distinct literary traditions.  This one is just comprised of three strands: (1) J, ninth /tenth-century BC source, so named for its use of the Jahweh or Yahweh (translated “Lord”); (2) E, an eighth-century BC source named for its use of the divine name Elohim; and (3) P or Priestly source, dated from the sixth century BC.  This Lesson offers an account of the Lord’s punishment for the first sin of Adam and Eve, as narrated by J.

Having eaten the fruit of the forbidden trees, now aware of their guilt (vv.6-7), the first couple heard the sound of Yahweh walking in the garden and hide from His Presence (v.8).  But the Lord God calls for them, and the man claims to have been afraid because he was naked (vv.9-10).  Yahweh confronts Adam with how he learned this, whether he had eaten from the forbidden tree and the man [adam] claims that the woman [ishshah] had given him the fruit of the tree.  In blaming the woman for his sin, the man indirectly blames God Who gave her to him.  The woman blames the serpent [nachash], contending she was tricked [the Hebrew word hissioni is a play on the hissing of serpents] (vv.11-13).  Yahweh Elohim responds with a curse on the serpent explaining why he crawls on his belly and is the enemy of humans (vv.14-15).

Application: Sermons on this Complementary First Lesson can clarify the nature of Original Sin, highlighting our tendency to blame someone else for our own indiscretions in contrast to the other texts which make clear that God’s ways are to overlook what others (what we) do (Justification By Grace).

2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1
This Epistle was written by Paul to address strained relations with the Corinthian church which had further deteriorated during the period after I Corinthians was written.   Chapters 10-13 are so different in style and tone from the first chapters as to lead many scholars to conclude that they are the “severe letter” mentioned in 2:4.

In this text Paul offers a further defense of his ministry, explaining the roots of his courage to keep on facing all the challenges.  With likely reference to Psalm 116:10 he claims that belief leads to confession of faith (4:13), a confession that the Lord Who raised Jesus will raise the faithful (4:14).  He refers to grace [charis] extending to more and more, and so more and more might increase thanksgiving (4:15).

In the afflictions endured, Paul says he does not lose heart.  Relying on images typical of both Hellenistic popular philosophy (Greek philosophical dualism) and also Jewish expectations about the End, he speaks of an outer nature [ekso hemown, meaning the “outward of us”] wasting away so that our inner nature [eso hemown, literally the “inward of us”] may be renewed (4:16-17).  We do not look at what can be seen for it is temporary, but at the eternal [aionieos] which cannot be seen (4:18).  If the earthly tent [oika, leiterally house, a common Hellenistic term for the body] is destroyed, we have a building [oikodome] from God in the heavens (5:1).  Paul seems clearly here to be relying on Greek dualistic conceptions of human nature, as body and soul.

Application: In this text we are given the chance to proclaim how our Sin leads to a false construction of reality, but that the Gospel (Justification By Grace) gives us a new way to see the world, helping us to recognize that the burdens of life are joyous occasions for service and overcoming the fear of death (Sanctification and Future Eschatology).

Mark 3:20-35
Again we consider a text in the first of the Synoptic Gospels to be written, a Book that was perhaps the source of other Gospels, perhaps based on oral traditions of the Passion narrative and accounts of Jesus’ sayings (the so-called Q-source).  Probably written prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD, this anonymous work is traditionally ascribed to John Mark, perhaps referred to as an associate of Paul (Acts  12:12-25; 15:37; Colossians 4:10) or as Peter’s scribe (I Peter 5:13).  Some speculate that the original audience was the church in Rome (esp. Gentiles), as this Gospel presumes readers unfamiliar with Jewish customs and Palestinian geography (see 7:2-4,31), but it also could have been written for Palestinian Christians.

This account is a story concerning Jesus’ power, including allegations about Him and teachings on the sin against the Holy Spirit as well as who His true kindred are.  Though much of the text appears in the other Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 12:22-32, 46-50; Luke 11:14-23; 8:1-19), Mark’s version is unique.  Only in his version does the account clearly occur in Jesus’ home (Capernaum, according to Mark [3:19b; 2:1].  He is reported to have been surrounded by crowds.  Even to the point of precluding His having time to eat.  Again unique to the Markan version, Pharisees and others reportedly claim that He is crazy, caused by possession by the pagan god Beelzebul (vv.20-22).  (Some translations suggest that it was Jesus’ family who had this fear, but others say it was really all those intimate with Him who kept these feelings.)  Jesus is said to respond to Jerusalem Pharisees making this charge by offering parables [paraboles].  He contends that He could have cast out demons were He part of them, for a house divided against itself could not stand (vv.23-26).  He utters the famous condemnation of the of the unforgivable sin — the sin against the Holy Spirit, though all other sins will be forgiven [aphiemi, literally “sent away”] (vv.28-29).  This teaching was uttered by Jesus against those who had rejected Him for having an unclean spirit, linking the Spirit to demons (v.30), presumably shedding light on what the sin against the Holy Spirit [pneuma to hagion] is.

Mary and Jesus’ siblings come to see Him (vv.21,31-32).  Some scholars suggest that references to His siblings might merely indicate Jesus’ relatives (cousins, etc.).  Only in Mark is this event linked to the concern that Jesus might be crazy, another indication of this Gospel’s emphasis on the blindness of those nearest to Jesus.  He responds that His family are His followers, those who do God’s Will (vv.33-35).  The fact that Jesus’ followers could be sisters and his mother might suggest that women were among His followers.

Application: With this text we are afforded opportunities to proclaim forgiveness (Justification By Grace, understood as God sending away our Sin) when typically we live in sin by taking Jesus and the Father for granted, acting more like His family than His Disciples (Sanctification).

Mark 3:20-35

The dispute about exorcism and the charge that Jesus was possessed by Beelzebul in Mark 3:22-30 are particularly interesting because of the context into which these verses are placed in the Markan account. Instead of the exorcism that is included in the parallel accounts in Luke 11:14-23 and Matthew 12:22-32 and 9:32-34, we read in Mark 3:20-21 the statement peculiar to Mark that “those from him,” that is, Jesus’ own family or his own relatives – probably defined more fully in Mark 3:31-35 as Jesus’ mother and his brothers and perhaps his sisters — having heard about what he was doing, had gone out from Nazareth to bring him back to Nazareth, for they were saying that he had lost his senses by speaking openly about the time soon when the Lord God would be coming to rule over them instead of the oppressive Romans. In the Markan context of this account, therefore, Jesus is presented as facing conflict on two fronts, one with the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem and the other with his own mother and closest relatives.

An analysis of the Synoptic interrelationships that would see no more than a simple progression of development from Mark and “Q” material to Matthew and to Luke would probably lead to the conclusion that Jesus’ mother and siblings did not understand what Jesus was doing and tried to stop him. Later Synoptic traditions, with their greater interest in Jesus’ parents as God the Father and by the power of the Spirit of God the Virgin Mary as his mother, the conception and birth of Jesus as the divine Son of God, and their much higher Christology than the Christology in Mark, with correspondingly diminishing emphasis on Jesus’ humanity, suppressed the Markan tradition of misunderstanding on the part of Jesus’ mother and brothers, retaining only Mark 3:31-35 in their renditions and rejecting Mark 3:20-21 outright.

Such an analysis may be a fairly accurate representation of what had occurred, but it is also possible that behind Mark 3:20-21 lies something more than — or other than – an historical reminiscence by Peter or by someone else within the tradition. If community self-consciousness was an important factor in the shaping of the Markan account, it is possible that the complete controversy dialogue here includes not only the central portion (Mark 3:22-30), but the entire text of Mark 3:20-35 selected for our use next Sunday. If the complete controversy dialogue includes all of Mark 3:20-35, the Markan community may have been polemicizing not only against the scribes from Jerusalem, its principal antagonists in the Markan account, but also against those from Jesus’ background who did not understand what the Jesus of the Markan community was doing and as “his mother and brothers” were attempting to suppress him. According to Mark 3:20-35, neither “the scribes from Jerusalem” nor “those from Jesus’ own family background” were truly Jesus’ mother and Jesus’ brothers. Instead, whoever does the will of God (the Markan community gathered around Jesus as they perceived him) is Jesus’ brother and sister and mother (Mark 3:33-35).

In the Luke 11:15-22 parallel, it is merely some people from the multitude who said that it was in the name of Beelzebul, the most prominent of the demons, that Jesus was casting out demons. Mark assigned to these objectors the identity of the scribes from Jerusalem and Matthew the identity of the Pharisees. Those who would try to separate Jesus from the ones who were sitting around Jesus in a circle (the Markan community) are not recognized (Mark 3:33) as Jesus’ mother and brothers. Those who say that Jesus has an unclean spirit are said to be speaking against the Holy Spirit and do not have forgiveness ever. They are guilty of an eternal sin (Mark 3:29-30). The polemic of Mark 3:20-35 is probably directed, therefore, against both of these groups. The polemic is gentle and subtle against “those from Jesus” from Galilee, but it is intense and severe against the “scribes from Jerusalem.” The warning and condemnation included in Mark 3:28-29 are separated by enough space in the account from the mention of the scribes from Jerusalem in Mark 3:22 that most readers of Mark 3:20-35 are probably not aware of how the complete controversy dialogue of Mark 3:20-35 is constructed. For a carefully reasoned discussion of this issue, see Raymond E. Brown, Karl P. Donfried, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and John Reumann, Mary in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, and New York: Paulist, 1978), pages 51-59. Consequently, most readers apply the warning against exclusion from fellowship with Jesus and against anyone who would speak evil of the Holy Spirit to themselves and to each other rather than to 1st century Jewish or to contemporary Jewish groups.

Therefore, we in our expository proclamation based on this text should also apply the warning against exclusion from fellowship with Jesus and against anyone who would speak evil against the Holy Spirit of God to ourselves rather than to Jewish groups of the past or present, even though anti-Jewish polemic was probably intended by the writer of Mark 3:20-35 when the literary “sandwich” of placing Mark 3:22-30 between Mark 3:20-21 and Mark 3:31-35 was formed.

2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1

It is in this text that the confident proclamation of the gospel is seen most clearly in the texts selected for this day. Paul writes that he and his companions have the same spirit of faith as the Israelite psalmist (Psalm 116:10) who is said to have written, “I believed. Therefore, I have spoken.” Since Paul and his companions have believed that God has raised Jesus from the dead, they have also proclaimed that God will raise them after they have died and that God will present them, along with their fellow-believers in Corinth, by the grace of God into a setting that, even though they cannot see it now, is eternal. Certainly that was Paul’s proclamation in this text and certainly it should be our proclamation this coming Sunday. In the words of the Mark 3:20-35 text, it is the acceptance of this proclamation that makes us “Jesus’ mother and Jesus’ brothers.” It is the acceptance of this proclamation that ties the Christian Church and people together within the “Body of Christ” throughout time and space.

Genesis 3:8-15

In traditional Christian identification of Messianic prophecies within the Hebrew Scriptures (the Older Testament), Genesis 3:15 is said to contain the first glimmer of the Christian gospel in its words regarding the “seed” of the first woman (Eve) bruising the head of the serpent. There can be little doubt that this verse was perceived to be “gospel” by the ancient Israelites, although their perception in the context of their experiences in a climate in which poisonous snakes were a common hazard did not extend beyond the realization that very alert people might be able to bruise or crush the head of a snake and that a snake can and did in many instances strike the heel of a person. (The ancient Israelites obviously did not wear thick, heavy Texas cowboy boots and carry a rifle to protect them against rattlesnakes!) Beyond that, there was likely a prediction or claim in this poetic form that although initially the Canaanites with their snake symbols had been bruising the heels of the nomadic Israelites, eventually the encroaching Israelites would crush the head of the Canaanites and of their religious practices. We as Christians can obviously apply the “gospel” of this text to our time and to our particular situation, as in various Liberation theologies and wherever relevant.

Psalm 130

In deep agony caused by the psalmist’s own sin, the psalmist cries out to the Lord for forgiveness. While the psalmist waits for mercy from the Lord, the psalmist calls upon Israel to have this same hope in the Lord. This applies to us as well. We too cry out and wait. For us as Christians, we have, along with psalms such as this, the model of Jesus dying on the cross and the belief that, by dying, Jesus, now perceived as the Risen Christ and as the Son of God, was bearing our sins.

1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20; 11:14-15

The leaders among the people asked Samuel to appoint for them a king, so that they would be like the other nations around them. Samuel took this to the Lord in prayer and was told by the Lord to do as the people wished, but to let them know what the king would take from them. Samuel responds reluctantly and Saul becomes the first king over the people of Israel.

Psalm 138

Unlike earthly kings, the Lord as king has provided the help that the psalmist needed. Therefore, the psalmist acclaims the Lord as God over all of the kings on the earth and praises the Lord God for the steadfast love and mercy of the Lord God, for the love and mercy that will endure forever. This contrasts sharply with the depiction of earthly kings in the 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20; 11:14-15 text above. Who do we want to be our “king” over us?

The Festival of the Holy Trinity is an occasion on which we are called to speak boldly and as well as is humanly possible about our faith in God and about how we perceive God. The texts selected, the liturgy, and within the liturgy especially the hymns provide resources for our use. Beyond these, there are people, and ultimately there is God.

We speak about God from within the context of this world and of our experiences. In many ways, we ourselves are limited to this world, speaking about God whom we believe is not limited to this world. Nevertheless, we are inspired by God to speak within the limits of this world about God whom we believe is not limited to this world.

As Christians, we believe that God is totally transcendent, totally beyond, all powerful, all knowing, perfect in every way. We also believe that God is also always here among us as pervasive Spirit, like the air, the wind, always necessary for us, that we might breathe in and breath out, permitting us to do evil as well as good, though guiding us to do only that which is good. Finally, we believe that God is active in our lives, coming to us most of all in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, whom we believe to be the Risen Christ, here among us, but also ascended to the Father. We believe in God perceived as God the Father, as God the Son, and as God the Holy Spirit.

Within the texts appointed for this day in Series B, there is no explicit expression of our Christian concept of the Holy Trinity such as we have it in the post-biblical ecumenical creeds and in the writings of post-biblical Christian theologians. We do not have the explicit reference to God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit such as we have this in Matthew 28:19 appointed for Trinity Sunday in Series A. It is surprising that the benediction “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit of God be with all of you” (2 Corinthians 13:14) was not selected for use anywhere in The Revised Common Lectionary. 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 is used on Trinity Sunday Series C in The Revised Common Lectionary, but not 2 Corinthians 13:14. Unless we are strictly bound to use The Revised Common Lectionary with no variations, I think that we should include 2 Corinthians 13:14 in Series C on Trinity Sunday next year.

Isaiah 6:1-8

In this magnificent “call of Isaiah” text we have the threefold acclamation of the Lord of hosts in Hebrew as kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, in Greek hagios, hagios, hagios, and in English “Holy, Holy, Holy.” In Hebrew and for the Israelites and Jews the repetition of this word that means “Most Awesome” or “Totally Set Apart” is a way to indicate emphasis on and great respect for the Lord God as they perceived and continue to perceive God. We as Christians see in this text an indication, even a prophecy for some, of the threefold being of God and proclaim our understanding of this most notably in the words of Reginald Heber, combined with music provided by John B. Dykes, in one of our favorite hymns: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,” with lines one and four concluding with the words that have been perhaps more influential than the Isaiah 6:1-8 biblical text itself, “… God in three persons, blessed Trinity!”

We should note in our study of these concepts that in the Greek language in which most of the earliest development of our Christian theology was developed and expressed the Trinity concept was depicted by using the Greek word, in plural form hypostases, by which they meant three ways of perceiving God. The Latin writers used the Latin word personae to express this, and English translators rendered this word as “persons,” as we see it in the favorite Trinity Sunday hymn mentioned in the previous paragraph.

In terms of belief in one God, it is better that we speak about God on Trinity Sunday and throughout the year as “one in three” rather than as “three in one,” one God whom we perceive in three principal ways rather than as three whom we perceive as one. In dialogue with people who are Jews and Muslims, this is especially important. We as Christians are monotheists, not tri-theists.

Psalm 29

Within the context of these Holy Trinity Sunday texts, the Lord God is revealed in Psalm 29 as the God of the storm, with powerful and frightful winds, as “the voice of the Lord” sweeping over the land from the Mediterranean Sea to the desert to the east, with the elements of a storm of lightning and thunder, strong winds, and heavy rain. The phenomenon of nature is used very effectively in this ancient hymn to the Lord as the Lord of the storm. It is appropriate also for us.

Romans 8:12-17

The Aramaic “Abba” in this text can be translated as “Daddy!” here rather than retained in a transliteration. In either case, it provides one of the closest links through the liturgical practices of the earliest followers of Jesus between the Jesus of history and the Apostle Paul. Paul’s use of the words Father, Christ, and Spirit of God in this text provide additional materials for us in our teaching and in our proclamation on this Festival of Trinity Sunday.

John 3:1-17

The key verses for us for our use next Sunday are John 3:5-8 and John 3:16-17. They also are the portions of John 3:1-17 that most likely were the first portions of John 3:1-17 developed within the Johannine community, prior to the addition of the anti-Jewish segments that surround them in this text.

We have elements in John 3:5-8, 16-17 with which to speak from our hearts about God as God is revealed to us. Our Christian traditions depict God as the Father of Jesus and consequently as “Our Father.” Through our use of John 3:1-17 and Romans 8:12-17 next Sunday, we shall certainly proclaim that the Risen Christ is God for us. We believe that the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus, is blowing among us wherever God wishes. We cannot see God, but we can feel God — just as we cannot see the wind but we can hear it and we can feel it – and we can see the effects of what God does. We believe that God certainly is revealed also in other ways, but for us as Christians these three are by far the most important. Throughout all of this, we remember that God is, after all, “One,” actually most significantly “Number One,” as indicated in the theology of Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’is, and other theists.